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E46 M3 yes or no ?

Jonathon555

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4 May 2014
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I am considering buying a 2004 E46 M3 from an associate

Manual coupe silver grey with red napp i120k

It looks a nice thing , but i have never had one before.

Are they a good drive ?

Anyone got one ?
 
I like them though they can have issues, rear chassis floor cracks the main one, silver grey is a nice colour for them, my X3 is silver grey, out if interest how much do they want for it ?
 
I've owned loads of BMW's and although I came close to buying one of these a few times I talked myself out of it....head won!
As said they do suffer from a number of issues, but the worst is the fact that due to torque transfer their tear the rear subframe mountings from the body....it's a massive cost to repair and it's fairly common. Early tell tell signs are clicking sounds when letting of the throttle.
They also suffer Vanos issues, and SMG's are troublesome.
 
Great drivers car with a perfect balance of power & grip IMO. Most well looked after cars have had the subframes sorted. Silver Grey/Red is a great colour combo.
A decent Independent should be able to offer a good PPI for peace of mind.

C.
 
Great feedback thank you, i dont know how quick they are in the real world.

But they appear value at present
 
They are not as good value as they were a few years ago, but still good. The convertible chassis is not stiff and is much heavier than the coupe. The manual is much preferred over the SMG, unless you go for the CSL then you have no choice, but then the software is much improved. Rear subframe mounts are a common problem but are properply fixed for under £2k, so not a huge deal like the bore scoring or a trashed IMS bearing. VANOS problems are cheaper to fix and not terminal. Head gaskets also tend to go. The S54B32 is a stonking engine, over 100hp per litre and an 8k rpm red line years ahead of Porsche at the time.
My pick would be a later non-sunroof car with no sat nav. They are very good.
They are plenty quick enough to be fun but won't set your pants on fire.
Happy to chat all day about them. I have had an E46 convertible, an E36 coupe amd now an E46 M3 CSL.

MC
 
This car is non sunroof, non sat nav,

So basic inside spec
 
Then I suspect you can get it at a good price, sat nav in particular attracts a premium. Feel free to PM me details and I'll tell you what I think of it. Just the registration number to check MOT history is a good starting point.

MC
 
I've had many BMW's as my daily for 20 years - far more engaging than the other offerings from Germany (Porsche excluded obviously!) The S54 engine is awesome - I currently have one in an M Coupe and have driven it in the M3 too. Stonking engine, sounds good and is great fun! They are not without issue though - Vanos can be troublesome but is a relatively inexpensive fix. The known shell bearing failures are more costly to remedy (I think they will pretty much destroy the engine). But these and the boot floor issues can be looked upon similarly to the 996 RMS / IMS fears, in that you may be lucky or unlucky...
They ride better on 18's but the looks are better on the 19" wheels. The usual E46 rust issues are a shame. Driver's side bolster wear could be bad at 120k, but there's plenty of upholsterers about.
The M3 illuminati will insist that it must have had its running-in service at 1100 miles otherwise it will explode imminently (however it's lasted 120k so in reality it's now irrelevant).
Silver Grey was used on the CSL and is quite a sought after colour. And the Imola (red) Nappa complements it perfectly and is also quite sought after. Non-sunroof is also good, and with regards to the Nav, whilst it's a nice to have, it's not essential. 04 model will be facelift with LED lights and a couple of other tweaks.
Value-wise, good ones are becoming rare so if it's the right price and the condition belies its mileage it could be a good place for your money.
And just to pull Bobba's chain - thank goodness it's not Dakar yellow :D
 
As people have said it sounds a good colour combo, 120k is nothing to worry about as long as their is evidence of regular service maintenance.

Nice options to have are the Harmon Kardon speakers and Bluetooth connectivity ( shark fin on the roof is usually a good indicator of this ). The 19 inch wheels look better but due to being diamond cut do tend to suffer from the elements, 18's look a bit small but offer a more compliant ride.
Lack of Sat nav is no loss at all as its massively dated and would have likely had loads of dead pixels by now.

Rust is another problem on them, particularly wheel arches.

Hugely enjoyable to drive and have a glorious exhaust note once you get into the high rev range.
 
squelch said:
The S54 engine is awesome - I currently have one in an M Coupe and have driven it in the M3 too.

Good choice, I have an M Coupe with the S50 engine, great car :thumb:
 
Won't land well on here but a better all round car than a 996 /997 in lot's of area's .Porsche will always win in the badge stakes.
I know you're looking at a manual but my SMG was utterly reliable and would have it over a manual any day,the CSL was SMG for a reason.
As stated above rear boot floor is an issue and not too expensive to fix all I ever did was drive and service mine I fitted a front big brake kit but that was for my enjoyment .
Mine left a lasting impression on me that few cars have ,going up in price too.
 
Traction is pathetic compared to a 911, even on sticky tyres my CSL will get the traction control light on very easily whereas my 911 really needs to be provoked.

MC
 
Sold my E46 M3 'vert before buying the 996.

Brilliant car in many ways, the engine is an absolute peach, never had any issues with mine in 2 years. They're not turbo fast but surprisingly quick when used properly.

Decent indy in Stockton as well that knows them inside out. :thumbs:
 
I'm toying with one of these (again), but as a commuter / daily drive tool. It would have to be a manual, and I'd have it set up for comfy road driving as opposed to track. What's the clutch like, would it be too heavy for a 100 mile round commute every day?

(Apologies for the thread hijack :) )
 

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