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      04-03-2019, 11:45 AM   #1
XxThe_RemedyXx
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Hello and Question...

Hi everyone -

I'm pretty new to the E46 world and was wondering if someone can point me in the right direction on a car I was looking at purchasing. My dealer has a 2002 M3 for sale. I called and asked the following questions:

- E46 M3's years 2001 - 2003 were recalled by BMW to have the Rod Bearings replaced due to failure. They replaced them with new forged bearings. Has this recall been done to this one? ANSWER - Yes, recall was completed in 2004.

- These M3's suffered from sub frame cracking if the car was beaten on a lot. Are there any sub frame cracks that the mechanics can see? ANSWER - No issues with sub frame from inspection.

- VANOS systems in these tend to fail prematurely. Any issues with the VANOS for this particular specimen? ANSWER - VANOS is in good condition with no noticeable noise.

Also, front rotors, brakes, and calipers are being replaced along with rear diff seal and head gasket. Car has all service records as well.

Anything I'm missing that you guys can help me out with?

https://www.bmwramsey.com/used/BMW/2...fed67c7b03.htm
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      04-04-2019, 07:23 AM   #2
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Look up the following as they were issues with the 330ci.

The radiator gets brittle as it is plastic and can develop a hairline crack and leak. I had to replace mine at 90k.

Also water pump tends to go. Easy to replace and change out all pulleys while you're at it.

Chrome on the inside of the Xenon headlights starts to fall off and you end up with dim headlights. There is a ebay kit for this which seems to work.

This goes for all cars I suppose but make sure the headlights were never hit. They are expensive and all aftermarket options I have seen for the e46 absolutely suck. I literally was dealing with nonsense on that car for its entire life until I just paid up for oem expensive ones.

Love the e46 m3. If I had a garage I'd probably get me one of these. Good luck.
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      04-04-2019, 07:40 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m3jala View Post
Look up the following as they were issues with the 330ci.

The radiator gets brittle as it is plastic and can develop a hairline crack and leak. I had to replace mine at 90k.

Also water pump tends to go. Easy to replace and change out all pulleys while you're at it.

Chrome on the inside of the Xenon headlights starts to fall off and you end up with dim headlights. There is a ebay kit for this which seems to work.

This goes for all cars I suppose but make sure the headlights were never hit. They are expensive and all aftermarket options I have seen for the e46 absolutely suck. I literally was dealing with nonsense on that car for its entire life until I just paid up for oem expensive ones.

Love the e46 m3. If I had a garage I'd probably get me one of these. Good luck.
Very much appreciated!
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      04-05-2019, 10:14 PM   #4
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Never rely on the dealer you are buying the car from for the inspection. If you are serious about it, pay to take it to a third party of your choice (not theirs).

The rod bearing recall didn't fix the issue. You should still get them swapped again soon for after market bearings. That'll run about $1800 at an independent shop.

The water pump and thermostat probably also need to be replaced at that mileage, as well as all the suspension bushings if they haven't already.
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      04-10-2019, 12:36 PM   #5
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E46 M3 is a great car. Love mine as a stockish track car and fun around town. I would recommend doing the subframe reinforcement anyway. It may look good now, but sooner or later it will probably crack. Better to do it before it does. As far as the RB goes, think of them as preventive maintenance. Worth replacing every 60-80K miles. VANOS? Yeah, they will go bad at some point as well. Often just a solenoid, but sometimes more. Again, part of ownership! Honestly, the car is still pretty analog, so much of it can be dyi. Should these things scare you away? Absolutely not. Wonderful car. Just understand that any premium car has expenses. Good luck.
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      04-10-2019, 03:25 PM   #6
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Thanks a lot to everyone that chimed in. I had a PPI completed at the very awesome "AutoCouture" in Fair Lawn, NJ. I cannot say enough good things about the guys there. Needless to say I have to pass on this one. Funny thing is, they dropped the price 3K after I showed them my findings. I offered them 10K as the car needed around 6-7K worth of work to get it where it needed to be. They declined my offer.
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      04-14-2019, 05:53 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XxThe_RemedyXx View Post
Thanks a lot to everyone that chimed in. I had a PPI completed at the very awesome "AutoCouture" in Fair Lawn, NJ. I cannot say enough good things about the guys there. Needless to say I have to pass on this one. Funny thing is, they dropped the price 3K after I showed them my findings. I offered them 10K as the car needed around 6-7K worth of work to get it where it needed to be. They declined my offer.
is the car you were going to buy a SMG or a 6MT transmission? did the dealer dropped to $13,000 after you showed them the findings or the $16K they are asking now has already the $3K discount? if it is a 6MT with only 60K miles at $13,000 it is a good deal even if you need to do all those services
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      04-15-2019, 03:29 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edu09 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by XxThe_RemedyXx View Post
Thanks a lot to everyone that chimed in. I had a PPI completed at the very awesome "AutoCouture" in Fair Lawn, NJ. I cannot say enough good things about the guys there. Needless to say I have to pass on this one. Funny thing is, they dropped the price 3K after I showed them my findings. I offered them 10K as the car needed around 6-7K worth of work to get it where it needed to be. They declined my offer.
is the car you were going to buy a SMG or a 6MT transmission? did the dealer dropped to $13,000 after you showed them the findings or the $16K they are asking now has already the $3K discount? if it is a 6MT with only 60K miles at $13,000 it is a good deal even if you need to do all those services
The car is SMG. Dealer is asking 17895 as is right now and won't budge. I showed them all the work that needs to be done but they don't care. Some poor soul will buy it.
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      04-16-2019, 09:44 AM   #9
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That car sounds rough.

M3forum.net has far, far, FAR more e46 M3 activity and knowledge than this forum.

Non M e46 issues aren't super relevant to the M3-- it only has 7% of it's parts shared with the non M 3 series coupe, and they're mostly trivial trim bits.
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      04-16-2019, 09:47 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Obioban View Post
That car sounds rough.

M3forum.net has far, far, FAR more e46 M3 activity and knowledge than this forum.

Non M e46 issues aren't super relevant to the M3-- it only has 7% of it's parts shared with the non M 3 series coupe, and they're mostly trivial trim bits.
Seems like the site is down for me, I can't reach it.
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      08-18-2019, 10:55 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca55 View Post
E46 is my dream since childhood. This is a very fun car.
best M3 ever IMO, have 2 of them
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