My first bimmer, E92 AW x FR, 6MT. Carbon roof is oh-so-sexy.

[MisterClutch888]

So very long story, please bare with me. I always been an Audi enthusiast, is not that easy to switch to a BMW. But i really want to experience the M car hype that everyone is raving. So far been definitely exceed my expectation in "stock" form. Oh and i do still have my audis

Anyhow, i was looking for a clean E46 M3, coupe, 6mt for a few months. Looked at over 8 of them and finally agreed on the sellers price and decided to put a deposit on one. The moment i said "deposit", the seller went, "its okay! Im going to sell it to you regardless!" Its a very rare individual color, 6mt coupe, low mileage and good condition. Good spec right? Well, then the deal became complicated. Anyhow! Lets move on.

So then my good friend recommended me to looking into the E9x, he himself has a E90 M3 6mt. He said it is a newer chassis with the v8, possibly less problem, quite possibly the last NA V8 for M3. Then i started doing my research, and found that the e9x dont have the subframe problem, dont have the vanos problem, share the rod bearings problem. Possible idle valve and throttle actuators, but thats preventative maintenance, so thats totally fine. I checked out one a few, and kinda got a feel for it. And came to a conclusion that the carbon roof and 6MT is a must for me.

During the hunt, there was one that sticks out on autotrader.ca, it had bad pictures (attached some screen shots from the ad), bad short description, price been reduced and is 7 hours away from vancouver. I emailed and texted the owner, got the VIN number, got more pics, realized he purchased from a local bmw dealer 3 years ago. He only drove it about 10,000km through the 3 years of ownership, only drove it in the summer for some road trips. Is a 2008, 92000km, alpine white with fox red interior, carbon roof, 6MT, basically has everything other than edc. So i decided to find the closest reputable shop 30mins from the seller, and requested the seller to drive over and get the ppi done. The seller went, "we have a budget brake and muffler here thats really close to me and very experienced. I also had serviced my car a few times there and they knew my car in and out." Argghhhhhhh! I dont want to bring it to your shop for ppi, i want a honest opinion. So went back and forth and he finally willing to drive 30mins for the ppi. Saturday morning came, the car arrived to the shop bright and early, eagerly waiting for the result. Owner of the shop finally called, said everything is in good working order, but slight paint mismatch on one of the panels, 7% left on front brakes, some paint chipped, no registered battery and some random codes. No big deal right? I asked him in ur opinion is it worth buying? He said no! Cause to fix the paint, he thought it needs at least $5000. I didnt think so. I talked to the seller, got him to reduce the price a little more. Rushed to the bank right before closing, purchased the bank draft and the way we go.

UPDATED PICS WITH CURRENT STATUS OF THE CAR (MAY 1ST, 2021)

[MisterClutch888]

Lucky that my neighbor saw my enthusiasm in buying this car, he offered to go with me.

Sunday morning, we started driving at 530am, arrived at 1130am. Earlier than expected. We decided to go straight to the seller before going for lunch. The car is parked right in the driveway, and wow it looked better than i expected. Because of covid, there werent any autoplan (insurance) places that were opened to public, everything had to go thru phone and email and e-signatures. We stayed at his house for almost 1.5 hrs, dealing with my insurance and transfer ownership. Finally i handed my bank draft to him without driving the car (car has no insurance, so i cant test drive it), and got my registration paper and insurance. We grabbed a quick lunch and taped up my front end in the parking lot. We left castlegar, bc around 3:30pm. I was going to stop somewhere in the middle for the night, but my neighbor had enough energy to drive all the way back. Arrived vancouver at around 10ish. A total of around 14hrs of driving in the same day, definitely once in a lifetime experience.

So initial impression of the car, wow it definitely exceed my expectation. And live up the M-hype. On the 6.5 hrs drive back, there was pouring rain, semi-damp and complete dry pavement. I took a careful approach on somewhat pushing the car, is my first rwd car, it performed in the twisties effortlessly. All the long sweepers, quick essses, consecutive essses, hairpins, performed flawlessly. Quite a surprise especially in stock form. I would say my gamble paid off, not be able to touch, drive and see the car in person. And only based on the ppi, trusting the owner for his expertise, drove a total of 14 hours and buying the car during this pandemic, what an experience. Falling in love with the car instantly.

Will attach more pics later.

[Yvette]

how much are you paying for the car?

[MisterClutch888]

Originally Posted by Yvette

how much are you paying for the car?

Lets just say i got a decent deal, way lower than anything out there in the market.

[MisterClutch888]

These are some of the pictures from driving home. Beautiful British Columbia.

[Richneerd]

Wow, nice red fox interior.

[Yvette]

Car looks clean!

[SAMM3Y]

Cool, what's with the mellow yellow front end?

