Couple of questions on E46 M3s
Feb 25, 2009 | 03:49 PM
#31
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 31,976
From: Minnesota
Alex,
I haven't read your entire thread but thought my experience with my own purchase might put you at ease. I went out and looked for a low miles car and found an 05 with low miles and Dinan-S2 package and HRE wheels. I had the car PPI'd and flew up to New Jersey and drove it back home to Houston. Barrett Jackson and all of the auctions were going on on the other side of the country so transport would have been a three week wait. I couldn't handle that so I made the road trip. It was awesome. I saw some great scenery and drove on some very very quiet roads. My drive was approximately 1500 miles and I stopped once. It was pretty memorable for me as it was the first car I was able to purchase that I had really really wanted.
The maintenance aspect isn't too bad really. Brakes jobs are relatively easy. Oil changes aren't difficult at all. As for mileage the engine is one of the best ever made. If you are buying an earlier year make sure that the bearing recall was done and other than that with regular oil changes and necessesary maintenance you should have no problems. Find the right car drive the hell out of it and enjoy it. I miss my M dearly and when prices drop further i see myself adding one to the stable again.
Ben
I haven't read your entire thread but thought my experience with my own purchase might put you at ease. I went out and looked for a low miles car and found an 05 with low miles and Dinan-S2 package and HRE wheels. I had the car PPI'd and flew up to New Jersey and drove it back home to Houston. Barrett Jackson and all of the auctions were going on on the other side of the country so transport would have been a three week wait. I couldn't handle that so I made the road trip. It was awesome. I saw some great scenery and drove on some very very quiet roads. My drive was approximately 1500 miles and I stopped once. It was pretty memorable for me as it was the first car I was able to purchase that I had really really wanted.
The maintenance aspect isn't too bad really. Brakes jobs are relatively easy. Oil changes aren't difficult at all. As for mileage the engine is one of the best ever made. If you are buying an earlier year make sure that the bearing recall was done and other than that with regular oil changes and necessesary maintenance you should have no problems. Find the right car drive the hell out of it and enjoy it. I miss my M dearly and when prices drop further i see myself adding one to the stable again.
Ben
Feb 25, 2009 | 04:23 PM
#32
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 934
From: Orono, Mn
Here is one:
2001 M3 Coupe - BMW M3 Forum.com (E30 M3 | E36 M3 | E46 M3 | E92 M3)
Price is a little high, but miles are really low, and the fact that it has no options is cool IMO. Im sure you can work him down too.
2001 M3 Coupe - BMW M3 Forum.com (E30 M3 | E36 M3 | E46 M3 | E92 M3)
Price is a little high, but miles are really low, and the fact that it has no options is cool IMO. Im sure you can work him down too.
Feb 25, 2009 | 04:34 PM
#33
Teamspeed Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 266
From: Sarasota, FL
LOL at the tags. An E46 M3 is definitely on my short list when it comes to cars that I want to buy....but I am going back to school in a couple weeks and the job market where I'm moving looks pretty dire. Looks like I'm gonna be a little tight on cash for the next few months!
Feb 25, 2009 | 05:20 PM
#34
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 31,976
From: Minnesota
Here is one:
2001 M3 Coupe - BMW M3 Forum.com (E30 M3 | E36 M3 | E46 M3 | E92 M3)
Price is a little high, but miles are really low, and the fact that it has no options is cool IMO. Im sure you can work him down too.
2001 M3 Coupe - BMW M3 Forum.com (E30 M3 | E36 M3 | E46 M3 | E92 M3)
Price is a little high, but miles are really low, and the fact that it has no options is cool IMO. Im sure you can work him down too.
I found this beauty:
2002 M3, JB/Cinn, 75K miles, 5 yr/150K mile warranty, $22K obo
If this is still available when I graduate and I can get him down to $20k, I'ld be all over this!
Feb 25, 2009 | 10:48 PM
#36
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Posts: 31,976
From: Minnesota
I agree. Hopefully I can just talk the owner down to my budget instead though!
Feb 26, 2009 | 01:25 AM
#38
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,259
From: San Diego
Might as well share my experience with my E46 M3 
I was open to color combos, but wanted an '03.5 with the LED tails that had the rod bearing recall done. I found my car on eBay, talked to the owner who lived in Texas, got a really good feeling from him, had the VIN checked by BMWNA. Before I flew out there, I asked the owner to take some really detailed shots of the car. He was really easy to work with and sent me some great photos. I felt comfortable flying out there sight unseen and buying the car.
My dad and I drove the car home and had a blast. Over the year and a half period that I had it, it was flawless. I think I put on 20,000 miles while I had it. There was an incident when I got locked in the car(yes, locked IN!), but warranty took care of it. My only problem was it ate Michelin PS2s, but a small price to pay. I had to get rid of the car because I went back to school, but will definitely buy another one when the time comes.
Also, if you're worried about buying the car sight unseen, try having a local member check the car out for you. The forums are a pretty powerful too. Either way, enjoy your M3!
I posted some pictures of mine in the E46 M3 thread.
I was open to color combos, but wanted an '03.5 with the LED tails that had the rod bearing recall done. I found my car on eBay, talked to the owner who lived in Texas, got a really good feeling from him, had the VIN checked by BMWNA. Before I flew out there, I asked the owner to take some really detailed shots of the car. He was really easy to work with and sent me some great photos. I felt comfortable flying out there sight unseen and buying the car.
My dad and I drove the car home and had a blast. Over the year and a half period that I had it, it was flawless. I think I put on 20,000 miles while I had it. There was an incident when I got locked in the car(yes, locked IN!), but warranty took care of it. My only problem was it ate Michelin PS2s, but a small price to pay. I had to get rid of the car because I went back to school, but will definitely buy another one when the time comes.
Also, if you're worried about buying the car sight unseen, try having a local member check the car out for you. The forums are a pretty powerful too. Either way, enjoy your M3!
I posted some pictures of mine in the E46 M3 thread.
Last edited by jay_ftw; Feb 26, 2009 at 01:33 AM.
Feb 26, 2009 | 09:41 AM
#39
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 202
I bought a 2003 M3 out of college (in 2005). I never had any desire for the SMG but the one at the dealership they were giving me a slight deal on had it, so i got overly excited and figured waht the hell. Best choice I made. I drove that car for 2.5 years and putting 23K a year on it. Driving it EVERYWHERE. snow, rain, anything! The car never got boring to me. I was always complimented on it. It drives amazing and the SMG isnt as much of a burden as some people have had with it. Mine had 0 problems when my car was in a slight "tree wrapping arounding" at 96K on the odometer. My only issues included two replaced downpipes. The second one was to the tune of $2300 but thankfully the part was still under the parts warranty so they ended up paying for that. As for working on the car, well i had the extended warranty which I dont think is possible on the early models anymore. The only complaints I had were with how rough the ride was with the 19inch rims. And I ATE through tires buying a new set about every 8-9 months even though I was highway driving. Honestly, I cant say anything truly bad about the car becasue the good just FAAAAARRRR out weighs it. The rear end can get a bit skittish in the rain and snow without snow tires is a white knuckled nightmare, but other then that, every one of the 60k+ miles i put on that car in 2.5 years were some of the greatest miles ever driven. Never uncomfortable. Good luck with your purchase!!