To all current and past E46 M3 owners! What to look for?

Romanowski

Romanowski

Member
Hi!!

So its been about 10 months now that I have been looking to buy an E46 M3 :) I am not in a rush but hopefully It will happen by next spring!

I currently drive an E90 330i it is in amazing condition. I love it and I am not exactly sure if i want to trade it for an older car.... BUT ITS SO TEMPTING:D

So I have a few questions to current and Past owners of the E46 M3.

I know about the common issues such as Subframe, RTAB, FCAB, bearing recalls...

1) what else would you suggest to look out for when shopping for one?

2) What to look for?

3) at how much should I be aiming to spend? I know the normal price range is anywhere from 12k-35k... I am planning to spend no more than 20k... is that enough? ( say for a 2002 or 2003)

4) What are the maintenance costs like? realistically saying ( if only something breaks)

5) what are some things you hate about the car? ( if any)

6) Do you ever regret buying the car?

7) any other advice/comments you have will be highly appreciated!!!

8) Also where is it best to look for one? I am always on kijiji,lespac,craigslist and MR :) i dont mind travelling to Toronto to buy it but not the states... Is there a forum like MR but for Toronto?


Cheers to one of the best cars ever made!
 
what I regret is the power lol after a while you want more :p and mods on an M engine cost alot , if I had the chance to go back a few years ago , I would go for a e39 m5 , v8 engine have enough torque and hp to make you happy for a long time , and if you put mods on you will see the difference but it's a big car lol the e46 m3 is a great car but if you love speed and power after a while you will see that the torque on the s54 is not crazy
beside that the e46 m3 is an amazing car for sure you will have fun if you buy one
 
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FifthGear said:
Doesn't make any sense to me. :dunno:

IMO, stick with the 330i.
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I went from a 2006 E90 325i with 110000km to a 2002 M3 with 105000km and would do it again 100 times.

There is nothing really that I don't like about the car, except the stock shift knob.

Maintenance is not that bad, you don't have to go crazy like I did but it's good to do a little preventive maintenance once in a while. As for cost, if you car is in good shape (i.e. not rusted/not winter driven/well maintained) I know someone who can work on your car for a good price.

Also have it inspected by someone who knows those cars. I'd say Pascal at VAG Motorsport.
 
FifthGear said:
Yeah but a E90 325i --> E46 M3 vs a E90 330i --> E46 M3 is not the same. (again, IMO)
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Difference between a 325i and 330i is 40hp, so 255hp for the 330i vs 333hp for the M3 and overall awesomeness, still an easy debate for me :D

I agree that it's not exactly the same, if anything it makes the decision harder but any early E90 under a 335i the switch is easy in my head.
 
Thanks for the input guys!

What about price wise?? I have seen many cars on kijiji for around $18,000 is is possible to get a good one at that price or will it require an extra 5k of maintenance on the spot?

Just in case if anyone is looking to trade an M3 for my 330i + options pm me
 
I only know my experience. 2001 with 95k on it for around that and all the bushings were shot. The car was very sloppy (but I didn't know it at the time, just thought I had made a mistake buying it). As you noted I did the subframe reinforcement first, changed all the fluids and filters, and then went to work on bushing replacement. A pricey endeavour to say the least.

On the flip side, my car is as good as new now (ok, actually much better) and Pascal's done a fantastic job on it.

If I were to do it again, I would go 2004 and up (after the refresh).
 
Spend a little extra money, and get a car that was well maintained. It doesn't really matter what year it is, as long as it was well kept. All I can say is you get what you pay for. I can tell you from experience that I payed well above 18k last year for an 02 with 103xxxkm. These cars are expensive to maintain, especially when there is a lot of wear and tear involved.
 
Don't cheap out on the price. Yes you CAN get a good one for less, but chances are people put them at less because they can't get more (given the condition or known problems). I don't regret it, buying mine was a bit of a process, i also had to put some money in to bring it up to par. I do see what Bimmer_686 means, it's true you do sometimes crave a bit more (although it is more than enough, you subconciously always want more). My only concern with the car was upkeep. A little paranoia, that everything is well maintained (oils, fluids, etc), as well, I ended up going through a set of tires in 4 months...but yeah. Good Luck!
 
For your budget I think 20k is the minimum for a M3 in average condition with a a resonable kilo. If your really lucky you can get one a 18k+. I also recommand you 2003+ because of engine issue.
 
Its not just HP difference between 330i and m3. It's also the torque and extra handling!! I think the brakes on the 2006+ 330i is better than the e46 m3 though. I tried one 330i 2006 and it stopped like crazy.
 
