earon

No big servicing issues.. if you maintain them properly and find a immaculate one to begin with no such issues with the e46 m3s. Most of the ones on sale are the early m3s 01-03 .. very rarely do the late model 05 and 06 ones come up. Was helping a mate look for an m3 a month or so ago.. thing I took away from the search, the ones for sale on trade me are alright although there maybe a few on sale.. the numbers do fluctuate and the ones you would ideally want to buy are the ones parked in the garages of m3 owners in this forum because they're some of the best ones around. Why they're on sale.. quite possibly change in life status whereby something like a 550i might suit better etc etc.. again with the e92 m3 best to aim for the later models .. always best to give bmw M cars a few years, though earlier model e92 m3s have prices dropping with the arrival of the new m3 and m4.

Drove the F10 M5 last weekend.. what a monster of a car.. haven't driven the new E63 Amg, I'd rather like to make a comparison. The f10 m5 really felt like a bigger more comfortable R35 Gtr .. though more sophisticated interior wise.. it ate up road like it and was pretty rev happy too.Definitely an amazing accomplishment by the M division. Rectified and surpassed the e60 m5 by miles!

Awesome buy mate! I'm a massive fan of the Amg group.. especially the C63 Amg 08-current production.Is that the same motor you've got in your e63?? I've spent a lot of time driving the c63 amg and it's utterly brilliant.. we've had two E60 M5s and they're also remarkable cars. Though I mean this with no disrespect whatsoever but the bonkers folks at AMG have caught and maybe surpassed the M cars of BMW... The new E63 Amg is receiving amazing reviews and is seen to have finally beaten the M5. The next C63 Amg (2015) looks to be an M4 killer.. the competition has definitely heated up.

I was referring to say a used 991 as such. And other competitors being quite brilliant like the new rs4 and the replacement for the c63 amg bound to be amazing. The future looks bright, and the options look amazing. Edit: forgot to mention the Jaguar F-Type, seen one of these while on vacation... wow..it's just wow Looks like the 4 series BMWs are in the country spotted one the other day..interesting car ..435i has turbo six goodness as well

I reckon that's pretty well said

Not a legitimate question?? Fair enough I guess

Out of sheer curiosity I wonder if the new M4 and it's pricing comes near the pricing of say the Porsche 991 Turbo as such?? That would definitely be quite detrimental to the M4 as Porsche have always made amazing cars, and the turbo is legendary. Would be a brilliant comparison for Top Gear or one of these review artists to do also taking into account the new RS4 and who knows the monster that AMG may reveal, knowing those brilliant nutters it'd be some twin turbo V8..and you can never forget the GTR.. just watched a video of their latest creation, quite impressive.

What's the general perception with the new M4/M3 guys? Here's a link to a review I watched earlier today

Hi guys got a new set of tyres fitted on the m3 cs, would be awesome if you guys could maybe recommend a few wheel alignment places?? Around the Auckland area, I don't mind driving a wee distance here or there as long as the works excellent. I've heard of a few alignment horror stories so I thought I'd best ask the guys on the forum first. Thanks in advance Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input mate, we're definitey looking at the manual 997 turbo.. the new 991 carrera looks amazing too, however no where near the power of the turbo cars. hmm interesting note on the 996 turbo.. Yeah the R35 just seems to be so powerful, yet lacks that intangible.. and the R8 seems to ooze class and supercar appeal. After reading Julian's advice I'll probably make sure we look at that M6 and the M5.. v8 twin turbo m5 is around the same price as the R8, R35, and 997 turbo in the canadian market. I am rather looking forward to the test drives almost more than Mardi Gras in New Orleans haha Prices seem to be good there.. might be moving to Vancouver next year so looks like I'll be in a similar senario then..

