E46 M3 Estoril Blue, deposit placed, write thing???
Discussion
Hi guys
I've been hunting an estoril blue E46 M3 Convertible with Hardtop and SMG II and TV/Sat Nav for over 6 months and have placed a deposit on it today. Cost: £23, 000, 53 Reg, FBMWSH, Mileage, 32, 000. Its got 19's on it (yeah I know, city cruiser and all that but hey someone's gotta do it) The question I have for you guys is have I let my emotional senses get the best of me or is this a wise move??!!! Its not from an approved used dealer and is private.
However from reading up from Pistonheads, the 53 Reg onwards had all the major problems and minor improvements made to it so no recalls were needed (not to discredit the previous M3's I hastened to add guys!!!).
Regards
I've been hunting an estoril blue E46 M3 Convertible with Hardtop and SMG II and TV/Sat Nav for over 6 months and have placed a deposit on it today. Cost: £23, 000, 53 Reg, FBMWSH, Mileage, 32, 000. Its got 19's on it (yeah I know, city cruiser and all that but hey someone's gotta do it) The question I have for you guys is have I let my emotional senses get the best of me or is this a wise move??!!! Its not from an approved used dealer and is private.
However from reading up from Pistonheads, the 53 Reg onwards had all the major problems and minor improvements made to it so no recalls were needed (not to discredit the previous M3's I hastened to add guys!!!).
Regards
Edited by M3 BABY!! on Sunday 3rd February 17:23
Yeah dan a warranty would've been fantastic but me thinks could've added bit more and extended my budget! Fingers crossed that the BMW engineering doesn't let me down.
Taffy yeah the colour I would have to agree is one of (if not the) best. Its very rare and really makes the car stand out (which sometimes isn't a good thing). Looking forward to driving it in the summer evenings and weekends. Beats driving my company Passat (new shape 1.9TDI really doesn't float my boat!!!).
Taffy yeah the colour I would have to agree is one of (if not the) best. Its very rare and really makes the car stand out (which sometimes isn't a good thing). Looking forward to driving it in the summer evenings and weekends. Beats driving my company Passat (new shape 1.9TDI really doesn't float my boat!!!).
Sounds lovely - what colour is the interior?
cosmos_steve said:
I was after that colour and spec. The one I wanted was £29k from a BMW dealer,04 plate with 8k on the clock with champagne extended leather (no hard top). The car sold just as I was gonna pay the deposit. I ended up with Laguna Seca Blue on a 53 plate with 26k mileage for £22k.
EB with champagne..... Thanx for the replies guys, realy appreciate it. Vee - the running in service isn't stamped but i've got all the details like vin number/reg, im picking the car up on sat so phoning up BMW or popping into my local Godfrey Hall (BMW dealer) what will they be able to verify and what will they need? Im going to probably be getting my servicing done from there so will there be a cost to check their databases??
Petrolhead - will def post pics and Little Bro the leather is a rather boring grey leather interior. The cream coloured leather is beautiful but I probably would've ended up paying over 25k for a minter and in the run up to summer may have been more.
Just as a general rule of thumb do ya think convertibles will cost more (i don't mean as an investment purpose but generally????) in the summer?
The tyres will need a change pretty soon (£200 a corner for top tread) and I think the TV has been replaced under warranty so nothing much to worry about?
Are there any other checks you would recommend? Im not a mechanic and I suppose with such a car it should be an engineering marvel?
Petrolhead - will def post pics and Little Bro the leather is a rather boring grey leather interior. The cream coloured leather is beautiful but I probably would've ended up paying over 25k for a minter and in the run up to summer may have been more.
Just as a general rule of thumb do ya think convertibles will cost more (i don't mean as an investment purpose but generally????) in the summer?
The tyres will need a change pretty soon (£200 a corner for top tread) and I think the TV has been replaced under warranty so nothing much to worry about?
Are there any other checks you would recommend? Im not a mechanic and I suppose with such a car it should be an engineering marvel?
I would negotiate a fair bit on the price if the running in service hasn't been done, when you come to sell it this will be a major sticking point. According to 'glasses guide' it says to adjust values considerably if the running in service hasn't been completed.
Great colour for the car though, I hope it is all well for you.
Great colour for the car though, I hope it is all well for you.
