Bizzie

Hey all, I bought my car from an old friend a week ago.

I joined here when i was considering getting one and just thought i'd post up now.

A couple of years ago bought had a Civic Type R FN2(My first 'interesting' car), owned for 2 years & spent a fair bit on it.



Was brilliant, loved it to bits. But felt like i needed a bit more of a thrill, so instead of spending even more money on it i thought i'd go to an E46 M3



Unfortunately it was more of a pain that it was worth! So decided to cut my losses & bought this last week









Got to say i'm loving it, hopefully i stay happy with it!

Peter Pan

iTrader: (6)

Welcome along to ScoobyNet and enjoy your new car, it certainly looks clean in the pics

sprigeteer

iTrader: (9)

Welcome. Any plans for the car?

Bizzie

Well, a few little ones yes.

I want rid of the pink!
I'm thinking of getting rid of the gold wheels too, I quite like the idea of a blue / black combo, but got some thinking to do about that. (The gold wheels always seem a Marmite thing to most people i know!)
I fancy a front lip too & new grill set for the front (In black, to go with the blue/black theme)

I'm not keen on the prodrive exhaust tip either! Not sure what to do for that.

I'm not really sure if there is anything that people consider 'essential' mods to these cars?

It's already on Bilstein coilovers & a few other little bits that my mate done over the last two years.


I think this car will cost me a fair bit of cash!

sprigeteer

iTrader: (9)

Sounds like a sensible plan so far. You are right about the cash . . .

Enjoy the car. No doubt there are a few other members in Leicester. Keep the updates coming.

DarrenSTI

iTrader: (3)

What issues did you have with the M3?
Would it be a bad move to sell the Scooby for one you think?

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

Welcome mate,that's a superb example you have there.Enjoy.SJ.

Bizzie

Mine was a 55 plate, Rust starting on sill / wing, SMG fears (No actual issues but a 2k bill was scary, when i bought it there was a £800 fix, but that company went bust).

I had some other stuff wrong, little niggles like interior lights draining battery, a leak into the boot which went into the battery well, bubbling on the underside of the wing mirrors.

It just seemed like every time something was sorted, something else would pop up. So just assumed i had a bad one. But there are a lot of common faults that are not so cheaply rectified.


If you really want to experience an E46 M3, go Coupe & Manual. You'll be doing a LOT of searching for the right one, i did & the issues still popped up after a few months.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Nice example, if you want rid of the wheels I'd be interested in them. I have some 18 inch invoice tarmacs in anthracite for a swop.

guinnessman2001

I went down that path and am delighted with my E46 M3. Got a coupe and manual so as you say no SMG fears.
You can get a new pump fitted for around 1.7K but it's an expensive repair.
The boot leaks are usually just a case of resealing the rear lights.
The paint blistering on the front wings is a common fault. However as yours was a 55 plate the 12 year paint warranty should have covered the repairs.
There are also rear sub frame issues, so you need to do your homework when searching.
The M3 interiors are superb though, heated electric leather seats, sat nav/television, Bluetooth all built in. Plus solid build quality.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

Nice clean example and you seems to have some sensible plans - also consider antracite wheels as a variation on the black

sivo

iTrader: (30)

looks very tidy

regards wheels ive gone from silver-black-bronze-gold



I love the standard look, lets face it subaru is synonymous with gold wheels.
Its the only car that allows you to get away with it !

Embrace it

siv

Bizzie

Probably would still have it if i had gone Manual Coupe.

I went to get the rust done under warranty, car was with BMW for 10 weeks, got a brand new courtesy car (6 miles on the clock!) too, they ordered the sill in (thats why they gave me the new courtesy car, part took ages to order due to a BMW part issue) then told me it had a repair there in the past and not up to BMW standards so were not touching it.

Lost faith in BMW now.


Also my leak didn't seem to be from the lights, it was more than likely due to a blockage in drainage holes for the soft top, another known issue. I was due to sort it out soon with the weather getting better but got rid instead!


It was a nice car, no doubt. But i think they are worse than most cars for finding the right one. Hope you have a better time with yours than i did with mine!

Bizzie

I was just considering a colour change atm, it wont be for a while yet though! But i'll let you know if i'm interested.

Thanks.


Thanks, will do! Know of any pics i could look at?

Yeah i know what you mean, but i just kind of have my heart set on this black / blue look. I've not set it in stone yet. i'll most certainly be considering other options.

john1979

I went with black in the end.





Also in the process of taking the pink bits off, bought a spare set of fog covers without the decals, looking for a cheap second grill to debadge.

Bizzie

Nice,

Thanks for that!