2002 BMW M3: Cracks 20,000 Miles in Our Hands

I'll miss dispelling the myths about this car being a rattle-trap with Ferrari-rivaling maintenance bills.

Too bad about the shifter. Great excuse for its new owner to get an Autosolutions SSK. Still haven't committed to one myself.

But I am still curious... did you guys *ever* get the valve adjustment done? Frankly, this would be the last E46 M3 I'd even consider with or without that, but if it's gone 20,000 miles overdue for that, there's no way I'd buy it.

Plus it's a pre-2003.5 and you guys have pretty much beat on it for 20,000 miles. :) I don't have any problems with trackday-used cars (in fact, I think they're better maintained than most street cars), but this one is a horse of a different color.

I would love a well sorted M3. Perhaps a raffle for your loyal readers? Since it is my idea, can I get 2 chances to win?

Well preserved?

"We don't baby it, believe me"

If you did a raffle (Say, $20 a piece for the tickets, with any extra beyond the Edmunds TMV going into the cost of the raffle and some sweet goodies at the choice of the new owner), I'd be in :)

Otherwise, I'd give you $12k for it. I don't trust it now than Erin Riches has driven it...

:)

Joe

Oh, and who knows what Subytrojan did to it when you guys weren't looking. Probably torqued all the lugnuts to different specs.

You cannot be serious. You guys are getting an M3 sedan next month?

Re: Tired shifter.

Refresh the shift bushings all around. You'll thank me in the morning.

Woohoo, M3 sedan! It better not be an SMG.

I am in the market for an E46 M3! I have focused on 2004 or newer, in order to have some of the revisions in the car by BMW, but it would be kind of cool to have this one since we sort of know the story of it. How much is it going to go for?

Get the sedan and coupe and see how they compare. And don't forget about the X6.

I just got mine M3 sedan last month, you guys rae goin to love it, great everyday car. I was going to buy but the lease deal that i got, i couldnt pass up. 705 dollars a month, with 2000 out of pocket. Are you guys getting a manual or the DSG( or whatever the new gen is called). I got the manual and am starting to regret it, the 1st to 2nd shift is a lil weird and i ahve driven manuals all my life.

1487

The sedan and the coupe behave identical, no reason to get both.

Sweet that you're getting a new M3 sedan, BETTER BE A MANUAL TRANS!!!! I don't want to hear the editor's complain about not having a third pedal.

commonsense- I think 1487 was being facetious. Only difference between the two is the coupe's carbon fiber roof to my knowledge.

There are no squeaks and rattles because anything that squeaks or rattles has the decency to fall off the car so it can be put in the trunk.

First off, woohoo! The e46 M3 is now the most threaded and most commented on car ever in this forum!

omg, tenfifteen, you're right. They never did the valve job. Guys, that's the most important part of inpsection I&II!!!!!! It's also the reason your inspection only cost $839.

Btw, the pics from back in September show the front bumper w/out all the paint chips.. so what did y'all do to it?

For those still looking for an M3, proper maintenance, overall care, and the type of ownership of these cars are the most important things to consider. Years and mileage are second. How many people have driven this car without even considering maintenance.

Edmunds-I agree with the raffle idea. If you try to sell this car outright, expect to get a similar price if this was a 7 year old rental/fleet car, because that's effectively what it is now.
It does show the resilience of these cars though.

Don't get me wrong, buy an M3. Just buy one with a little less colored history.

Thanks for doing the test on this car, and I look forward to your test of the E9* M3.

Btw, the new M3 won't have SMG, because they don't make it anymore. The new technology is DCT, a dual clutch paddle shifter (very similar to P-Cars PDK).
Manual or DCT; I say 6MT FTW!

Cut your losses and sell me your stoptechs for $750.

The car may need new front control arm bushings (FCABs) to tighten up the steering again. I too wonder if the valve adjustment got done.

How are the Sumitomos feeling? I've had mine on my M3 since June and they feel like they are getting a good bit grippier now after ~3k miles.

New M3 sedan? Why not a CTS-V?? BMW give you guys another freebie to test?

Oh well, at least I'll get to see you test my second choice for a new car at the moment (I plan to buy this fall, a CTS-V if GM is still around and making them).

You're getting another BMW? Wow, talk about lack of creativity in the editorial department.

I'll miss it. But what's the point of adding a brand new M3 to the Long-Term fleet? (Other than pure fun & enjoyment). A bit obvious that the new M3 will have fewer maintenance costs since it'll be new... and under warranty.

As far as buying the 2002 BMW M3, sorry; but your Long-Termer clearly shows the old saying to be true... "You lease a BMW."

