E46-M3 the next modern classic

[ZermattV]

Interesting article in Straight Six this month by Munich Legends who reckon the Std E46 M3 is the next M car to reach Modern Classic Status aka E30 M3, E39 M5 and Z3M Coupe and E46 M3 CSL. Even with 12500 of them built in RHD- can't get enough good ones . They reckon up to this point the E46 M3 has been slightly in the shadow of the M3 CSL but things are changing as good quality E46s with a decent service history are becoming harder to find.

the Z4M C and R were absent from the article - clearly biased but i would have thought the Z4Ms would reach this status quicker - perhaps its a given that the Z4M is already a cult classic .

 

[mr wilks]

Getting a good one is the problem , , , getting a bad one appears to be no problem 8)

 

[Mowflow]

As long as the chavs are still getting them they will not be classics. It's only once they have killed all the bad ones (along with a few of the good) and it REALLY becomes difficult to find a good one that they will be classics. Over 200 of them currently for sale on autotrader and they can't all be bad ones.

 

[Z4M-2006]

I have always fancied a steel grey M3,red leather and CSL wheels.....

Never really any for sale when i have the money available....

Some still look lovely,but the chassis tearing out and corrosion problems put me off...Oh and the crap SMG is a no no...

 

[LeeZ4MR]

As long as the chavs are still getting them they will not be classics.

This is my thoughts too & now you can pick them up for little money it just encourages it even more, I love the E46 but like the current model to many have been made for them to gain any real classic status in my eyes.

 

[VvrooomM]

I have always fancied a steel grey M3,red leather and CSL wheels.....

Never really any for sale when i have the money available....

Some still look lovely,but the chassis tearing out and corrosion problems put me off...Oh and the crap SMG is a no no...

Steel grey with cinnamon leather.

 

[tomscott]

I love them too but I think too many were made for it to be a classic... And yes they are so cheap now that any old retard is buying them and ruining them.

 

[Stuart Truman]

I saw a CSL at Wentworth the other week. Stunning. The first time I've seen one in the flesh (that I know of)

Close to a shiny moment

 

[JaEdBa]

I had one before the Z4 and regret selling it to be honest, it's one of those cars that you fail to appreciate until it's gone...

been looking recently for one to buy. impossible to find a decent one; I all but gave mine away.

 

[tomscott]

BMW E46 M3, Alston, Hartside, Cumbria, CSL wheels by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr

We gave away a minter too in 2007 only had it two years and sold it for the E92 M3. had 12,000 miles on it, OEM CSL and every single option. My fav BMW we had

 

[NeilP]

I love them too but I think too many were made for it to be a classic... And yes they are so cheap now that any old retard is buying them and ruining them.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Z4M-2006]

BMW E46 M3, Alston, Hartside, Cumbria, CSL wheels by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr

We gave away a minter too in 2007 only had it two years and sold it for the E92 M3. had 12,000 miles on it, OEM CSL and every single option. My fav BMW we had

Awesome pic....

As always...

 

[Mowflow]

It will be a modern classic when the right people are buying the dogs for good money, fixing all the issues and making them totally standard. They've not reached that point but they will so if you have the cash it might be wise to buy one of those dogs for cheap now and lock it away somewhere dry.

 

[ZermattV]

basically what the bloke from Munich Legends said in his article - good straight cars are becoming rarer and have potential for prices to rise . A lot of Mk1 Escorts were made and look at the money they go for .

 

[BMWZ4MC]

basically what the bloke from Munich Legends said in his article - good straight cars are becoming rarer and have potential for prices to rise . A lot of Mk1 Escorts were made and look at the money they go for .

I'm not suggesting that the M3 won't become a classic, but you mustn't forget that those Mark I Escorts that were not cherished will have rotted away whilst the E46 is made of better materials so will hang around forever!

 

[Dreamer]

Theres an e46 M3 in interlagos blue with CSL's that parks near Covent garden. Everytime i see it, just the colour difference to the usual makes it stand out a mile, looks amazing.

Classic yet? Not really.

 

[Mowflow]

All cars of the Mk1 era rotted to dust. Even the most cherished around now will have had major metal surgery of some kind.

The biggest killer of cars such as the e46 (apart from chavs and track day heroes stacking them) is probably going to be the "beyond economic repair" situation. i.e. the cost of diagnosing a fault and fixing a major fault. Even you are handy with the spanners they are beyond the fix it on your drive category for the vast majority. I consider myself relatively competent but i would rather try to fix a Mk1 escort any day of the week.

A quick look at howmanyleft shows that there are currently around 11k licensed at the moment with 900 odd sorn'd.

 

[tomscott]

Find a good 06 plate £265 tax 4 seats under 15k bargain, but thats finding a good one. But if you look hard enough you can.

I would love an estoril blue example but they didn't make many of them and they are hard to find, most are convert or SMG.

 

[tomscott]

Quick search online and all the best ones atm are convertibles but this one looks mint! Although would you pay 19k for a 7 year old BMW? When you can get the E92 from about 22-23k?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201305206844928/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/price-to/20000/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/model/m3/make/bmw/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/radius/1501/postcode/ca117tu/page/1?logcode=p

This is the kind of car I would like to buy from munich legends estoril blue, stick my CSLs on it would look a beast.

http://www.munichlegends.co.uk/component/option,com_rdautos/id,221/view,detail/

 

[StevenH72]

Would you prefer the E46 M3 or the ///MC though Tom?