E46 M3 in Auckland

[Karter16 407]

Hey guys,

I possibly introduced myself previous (about 10 years ago when I bought a 318i), but here goes.

Picked up a 2005 E46 M3 (Silver Grey, SMG) a few weeks ago. It's the car I've wanted since I bought my 318i in 2006 :-)

First steps are ensuring that the car is solid - it's going for an Inspection II + nose to tail check next week.

Anyway - hi :-)

Cheers,

Matt

[Tristan 338]

Nice purchase but surely "ensuring the car is solid" would come before buying it.

Is this the one from Buy Right Cars?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Karter16 407]

Yep absolutely - appropriate checks were done prior to purchase (I knew what I was buying).

The last service wasn't done by someone who knows BMW's - hence the purpose of the Inspection II is to set a baseline starting point for moving forward. Perhaps my wording in my first post wasn't the best :-)

Yes it's the one that was with Buy Right.

[m325i 709]

Nice one man. I saw this there and sat in it. Driver's seat felt tighter than mine!

I love the colour.

[Karter16 407]

Nice one man. I saw this there and sat in it. Driver's seat felt tighter than mine!

I love the colour.

Thanks! Yeah I'm really pleased with it.

[m325i 709]

After the service, any plans for it? Your daily?

[Karter16 407]

After the service, any plans for it? Your daily?

It's essentially a second car. I commute by ferry and we'll use my wife's car for running around, so will keep the M3 for intentional driving.

Haven't decided yet exactly where I want to take it after that. I've done a lot of reading and research, but have a lot more to do :-) An update to the radio (to touchscreen nav etc) and an exterior tidy up (replace some of the plastic components, seals, etc.) are definitely on the list, but beyond that I haven't decided yet.

[kulgan 1042]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase.

Happy motoring and post up some more pics when you can.

[M3AN 4016]

Welcome dude and congrats on the purchase.

Hope you get your inspection two from a forum sponsor!?

[Karter16 407]

Thought I'd check in almost a year on and update where things are at :-)

Rebuilt the VANOS in February (knew it needed to be done) with the Beisan kit. Timing Chain tensioner was kaput as well, so did it at the same time. Rattle completely gone now.

Replaced the CCV in July - just, because, really....

Big project for the new year is a complete refresh of suspension, bushings, guibo's, fuel filter, brake calliper rebuild, etc. etc. (pretty much everything on the underside of the car)... I plan on keeping this car for a long time, and this is going to set things up well for the future. Everything will be OE, except shocks which are being replaced with Koni yellows.

Have put about 3.5K on the car this year, so will be doing an oil service in the new year - will send it off to Goughs for oil analysis to get a baseline to measure against.

Once the new year's project is complete I'll be able to start on cosmetic stuff. I've been stockpiling items like replacement wing mirror glass, windshield trim, gas struts, etc. but the cosmetic stuff is of secondary importance to me at this point :-)

 

Karter16

 

 

[KiwiTT 23]

E46 M3 is one of my favourite BMWs