Well Matc, the owner has said that the running in service has been completed, although he isn't the first owner and said he checked with BMW, just hasn't been stamped and the deposit (£100) was on the condition that the running in service had been completed. I've been told that BMW can check to see what work has been done or indeed, not done, how true is this to the best of your knowledge?
M3 BABY!! said:
Well Matc, the owner has said that the running in service has been completed, although he isn't the first owner and said he checked with BMW, just hasn't been stamped and the deposit (£100) was on the condition that the running in service had been completed. I've been told that BMW can check to see what work has been done or indeed, not done, how true is this to the best of your knowledge?
If it hasn't had a running in service I would walk away unless heavily discounted. EVERYONES first question when I was selling my fully loaded M3 was has it got the running in service - including traders.M3 BABY!! said:
Well Matc, the owner has said that the running in service has been completed, although he isn't the first owner and said he checked with BMW, just hasn't been stamped and the deposit (£100) was on the condition that the running in service had been completed. I've been told that BMW can check to see what work has been done or indeed, not done, how true is this to the best of your knowledge?
Any BMW dealer should be able to tell you what has been done to the car. If it has been done and you buy the car you should take the service book back to the dealer who completed the service and get the book stamped. It will definately help when you come to sell it on.Your service book might not be stamped but the service could still have been carried out. I bought an ex BMW press M3 Cab last year that had the first service missing in the book. I spoke to BMW's head office and they confirmed that all press cars were serviced at a central facility by BMW UK and as such the books were not stamped as they were not part of the main dealer network, I was able to get an email from them confirming the service had been carried out within the speciifed period so was happy to buy.
It would be worth also talking to the main dealer network to check what if any warranty work has been carried out, they should be able to tell you this over the phone together with confirmation of dates of service work etc.
It would be worth also talking to the main dealer network to check what if any warranty work has been carried out, they should be able to tell you this over the phone together with confirmation of dates of service work etc.
I phoned BMW Cust Services and they were very helpful. The car has had 21 visits in total with minor warranty issues such as video module, high level brake light, soft top sealant, 4 wheel alignment, tyre pressure monitor issues.
The problem is this: the first dealer had nine visits from the car (my local dealer coincidentally) and I thought i'd pop in and speak to them direct (phoned other dealers and gave me releavnt info). The car was in on 1110 miles to have a tyre pressure monitor check and then in at 1501 miles for a four wheel alignment. There is no record of a running-in servicing. On three accounts I find this hard to accept, one the owner has spent over 55k buying the car and presumably the running-in check was included in warranty, secondly BMW would've recognised it needed the running in check when taken in for alignment and thirdly the on-board computer must've been screaming until it had oil service/micro filter at 17, 600.
Im at a bit of a loose end guys, apart from talking to the chap who orginally had the car first (impossible me thinks) I don't know what else to do?? I don't want to jeopardise not buying the car but the running in service is key and as you guys have pointed out it is a must have.
Regards in advance
The problem is this: the first dealer had nine visits from the car (my local dealer coincidentally) and I thought i'd pop in and speak to them direct (phoned other dealers and gave me releavnt info). The car was in on 1110 miles to have a tyre pressure monitor check and then in at 1501 miles for a four wheel alignment. There is no record of a running-in servicing. On three accounts I find this hard to accept, one the owner has spent over 55k buying the car and presumably the running-in check was included in warranty, secondly BMW would've recognised it needed the running in check when taken in for alignment and thirdly the on-board computer must've been screaming until it had oil service/micro filter at 17, 600.
Im at a bit of a loose end guys, apart from talking to the chap who orginally had the car first (impossible me thinks) I don't know what else to do?? I don't want to jeopardise not buying the car but the running in service is key and as you guys have pointed out it is a must have.
Regards in advance
I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but I would walk away from the deal; there will always be another car. I think you will find this car very hard to sell on without it having it's inital service.
With regards to taliking to the orginal owner, your local dealer should have this information, although he might they might not be willing to pass the details on (data protection act). But if it cannot be proved that the service was carried out, they should either adjust the price accordingly (I would suggest about £1500-2K) or give you your deposit back. Sorry to hear about this bad news, you must gutted !!
With regards to taliking to the orginal owner, your local dealer should have this information, although he might they might not be willing to pass the details on (data protection act). But if it cannot be proved that the service was carried out, they should either adjust the price accordingly (I would suggest about £1500-2K) or give you your deposit back. Sorry to hear about this bad news, you must gutted !!
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