Had a mood on last week and thought of changing cars. went to see a 330d BMW and while i was there seen an M3 SMG, all options etc...was on a 53 plate. Really liked the look of the car, just not had any experiences of BMW or the M3 as ive had Imprezas for the last 6yrs. Anyone give any opinions on the M3 or any other performance car for around £18000-£19000.

Cheers

Lee

 

Do you need 4 seats?

 

Sorry mate yes i do. Not necessarily 4 doors tho.

Lee

 

M3 ...great car , but only two wheel drive , if yr have one get the M3 CSL though , as that is a better car and will loss less long term

 

looked at a couple mate, to pricey. looking about £22-£25,000 for one of them.

Lee

 

£19k for a 6yr old M3 - are they really fetching that high a price or was that just an example one that got you interested?

Simon

 

Had a MY51 M3 and was very disappointed sold it after 4 months and bought another Impreza.

 

Had my 55 plate SMG for nearly 3 years now, done 65000 miles in it since i got it. Cant fault it, and i am now struggling to find something to replace it with that i can easily afford.

Dealers add on some scary margins to the M3's.

 

No mate wasn't £18K. just used figures for budget. Had a look at another today and must say im warming to them, alot. Just cant get my head around coming from an 08 Sti with warranty, to a 03-05 M3 with prob about 40-50,000mls on it. Had a look at a 530d M Sport as well today.

Lee

 

You should be able to pick a 53 M3 up for £15k.

 

yes mate, I have seen them range from £15k - £17.5K just for 03 models.

Lee

 

Merc C55 AMG. Four door saloon, monster engine. 54' 55' plate's going under £20K now. I love these, the noise ! Not sure on reliability though, or general wear and tear of the interior.

Still love the M3's though, but have noticed too many chavy's getting hold of them and tarting them up. How about an M5 ?

Or, Audi S4 ? Or Audi RS4 ? Audi RS6 ? ( seen saloons go for £12K ) Holden ? Chrysler SRT things ?

Whats your buget ?? I'll find you a car. I love cars me :-) I could buy them all day long, which now that I have trade insurance, might just happen.

SBK

 

I test drove an e39 M5 two days ago (I didnt have any intention of buying it though, a new 2nd hand dealer had opened up in the area and I thought it would be rude not to) and I was blown away by it.

It was an 03 plate with 79k on the clock with FBMWSH and the dealer wanted £12,995 but would take £12,500 cash.

Having driven an e46 M3 before I bought the Scooby, I will say (apart from the awesome build quality and feel of the M3) I am glad I bought the Scooby. Yes the interior is no where near as nice a place to be and the build quality cant really be compared to the M3, but the driving experience and pleasure you get driving the Scooby was IMO better.

The e39 M5 though felt like a different kettle of fish and felt 'tighter' and more connected between the driver than the road. Also you would never tire of the engine and 400bhp (or there abouts) on tap. That coupled with an awesome interior and build quality that is amazing, I would definitely consider one as my next car. IMO the e39 is a brilliant shape and in M5 guise (although not too much different from the rest of the range) it is a brutal beast.

 

I know you mentioned the M3, but at the age you are looking at things like suspension bushes would more than likely need to be replaced, warranties would be gone by then, for the same kind of money. Performance wise what about a VXR*? Granted the interior finish wont be at the same level as the Beemer, but you do get the bonus of performance backed up with a warranty.

and here's one to look at:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1247149.htm

 

M3 warranties can be continued, as i have done with mine, however, they stop once past 100,000 miles. I have used mine once in the last 10 months since it was 3 years old, which was for suspension, rear springs snapped.

This alone was the cost of the warranty with parts and labour, so, so far i am no worse off. However, once failure to extend BMW warranty has occurred, it can not be re initiated! So watch out for any un warrantied ones.

Amusingly, i rang my BMW garage yesterday to ask for a ball park part ex against a new M3, as they sent me a mailshot showing a hugely discounted M3. I got offered 11k over the phone part ex! Sorry, will keep it for that!

VXR is a car that is certainly on the hit list, but having had the SMG in the M3, i feel i need something which also offers the same Jeckle and Hyde nature of the SMG.

 

just couldnt do it I'm afraid. Took the Sti out last night and thought how well it performed. gonna take the mrs out in an M3 SMG out tomorrow, but I can say that i will be keeping the Sti for now. Must be a reason for me to be on my 5th one i suppose.

