E46 M3 questions

[refused]

Sorry as this falls into the E9 series section however as I am after australian info I figured it would be the best place.

So I am looking at purchasing a E46 M3. However the asking price is 45k. It is a 2003 with 96xxx ks on the clock however it has a chip, air intake and an exhaust. Not sure on any of the brands or what not. Been through a car wash or two so will need to fix the duco up as well. That seems quite a bit high to me, would that guess be right?

Now for the real questions. What kind of prices would I be looking at for service 1 and service 2s? Also where is a good place to get a M3 serviced in canberra? Is the 100k service a major one? Managed to get a look at the last service record and had spark plugs and all oils and filters changed along with some other stuff. Cost about $1200. However it also mentioned that the brakes needed to be checked again after 5000ks. So could be looking at needing new brakes. Any suggest for a place to purchase some?

Apart from Vanos and rear subframe is there anything else that would need to be looked at?

[suff]

Originally Posted by refused

Sorry as this falls into the E9 series section however as I am after australian info I figured it would be the best place.

So I am looking at purchasing a E46 M3. However the asking price is 45k. It is a 2003 with 96xxx ks on the clock however it has a chip, air intake and an exhaust. Not sure on any of the brands or what not. Been through a car wash or two so will need to fix the duco up as well. That seems quite a bit high to me, would that guess be right?

Now for the real questions. What kind of prices would I be looking at for service 1 and service 2s? Also where is a good place to get a M3 serviced in canberra? Is the 100k service a major one? Managed to get a look at the last service record and had spark plugs and all oils and filters changed along with some other stuff. Cost about $1200. However it also mentioned that the brakes needed to be checked again after 5000ks. So could be looking at needing new brakes. Any suggest for a place to purchase some?

Apart from Vanos and rear subframe is there anything else that would need to be looked at?

Find a good Indi in Canberra to do your work, and order the parts from the US or UK (look at ECS Tuning, Pelican Parts etc).. will work our a lot cheaper than buying locally, whilst still using a garage that knows their way around an M3!

[refused]

Thanks I will check out those parts places!

[Tomislav]

price definitely seems too high

[M3_Maniac]

I know I have come into this discussion reasonably late but having had a number of E36 and E46 M3's over the past 12yrs I thought I might be able to help out with some advice.

Firstly the price for that particular car with those km's is far too high and I would suggest looking outside of Canberra for a car. I am in WA but have found the best examples always seem to come out of Victoria and price wise they tend to be very competitive.

Although all of my cars end up modified to some extent I like to be the one who does it. Try to find yourself a completely stock car to start with and complete any performance modifactions yourself so you know exactly what has gone on. With the S54 engine use only the very best performance parts available from reliable BMW tuners such as Turner Motorsport. If you cant afford to do a mod properly dont cut corners and use inferior parts, save the extra coin and do it properly.

There CAN be a number of issues with the E46 other than those you have mentioned although if you buy a stock car that has been well maintained and cared for by a specialist (forget BMW dealers) you should not find any issues with the rear subframe or Vanos system. The Vanos system is generally only suject to failure if the vehicle has not been maintained properly. In saying that I would suggest with any E46 you buy to replace the Vanos seals etc with the kit available from Turner Motorsport in the US. If you are mechanically minded and half handy with tools it's not a complicated job if you have the Bentley (publisher) E46 repair manual and the correct BMW tools which can be bought again from Turner Motorsport. I have rebuilt a number of non M car Vanos systems and all of those on my own M cars with no problems at all and I only do my cars so that I know that whilst I own there will be no drama with it.

The rear subframe fails on E46's through driver abuse. There is a huge difference between driving a car quickly and thrashing it. Of all the rear subframe issues I have come across it has come down to the tool driving the car incorrectly or belting it off curbs around a race track. There is a strengthening kit available but it's a job I would recommend you hand over to a suspension professional. It's worthwhile doing if you plan to track your car.

There are other issues with the E46 such as the cooling system and SMG issues. The SMG can cause major problems and expense if its been abused or not maintained correctly. I hope some of this advice helps and I am happy to expand on any of it if you'd like more explaination.

I have completed a ground up nut and bolt rebuild on an E46 M3 so there's not much I haven't learnt about them to this point and they are a relatively easy car to work on and maintain if you have half a clue.

Cheers!

[M3_Maniac]

Also I forgot to add a couple of bits of info into my last post for you. Pelican Parts is a fantastic parts resource as is Tischer BMW in LA.

Check out this website for all your part number needs www.realoem.com

If you want performance parts, BMW tools or advice contact Turner Motorsport in the US

E46 Fanatics.com is a fantastic online community for E46 owners

Get yourself a copy of the Bentley manual for the E46 series. It's not cheap but will save you time, stress and money if you decide to maintain your own car.

Cheers!