ownership/maintenance cost of a 2006 E46 M3

[cprince]

I'm looking at a 2006 BMW E46 series M3, and the price looks right, but I'm worrying about the maintenance and ownership cost associated with it. The car has 29k miles on it. Does anybody here drive this M3 series and/or have a rough estimate of the ownership and maintenance cost? Thanks.

 

[StageLeft]

I'm looking at a 2006 BMW E46 series M3, and the price looks right, but I'm worrying about the maintenance and ownership cost associated with it. The car has 29k miles on it. Does anybody here drive this M3 series and/or have a rough estimate of the ownership and maintenance cost? Thanks.

You asked the 64k question or in this case $5k/year question!

 

[TechBoyJK]

ask member dividebyzero

oil changes
tires
brakes
brake pads
fluids
inspection
suspension

 

[Kntx]

I do not know but as they say, if you have to ask...

 

[jpeyton]

High. Money x Money x Money = M3

 

[Kromis]

High. Money + Money + Money = M3

:awe:

 

[StageLeft]

If zenmervolt's M5 needed $5k for brakes and clutch I assume it's gonna be at least $3500-4k for the same thing on an m3.

 

[TechBoyJK]

M series cars are basically tuned up versions of their 3 series counterparts. So almost everything that makes it faster or better is going to be a much more expensive version of the oem stuff found on the normal car. what this means is, when stuff breaks, you have to replace it with expensive stuff. aka the breaks. or transmission, etc.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I've done a good bit of research as I'm looking at a z4 M coupe.

Stuff like brakes, suspension, normal wear and tear are higher than normal but not insane. You'll save a TON of money if you can do this stuff yourself, and it's not that hard to do.

It'll help if you can find a local BMW shop (not dealer) who will cut you some slack with labor costs. A clutch on any performance car will be $$$$




......Looking at pics of the engine bay is what made me decide on an m coupe over the m3. The motor in the m3 is tucked WAY back near the firewall. The peen front of the z4 allows plenty of access.

 

[Doggiedog]

Just to give you an example of how expensive things are I needed to replace a bolt in my 325i that held the wiper to the motor. The bolt rusted off so one wiper didn't move. I could see that it was an easy fix except that the bolt was right underneath the windshield which was blocked by the AC. You would need to take the whole AC out just to get at the bolt. It cost me $150 to replace a bolt which, if accessible, would have taken me 30 secs and less than $1 for me to do.

 

[SSSnail]

If you can comfortably afford it, go for it. Everyone and their mothers should know by now that performance cars come with performance pricing. If you can do some of the works yourself, you will save ton of money.

There are great communities and online resources that will help you accomplish the goal of maintaining a high priced performance car for cheap, if you're just a bit mechanically inclined. There are also independent networks of certified BMW mechanics that will charge you far less than the dealers will for labor. Parts can be found online for much cheaper than dealerships as well, so that in itself is another saving.

You only live once, so if you can afford it, go for it. Don't be like most other people that calculates their every move, only to go to their grave a dull soul.

Yes, I know a Civic will save me on gas; yes, a 4 door saloon will be very people friendly and you can haul them around more conveniently. But, that's not what life is all about.

 

[TechBoyJK]

whats a 4 door saloon?

 

[StageLeft]

If you can comfortably afford it, go for it. Everyone and their mothers should know by now that performance cars come with performance pricing. If you can do some of the works yourself, you will save ton of money.

There are great communities and online resources that will help you accomplish the goal of maintaining a high priced performance car for cheap, if you're just a bit mechanically inclined. There are also independent networks of certified BMW mechanics that will charge you far less than the dealers will for labor. Parts can be found online for much cheaper than dealerships as well, so that in itself is another saving.

You only live once, so if you can afford it, go for it. Don't be like most other people that calculates their every move, only to go to their grave a dull soul.

Yes, I know a Civic will save me on gas; yes, a 4 door saloon will be very people friendly and you can haul them around more conveniently. But, that's not what life is all about.

I never knew I had to have a BMW to live life!

whats a 4 door saloon?

For some reason people in England call them saloons, it's a ridiculous word for sedan.

 

[SSSnail]

 

[The-Noid]

Was $2000 for complete brakes and rotors when I had mine, same year.

Overall maintenance I didn't think was that horrendous.

I am considering an R8 though, so everything is relative.

The only thing is I wouldn't buy one that already needed work. Take the car in to a service center that is not the dealership you are buying from. Ask what their opinion is of the brakes/rotors/tires/air filter anything that you think would be cheap that comes in at 3-4x what you thought.

Tires are about $300 a pop and I got 15000 miles out of my contis when I had mine.

 

[SSSnail]

I never knew I had to have a BMW to live life!
For some reason people in England call them saloons, it's a ridiculous word for sedan.

You see? Even though it wasn't directed, some people felt the need to address the question as if it was for them personally. It's wonderful knowing how people's psyche works.

BTW skoorb, it has nothing to do with a BMW, and I know you and other asses on this forum has a hard-on for discrediting BMW at every chance you get, even though you've never owned one. But, the whole point is that if he can afford it, treat himself to one of the most amazing car ever produced.

It doesn't has to be an M3, it could be any other performance cars that he can get. Like I said, you felt the need to address my pseudo poking, so that must say something about the way you feel. But I digress.

 

[The-Noid]

IMO I wasn't a huge fan of my M3. It was a good car, not great and I wouldn't buy another if I had the choice. (Liked RS4 better, my current S6, and even Lexus GS450h which my wife drives now). The blue paint color though was BY FAR the best color I have ever seen on a car up close. Believe it was called Mystic Blue Metallic if memory serves me correct.

There is a certain intangible about BMW's that people either love or hate. I think I was one of the guys that fell in love with the name instead of falling in love with car and that intangible.

 

[StageLeft]

hard-on for discrediting BMW at every chance you get

Just keeping it real. They are expensive to maintain. I know this, you know it. You agree with it. This thread was one on maintenance, nothing else; try not to read between the lines.

Like I said, you felt the need to address my pseudo poking, so that must say something about the way you feel.

And what does your lengthy response say about the way you feel?

And you're right, it does say something about the way I feel. I just don't think you get me anymore and our lives seem to be going in different directions. You used to be so tender but now only terse. You don't bring me flowers anymore. When we make love you don't make love, you just rut like a beast. And yeah sometimes I like it, but not all the time.

 

[theblackbox]

I'm looking at a 2006 BMW E46 series M3, and the price looks right, but I'm worrying about the maintenance and ownership cost associated with it. The car has 29k miles on it. Does anybody here drive this M3 series and/or have a rough estimate of the ownership and maintenance cost? Thanks.

it can go either way, and it can go either way drastically. if you are worried about cost of ownership because you don't have the money or because you are worried it'll sit in the shop?
if it's about the money, then maybe you should look at it for what it is.

buying any european performance car can be a gamble, and it's good to have the money to back it up, especially if you can't work on it yourself.

parts can be expensive, but i've ran across far more audi parts being more pricy then bmw parts.


if you have a little money to sit aside for upkeep and possible needs, then i say go for it. if not, you should ask yourself will you enjoy driving it worrying about the what if kind of things, and what happens?

euro performance cars can be a lot of fun, and in most cases, are fairly good, dependable cars if you take good care of them.

personally, i'd say, if you want it, get it. have fun. enjoy it. if all you do is worry about it, whats the point.

just remember, it'll only run as well as you take care of it.



good luck.

 

[DivideBYZero]

You asked the 64k question or in this case $5k/year question!

1st thing to do is ignore this poster regard BMW. He has never owned one and trolls every thread regarding them.

Secondly BMW's are serviced based upon usage in most cases. What you need to know are the service types:

- Oil Service
- Inspection I
- Inspection II

Oil service is just that, oil, filters, basic checks and usually they wash and clean it for you.

Inspection I is more serious and will be more expensive, Inspection II won't be due until the car has around 50k miles or so or hits 6-7 years old if you don't do many miles. Inspection II is expensive, but you only do it every so many years.

When I have more time I'll post some more detailed info, but I'll leave you with the fact that my M3 has cost me significantly less to run, year on year, than my WRX ever did.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Anyhow, with 29K on the clock it's almost brand new and barely run in. Mine had 19k on the clock when I bought it so I had the opportunity to look after it. Look after an M3 and it will look after you.

Last night on the way back home from Heathrow Airport I engaged in some spirited driving. The car is electric. It makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, It makes you take stock of it's power and just mutter 'wow' under your breath, and when I parked up the sound of ticking and tinkling metal as it cools down, the smell of hot rubber and brakes after a hard run is pretty intoxicating. I bloody love my M3.

Just buy it and don't look back. If you don't, you'll always wonder what it would have been like to own it.

 

[StageLeft]

1st thing to do is ignore this poster regard BMW. He has never owned one and trolls every thread regarding them.

Defensive much? They are expensive to maintain. The ONLY two people who've actually given a number in this thread are me and Yoxxy, the rest of your BMW fanboy rubbish is exactly that. Owning one or not is utterly meaningless. That's what research is for. Reading FTW Nice telling him to ignore me for trolling when in another thread you are admittedly "I'm a hopeless BMW fan"!

Mine had 19k on the clock when I bought it so I had the opportunity to look after it. Look after an M3 and it will look after you.

10k miles and you think that's meaningful? So basically other than less than a year of ownership you haven't owned an M3, either. You're like the parent with a four month old giving advice to parents with teens as if you've all figured it out. lol

Last night on the way back home from Heathrow Airport I engaged in some spirited driving. The car is electric. It makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, It makes you take stock of it's power and just mutter 'wow' under your breath, and when I parked up the sound of ticking and tinkling metal as it cools down, the smell of hot rubber and brakes after a hard run is pretty intoxicating. I bloody love my M3.

We know they are very fun cars to drive, I've been in one. It was great. This thread is about maintenance costs.

You BMW owners are so freaking touchy and in all of these threads try to downplay maintenance costs with some vague silly notions like "take care of it and it will take care of you" and "a well maintained BMW will last as long as anything else", all demonstrably wrong but it doesn't stop you paroting it in every thread about them. It isn't backed up anecdotally and it's not backed up by the experiences of virtual every owner. I could say the same about a Lamborghini Gallardo and it would also be a fabrication.

OP If you want real figures you can go to Edmunds and look up distinct cars and they have maintenance and repair costs. I think there are other generators all over the net. Ignore the biased bullsh*t, and if that includes from me so be it. There are numbers out there and they will help indicate maintenance costs. You could also go to a BWM forum and ask people what they've paid, owners of M3s. People who've owned them for an actual meaningful period of time, say 50-100k, not somebody who just bought a pretty new one a few months ago and is using his single anecdote to wrap around the actual pool of M3s.

More threads on the same thing http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...eid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=cost+to+maintain+e46+m3

 

[cprince]

thanks everybody for your replies! I actually own an '87 BMW 325e with 225k miles on it before the odometer broke. Bought it for $500 last year and I enjoy working on it. Like Doggiedog mentioned, the car can be a pain to work on--some parts can be located in better locations for accessibility. Some parts are expensive, but I love the car. I love the way it looks and drives.

I started this forum looking for hard-core numbers like the one Yoxxy posted. I can afford the car, but I wish I have the money to buy it outright--then I wouldn't mind paying for replacement parts and fixing the car myself. I just don't want to pay a monthly amount on the car and having to pay for fixing it too. I wish the car is certified. But like SSSnail said--you only live once, and I'm the boring, calculative type. But I'm still young and I don't want to grow into the stereotypical middle-age bald guy driving a high-end performance car. But, at the same time, I don't have the money of a stereotypical middle-age bald guy. So help me decide and debate away guys (and gals)!

Actually, buying a C.P.O BMW 335i coupe with a 6sp manual would be a better choice IMO, but having the privilege to own an Imola Red, convertible E46 M3--consider by edmunds.com to be the best M3 ever built...

 

[DivideBYZero]

Defensive much? They are expensive to maintain. The ONLY two people who've actually given a number in this thread are me and Yoxxy, the rest of your BMW fanboy rubbish is exactly that. Owning one or not is utterly meaningless. That's what research is for. Reading FTW Nice telling him to ignore me for trolling when in another thread you are admittedly "I'm a hopeless BMW fan"!10k miles and you think that's meaningful? So basically other than less than a year of ownership you haven't owned an M3, either. You're like the parent with a four month old giving advice to parents with teens as if you've all figured it out. lolWe know they are very fun cars to drive, I've been in one. It was great. This thread is about maintenance costs.

You BMW owners are so freaking touchy and in all of these threads try to downplay maintenance costs with some vague silly notions like "take care of it and it will take care of you" and "a well maintained BMW will last as long as anything else", all demonstrably wrong but it doesn't stop you paroting it in every thread about them. It isn't backed up anecdotally and it's not backed up by the experiences of virtual every owner. I could say the same about a Lamborghini Gallardo and it would also be a fabrication.

OP If you want real figures you can go to Edmunds and look up distinct cars and they have maintenance and repair costs. I think there are other generators all over the net. Ignore the biased bullsh*t, and if that includes from me so be it. There are numbers out there and they will help indicate maintenance costs. You could also go to a BWM forum and ask people what they've paid, owners of M3s. People who've owned them for an actual meaningful period of time, say 50-100k, not somebody who just bought a pretty new one a few months ago and is using his single anecdote to wrap around the actual pool of M3s.

More threads on the same thing http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...eid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=cost+to+maintain+e46+m3

You're clueless. I've owned the car for over four years and put 39K miles on it. Find another thread to shit in. :hmm:

 

[StageLeft]

You're clueless. I've owned the car for over four years and put 39K miles on it. Find another thread to shit in. :hmm:

My bad. The rest of your points aren't helpful, though.

I found another thread. Some guy in about four years had had virtually no issues. Very, very few people actually report all their maintenance/repair issues, though. This guy did a great job, however, scroll down (not an M3)

http://www.linquist.net/motorsports/bmw