Lee

 

Still cant get the M3 out of my head!!
AAArrrrgggghhhh!!!!!

Lee

 

Fancy an STi????

Lee

 

id say stick with the sti mate, theres somthing to be said for a 3 year warenty

 

Well mood defo over, must of had a bit of pmt!!!
Took the Mrs to see an M3 today, she did not like it at all. To be fair the STi did look awesome in the garage car park. Mrs could not see past the plate reg and kept calling it a BMW, not an M3. I thought it was really nice car, but the STi suited me better all round and when push came to shove i couldnt understand why i wanted rid in the first place. So we are keeping the STi for now until my youngest can drive(2yrs) at least, then the V8 M3 may be in my reach!! Anyway happy outcome of todays viewing is the Mrs agreeing for me to book the car in with litchfields for a few choice handling mods and to start attending more meets and events as a family

Lee

 

funny how women see cars
i am a bmw fan to be honest but i think that would be a bit of a bad move for you, its easy to forget what you have sometimes, get your mods and start enjoying the car again

 

Women!! I kept saying M3, she kept saying BM!
I am going to enjoy it again mate, just forgot why i bought it in the first place.

Lee

 

My E46 M3 is going up for sale, switching to an M6 but you can get them for good prices.

I have a fully loaded one HK / Sat Nav-TV / 19" Wheels / Xenons / Winter-Pack / etc 13 months MOT, new Pilot Sports all round, it's a 2002 (51 Reg) on 67k miles, facelift rear lights (LED's) Carbon Black, Eibach Springs, had new wishbones, discs and pads at cost of over £1.5k recently, FSH and i'm aiming around the £12k mark with Milltek exhaust as well (but OEM one included)

Having a Scoob and M3 totally different cars but the M3 is a great comfort car and a fun car, I do alot of motorway miles so the M3 has been great for me and returns over 30mpg on the motorways at 85mph cruise.

Defo alot of car for not stupid amounts of money.

 

Eandy, where in the UK are you?

 

I'm in Cambridgeshire, this is my advert for sale as currently just a feeler the sale. Carbon Black is really a Dark Blue.

Fs: E46 M3 - The M3cutters - UK BMW M3 Group Forum

if you have to sign up as i'm not sure let me know and i'll PM you the link information direct.

 

EAndy, just read your post on M3Cutters, appears by all accounts to be a resonable price.

I have been looking for a motorway mile munching car and been budgeting around the 4k mark. However it is killing me and I don't think I will be able to do it. (BTW go for the 360CS my last car was a 355GTS.....you gotta have some F-fun at some time in your life )

I really want and a cheap car and a toy, but the good lady won't put up with 3 cars on the drive especially since I work away from home a lot.

So I have decided to look down the performance / mile mucher combined route, so M3 / AMG / S4 are on my current thinking list.

You mentioned that you do a lot of miles, I know I need to test drive an M3 anyway, but how does it take to a 300 mile motorway trip. I don't want to feel every bump on the road. Do the uprated springs make much of a difference or would the standard be better. I am after a fun cruise, not a counrty road weapon.

what is "FULL KDS was done 500 miles ago"

I am working in Chesterfield so popping down early next week in not out of the question, but will let you know.

 

Full KDS is basically what BMW like to call there alignment, prices range from £150 - £400 to have one carried out depending on time. It's all settings suspension based.

Personally, I don't find the ride comfort harsh at all, to me it feels the same as the standard OEM springs (included with the car anyway).

Coming from a Blobeye STi with Prodrive springs added after i'd bought the car, i'd say it's less harsh the M3 than the Blobeye STi was with Prodrive or OEM springs.

As for motorway munching you'll see a healthy return of 29-33mpg something I could never achieve in my Scoob and something I think is fairly reasonable for a heavy 3.2l engined car.

Even if you opt to not take interest in mine please feel free to hit me with any M3 questions or even take a peek around mine. I'm in no rush to sell even if it stays I'm not that fussed but if a buyer comes in then great. I've not even listed it anywhere yet just sort of tested the water.

I think you'd be surprised how they do take to the bends though

 

I think he might have access to enough fast Scoobs to last a lifetime!

 

Cheers, much appreciated.

I'll be happy if I can keep it in a straight line......

This happened going in a straight line

 

Think you might be right mate. Does like to drive doesnt he?!

Lee