yeah I think you're on the money with that statement.. it does come down to looks.. feel..basically a real supercar, hence why I'm absolutely looking forward to driving the Audi R8, it definitely doesn't stand a chance against the R35 or 911 turbo on power capability however it is the one that's most appealing. Does everything a supercar has to.. stops crowds..turns heads.. and makes that beautiful noise.. that mid engine v8 is glorious. I've seen a audi r8 parked next to a 997 911 turbo in the UK and it rendered the 911 almost invincible haha Cheers for the input mate Edit: and no it wouldn't really be tracked, that's a good point, I barely get to use all the power out of my M3.. it's not even in the league of those cars.

awesome.. thanks for the input mate, always appreciated. Hopefully I get to hear thoughts on the R8 from guys on the forum, it's also the only car from the list I haven't had any personal experience with... I'm with you on the fact that the R35 decimates the 911 997 turbo.. it even presents close competition for the GT3..haha!! any other supercars around that range or mark I might be missing??

So out of the 3 suggested you'd reckon the R35 is the best outright car?? I feel the mid-engine R8 is an absolute supercar..looks like one, feels like one. However I have to agree the R35 destroys both for performance. the biggest issue with the 911 turbo is the number of variants available.. almost waters down the appeal for it.. it's almost shooting itself in it's own foot.. sadly enough because it is an impeccable car.

I personally wouldn't know mate.. the ones I've been in have been over here and Aussie..I can't say for sure for Canada. I think it's more to do with the credibility of your wallet and willingness to buy.. haha budgets around a 100-120k so we're looking at that.. I've finally convinced him off useless american cars..

Hi guys, Just thought I'd get some advice, hoping some of the guys here have had some experience with any of these particular cars. So the situation is, a very close cousin of mine in Vancouver, Canada is looking for an upgrade to his 2011 Mustang Gt or so, we've lined up a few test drives while I'm there for a month or so and the cars in discussion are: 2010 R35 GTR.... 2008/2009 Audi R8 V8.... 06/07 Porsche 997 911 Turbo... I've been in the R35 and the 911, however if anyone has any better input or personal opinion I'd love to hear. I spend a lot of time in around north america and looks like I'll be moving there next year or so hence why I'm helping him pick a car. We've also looked at the C63 AMG coupe, 2011/2012 E92 M3 and the new RS5 however I've spent time with these three and it's absolutely obvious it's not in the same league as the 997 911 turbo, R8 and R35. Thanks in advance guys.. always appreciate the input from the guys on the forum.

Yeah I guess that could be true with the nz market, you're on the money about the high prices we pay here for some of our cars. I was just thinking along the lines of 2010, 2011 e90 e92 m3 owners just wanting to upgrade.. that new m3 m4 would be highly sought after and the influx of these used m3's creating more stock in the market hence maybe a competitiveness of prices equalling price drops ever so slightly maybe or maybe enough to make a difference to you and I .. who knows we'll have to wait and see I guess

2011 39,000 kms and performance pack... 65k!! wow where did you find a bargain like that?? couldn't possibly be trademe .. I would have jumped on that opportunity as well the 08 versions go for about that much normally with colour/lower kms combo newer e92 m3 i presume?? hmmm I'd wait for the slight price drop with the release of the new m3 and m4 in NZ, might even get the "individual" models with the frozen/ matte based colours to drop enough in value, might score a bargain

Yeah man I spend a lot of time in Vancouver, Canada and my cousin there owns a c63 amg, 2009 model if i remember correctly, I drive that quite often as he has a work car. If you do get one you have to absolutely ensure it's one with a performance pack option otherwise it's useless. ceramic brakes, lsd, alcantara etc etc amazing machine being an actual straight automatic is annoying at times but that car is amazing.. after spending extensive time with e92 m3's and that c63.. unless you're a track day addict absolutely go for that merc! pretty much a de-tuned sls motor! one of the great engines that'll ever be I do envy you!! hahaha Not sure if you've heard but the main bearings part #'s in the later model e92 m3's are different to the earlier model ones (2010 and later) so they've changed suppliers or something there and fixed the issue. Don't know if they needed to sort anything out with the oil pump

