M3 Coupe, 2002 - 2004(ish) Advice

[Rafferj]

Afternoon guys, new to the BMW part of the site.

Am looking at a 2nd hand M3, circa 2002 - 2004 ish, with around £15k to spend.

What should I be looking out for ? What are the main problems, and at what point does the mileage become too high ?

I'm told to make sure it has an inspection 2 as this costs £1k or so, but other than that its not a car I know a huge amount about.

Cheers, any info appreciated.

[E30M3SE]

Ensure that it had the 1200 running in inspection, has full service history from main dealer or a recognised specialist, as all warranty work would subsequently have been done. Ensure that recall on crank bearings/oil pump have been done and if SMG there was a recall on this also IIRC.

[AngryApples]

Good luck in your quest my friend

I've just been through the same over the past 3 or so weeks and it drove me mad, though luckily found a good one in the end

A few links worth looking at -

Info about the M3's little touches:

http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=111...

General buyers guide:

http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=893



In my search I used:

PH Classifieds
Exchange and mart
Auto Trader
Motors.co.uk
CompuCars

[Rafferj]

Brilliant info, thanks guys.

Some light reading for me over the next couple of days then

[Jake.]

Rafferj said:

Afternoon guys, new to the BMW part of the site.

Am looking at a 2nd hand M3, circa 2002 - 2004 ish, with around £15k to spend.

What should I be looking out for ? What are the main problems, and at what point does the mileage become too high ?

I'm told to make sure it has an inspection 2 as this costs £1k or so, but other than that its not a car I know a huge amount about.

Cheers, any info appreciated.

With a 15k budget you should be able to get a good spec, low-ish mileage example. So you may not have to worry about the Insp2 for a while. They usually need the Insp2 around 50-55k miles (sooner if it's had a good thrashing for a lot of its life).

Common problems are ...
Rear Trailing Arm bushes (no big deal <£100 to replace)
Broken rear springs
Alternators often fail before 50k miles (~£400)

Personally I'd be looking for a 100% stock one with FBMWSH, Michelin tyres and unmarked alloys - all good indicators that the previous owner(s) haven't scrimped and has treated the car well.

Avoid pre-May03 built cars unless the seller can prove that the bearing recall work has been done.

CB, EB, SG are good colours, IMO. Silver, Red and that dull blue colour don't do it for me.
Similarly, Black or grey leather are good, Dog-Knob Red or that odd Kiwi colour aren't good interior colours - again IMO.

SatNav and HK stereo are 'nice-to-have's but neither are 'all-that', TBH.

Be fussy and take your time to find the right car, these days there's a huge selection out there within your budget.

[Rafferj]

Cheers, thanks again for the info.

Have seen quite a few with less than 50k on the clock.

Wide variety of spec as well, so I'm hopeful I'll get SATNAV / TV and a few other goodies.

Will only consider black, and I'll ensure its a May 03 car or later, to be honest most I've seen are on 53 / 04 / 54 plates.

They're certainly excellent value for the price of a new focus or a golf !

[M3CD]

Jake. said:

Personally I'd be looking for a 100% stock one with FBMWSH, Michelin tyres and unmarked alloys - all good indicators that the previous owner(s) haven't scrimped and has treated the car well.

Avoid pre-May03 built cars unless the seller can prove that the bearing recall work has been done.

You can check recall work with any dealer for the sake of a phone call.

Make sure its got the running in service - headache selling it on without that.

As for 100% stock - well you only have to go on Mtorque to realise the most passionate M3 owners don't run stock so that doesn't quite add up.

FBMWSH ? I wouldn't mind providing it was a reputable specialist who did the stamps.

[Jake.]

M3CD said:

As for 100% stock - well you only have to go on Mtorque to realise the most passionate M3 owners don't run stock so that doesn't quite add up.

Passionate? Lots of passionate owners abuse their cars. :shrug:

I didn't want a modified M3. To me, modified = driven hard
Cold air intakes/decats/remapped ECU/BBK/etc suggest the car's been driven hard, doesn't it? I'm not saying these cars can't take it, just that given the choice I'd rather buy one that hadn't spent its life at the redline. YMMV.

Also, modified = harder/dearer to insure.

M3CD said:

FBMWSH ? I wouldn't mind providing it was a reputable specialist who did the stamps

Me neither - although it'll be harder to sell on when the time comes. But I wasn't talking about whether FBMWSH is value for money, I was suggesting that cars that are maintained regardless of cost (eg ones that have expensive main dealer history, ones that have Michelin PS2 tyres not Falken/Vreidstein/Khumo/whatever) are perhaps a better bet.

[M3CD]

Jake. said:

M3CD said:

As for 100% stock - well you only have to go on Mtorque to realise the most passionate M3 owners don't run stock so that doesn't quite add up.

Passionate? Lots of passionate owners abuse their cars. :shrug:

I didn't want a modified M3. To me, modified = driven hard
Cold air intakes/decats/remapped ECU/BBK/etc suggest the car's been driven hard, doesn't it? I'm not saying these cars can't take it, just that given the choice I'd rather buy one that hadn't spent its life at the redline. YMMV.

Also, modified = harder/dearer to insure.

M3CD said:

FBMWSH ? I wouldn't mind providing it was a reputable specialist who did the stamps

Me neither - although it'll be harder to sell on when the time comes. But I wasn't talking about whether FBMWSH is value for money, I was suggesting that cars that are maintained regardless of cost (eg ones that have expensive main dealer history, ones that have Michelin PS2 tyres not Falken/Vreidstein/Khumo/whatever) are perhaps a better bet.

When I think modifications I was more thinking in line of eibach springs, CSL wheels, gruppeM exhaust - all three I dislike but providing the original parts are provided I wouldn't rule out a purchase all things being equal.

When I say passionate I mean enthusiast - I would always buy my car from an enthusiast as they are more likely to lavish money on their P&J (detailing, keeping it in tip top condition) and also treat the car with respect (not thrashing when cold).

You only have to look at post on PH to how anal and paranoid we can all be about our cars which translates to better after care.

All that said - buying a car comes down to a simple sentiment - buy on condition.