What is the ideal spec for an E46 M3?
Discussion
I'm looking at picking a 2003ish model up in the near future. I'm not too clued up on M cars but I need a good all rounder with the maybe the odd track day. I'm keen on the SMG box and I want Nav. I'm happy to have 18' wheels as I hear the ride and performance is better.
What REAL performance options are worth looking out for? Are there options with LSD, or M Sport suspension?
many thanks.
What REAL performance options are worth looking out for? Are there options with LSD, or M Sport suspension?
many thanks.
Nice options on an M3 that I think are a must...
Heated seats
Harman Kardon (standard stereo is appauling!)
The rest is just nice to have imho.
More important than spec is condition imho, I think you have to take into account that there are a lot of dogs out there at the moment, now they are tatty and priced accordingly, but buyers just see that a 2003 car is £13k elsewhere so this is the new price point.
I went to have a look at a few M3's before buying mine and was amazed at how tired they felt, I was orignally looking for a 2004 or later and no more than 40k miles, but the 3 I looked at that were a fairly decent price, not great but fair price, were all really tired.
Sure the bushes needed doing on two or worse the suspension was shot, by 50k miles the bushes will need replacing, they should be a sercvicable part really.
So you have to be careful, this is the first time I have bought purely on condition, I eneded up with a 2002 car with 64k miles on it!
It was only about £3k cheaper than the 2004 40k mile cars, but it felt like new, the paperwork showed as soon as something needed doing it was done, new bushes, wishbones, springs, if it got tired the old boy who owned it sorted it out.
So be careful, it may be cheap for a reason, but it could also be a real bargain as decent have come down in price too because of all the cheap tat that is about.
Heated seats
Harman Kardon (standard stereo is appauling!)
The rest is just nice to have imho.
More important than spec is condition imho, I think you have to take into account that there are a lot of dogs out there at the moment, now they are tatty and priced accordingly, but buyers just see that a 2003 car is £13k elsewhere so this is the new price point.
I went to have a look at a few M3's before buying mine and was amazed at how tired they felt, I was orignally looking for a 2004 or later and no more than 40k miles, but the 3 I looked at that were a fairly decent price, not great but fair price, were all really tired.
Sure the bushes needed doing on two or worse the suspension was shot, by 50k miles the bushes will need replacing, they should be a sercvicable part really.
So you have to be careful, this is the first time I have bought purely on condition, I eneded up with a 2002 car with 64k miles on it!
It was only about £3k cheaper than the 2004 40k mile cars, but it felt like new, the paperwork showed as soon as something needed doing it was done, new bushes, wishbones, springs, if it got tired the old boy who owned it sorted it out.
So be careful, it may be cheap for a reason, but it could also be a real bargain as decent have come down in price too because of all the cheap tat that is about.
Thanks for the great advice there. They are a superb value for money car now which is why I am keen. However when a car reaches this value you can get a lot more owners who don't have the funds to keep the car in A1 condition. Hopefully I'll find one from an someone who is willing to invest in keeping it in good nick.
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff