E46 m3
17 May 2013, 11:51 PM
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E46 m3
Well, I got the chance to have a proper drive of one today.
Manual, in silver.
I wanted to hate it, I really did, but I absolutely loved it!! I'm even considering one now
Would like to know your thoughts on these. Also, what are running costs like? I'm not fussed on fuel consumption, but more servicing / parts etc (on the manual version as I'm steering well clear of the SMG box)
Manual, in silver.
I wanted to hate it, I really did, but I absolutely loved it!! I'm even considering one now
Would like to know your thoughts on these. Also, what are running costs like? I'm not fussed on fuel consumption, but more servicing / parts etc (on the manual version as I'm steering well clear of the SMG box)
18 May 2013, 05:27 PM
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I've read that the E46 M3 costs surprisingly more to maintain than the more powerful E39 M5 which is the car I chose after my scooby ownership.
PM scoobysteve69 for his thoughts as he sold his blob for a E46 M3
PM scoobysteve69 for his thoughts as he sold his blob for a E46 M3
29 May 2013, 05:55 PM
#5
I'm on the Cutters site and have an E46 SMG M3 - is fantastic. Stuff goes wrong with the cars though and wears out at the 60K mark (but no more than with other cars I guess) - and you need to keep on top of repairs (much like Scoobs). Bit of a dearth of decent tuning/maintenance shops though IMO. Lots of dck heads who just sell rear lights and bling bits and try to rip you off.
Cars are very easy to work on however, but do require tlc, parts and cash to keep in tip top condition, and the cutters site, E46 fanatics and M3 forum are great sources of info - and lots of quite experienced hands-on forum users. Steer clear of dealerships, unless you can find a decent M trained tech, and beware the rear subframe issue.
Great cars and I absolutely love mine, which is standard in case it becomes (quite easily with a 4-5K supercharger kit...) faster than my Scoob... Stripped out (and to be honest, not that stripped out....) tend to run rings round me at track - but that might just be my driving!
I recently wrote a brief buyers guide for a mate who was looking for one, setting out main things to look for - shall try to dig it out - otherwise I think main things to consider are...:
Rear subframe cracks in the boot floor around the mounting bushes - BMW will repair FOC and under warranty if car is standard and no more than 10 years old (i.e. within the 10 year warranty period) - otherwise is a £5K job...
Alternators go at 50K ish - Dead easy to replace - and between £130-170 for a new/refurbed one (c.£700 from BMW!!!!!!).
Brakes can be expensive - I SHOPPED around and haggled and got OEM discs (front and rear) for £480 - Performance Friction pads were about £120 ish (deal with Prestige Performance Centre at the moment).
Usual front end wishbones (£400 with Lemforder parts) plus lollipop bushes wear out and mess with handling. Track rod ends are £130 ish a side.
Rear Trailing Arm bushes wear out and really screw with the handling - Only £35 though for PowerFlex items - an easy DIY job - but you'll need an alignment afterwards (and no need for a specialist bushing tool).
Rear springs crack
Oil leaks can be expensive and common place - Had a major one from front engine cover and head gasket - cost me a £1k privately - BMW wanted about three times as much.
Power steering high pressure pipes always leak - but no biggy...
Didn't mean the above to sound as negative as it does!!!! Cars are fab - you can get 5 blokes plus luggage in them (or go away with one girl with her suitcases for a weekend....) and still cane it. A nice all round compromise in performance and comfort and quality. SMG really is fantastic - took me 6 very long journeys to get my head round it though as HATED it at first. Once the penny drops you WILL love it though - you can be really aggressive with gear changes and I don't feel disengaged with the gear changing process and sometimes look for it in my Scoob... Repair issues are expensive though, so hear you re concerns on that front.
Highly recommend them - also highly receommend a remap - which doesn't really add any power, but really aids driveability - I got mine, which was a generic map, from one of the well known mappers for £250. Don't usually subscribe to off-the-shelf maps as every car is different etc, but IMO made a big difference and as car is standard, guy claimed to have based it on lots of other standard cars and works really well...
Hope the above is helpful...!
Cars are very easy to work on however, but do require tlc, parts and cash to keep in tip top condition, and the cutters site, E46 fanatics and M3 forum are great sources of info - and lots of quite experienced hands-on forum users. Steer clear of dealerships, unless you can find a decent M trained tech, and beware the rear subframe issue.
Great cars and I absolutely love mine, which is standard in case it becomes (quite easily with a 4-5K supercharger kit...) faster than my Scoob... Stripped out (and to be honest, not that stripped out....) tend to run rings round me at track - but that might just be my driving!
I recently wrote a brief buyers guide for a mate who was looking for one, setting out main things to look for - shall try to dig it out - otherwise I think main things to consider are...:
Rear subframe cracks in the boot floor around the mounting bushes - BMW will repair FOC and under warranty if car is standard and no more than 10 years old (i.e. within the 10 year warranty period) - otherwise is a £5K job...
Alternators go at 50K ish - Dead easy to replace - and between £130-170 for a new/refurbed one (c.£700 from BMW!!!!!!).
Brakes can be expensive - I SHOPPED around and haggled and got OEM discs (front and rear) for £480 - Performance Friction pads were about £120 ish (deal with Prestige Performance Centre at the moment).
Usual front end wishbones (£400 with Lemforder parts) plus lollipop bushes wear out and mess with handling. Track rod ends are £130 ish a side.
Rear Trailing Arm bushes wear out and really screw with the handling - Only £35 though for PowerFlex items - an easy DIY job - but you'll need an alignment afterwards (and no need for a specialist bushing tool).
Rear springs crack
Oil leaks can be expensive and common place - Had a major one from front engine cover and head gasket - cost me a £1k privately - BMW wanted about three times as much.
Power steering high pressure pipes always leak - but no biggy...
Didn't mean the above to sound as negative as it does!!!! Cars are fab - you can get 5 blokes plus luggage in them (or go away with one girl with her suitcases for a weekend....) and still cane it. A nice all round compromise in performance and comfort and quality. SMG really is fantastic - took me 6 very long journeys to get my head round it though as HATED it at first. Once the penny drops you WILL love it though - you can be really aggressive with gear changes and I don't feel disengaged with the gear changing process and sometimes look for it in my Scoob... Repair issues are expensive though, so hear you re concerns on that front.
Highly recommend them - also highly receommend a remap - which doesn't really add any power, but really aids driveability - I got mine, which was a generic map, from one of the well known mappers for £250. Don't usually subscribe to off-the-shelf maps as every car is different etc, but IMO made a big difference and as car is standard, guy claimed to have based it on lots of other standard cars and works really well...
Hope the above is helpful...!
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