BMW M3 e46

BenW

BenW

Does anyone have experience of these? I've just come back from a test drive in one and wow, what a car!

The way it really pushes you back in your seat even at relatively low revs is great after the lack of torque in the 197, the way it rides over bumps in the road is so well controlled. It feels like a luxury, well built car that will happily cruise on the motorway but at the same time you still feel attached to the road and feel it would be great fun on the right road. I was more impressed than I expected.

However, the one I drove had the SMG gearbox and I'm not convinced on it. Unfortunately I didn't really have the chance to properly play with the gearbox so not sure if I would enjoy it or not. It would be great for my commute which is through town but when I want to enjoy driving properly I'm just not sure.
 
Awesome car but in a totally different league to the Clio. Some people think the Clio is expensive to run but the M3 will cost you even more.
 
I love these cars...can't tell you how good these are....You just need to remember though you're driving a car that cost 40+ new, so running costs will be high as Mr F as mentioned.

I'd still have a late one though....
 
I'm not too worried about running costs, I know they will be high. From what I can gather ~£300 extra on insurance/yr, same road tax, servicing ~£400-£800 every 15k or 2yrs and tyres ~£200 each.

I'm so tempted, looking at late 2003 car with 35k miles but it's SMG. Does have all the other bits I'd like though, silver grey, red leather, harman kardon, heated seats. Am booked for a long test drive next friday.
 
SMG II is a no for me, it ruins the car IMO, I've drive both and I can say with absolute certainty that the manual E46 M3 is full of win! It's the running costs and insurance that keep me away from a - brilliant I might add - car like this. So cheap nowadays (unless you are talking CSL).
 
My immediate thought is to get a manual car and from driving an SMG today I wasn't convinced but there are a massive number of people on the m3 forums saying a 10 min test drive isn't enough to realise how good the SMG is.... there are a lot of fan boys!

I'm almost hoping I will like it in the car on friday, except the gearbox it's the perfect spec for me. Do think it's a bit overpriced though so need to see how negotiable it is
 
I had one '03 plate in 2005 kept it for a couple of years & loved it, Great engine, must be a manual though and make sure its had the Running in service done on time..
Be prepared to be raced everywhere (very annoying)
 
So many people say make sure it's manual but so many people on the owners club love the SMG! I think I want a manual really but lets see how the extended test drive in the SMG goes on Friday, if this car was the spec it is but manual I'd snap it up in a heartbeat!
 
Cheers guys, yea I'm aware of the subframe issue. Apparently BMW fix it for free on any car under 10 years old as this is the bodywork warranty period so I'd only buy a car that's either already been fixed or is under 10 years old.

This is the one I'm looking at, it's expensive but it's on 35k miles which really bumps it up http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../postcode/me11yb/radius/1500/page/1?logcode=p

It was actually £13,999 on the sticker on friday and would target closer to £13k
 
Lovely car, just be aware rear tyres are £300 each. And servicing is quite expensive due to the valves needing to be shimed every inspection 2 service.
 
Yep, from what I gather inspection 2 is somewhere around the £600-800 mark and I'm aware it's due an inspection 2 in about a year's time. Rear tyres are also down to about 4mm tread depth but seemed to be around the £220/each for official M3 tyres last time I looked.

Seventh, do you have experience of the SMG II?
 
BenW said:
Yep, from what I gather inspection 2 is somewhere around the £600-800 mark and I'm aware it's due an inspection 2 in about a year's time. Rear tyres are also down to about 4mm tread depth but seemed to be around the £220/each for official M3 tyres last time I looked.

Seventh, do you have experience of the SMG II?
Click to expand...

No, although I think the SMG cars are more prone to the rear subframe issues due to the speed at which they change gear.

They use michelin pilot sport 3 tyres and they're about £300 I think, if you can find them cheaper then all the better.
 
Seventh Seal said:
No, although I think the SMG cars are more prone to the rear subframe issues...
Click to expand...

Correct. However I don't know if that is because of the gear changing speed or the aggressiveness of the gearbox itself due to it not being refined enough.

Again, there are endless ''manual Vs SMG II'' discussions around, it's all down to the individual really, you need to drive both which I'm sure you will. And then it's reliability, old cars no warranty etc. Also don't forget that this gearbox was introduced more than 10 years ago so it's far from the pinnacle of gear shifting...Good on the redline though:wink:
 
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I think the whole SMG vs Manual is nothing more than one person's taste vs another, the only way you'll know if you're making the right choice is if you test drive a manual too and compare.
Just be aware that the SMG wears the clutch faster than a manual.
 
Owned a manual example for nearly 4 years. I didn't like the SMG version, manual was lovely once the car was warmed up. Running costs were quite expensive (even compared to my 911)and the first 1200 service is vital (history should be checked carefully).

I actually preferred the E46 to the V8 which I had for just over a year. The V8 is a peach but the E46 felt much more agile. Tyres aren't cheap but then you probably would expect that :smile:

Overall, it didn't give me any problems at all over my term with the odd trip to the ring thrown in.

Things I didn't like so much. The standard brakes are crap. They fade too quickly and are noisy under "heavier" braking. Most people swap them for AP kits. Other than that, I'd have another in Silver Grey!
 
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