...and it’s goodbye to the E46 M3

[ph001]

End of an era today as the M3 found a new owner after being with me for almost 10 years

Bloody loved that thing... a manual facelift coupe in steel grey metallic with just 55k on the clock. Can’t complain - sold it for more than I bought it for in 2010 and it has been utterly reliable the whole time.

I think it’s fair to say the E46 M3 (along with the Z4M of course) is one of the last great analogue sports cars. There will never be another.

 

[Chris_D]

I loved mine.
It had its issues and stunk of oil constantly but performed admirably as my introduction to the delights of the ‘ring with over 40 laps completed... until I came into Karussel way too hot this one time and stuffed it into the armco on the way out.
Happy days.

Good to hear you made a profit.

 

[Gibon101]

I'm actually on the look out for an E46 M3, because as you say it's one of the last great analogue sports cars. Plus with four seats it means i get to keep the Zed a bit longer!

Shame to see you lose yours but glad you made a profit and got to enjoy one for 10 years! Hopefully i'll be able to say the same in 10 years too....

 

[ph001]

They are surprisingly practical cars - far more compliant than a Z4M, and quite a serene place to be on the motorway with low levels of NVH. But then when you are on it, it transforms into an angry banshee of a beast that never fails to entertain - I'll never grow tired of that metallic rasp from the exhaust resonator box which was never as prevalent on the Z4M unfortunately.

BUT these are old cars now, susceptible to rust around the arches and various other places. There are some pretty expensive big bill items that many cars have needed such as rear sub-frame reinforcement due to cracking around the mounts, bottom end bearing rebuilds, VANOS etc. My car was sweet as a nut and never suffered any of those problems but it was sometimes hard to sleep at night knowing they might be around the corner.

Overall it has been a fantastic ownership experience for me but I think if I were in the market for one now I want to know the big ticket items had been done.

 

[Silverstar]

There are some pretty expensive big bill items that many cars have needed such as rear sub-frame reinforcement due to cracking around the mounts

Not all E46s suffered from this and if by now it hasn't happened more then likely it isn't going to happen. My old E46 never suffered from this problem and there was no signs of this when I sold it at around 17 years of age.

 

[ph001]

There are some pretty expensive big bill items that many cars have needed such as rear sub-frame reinforcement due to cracking around the mounts

Not all E46s suffered from this and if by now it hasn't happened more then likely it isn't going to happen. My old E46 never suffered from this problem and there was no signs of this when I sold it at around 17 years of age.

Hmmm - I'm not convinced on that as all E46 cars share the same design in that area. There were additional spot welds added on the facelift M3's but many of those have experienced cracking. I think it's strongly related to corrosion around the spot welds - as soon as rust gets in they probably weaken significantly. Some cars that are garaged away from coastal areas will fare significantly better but logic would dictate that the vast majority of cars will fail eventually in this area. It's a question of when, not if.

 

[buzyg]

Always a sad day when long termer goes. Means you get to drive a new toy thouigh.

 

[TomK]

There are some pretty expensive big bill items that many cars have needed such as rear sub-frame reinforcement due to cracking around the mounts

Not all E46s suffered from this and if by now it hasn't happened more then likely it isn't going to happen. My old E46 never suffered from this problem and there was no signs of this when I sold it at around 17 years of age.

Hmmm - I'm not convinced on that as all E46 cars share the same design in that area. There were additional spot welds added on the facelift M3's but many of those have experienced cracking. I think it's strongly related to corrosion around the spot welds - as soon as rust gets in they probably weaken significantly. Some cars that are garaged away from coastal areas will fare significantly better but logic would dictate that the vast majority of cars will fail eventually in this area. It's a question of when, not if.

Definitely as you say a case of when not if with an m3 and most likely also 330d. I had an 06 cs that had cracked, so one with the 'revised' racp design.

 

[john-e89]

Redish Motorsport do their own sub frame reinforcing plates which take into account mounting bolts that others don’t. There’s enough demand for these to make the R&D well worth it for them but not EVERY M3 will suffer, depends a lot on how it’s been driven and in what weather.

OP’s car looks bloody lovely, that’s a lucky new owner that’s got that example.

 

[Gibon101]

They are surprisingly practical cars - far more compliant than a Z4M, and quite a serene place to be on the motorway with low levels of NVH. But then when you are on it, it transforms into an angry banshee of a beast that never fails to entertain - I'll never grow tired of that metallic rasp from the exhaust resonator box which was never as prevalent on the Z4M unfortunately.

BUT these are old cars now, susceptible to rust around the arches and various other places. There are some pretty expensive big bill items that many cars have needed such as rear sub-frame reinforcement due to cracking around the mounts, bottom end bearing rebuilds, VANOS etc. My car was sweet as a nut and never suffered any of those problems but it was sometimes hard to sleep at night knowing they might be around the corner.

Overall it has been a fantastic ownership experience for me but I think if I were in the market for one now I want to know the big ticket items had been done.

Yeah I've been doing the research on them for a bit, and in no rush so just waiting for the right one to pop up. It's an itch I need to scratch I feel. Only just getting the to age where the insurance would be less than the car hence why it's been a long time coming trying to own one of these!

 

[Commando_Rob]

I'm actually on the look out for an E46 M3, because as you say it's one of the last great analogue sports cars. Plus with four seats it means i get to keep the Zed a bit longer!

Shame to see you lose yours but glad you made a profit and got to enjoy one for 10 years! Hopefully i'll be able to say the same in 10 years too....

I'd really advise driving one, was one of the most underwhelming cars I've owned, you may find it's not quite as good as you think or are hoping.

 

[Silverstar]

Redish Motorsport do their own sub frame reinforcing plates which take into account mounting bolts that others don’t. There’s enough demand for these to make the R&D well worth it for them but not EVERY M3 will suffer, depends a lot on how it’s been driven and in what weather.

OP’s car looks bloody lovely, that’s a lucky new owner that’s got that example.

Exactly, it would be interesting to see out of all the E46 out there how many have actually suffered this problem. The issue was common to all E46s not just the M3. Mine was 17 to 18 years of age when I sold it and it was totally fine. I bought the car in Berlin where it spent the first 7 or 8 years of its life and then it spent around 1 to 2 years in the UK and then the rest of its time in the Costa del Sol by the coast. So it spent time in differing climates and still it was fine.

 

[Steve84N]

Why did you sell it?

 

[ph001]

It was a low mileage car and values being what they are, it would have took a big depreciation hit if I had taken it through 60k or 70k miles. I always hankered after a roadster again after the sad demise of my S54 Z3M, so the E85 Z4 fitted the bill perfectly. That made the M3 my second car and just didn’t seem sensible to tax and insure it for a couple of days use per month.

 

[Ed Doe]

Anyone whos interested in where the e46 chassis can separate I'd encourage to go watch the driftworks v10 m3 resto project. That thing admittedly has more power but christ there was a fair bit of cracking, and not just at the usual places covered off by the redis kit - the chassis was separating at the bonds in places!