03-05 E46 M3, a worthy replacement for my S2K?

[McLaren]

-> Hmm, how about this one?

'04 M3 w/ 79K miles USD$19,900 or best offer

LINK

Ask for more photos & maintenance records.

A/C ice cold, All scheduled maintenance, Always garaged, Excellent condition, Looks & drives great, Mostly highway miles, Must see, Never seen snow, New tires, No accidents, Non-smoker, Perfect first car, Seats like new, Title in hand, Very clean interior, Well maintained, very low mileage, $19,900 or best offer

This isn't a very convincing ad for a car that is easily worth more than $20K if it's in this good of a shape.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> At the moment, I would think I'm going to back out on getting the ///M3 and sell the S2K (I still have the '98 Odyssey though). This will be a very sad, sad year for me...and my Subaru passed away this month too:

 

[Danoff]

Your subaru caught on fire?? I mean, I know it's hot in Vegas but...

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

Car-B-Que!

 

[hawkeye122]

Whats the cost of an engine rebuild on an E46 M3?

 

[McLaren]

Whats the cost of an engine rebuild on an E46 M3?

Typically more than the cost of buying a re-manufactured engine from BMW & also depends on what actually needs to be rebuilt if necessary. Altogether, close to $10,000 depending on who does the labor.

 

[hawkeye122]

So it's not really worth it to haggle the price a bit lower and just re-build/Get another from BMW.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Heads up, I'm selling my S2000 for $12.5K.

 

[YouButNotYou]

-> Heads up, I'm selling my S2000 for $12.5K.

Good! I have a recently bought M3 Coupé '07, I know they are from different years, but I love my car already.. I would not change it for the world! You should definitely get one... 0-62MP in 4.8 seconds(for me) the car comes with a lot of equipment and just a great all rounder!

 

[Cale]

Whats the cost of an engine rebuild on an E46 M3?

A friend has his VANOS system fail. $15K fix. The engine is currently in it's 4th tear down and the car has been in the shop for 6 months.

BMW used to sell refurbished engines for $4500, but not anymore. A new one with labor will cost you over $20K.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

Good! I have a recently bought M3 Coupé '07, I know they are from different years, but I love my car already.. I would not change it for the world! You should definitely get one... 0-62MP in 4.8 seconds(for me) the car comes with a lot of equipment and just a great all rounder!

^ Was yours an E46 or an E92? I don't recall an '07 M3. The E46 ended in '06, while the E92 started in '08 (in the US at least).

A friend has his VANOS system fail. $15K fix. The engine is currently in it's 4th tear down and the car has been in the shop for 6 months.

BMW used to sell refurbished engines for $4500, but not anymore. A new one with labor will cost you over $20K.

^

BT -> Even though I seriously backed out on getting an E46 M3. I still continue to shop around and stuff for fun. Last week my best friend just recently bought an E92 Competition Package, that car was very, very nice, fast, and relaxing!

👍

-> Yesterday, I stumbled a gem at Carmax. Its a gray '06 E46 Comp. Pkg. with 77K miles @ $26K. It has EVERYTHING I've been looking for in an M3 [well, except it doesn't have cruise control]. (its very similar to this one)

-> Right now, my car goes live on Craigslist now:

'04 S2K @ 106K miles

 

[Azuremen]

My friends and I with the E36 M3 tend to find the S2000 more comparable to those in terms of handling and performance, though far more enjoyable around town because you have some torque and power at lower RPMs. If you want to stick to lower maintenance costs while keeping similar performance, perhaps look into an E36 M3? World renowned handling, cheaper parts and likely easier to work on than an S2000 as well.

An E46 would, in every way, be an upgrade from an S2000, and easier to live with day to day. They are a bit more maintenance, but not really grossly expensive if you do some of your own work and/or go with someone besides the dealer for parts and labor.

My thoughts exactly.

You realize he was kind of poking fun at you for stating what most people generally assume without any clue what you're actually talking about?

 

[YouButNotYou]

My BMW was debuted in 2007, in Germany(that was the Concept - I think) but that's why I say '07... I guess it could be the 08 Model.. Basically my car is the same one your friend bought but mine doesn't have the performance package...

EDIT: It was a E92..

 

[Denilson]

BMW's model year start in Sept.
So a car produced Sept-Dec 2007 is a '08. 👍

 

[McLaren]

A friend has his VANOS system fail. $15K fix. The engine is currently in it's 4th tear down and the car has been in the shop for 6 months.

BMW used to sell refurbished engines for $4500, but not anymore. A new one with labor will cost you over $20K.

A VANOS repair does not cost $15K; your friend is lying to you. The most a dealer will quote is $4-4,500 for a new VANOS.

A refurbished engine will run $10,000 at the absolute most. You'd be crazy to spend $20K on an engine when any engine with 40-65,000 miles runs around $4-6,000.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Here is the M3 I was looking at Carmax:

'06 M3 E46 ZCP/Competition Package:

A Video from Edmund's back in 2005

^

 

[Denilson]

-> Here is the M3 I was looking at Carmax:

'06 M3 E46 ZCP/Competition Package:

Nice one! Love the color. 👍

Tell me more about the rear "diffusor". It's not stock, and it's not the CSL version. Perhaps AC Schnitzer or Hamann?

 

[hawkeye122]

Good! I have a recently bought M3 Coupé '07, I know they are from different years, but I love my car already.. I would not change it for the world! You should definitely get one... 0-62MP in 4.8 seconds(for me) the car comes with a lot of equipment and just a great all rounder!

You have an M3? Awesome! Lets see a picture of it?

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> ...

Nice one! Love the color. 👍

Tell me more about the rear "diffusor". It's not stock, and it's not the CSL version. Perhaps AC Schnitzer or Hamann?

^ Seems like its a Schnitzer, because my ex-boss used to have an E46 M3 Cabrio all Schnitzer'ed out!

 

[YouButNotYou]

Because where my house is we have big garages and today a stranger came and parked his BMW M3 Convertible from 2005/6 there.. I was absolutely shocked at the condition it was in... And not in a bad way. It looked like it had just came out of the showrooms.. Regarding the M3 Pictures, I'll take some ASAP, as I am at work tomorrow and it's 3:16AM right now.. So yeah..

Thanks,
YouButNotYou

EDIT: I ended up speaking to the owner and we had a chat, spoke about the BMW's and then swapped numbers(I know it sounds weird ) so we could meet up some time and have a look at some cars.. But he told me it was a steal, I think it was 10K(British Pound) so yeah.. Not a lot of miles on it either.

 

[Denilson]

-> ...

^ Seems like its a Schnitzer, because my ex-boss used to have an E46 M3 Cabrio all Schnitzer'ed out!

Perhaps, yes.. But does'nt the diffusor reach further out from the bumper in the OP's picture compared to your ex-boss's car?

It does look slightly "out of design" so to speak to be a AZ Schmitzer or Hamann now that I think of it.
It reminds me of some of the cheaper rear "diffusors" from lower class/quality aftermarket brands..
Well, it's not stock, that's for sure.

I tryed to decide what brand the aluminum pedals are. They look like AC Schnitzer, but I got a feeling it's not. Hence why I'm also skeptic about the "diffusor".