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Motorsports Rod

What To Look Out For When Buying a BMW M3 E46

The BMW M3 E46 was built superbly and is well equipped. This is the last of the six-cylinder BMW M3's, and what a truly fantastic car this is. As great as it is, you still need to do you homework if you are planning on owning one of these cars, you need to avoid getting caught out, here's how.

The History
The BMW M3 was first introduced in October 2000 and formed part of the E46 3-Series range. The expectation for this car was high, but the BMW's M Division proved they could live up to their promise and delivered almost perfection by bringing this fantantastic supercar to life.

It didn't take long for the BMW M3 E46 convertible option with a fabric roof to appear. Around the same time, BMW added an SMG transmission, offering fully auto or sequential manual modes.

In the summer of 2002, impossible as it may seem, BMW Motorsport went one better, they brought out the legendry BMW M3 E46 CSL. The new baby had a lightweight but very strong carbonfibre roof and added an extra 17bhp. The breakes were also uprated and 19-inch allow wheels were fitted. This new BMW M3 CSL looked great and went even better. But it would cost you an additional £19,000 on top of the cost of a standard BMW M3 to own one.

In 2005 BMW introduced the BMW M3 CS to the M3 family. It was fitted with drilled break discs and a beautifull set of 19-inch alloy wheels. It was billed as a cut-price BMW M3 CSL, but it lacked the flagship's 110kg weight reduction.

What to look for when buying a BMW M3 E46

The BMW M3 is definately a drivers car, and is often driven hard and fast by it's owners, but well looked after. No matter how well these cars are looked after, crashed cars are still common, especially from the younger speed freaks. That why when buying one of these cars, you are better off buying from a BMW M3 dealer, so you get a full a full warranty, which is better than going down the private route with no warranty.

If you decide not to do the sensible thing and buy your beloved BMW M3 from a main dealer, then at least make sure you do an HPI check and get the car fully inspected by the AA or a similar motoring organisation, it will save you money in the long run. A lot of people choose the convertible with a factory hard top, which is desirable (if you have somewhere to store it), although the triple-layer soft-top is good at keeping the elements at bay.

The next thing you need to do is to decide is whether you want the manual or SMG gearbox, both are fine but they give the car different driving characters. If most of your driving is urban then the SMG gearbox makes more sense.

Buying Tips

* Don't buy the first one you come across, test drive a few first, before making any decisions.
* Try both manual and SMG models (don't be put off an SMG after only a 10min test drive, it is a fantastic bit of kit).
* Things to bear in mind when looking at BMW M3, They are not always cheap to run or maintain.
* Dont forget to have the car HPI'd.
* If your not buying from a main dealer it may pay to have the car inspected for piece of mind.
* Ensure the service history is present and correct, including the important 1200 mile running in service (BMW will not honour any warranty if this is not correct).
* Check round and under the car for the obvious accident damage and signs of track abuse.
* Rear springs - They are prone to cracking.
* Clutch - Mine was replaced at 28K!
* Check Con Rod Bearing Recall has been done, pre 03 cars.
* Check RTABS (Rear Trailing Arm Bushes)
* Check door seals, as the glue is not very good
* Check Rear View auto-dimming Mirror. Check for blemishes on the mirror as this may indicate an imminent leak of the stuff inside it, which is nasty, some on US M3 website have reported failures of this.

Servicing
Running a BMW M3 E46 can be expensive. Main dealer prices around the country do vary, so it may be more cost affective to use an independant BMW specailists, just make sure you find a good one.

For more BMW M3 Articles and Videos ==> Click HERE <==

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