scoobynutta555

Probably been done on here before, but search didn't seem to have much.

My old man is thinking of an auto m3 E46. Neither of us have had bmws before, so it's virgin territory. Have noticed that the prices for the early ones are around the 15-16k mark. Do these m3s suffer from VANOS like the earlier evos? Any other major things that we should look out for? Will only be buying something with full service history etc.

What are the manuals like too, I might get one myself

RB5SCOTT

SMG box is a manual box and not an auto. I like mine but others seem to slate the smg. I think it works fine with slow, fast road and track. The manuals are supposed to be a bit hard work but if your dead for using a clutch its your only choice. If its any help i was dead against the smg until i drove one. The only downside for me is obvioulsly you have'nt got the clutch control when pulling away quickly or if for some reason 343bhp was'nt enough to get the tail going mid-corner you might even miss a clutch flick

Personally i would only really go for the later ones, late 03 onwards with the LED rear lights. You may have to up your budget a bit to 23 plus for a decent one or wait a bit longer ( about 3 months lol )

And stay away from the Conti's, the pilot sport 2's offer far better grip!

john banks

Pre summer 2003 facelift models needed engine recall work because big end bearings were dodgy. The E46 M3 engine blow up story is all over the internet, but if you are informed it isn't a problem.

Once the BMW warranty extended warranty expires it can't be renewed. This knocks second hand value as they are expensive to run out of warranty. The BMW extended warranty is about £1800pa after 60000 miles with an excess for every claim of £250 IIRC.

www.bm3w.co.uk has a good forum.

scoobynutta555

Was there a recall then? One with the engine work done should be ok? Don't want to spend more than 18k tbh.

prince_of_tokyo

smg's r ok only if your booting your m3...manuals are fun but they let there bum slip out alot...especially on down shifts

john banks

They had a few recalls before they got it right. Some owners had more than one engine failure.

scoobytyson

Don't be put off mate, they are great cars, ive got a manual m3 e46 at the min and it had the recall done sometime ago,never had any trouble at all with it.
John Banks
Do you know the 30-130mph on the M3 E46?

bbigman2000

I loved mine, I went for a post 2003 car to avoid the big end recall issue.

Mine only had 19k on the clock, manual in Individual Estoril.

Gorgeous car, but sold it due to POOR and I mean POOR dealership service.

john banks

About 19 secs scoobytyson.

compshack

I have to say it's one of the best car's I've ever owned. i had a M3 CS manual, which was a great car, the clutch is heavy to begin with and the gear box is notchy when cold, but they where the only 2 critisiums I could find. I now have a CS with SMG, which takes a bit of getting used to but really like it.
Both of my cars where new ish so didn't have to worry about the warranty.
I think BMW dealerships do tend to have differant attitudes but both of the ones I have used have been spot on.
Some people seem to say the brakes are lacking but on both of mine I found them to be very good. Alot better than the 3 Evo's and 3 STI's I had previously.
Fuel economy I find also good for the size of the engine, again also better than the Japanise cars and you can run it on normal unleaded with out too much performance loss. Servicing is also better, with 12 to 15k between depending on you driving style.

Performance can be deceptive because of the NA engine, the first time I drove one after having turbocharged cars I thought it felt slow.
Let me tell you there not, the performance is linear so the speed builds contantly ramping up after 5k and revs till 8k.
The last 3k of revs you really start to move, SMG really works when you driving hard, round town it does IMO take a little getting used to.

Get your Dad to test drive both, and try to drive them for as long as possible, but your still not going to get the whole feel of the car after a test drive. I drove about 4 before chosing mine.