What do you mean as in engine problems. The intake camshaft bolts more commonly back out in the later models which is documented. Every year has that problem, but it seems more common in the later ones. The only issues in the earlier production years would consist of the rod bearing issue which was recalled and revised. The engines didn't really evolve in the 6 years of production.


My advice to you is just find one that has been obviously well maintained and babied. These cars do have their issues which are even more prone if the car was "mis-treated." (ex. rear subframe tears) Repairs add up fast, so saving a few thousand on the initial price could actually easily entail much more within even a year. Realistically I would estimate that with regular wear and tear these cars consume approximately 2-3k annually for maintenance items such as; brakes, tires, oil/diff/transmission fluid, valve adjustment, fuel/intake/vanos/cabin filters, and the list goes on. It is expensive to treat these cars how they should, but at the end of the day it is completely worth it. There is nothing like a healthy well maintained ///M3.

micchael6 said:
For your budget I think 20k is the minimum for a M3 in average condition with a a resonable kilo. If your really lucky you can get one a 18k+. I also recommand you 2003+ because of engine issue.
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i think OP is scared of bearing rod failures , i also read that non-M e46 gets more subframe problems than the M3's.

I'll be honest , you should pay a lot more for a clean one.

I paid 11k$ for my E46 M3 2001 made in 2000 November so there were no bearing rod issues even there is , it would of been recalled because my car has 250 000KM , everything is bone stock except for bilstein shocks and lowered h&r springs ... I paid another 2k$ to a friend who completely redone the whole paint for me including redoing rusts and repainting the car OEM imola red. He told me imola red was a very rare and expensive paint , usually he would charge at least 4.5k$+++ for the job he has done for me.

So im at 13k$ , then here are the following maintenance i have done after buying it , including labour , this will give you a very good idea of the prices.
Now im up to around 14k$ i guess , lots of things are do-able yourself except bushings or bearing or engine stuffs.
-Though i got one of the rarest color E46 M3 in montreal , was it worth it? yea because i could sell it back for 14k anytime because its still a non-accidented canadian M3.
The 330i eventually will make you lose money because 2 years ago , i almost bought one , 330i 2006 for 12.5k$ , today i dont know its value though.

-Would i have paid 16-18k$ E46 m3 for a cleaner one? No , because i am still a student , i have the money but i dont think ditching out 18-20k$ for a car that i woulnt keep because once i finish school, that'll be a damn porsche at least or a more recent M3 and i learn A LOT about BMW's , im just a backyard mechanic btw , i study in electronics ing. Im probably the only chinese guy that does his own maintenance by himself instead of bringing it to a garage and ask parents for money for parts.

  • FCABs by powerflex , 100$ + 60$ labour
  • RCABs OEM M3 , 100$ + 120$ labour
  • Differential M3 oil , 50$+tx a bottle, needs 2.5L , paid 170$ around with tx , labour was free , did myself
  • Castrol Edge 10W60 M3 engine oil , paid 108$ at bmw brossard for 6L
  • OEM M3 oil filter , forgot the price but i think it was around 15-20$ , free labour
  • Front brake pads were completely FINISHED , bare metal , paid 105$ for some Performance Z at perry auto. Free labour, took 2h with some good cleaning.
  • Universal Steering joint or guibo or something like that , 80$ , free labour (1.5h)
  • Final stage unit resistor , the fans stopped working no matter the adjusted speed , 80$ , free labour (1h)
  • rear oem springs were broken , so i had to purchase springs , i went with H&R springs 180$ shipped , free labour
  • added angel eyes (must have on a M3) for 45$ , free labour , took 1.5h well done.
  • and some other products to give love to your m3 like the best shampoo , leathercare, ect .... 50$ or less , my M3 is not "perfect" but still MUCH MUCH better condition than when i bought it. Still got faded / rusted side mirrors to change and coilovers to throw in lol but hey , no one fcking knows how much i paid for it or KM i have , i make other E46 douches look like sht =D
 
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Yeah I was talking about bearing rod failure. But I would be scare to buy a car that you don't know want the engine will die, I think past 200 000km it become risky. I would personnaly try to buy an m3 2003+ with less than 150k km and manual. If you can get that not far from 20k it's a good price. Smg are a bit cheaper than manual.
 
I would stay away from SMG, heard too many horror stories, including a good friend of mine who had a shitload of problems.

If the car is still running in 2012 you should not worry about the rod bearing, the recall was obviously done on the car. BMW engines are known to last a very long time, way past 200000km.
 
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