Anyone owned an M3?

[andy watson]

Thanks Gents, keep them coming very interesting just to clear a couple of things up.

I am not changing the 44' for an M3 or any other car ever!
The M3 impressed me for what I want
I am not out to pretend I am a racing driver or track expert on the open road (as I am neither)
Unfourtunately the M3 is not an auto only model, have toyed with a 330 Ci sport but it's just not the same for me
Between Lin and I we have owned 8 BMW's and had no issues with any
Image well that's down to the individual, we own a Porsche what do some think of us?


The SMG has a few issues I know having done a lot of research it appears as long as one buys a car that has already had the SMG pump (2k) the clutch & flywheel (1500) and a Salmon relay (25) changed and most have by now and the updated SMG software then it is a pretty bullet proof car.

Oh and I loved that sound..........

Only looked at 1 so far with interest, but I am looking[8D]

 

[repsol]

ive had an e 36 m3 evo a few years back and it was an amazing machine loved every part of it speed handling interior image bit who cares !! i would have another in a heartbeat but i bought my first 944 last night so all good

 

[Joss Walker]

ORIGINAL: GPF
The 951 gave it a right good spanking.....

Graham, is there anything (standard) under £100k that your turbo wouldn't spank?

Andy, I can completely understand the attraction, I would find the soundtrack alone very tempting and as a something to replace your Merc(?) I think it would be just as reliable and much more fun.

 

[andy watson]

That Graham...MMMmmmmmm a lot of spanking he do []

Hi Joss, yes the CLK has been a runaround for a year good reliable like all the German cars, nice looking thing with AMG kit and wheels BUT it's just so boring to drive.

 

[MonkeyRacing]

Have you considered an Alpina B3? Steptronic box, 280 brake (B3S has 305) and far more tasteful, discreet and subtle than an M3. I've just bought an E39 B10 4.6 V8 with the steptronic box for peanuts and it's fantastic. It's not tempting me to sell the Turbo mind!

 

[MonkeyRacing]

..... or a Merc AMG C43 / C32.

The mid-90's Alpinas / AMG's are awesome pieces of kit but i think Merc & BMW must have been using Chinese steel at this time (or scrimping on the undersealing).

 

[andy watson]

Hi Simon,

Funny you should say that, I started out looking at B3's but finding good them is not easy and it would appear that they either fallen into 2 categories, absolute enthusiasts that don't sell or those that could afford to buy them and then not look after them, much the same as the M3 of course, it just that there are more M3's to choose from.

Having looked at a few, I contacted the guy I brought Lin's Z4 from and he has managed to find a Carbon Black 03' with all the options 70k on the clock so having a look tomorrow hopefully.

 

[steve 944t]

I will be interested to hear how you get on with the M3 if you get one, as I have been considering one myself. Current daily driver is an Alfa 159, which is beautiful and practical but a little low on excitement. I had narrowed possible replacements down to either a 996 or an E46 M3. With a 2 year old daughter the M3 wins quite convincingly on practicality, but I really want to see what all the fuss is about with 911s (though not at the expense of the 944). If only there was an answer to the old "child seat in the back of a 944" problem []

 

[MarkK]

I had two M3 coupes one after the other in late 90s (1998?),it was the Evo one with 321bhp,i had a VANOS failure at quite low miles on the M69 coming home to Leicester,was very dramatic,thankfully covered by warranty.I learned anything i know about oversteer in those cars....
"Yeeeeha"[] (In a dukes of hazzard stylee)
I think you may be talking about a later M3?

 

[u63af]

I bought a 53 plate e46 m3 2 months ago.

To put it into persepctive, I love the car so much that I genuinly considered selling my 944 turbo. MY 944 turbo is by no means standard and has had quite a lot of money spent on it.

Comparing a standard e46 m3 to a modified 944 t is not really fair. I paid £6k for my m3 and about the same money on my 944 t. I have spent well over £5k on the 944t. If I were to spend over 5k on the m3 then I would be pretty confident that it would be faster than my 944 t round the track. May I add that this would include a weight reduction programme on the M3 aswell.

In wet weather, I find the power delivery in my 944 t too abrupt making it difficult to put down power in the lovely weather we get here in Scotland. The power delivery of the m3 is far more progressive and as such it is better in the wet.

My m3 is a 6 spd manual. I highly rate them as a car. (May I add the 944 t is not getting sold just tucked away for a year or so until the mods are finished)

 

[andy watson]

53 plate for 6k blimey what is the milage? average cost down here I'am finding is around 9 - 10k!! with about 70-90k miles.

