Looking at a 02 M3 for a commuter car. ( 10 mile drive one way). It has 109000 on the clock with the smg trans. Anything special to lookout for? Thanks
Have you driven it? Some dig that transmission, I HATE that gear box. What kind of $$$ they asking for the car?
Great car!! SMG Trans, not so much. The e46 body style was the first SMG and they have issues. I suggest finding a manual trans car. Also, if you can, get the last 6 of the VIN #, go to the local BMW dealer, tell them you are interested in buying that car and you would like to check the service history. They can pull up anything that has been serviced on any BMW serviced at any BMW dealership.
Awesome car, i bought one new back in 02. The 02-03's had crank bearing issues. Bmw replaced them but my car was never the same, it had terrible engine vibrations after. Smg .... I really liked it, you could hammer the piss out of that car, it is a great car. Price seems high for that mileage to me, i think you can do better.
Beat me to it... I was going to get one, and decided against because of the crank bearing issue... essentially the oiling has a flaw and eventually the engine in those cars WILL eat the bearings. BMW's answer was to give out free 100K warranty upgrades. I also tried the SMG and couldn't for the life of me figure out what the car was trying to do with the shifting.
Thanks. I think my main problem is that I can't decide on shit. I've looked at vettes, h2, lotus, bmw. I seem to find a flaw or something that I dislike in everything. Maybe I should just find a beater to get around and save the cash.
I have a buddy with an Exige S that I think he may sell soon. as for the M3, the wife has an E46 M3 convertible. great car but another friend that's a mechanic said the 6 speed was a lot more problem free. She wanted a 6 speed anyway but it did make the choice a lot easier. I was kind of shocked with the prices of a first gen Porsche Cayene Turbo, but I would guess that any maintenance and repairs would be exorbitant. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/ctd/3210263300.html
I drive an 2003.5 that I bought new in 2003. I have a six-speed manual, so I can't comment on the SMG. Make sure the car's vanos is in good working order. The vanos systems have been known to fail; mine failed and it cost me about 5k to replace. The water pump failed, but BMW replaced it ... outside of the warranty. The car is crazy fun to drive and it's pretty reliable. The ride is rough given the suspension and the car's purpose. But it will scream, brake, and handle like 80k cars. Great car, consider getting one with fewer miles.
