Introduction
Paul Wright
Quite possibly the best-looking M3 variants ever produced – wouldn’t you agree?
The BMW M3 is a high-performance variant of the 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house Motorsport division. The original E30 3 Series was intended to be built to satisfy the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft and Group A Touring rules so BMW could compete in the races. Ever since the E30, BMW M Division has always rolled out a new 'M' variant with each new model release of the 3 Series.
The E46 generation featured the naturally-aspirated S54 straight-six engine, offering a 0-60 time of 5.1 seconds. The car remained in production for six years, between 2000 and 2006.
This desirable, low-mileage, late model ticks lots, if not all, of the boxes for anyone looking to step into M3 ownership. It's a manual, Individual-spec. car coming from ~10-year ownership with just ~46,767 miles on the clock, backed up with an excellent service history. It's even riding on its original factory-fit 19-inch CSL alloy wheels. David told us the car is, apart from the larger CSL front brake discs, totally original as it rolled off the production line at Regensburg factory in Germany 2005.
This listing was written from information supplied by Paul after meeting David the owner, and having visited and photographed the vehicle.
Secure Auctions
We verify all our sellers and buyers to keep our community safe whilst also providing the highest levels of website security.
Full Transparency
8 out of 10 people that buy cars via our service don’t feel the need to visit due to the transparency and thoroughness of our listings.
Vehicle Delivery
We're there every step of your buying journey and will even arrange pick-up and delivery of your new vehicle.
Secure Auctions
We verify all our sellers and buyers to keep our community safe whilst also providing the highest levels of website security.
Full Transparency
8 out of 10 people that buy cars via our service don’t feel the need to visit due to the transparency and thoroughness of our listings.
Vehicle Delivery
We're there every step of your buying journey and will even arrange pick-up and delivery of your new vehicle.
Auction Bidding
Live Bidding
Live Bidding
Bidding History
3127
Ask Owner
Hi ,
All my car is original as described ,that area , RACP,or more accurately the rear axle carrier , i fully understand it is a concern for owners and potential buyers as it is possible to fail in most E46 M3’s , my car is inspected by fully BMW trained technicians at Stourbridge Automotive ltd during every MOT as they are aware of the potential problems in that area and no concerns have been raised , i have spoke to Neil , the owner there, and would be more than welcome to reassure you if you want to contact him on my car , they know it well as it has been look after by them since 2016 when i bought the car and they all love to see it come back in with all the mechanics admiring it ! there are no noises on this car under any any driving conditions , you may have researched all about this online but to emphasize the contributing factors to failure of the RACP are high mileage , hard driving , aggressive gear shifts ,corrosion , so my car has not been subjected to those and was told when i bought it that it wasn’t by previous owners as it was low regular annual mileage and a second or third car , check mot history , i did and its all in my history file, its been garaged in CH garage under my ownership and covered and completely dry to ensure no moister residues before its driven in to storage , truly pampered ! i double de clutch until oil temp shows engine and gearbox at correct operating temperature to reduce gearbox ware and most times after when changing down which all helps reduce shock to rear subframe , i am a smooth driver generally even when i drive fast , it has also undergone a full clean underneath a year ago approx. to make sure inspection will show up any problems better. so i hope that reassures you , other problems like the big three will be unlikely to occur due to low mileage , correct maintenance , late model year of manufacture , and how i use the car. It means the RACP is in good condition now but would allow any buyer to consider preventative action before any damage starts and makes repair less extensive ,
thanks
Dave
Hi David
Do you know if it has the subframe mounting area reinforced as a preventative measure with it being widely accepted they all crack eventually?
Secondly- have the rod bearings been replaced or oil analysis Been taken?
Also do you know of any reason why there was such a big mileage gap between the early service of 12k miles upto 29k miles?
