JohnM575

Keen to see it in either of our M3's Christian!

Amen.

There's a few good reasons to worry about a cert... Legality; It voids your insurance policy in the case of an accident (I would imagine it would void it in the case of theft too?); and If you do get caught, the potential costs and headaches to get it all certed.

I had got a quote for the Inspection II service prior to work commencing. This quote excluded the spring installation, so yes that was an error on my behalf for not inquiring about that prior. I have since followed it up JC basically asking why it cost so much. Funnily enough the service part actually came in a few hundred dollars cheaper than their original Inspection II quote so that was pleasing.

Really? Doesn't make much sense mucking around getting the car to another place such as Mag & Turbo or the like just to install the springs IMO when the car was going to be at JC. First and last time I took a car to Mag & Turbo they started to take to the wheel well and arches on my old E36 with a hammer before I intervened in order to prevent the tyres fouling (standard MSport wheels on the car FYI). This consequently cracked the paint on the guard, which I followed up with the store manager and got a fully respray of the guard on them (thankfully). Lesson? Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

A little late on reporting back, but the service is all done and dusted. Overall I was pretty happy with their service; here's a few things I noted: I insisted the mechanic write down the valve clearances (which they did). For me I wanted to have a record of this with the service history. Thankfully they were all within spec so no adjustments were needed. I also asked for them to check the differential bolts to see if they could swap them out for the updated bolts (commonly replaced part with the M3). They said the bolts were ex-Germany so couldn't swap them out at that time. There is no clunking currently, however I wanted to do it as a preventative measure. On the to-do list for next service. However, I was left a little stumped when they charged me $470 to install a set of springs I supplied to them (Eibach Pro-Kit FYI). This does not include the cost for the wheel alignment following the installation ($100). This cost seemed a little over the top to me for a job that is said to take a couple of hours from internet M3 DIY'ers, having taken into account the approximate time required and a guesstimate of their labour charge out rate per hour. Finally the windscreen washer pump had given up the ghost recently so that needed replacing. No dramas there. Inspection II service cost excluding the spring installation and wheel alignment = $1,830 inc GST. About what I was expecting. Hope this is of some assistance/interest to the fellow M3 owners out there.

Certainly not many manuals that have been on Trademe in recent times in good condition. Good luck with your search! If you want to ask anything do to with the E46 M3 (issues to look out for, servicing costs, etc) feel free to fire me a messsge.

Taking weight out of the back increases oversteer, not understeer. Not that a lightweight battery would make a noticeable difference in a 1,550kg road car anyway. Thanks everyone for your input and advice. The M3 is going to Jerry Clayton tomorrow for Inspection II. I had the PPI done only 4,000km ago so there shouldn't be too many surprises. Will report back with how it all goes.

So time has come for an Inspection II service. I have discussed this in some length with a couple of BMW owners but am still unsure about where I should take my M3 for such a comprehensive service. Dealer or Independent? Jerry Clayton & Auckland City BMW - Both provided me with a quote for Inspection II - both coming out at circa $2,000. To me JC seems like the best option having spoken to a fellow M3 owner (I have taken the dealership 'premium' into account). BM Workshop said they don't do Inspection II as such - rather a "full" service, skipping items such as checking the valve clearances which are standard under Inspection II. Makes me wonder what other items they would skip from what is set out in Inspection II...? I also went to buy a new battery for the M3 from them and they recommended a battery with lower specifications (Bosch S3) than the Genuine BMW battery. This didn't instill a whole lot of confidence. I went down the road to Barry Clarke Automotive and picked up a Bosch S5. Bellar Motor Works - Did the PPI on the M3 when I purchased it, and work on my old E36 - Anyone able to share their experience with them? FYI the car has a full service history (100k), with all bar one service at Team McMillan/Auckland City BMW. Before someone recommends HellBM or Botany Motor Worx, I am looking for someone Central or North Shore based. Fire away!

Agreed - For someone who is after a modified example it has some pretty decent bits (Recaro, KW, AC Schnitzer) - however I think the extensive modifications may be putting people off who are in the market for such a car (myself included if I was in market for one). The costings used for the aftermarket parts are a little inflated to say the least - In particular saying the wheels and brakes were $10k each... You're aware this is a Z4 right? The Z3 Roadster did come in a 1.9 though.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1104056260.htm Bit of a unicorn here in NZ - a S54 powered Z4M. If it was a coupe and full OEM spec I'm sure it would have been picked up by now. Anyone here gone to check it out?

I agree with the above. Something tells me the paint underneath (if it is in fact a wrap) might not be so crash hot given the price point of this example. At least it doesn't have the Kiwi interior; that would be the icing on the cake!

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1091910403.htm An interesting combo with this M3: looks to be a white wrap over Carbonschwarz Metallic (why?!), Goodride tyres, tacky LED accessories throughout, relatively high k's, no mention of SMG maintenance/service history...However it does appear to be NZ New having searched Carjam. This could be a relatively cheap base for a track hack for someone, or alternatively with a bit of TLC it could be a project car and without too much work could be brought back to an OEM appearance relatively cheaply. Thoughts?

Looking forward to seeing this come along Dion; looks like a fun project!

Imported from the UK in 2014, so rust could be an issue, as was seen in the CS also for sale at the moment - note: the CS owner (Justin) did the right thing and got it sorted. $25k is probably about market.

Price update: $4,250 ono. Cheapest 6 cylinder manual E36 on the market.

Time to move this along as I don't have the need for two cars. It has been in my family since import circa 2001. 171,XXX km. SOLD. Located in Auckland. The good: 5 Speed Manual - with Z3M shifter and ZHP knob. Full service 1,000km ago (170,000km). B&G Springs with Bilstein shocks - installed circa 160,000km. Style 68 staggered wheels on Bridgestone Potenza RE002/RE003 - approx. 5-7mm tread. Sony iPod stereo with Alpine Type S 6x9's in rear parcel tray - 6x9 adapters used so looks 100% OEM under standard BMW speaker covers. Current WOF/Rego. The not so good: Cloth door linings sagging. Bumper cracked on RHS corner at the bottom. The exterior of the car reflects that it is 22 years old i.e. not perfect. Best that you inspect to get a proper idea of the condition. PM for more details/pictures.

Hah, sounds like it's going to be a pretty impressive combo once they're on the car!

What did you end up going with?

I was going to go down that route, but Keith (Stocks) said they had ran out of supply of Vogtland springs for the M3 in NZ and only had King Springs left.

Can be flexible on the brand of springs, I just don't want the superlow variants such as Tein or King. Thanks!

UK Import?

Would these rub with 245 fronts and 275 rears (E46 M3)?

What brand and model of tyres, and how many mm of tread left?

I have 17" RE003 245's on my E36 325i - they are an impressive tyre for the price, however when I was looking for them in 19's for the M3 they were a lot more pricey in comparison to the highly rated Dunlop Sport Maxx's in the same size.