02 plate with 40K on the clock is 10k local to me at the moment - SMG

Test drove an 03 manual with 67k on the clock today £10k

Great cars, can't wait to have my own,

 

[Copperman05]

Only BMW I could see myself ever buying would be the M635CSi from the 80's. Used to see one local to where I worked a couple of years back, another german car to fall in love with it seems.[]

Edd

 

[u63af]

My car has 127k on it but has full bm service history. Just had all it's suspension Replaced last year so drives lie a new car. I got it cheap as I have a friend in the trade and it was traded into bm dealer.

 

[danofesher]

ORIGINAL: u63af

I bought a 53 plate e46 m3 2 months ago.

...In wet weather, I find the power delivery in my 944 t too abrupt making it difficult to put down power in the lovely weather we get here in Scotland. The power delivery of the m3 is far more progressive and as such it is better in the wet.

..

That's interesting as I have a manual E46 and find the kangarooing previously mentioned to be a real pain at times. A couple of years ago I had to abandon my car - there had been an inch of snow and the car was undriveable due to bags of power coming in and spinning the rear wheels. I think the rear suspension hopeless (mine's a convertible so the extra weight doesn't help) and if it wasn't for traction control I suspect the car would be more of a widowmaker than a GT2. However, on gradual bends the car handles well, it's the tighter bends that the rear is overwhelmed by the power. Regarding power it's definitely a very quick car but has nowhere near the gorgeous power delivery of my GT3. If someone's thinking of keeping a full BMW service history you should be aware that they've recently introduced 'value servicing' to the E46 M cars - most welcome as servicing was previously around £1k. If you get one I'd recommend you join the BMW club. Dan.

 

[ed325i]

I would have an M5 over the M3, they cheaper to I think?

Ed

 

[mpt964]

I had a E46 M3 ( manual ) 8 years ago. Absolutely brilliant car. Practical performance coupe with 4 adult seats. As with any performance cars, there are issues to watch, best advice is to make sure the car has a full service history. Some early models did have crankshaft failures, the replacement of which wasnt covered by warranty in the early days.

 

[jasonp]

ORIGINAL: andy watson

Thanks Gents, keep them coming very interesting just to clear a couple of things up.

I am not changing the 44' for an M3 or any other car ever!
The M3 impressed me for what I want
I am not out to pretend I am a racing driver or track expert on the open road (as I am neither)
Unfourtunately the M3 is not an auto only model, have toyed with a 330 Ci sport but it's just not the same for me
Between Lin and I we have owned 8 BMW's and had no issues with any
Image well that's down to the individual, we own a Porsche what do some think of us?


The SMG has a few issues I know having done a lot of research it appears as long as one buys a car that has already had the SMG pump (2k) the clutch & flywheel (1500) and a Salmon relay (25) changed and most have by now and the updated SMG software then it is a pretty bullet proof car.

Oh and I loved that sound..........

Only looked at 1 so far with interest, but I am looking[8D]

hiya all, andy, have you thought about a 125i or 135i, having to change wifes daily drive later on this year and was set on a mk5 r32, but she loves the 1 series coupe and as decided thats what she would prefer, 125i seemed to have plenty of power ,really well built[imho], and could be really good fun, although few a few quid more can go for 135i but might be a bit of an overkill and havent driving that yet, just throwing my tuppence worth in , i like the m3 and have heard that some people have gone back to there e46m3s after owning the newer model, good luck what ever you go with, i like the m3 e46 in the mystic blue, regards jason p

 

[sulzeruk]

I had an R plate Alpina B10 V8 and would have one back in an instant. Excellent street sleeper of a car and better than an M5 in my opinion. Big and heavy but surprisingly fast and sounds nice witht he V8. Proper hand built engines, can't beat that nowadays! 32 mpg on a run and averaged 27.8 mpg on a 3000 mile 12 day tour with the wife to Italy via the Germany and Switzerland. Have a picture with the speedo off the clock on the Autobahn at about 165mph.
Alasdair

 

[j4mou]

I had an early m3 with vanos, went through a wall backwards, it very nearly killed me! lol great car, rubbish on ice! []

 

[TTM]

Mate had an E46 M3 with the standard gearbox, we once went drifting on the place de la Concorde on a Saturday afternoon and I was quite impressed how well this heavy brick held the pavement and how progressively it would go sideways.

My biggest grief with BMW is that they don't seem to be able to design genuinely good-looking cars, at least to me.

Back in the 60s my Dad had a 328 and once went touring in Austria, he noticed people salute him with the nazi hail as he was passing by... That image has struck me far more than the ghetto image ever will.