Thanks
Hi
Are you able to provide anything regarding RACP condition, as the inspection process is not as straight forward as just looking at the obvious wear areas. Kind Regards
Hi ,
first thing to say is that the rear axle carrier mounting or rear subframe cracking as it otherwise referred to has not had to be repaired on my car , its part of the MOT inspection and has never been an issue , its been professionally cleaned by the detailer i use so that any corrosion issues under the car can be discovered easier with special attention paid to the RACP area every MOT and none have been reported , Its believed by owners that BMW strengthened that area in later models but i am not sure they strengthened it enough ,what i do know is hard driving and tracking the car can contribute to failure as can corrosion from salt if used in the winter months similar to rear wheel arch lips collecting dirt and holding moister if not cleaned correctly , SMG transmission jolt ,possibly another factor ,it just depends how the car is used , looked after ,stored and mileage. my car has mainly been a second or third car probably garaged and my case definitely garaged for six months during October to march every year of the ten years i have owned it ,in a garage that is CH at minimum 15 degrees on a nylon based carpet , handbrake off , gearbox in neutral , car driven in garage with engine at normal operating temperature , car fully dry so discs are corrosion free and stay that way , car has two car covers on it to protect from people and dust and a high quality trickle battery charger connected permanently to ensure full voltage and on cars of this age to protect electrical components from damage . So to summarize an answer to your question its been looked after as well as can be to avoid issues in that area , i never use the sport button , the engine remap improved throttle response enough that its not necessary and reduces that shock to the transmission , i avoid dropping the clutch from standing starts at the traffic lights grand prix ! I have owned it half its life so not many owners , late model year, low mileage manual ,well maintained , driven correctly ,its original apart from upgraded font discs so all these things will reduce the chances of the big three issues and rear axle carrier occurring ,
thanks
Dave
Hi Dave
Thanks for the reply, I’ve owned a string of E46 M3s over nearly 2 decades, so I’m well aware of the good and bad that come along with these. From experience of owning a leggy 2005 SMG2, which had the redish RACP and full underside restoration carried out by EverythingM3, I wouldn’t say there is a correlation between that and a low mileage manual, as I’ve seen a local 51 plate example with 112,000 miles showing only faint signs compared to a 54 plate manual requiring extensive work, at 63,000.
Kind Regards
Am i able to view the car I’m fairly local east Staff/Derbyshire border. I am in Tettenhall on sunday morning if that convenient.
Yes that would be ok I will check how that can be communicated to you through trade classics ,
Thanks
Dave
Hi , you must contact trade classics at , [email protected] , to arrange viewing , thanks Dave
Thanks – yes just drop us an email and we’ll be in touch with the ID we need and next steps.
many thanks a lovely example and pampered.
Hi David a few questions please.
1. Nearside Front Inner Road wheel slightly distorted (5.2.2 (c) (i))
Oil leak from rear differential – slight.
Have the MOT advisories been rectified the more worrying one is the diff oil leak?
Regards the wheel is or damaged ?
2. The continental tyres were fitted in 2014 at 37k miles does the car still wear these tyres ?
3. Has the boot floor and subframe been checked for cracks and do you have a report?
4. Has the vanos system been
Checked and / or seals replaced any reports ?
5. Any issue with the rod bearings or any
checks performed ?
Many thanks in anticipation of your reply.
Hi
I’ll answer these comments in order received,
1. NSF road wheel rechecked by main dealer BMW Wolverhampton during a full vehicle check and found to be no problem , none of the wheels have ever been damaged or hit a pothole and previous MOT showed no problem with only 176 miles between last two MOT’s , I have had all road wheels off since advisory to clean and checked all for any damage and run out by rotating them and found all to be in perfect condition.
2. There is no oil leak from differential, it is parked in the same position on my drive so would know , once again BMW Wolverhampton found no problem during there vehicle check .
3. As can be seen from photos the conti . tyres are still on fitted on 94/10/2014 at 37,100 miles ( invoice in history file ) they are slightly less than half worn with no uneven wear visible , damage or cracking , all tyres checked by me when removed recently and BMW vehicle check , if I was keeping the car I would replace with same due to age .
4. Rear axle carrier to give its correct name is perfect and regularly checked as stated in history file , underneath of car clean by my detailer reported no issues , I had this done to make sure no corrosion problems anyware , so this rear axle carrier failure is more likely to occur on SMG cars due to more aggressive gear change and power surge , tracked cars , high mileage , corrosion due to winter use , aggressive clutch engagement from stationary get aways and earlier cars manufactured than mine , I never use sport button as this improves throttle response but impacts on rear axle components like you get with SMG models , remap in mine improves throttle response but more progressively than sport mode .
5. No Vanos work done or needed due to low mileage and correct oil used and changed plus BMW had resolved issue of early failure before this car was manufactured.
6. No work on rod bearings carried out and unlikely ever to be due to date of manufacture of this car , also usage , maintenance, and low mileage , BMW relived oversized rod bearings problems leading to many recalls , like Vanos , rear axle carrier by late 2004 , this car’s engine sounds and works like new , low emission’s reported by MOT garage to be lowest ever on this type of car they have ever tested !