Yeah exactly what i was advised on the LCI model to go for those if I could, unfortunately i wasn't willing to spend that much at the time as well, and the fact that there existed a c63 amg I couldn't bring myself to buying a 2010 m3 if I couldn't get the c63 amg with the performance pack. Maybe horrendous was a wrong choice of word haha ..I do apologize mate we've had bad M model experiences..haha the old mans had quite a few m cars a few m5's and an 07 M3 almost new, engine went out on him main bearing and oil pump failure (not sure on the details i could be wrong, it's been nearly 6 years or so) haha not a pretty site.. he had far better suceess with the later model m3 think it was a 2010 or 2011 he settled on. But yeah early models always have issues. am sure your example is pretty mint

hey Tristan sorry mate meant the later version e46 M3's are the ones to go for, edited that.. but the e92's like the 07 version I really did want one, broke my damm heart not buying one! haha however I've got a family member who works for BMW, advised me to stay clear as there are issues out there, and the general tendacy to give the M cars a year or two to sort issues out and maybe if I could try a late 08 build or a later version of the car... I shouldn't really speak of the e92 m3's as I don't own one.. haha .. what year is your e92 if you don't mind me asking

on the fact of the cars on trademe, with my own personal opinion (absolutely no disrespect to anybody) , especially with regards to the e46 m3's the early years are definitely the ones to stay away from say from 01-03 the early years of production yielded constant issues not just the sub frame issues but the manual versions as well as the smg vehicles had their own particular engine issues too. (i'm not including the CSL version in this assessment, they're remarkable cars and BMW really put their act together for that car) There's a pretty good reason those early models go for cheap.. I've owned a 06 M3 manual towards the start of 2013 and since June 2013 I've had my 05 M3 CS has a SMG box (I hand picked this particular M3 after keeping an eye out for one in the UK and NZ for about 6-7 months, choices ranged from the normal M3, M3 CS, 06 RS4, 06 M5 and a 07 e92 M3) I researched heavily and could never settle for second best. all amazing cars.. but in regards to any "issues" BMW have definitely solved them overtime.. took them long enough!! haha the 04 versions and later seem to contain far less issues in general.. hardly any sub frame, engine or general issues. Just as the early e92 M3's have horrendous issues, yet almost completely fixed overtime- so the later version e46's are definitely the ones to go for!! Again these are cars getting towards the spectrum of proper performance cars and simply having a e46 M3 or e92 m3 fall within the budget doesn't mean it's a good idea to buy it, they require proper servicing and re-calibration and to be honest a lot of the crap we hear about these cars come from people who have never owned one forget both versions of the M3's. my two cents really, don't mean to offend anyone guys ..if I have, I am sorry.. it's just really difficult reading about good cars getting burned without having a say about it.

hey guys really sorry to hit up an old thread.. i saw tom's presence here, thought I'd best get his advice. so woke up to an slight shock this morning a slight leak on the m3's diff input shaft absolutely gutted as I've always practiced preventative maintenance and replaced parts just on an assumption of age etc etc (the m3's a late 05 CS build) haven't driven the car for 3 weeks now and this is the first time I've been caught out ..car's been absolutely pristine otherwise, drove it a lot through 2013 and it's been brilliant!! probably the best M car that's been in the family My question was while planning to do the input shaft seal, should I be looking at doing the left and right output seals?? I'll be visiting Ray from HellBM on Monday morning so I'll probably let his team handle the work, diffs are a big no no for me, I'm not keen to touch them really, engine's I don't mind pulling apart but diffs present a different obstacle haha Thanks for any input guys

Yeah I don't think Matt has got around to it just yet That would be awesome! Knowing the correct paint code and applicator instruction.. I could advise the guys doing the job So you'd suggest paint over powder coat??

yeah they do accept credit cards online but the major catch is the shipping difference.. which by their regard is $188 NZD.. just by estimation it seems the pricing will be pretty close.. well within $100 or so of each other. The customs chargers, they're 15% aren't they??

awesome mate.. that works real well.. I was looking to use http://www.design911.co.uk.. but hearing how easily you went through tirerack, I'll get a quote and compare prices. thanks again that does really help