[JoeyBananaz18]

Originally Posted by SAMM3Y

Cool, what's with the mellow yellow front end?

im assuming for rock chip protection?

[MisterClutch888]

Originally Posted by SAMM3Y

Cool, what's with the mellow yellow front end?

yes, for the 7 hrs drive back, i want to minimize as much rock chips as possible.

Originally Posted by JoeyBananaz18

im assuming for rock chip protection?

Yes Sir~

[MisterClutch888]

The very next day, i went straight to my buddy (who recommended to pursue an E9x, glad i have a bro for advices) who had owned 3 M-cars already. Ask for opinion on any funny noises, knocking, slapping, clunking, smoothness of the shifts, ride and so on. We went for a test drive, and found that the car is very solid. Now i have that peace of mind, i decided to purchase the BE rod bearings and bolts right away. And who didn't have a hard time getting theirs right? Well, i will have another story for that.

So happy me and my friend got to share the same platform and start off in similar stock form before modding. I told myself a few hundred times that i will only do Rod bearings and bolts and maintenance and just drive it as is for the year 2020.

[MisterClutch888]

A set of 219m popped up, cant resist myself. Imo one of the best looking bmw wheels in 18s.

Fitted them on with some 15mm and 12mm spacers and went back to storage till i replace the rod bearings.

[DGN23]

Where are you planning on getting your rod bearings done?

[EMKOOP]

Crazy write up bro and welcome to the dark side 😂

[MisterClutch888]

Originally Posted by DGN23

Where are you planning on getting your rod bearings done?

I did them myself, will make another post with pictures soon.

[BostonM3vert]

Congrats on your first BMW! It will be a memorable experience. Enjoy it!

[MisterClutch888]

Been too long for the updates and made a few progress.

So for rod bearings, i planned to do them right away the moment i bought the car. Is the first thing i must do before i start driving it. Big big peace of mind. Everyone knows they were backordered till november, it was june when i planned to order. Anyhow, i followed all the leads and called most of the places out there, but no luck. I specifically just want BE, so anyhow i called BE and they told me to give Sam@Auto Talent a shout and next thing u know, i got my set of BE bearings and BE ARP bolts in a few days. Big big shout out to Sam.

I decided to learn more of the car and tackle the task myself. It was time consuming cause i even did pastigauge on them, but well worth the time. For the first few cylinders, taking off the bearings were a little struggle, but once find the groove, everything went smooth. 50 ft/lbs torquing the bolts in one smooth motion is little bit of a task, cant imagine running with oem bolts and using the angle torque thing LoL. Bearings are ok, cyl 1 and 7 showed a hint of cooper but nothing crazy. Car at 92500km, not bad at all. Did Corteco engine mounts while im there. Afterward, i drove like 1000km and did a fresh oil change.

Should i bother sending in blackstone at the next oil change?

[DRLane]

Congrats to you on the DIY! I've only participated peripherally on bearings and it's not a bad install. Any further maintenance or mods will be a piece of cake!

Enjoy and good inspiration for fellow DIYers. Mechanically, these cars are super approachable with basic tools.

[MisterClutch888]

Been really enjoy driving it after rod bearings, did a few canyon drive. Really love the stock suspension, very very impressive. But...big but, why dafuq the v8 has no exhaust note at all. It doesnt have that character. So here is the Eisenmann race exhaust with connecting pipes, what a beauty.

To some, the Eisenmann race with stock x-pipe might be good, but i still think it needs more note in the higher rpm. Is too quiet for me. Mostly is itb induction noise in the higher rpm, so i decided to look for an intake just to try it out. Want more noise up top. And with luck on my side, an used afe intake appeared in the classified and i quickly jumped on it. Moreover, i decided to buy the afe air scoops to go with it. While i was i stalling the intake, i painted the kidney grills and side grills in low gloss black.

[Space Fox]

Great story, great car, and great work so far! Congratulations.

Curious what Audis you are coming from and how it compares?

[MisterClutch888]

Made a drive-by video a month ago.

AFE intake with air scoops

[MisterClutch888]

Originally Posted by Space Fox

Great story, great car, and great work so far! Congratulations.

Curious what Audis you are coming from and how it compares?

I had b5, b6, b7 before but b5 is still my fav. Had a done up b5a4 that i used to track a lot but flipped it twice on the road. Had a b5s4 stage 3 with all supporting mods, sold it a while back, regret doing so. And still have my big turbo b5 a4 which i bought in 2001. Still running strong and with all my blood and sweat, is a keeper.

I only have my M3 since end of May, handling wise is no comparison. The M definitely shines. Audi is like a tank, so damn heavy.

Here are some photos from different stages. The Volcano black one is what i still have.