The M3 was $30,000. Sounds like a good deal. But an extra $10,000+ in repairs, maintenance, and tires makes the 2002 M3 much less of a bargain. (Even skipping the high-end tires, the car is still less of a bargain).

The 2002 M3 is more of a sweet ride for a bargain-hunter who lives very comfortably, than it is for the average Joe looking for performance that he can afford.

Not going to miss the "engine of the gods!" comments. Actually I imagine that you guys will just be saying that about your next m3 instead:(

For some reason I'm more partial to the looks of the new M3 sedan than the coupe. Although the carbon fiber roof on the coupe does look sweet. Definitely buy a car with a manual transmission painted in Interlagos Blue with 19" wheels. I say leave the dual clutch transmissions to Porsche.

As for the E46 I'd put down 20 bones for a raffle.

i think inside line should just keep buying the new year of the same car. oh and buy two of the SAME car so one can be for fixing up with after market parts becasue no forum out there reports on the reliability and drivability of a vehicle with aftermarket parts, right????

70K miles and squeak and rattle free. The long term Caddy CTS has 25K miles (?) and is the opposite.
All the BMWs I've owned (3 so far) have also been squeak and rattle free....

"Why not a CTS-V??"

Why not have both the CTS-V and the M3?

you guys spent a lot on maintenance, I thought.

WTF?!?!?!
You're getting rid of a great looking M3 for the ugliest M3 made so far? What's that about? Why don't you guys take your blinders off and get a CTS-V?
Then again, Inside Line is probably on a budget considering the GTR shops visits, and M3 sedans are probably cheap as dirt. So f@#kin ugly.

Care to dwell into the ages shifter/ steering???

Thanks

*aged

"But an extra $10,000+ in repairs, maintenance, and tires makes the 2002 M3 much less of a bargain."

Is that the correct figure? I don't think they've spent quite that much, have they?

"Why not have both the CTS-V and the M3?"

If I could only have one I would take the CTS-V. There is nothing new to learn about the M3. The new one is just like the old one except it has a V8 and goes faster. Do you really expect to hear anything you didn't know in a year of 2009 M3 posts? I don't. Great engine, great brakes, great shifter, great steering, it's worth the high price, etc.

no Tenfifteen, they haven't. Even with the stoptech that they overpaid for and didn't need. I don't know where you bought them that yoo paid $3400 for, but you can get em for $2500 everywhere. Plus, buy used an its less than half of that.

No doubt, the CTS-V is a great car. IMO one of the best that GM's made in awhile. However, I don't how anyone can call that car better looking than an E92 M3? They designed the thing with a friggin ruler! Sharp lines and points; that's all. I mean seriously, stare at the rear end of it and I dare you to say, OMG now that's design at its best.
The new M3 isn't that great looking either, but I'd get sick of the V's looks in, oh, about a week.

@ tenfifteen -

Yup, that figure is correct. They spent just over $10,000 in repairs, maintenance, and tires... All out of pocket. Not sure which exact blog that figure was mentioned.

(I've read every blog on the 2002 M3 that they posted so far. It's in there, somewhere).

"Great engine, great brakes, great shifter, great steering, it's worth the high price, etc."

1487, I could say the same thing about the CTS-V.

"There is nothing new to learn about the M3. The new one is just like the old one except it has a V8 and goes faster."

1487, I could say that about the CTS-V except the fact that its always had a V8, now supercharged of course. Given a choice, Id rather see the CTS-V join the fleet.

Edmunds, whats the next high performance used car going to be? Id really like to see a 3.2/6MT NSX-T.

@Monocrom... I'm not calling you out, just sounds really high. Does that include the (totally unnecessary) brakes? So that's what... ~$2k for tires for $5500 total? $4500 for a seven year old car with 100 naturally-aspirated ponies per liter? I'll take it.

Assuming they skipped on the valve adjustment (~$800 or so), so we can back off a bit, but to me, still sounds awful high relative to other cars on the forums I visit. This is an enthusiast car, and I think it needs enthusiast maintenance; off-cycle oil changes, regular tech inspections, etc. I don't feel like this car got that.

Anyway, the price on these has dropped considerably in the last fifteen months. You could probably expect to pay $22k for an '02-'03 these days.

@ tenfifteen

That $10,000+ includes everything. But even if the Long-Term M3 didn't get the upgraded brakes or the expensive tires the first time around, it would still be close to $10,000. From the blogs, I got the impression that the stock brakes would have needed replacing soon anyway. Even stock brakes on an M3 are not going to be cheap.

I agree with you that an enthusiast car needs enthusiast maintenance... And that takes plenty of money.