Like the title states. 
Like the title states.
May 2011, googled it.
Interesting you should ask about this model, do you have the June 2012 issue of CAR?
Their cover story is about 12 used car bargains, with the E46 M3 being one of them.
Their "sum up" tells you that "Despite horror stories, the engines are often very reliable." "But, head gaskets are starting to go on older 100K+ cars, and Vanos valve timing failures or cam-gear wear isn't unheard of at this mileage." "Bottom-end bearings can wear. Catch them early and install new shells with the engine in situ for around L500. Leave it too late and you are looking at a L3000 engine rebuild or used replacement." "Diffs are often noisy and weep fluid. Live with it."
" SMG 'box control units do fail but the transmission itself is reliable. If the shifts slur like a proper auto's, the clutch is going."
They give 2 very wide examples of cars they found for sale: a 2002 M3 with SMG and 74,000 miles in silver selling for the equivalent of $10K- $11K. And a 2003 M3 CSL, also silver, 60,000 miles, but with a 12 month warranty from BMW (a CPO car?) for the equivalent of $35K.
Can you do the vanos seal aftermarket replacement like you can on some of the other cars?
The vanos bolts like to back out and wreck havoc in the head/motor. I loved my 2002 M3, it was a great car. I wouldn't touch an SMG if you paid me...
I find it interesting Clay from Bimmerworld says 30whp is around $1500 away, yet the header they sell for the car is nearly $3000, then you still need the rest of the exhaust, intake and tune.
lollerz
In reply to z31maniac:
E36 M3 . . . pun intended.
That right there made me give up on modding the Roundel
Aftermarket stuff certainly carries a premium, but the actual buy-in on these is getting pretty reasonable. I've been watching decent local cars sell in the low to mid teens with regularity.
I will never ever ever own another BMW again. I bought a meticulisly maintained 2001 E46 330 for my wife and in less than 15000 miles, I have had to spend more on repairs than I spent on the car. I did not know at the time that I bought it, that the service receipts for the car's work at the dealership was over two inches thick.
And what is the general consesus about all the repairs that this $40000 (new) car requires? no big deal its a BMW. 
gimpstang wrote: I will never ever ever own another BMW again. I bought a meticulisly maintained 2001 E46 330 for my wife and in less than 15000 miles, I have had to spend more on repairs than I spent on the car. I did not know at the time that I bought it, that the service receipts for the car's work at the dealership was over two inches thick. And what is the general consesus about all the repairs that this $40000 (new) car requires? no big deal its a BMW.
I know you said "meticulously maintained" but it sounds as if you got one that had not been maintained or a lemon. These cars do require routine maintenance but shouldn't wreck you. My 330i has required more upkeep than your average Camry but hasn't been that bad. In comparison I had an Integra that nearly broke me with the cost and frequency of repairs. Does that mean hondas are bad? No, I just got one that was a problem child or hadn't been taken care of.
To the OP ask for records and make sure that all routine maintenance was done including valve adjustments. I work at an Indy BMW shop and the e46 M3 is actually the most reliable of the e46's. Routine repairs are more expensive than your average 330i but things tend to fail and go wrong far less with the m models in my experience. Do not bother with any SMG model no matter how low the price.
Check for rear subframe cracks. If the car is a 2001-2 make sure the rod bearing recall was performed. Make sure the vanos is working correctly and isn't making weird noises. Make sure the valve adjustments have been done.
Beyond that do the normal car checks. I put 30k trouble free miles on mine.
You can buy headers for these off eBay for $99 that are actually pretty good.
I don't generally recommend BMW's to someone who pays someone to maintain and fix their car, FWIW. FANTASTIC cars for DIYers though.
gimpstang wrote: I will never ever ever own another BMW again. I bought a meticulisly maintained 2001 E46 330 for my wife and in less than 15000 miles, I have had to spend more on repairs than I spent on the car. I did not know at the time that I bought it, that the service receipts for the car's work at the dealership was over two inches thick. And what is the general consesus about all the repairs that this $40000 (new) car requires? no big deal its a BMW.
Amazing. I'm on my second e46 (both non-Ms) and my 7th BMW. I've not once experienced anything close to that. Sorry you had such a rough process with that car in particular.
THe S54 motor is a bone-fide race engine. It is amazing but possibly paying the price for bleeding edge performance in longevity. If it has been wailed upon to that astronomical redline (for a straight six!) I expect that some refreshing of internals is going to be in order. I'd be looking for a latest possible model year cream puff with low miles and all the factory fixes applied.
The cars are fantastic but if I think you need to be unafraid of working on newer tech, capable of affording some expensive preventative maintenance and planning to use it as a track day all-star to make it worth the premium over a 330. If you are never going to a track - the 330 wins the practicality demographic on all but snazzy looking trim.
In reply to dyintorace: +2
We have a lot of trouble free miles on an '05 325XiT and I have a lot of very hard miles on E30s, E28s, E36s... I have certainly shelled out a small fortune in tires, brakes and occasional repairs commiserate with 100k miles of combined race track abuse but repairs are pretty ordinary. Occasional window regulators and radiators don't frighten me.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I'd be looking for a latest possible model year cream puff with low miles and all the factory fixes applied.
Same here, an 04-06 with the Comp Package as a weekend toy, occaisanol HPDE car.
After doing some digging into the boost buggies, I'm just up for THAT level of complexity.
The only problem with the mint E46 M3 route, is cost. That seems to be a $28-32k car...............and at that price, a lot of other interesting options are available as well.
In reply to apex381:
It was my fathers car and it was his first nice car so he took care of it like his baby. He has the financial means to have all the maintenance (by the manual BTW) done at the dealer and all of the repar work as well. Browsing through the service recepits I found repair work for the cooling system (over flow tank twice, radiator and water pump once), VANOS, DISA, MAF and climate control computer unit. Even if the the driving experience is so wonderful, a 40k car shouldnt have this many problems. stupid germans :(
Based on your Mustang thread, did you you decide to go in that direction instead of an e46 M3?
I was out and about today running errands and I saw a nice looking E46 M3 with a for sale sign parked in front of a nice looking house. I knocked on the door, talked to the owner and ended up driving the car. It had 80,000 miles, full records, and he said he would take $15,500. It made me sad to go back to my little Saab wagon...
dyintorace wrote: Based on your Mustang thread, did you you decide to go in that direction instead of an e46 M3?
Yeah, I have decided on a 2013 GT with the Track Pack.
Just have to wait until November before I can order it. Which is OK, it will give some time to research wheel/tire setup and suspensions.
You'll need to log in to post.
