E46 M3 buying advice.

[steviej]

Would love a shot of the V8 E92 though !

[steviej]

Would love a shot of the E92 V8 though !

[Tommy Twist]

I considered buying an E46 M3 before I bought my E92 330i.

If you're looking at an early E46, make sure that the rear subframe has had warranty work, as they suffered a very common, quite serious, and expensive-to-fix issue. BMW were warrantying the repair for quite a while, but I understand that they no longer do so... some Googling will no doubt throw up all the relevant detail

I went for the E92 330i instead because I want to keep the car for a while and the potential cost of keeping an M3 on the go for years and tens of thousands of miles wasn't something I could stomach... perhaps I'd have been lucky, but who's to know? Anyway, love the 330i - best "all rounder" I've ever driven (bar the runflat tyres!).

Let us know what happens

[Tommy Twist]

Would love a shot of the E92 V8 though !

Oh yes!

Quite a bit heavier than the E46 M3 though... despite the apparently very-light-for-a-V8 lump...

[shooomer]

The SMG fitted to the E36 was indeed woeful Ross, the SMG 2 in the E46 was improved but is very clever and very receptive to throttle and brake pedal inputs, basically you can't f@@k about you have to take it by the neck .. Ie if you want it to change up , nail it , if u want it to change down be on the brake pedal, SMG 2 also has drive logic which changes the speed of change , at setting 1 it will change at 4000rpm very smoothly, in setting 5 it will not change until red line and kick u in the back on flat shift for good measure

Your SMG experience sounds different to mine, i thought it worked very well in the M3 and CSL.

[Stevoraith]

? Stevie seems to be saying he liked it too?

My brother Kenny has had two- if he sees this post he'll no-doubt post up some quite comprehensive advice!

He was kind enough to let me run one of his for a couple of months while he was working away and I was between cars so here's my tuppence.

The SMG gearbox is awful in auto mode. I mean really awful. I tried it once and that was enough. However, if you think of it as a manual box without a clutch it's brilliant. (Kind of makes sense seeing as it is just a manual box with a hydraulic automated clutch).
I always left it in the most aggressive shift speed and learned to feather the throttle a bit when changing (just like you would in a manual). This smoothed out the shifts nicely- you could still stay flat on the gas when nailing it and not worried about smoothness.

As a daily driver it's not as good an all-rounder as my e46 330d was. The computer was kind enough to tell me I was getting 26mpg- in reality it was 23.

It's one of those cars that feels very special to drive, especially with the SMG box. Even though you probably wouldn't give one a second glance, when I was driving it I always felt a bit surprised that people weren't looking at me driving this amazing drive-train!

For re-sale you need to make sure that the 1200mile running in service has been done- they were delivered on thinner running-in oil so it's important that this was changed at the right time.
You also want nav and 19s for resale and harmon-kardon is also desirable.

Oh and if you buy a Phoenix yellow one, make sure you get it cheap- nobody will want to buy a metallic urine car from you when you're finished with it.

All-in they're brilliant cars, a great way to own what is widely regarded as one of the best engines ever made!

[rossybee]

It's threads like this which have you diving for ph classifieds and autotrader

[steviej]

I did love it, both the car and smg and it felt special to drive as you had to think about it, it wasn't just second nature like a manual box, girlfriend didn't like it at all but that was maybe cos I was in the passengers seat every time she drove it !
Don't let that put you off though, if two of you use it frequently and each have a key then it 'knows' who's driving if you drive it in SMG on position 4 when you use your key that's where it will be, then if your Mrs drives it in auto position 2 then it recognises her key and presets the gearbox to her settings and seat position too ( cant remember if it self learns this or how it's done )

[gambler]

I had one for 4 years which is the longest I have ever kept a road car. It was probably the best all rounder that I have owned. It would cruise up the motorway and get 30mpg with the awesome Harmon Kardon sound system playing away quite happily and yet you could turn onto a B road, switch off the traction control ( too obtrusive ) and quite happily let you spank the life out of it.

I did take it on track a couple of times and it was a good laugh. It was a bit soft and underbraked when it was dry, just like pretty much all road cars. It was very well balanced and easy to hoon around in and could be genuinely quick when you were not showing off. In the wet it was a driftomatic and awesome fun.

I liked the SMG box. Always used it in manual mode though as the auto was not great. SMG was not great on track though as it was a bit reluctant on the down shifts when it got hot, brakes were usually cooked by then anyway. It is a good way to practice left foot braking though You did only get the full speed shift option when the traction control was off.

Spec wise, I went for the fully loaded version with all the toys. I believe that SatNav/TV with the Harmon Kardon speakers and 19'' alloys are the ones to go for as they will be easier to sell on afterwards.

Mechanically, they are pretty bomb proof. Thorney raced one with 140,000 miles on it in the CSL cup. Just make sure it has had the 1200 mile service as that has a big effect in the value and be make sure there is no faults with the VANOS as that is pretty common and expensive to repair.

They are definitely not cheap to run as they are heavy on fuel and tyres but they are very rewarding.

They also sound epic 1st thing in the morning when they are cold. I am not sure why but they do sound amazing. It is the best way to wake up your neighbours

[GP1]

I'm also a fan of the E46 M3 and have had a manual and a SMG. I personally prefer the SMG. Anyway, coincidentally: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default ... ryId=26780

There is a buying guide link at the bottom of the article.

[ryallm]

I like Beemers generally and have always quite fancied an E46 M3. Somehow the classic straight 6 is more appealing than the V8 E92. Can't help thinking that an E92 335d would be a better proposition than either as a daily driver though. Every bit as quick as an E46 M3 with a fraction of the running costs, if not the handling finesse.

Mark

[Andy G]

chip the 335d and they are staggering!

[scottishselise]

No competition to petrol,,,,

[KennyT]

I've had two E46 M3's so obviously think they are quite good! Both were SMG, I though it was a bit more special than the manual and didn't really like how long the gearstick was in the manual- didn't feel very 'sport' to me.

As others have said in Auto mode it's terrible so never used it, even my fiance used it in manual all the time. You need to get used to lifting off the throttle a little to smooth out the changes but no different (in fact it's easier) than driving a manual smoothly. Around town some people say they are jerky and difficult to use, I didn't think so and think it's easier than having a heavy clutch.

There was always the slight fear of the clutch going and an expensive bill, but on any 60k+ mile car you should be thinking about a clutch anyway.

Rear subframe cracking is an issue but not nearly as common as internet scaremongering will have you believe, there are videos one youtube that show how to inspect for it.

Buy a post 2004 where they have the LED rear lights but more importantly the 12 year anti corrosion warranty (as apposed to 6yr on earlier cars) as I had quite a lot of warranty paintwork done on both of mine.

They can be quite expensive to run and maintain if you do it all OEM but reasonably priced replica bushes and balljoints etc are available which are worth considering.

I was doing a lot of motorway miles for work as well as B road blasts for fun and don't think there was a better compromise. The satnav is good and desirable if you know how to use it, Bluetooth is a must, Harman Kardon is an improvement over standard but still not great.

On track it is a bit too heavy and soft but still decent fun, despite Performance Friction pads the brakes were only good for about 6 or 7 laps of Knockhill before needing a rest.

If you have an itch, scratch it. It should be easy enough to sell on in the right spec if you don't get along with it.

[Sanjøy]

That'll be the prices knackered for a while then....

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default ... =2012-12-5