New used car (E46 M3 content)

After spending weeks hemming and hawing, and flirting with an M46 M3 vert that was fun to drop the top on but had lots of cowl shake and soft shocks, I finally made the deal for an '02 E46 M3. 97k miles on the chassis, around 70k on the motor (warranty replacement after spun bearing - it's an '02), suspension nice and tight, exterior is an 8-9, interior is about a 7 but $150 in new parts and 1/2 hour will make it a 9. I know the original owner and she cared for the car like it was her son (actually it was cared for by her son, an experienced tech at Korman among other places) so even though it has seen a lot of track time I have 100% confidence in it. Here it is at the M Registry

I hope to pick it up Friday so I can do an autocross with it on Sunday...

very nice.. and a proper colour

mad_machine wrote: very nice.. and a proper colour

It's an Individual color - Japan Red aka Electric Red (paint code 438). Pretty rare.

Very nice looking car. Congrats.

glad you got a proper m3, that is absolutely gorgeous. VERY jealous right now. You people are making it harder and harder on me to keep from trading the forte in when I graduate on a real sports car. lol

Excellent choice sir, so glad you went for the hard top.

Drove one once, when they were new, in a demo/semi-auto-x setting. Wanted one ever since. Well done.

Yum, congrats man.

I met the original owner at O'fest in Greenville NC. At that time she was driving an e30 M3 if I remember correctly & had just ordered the e46. Since then I've seen her at another O'fest & been in the same run group at a HPDE at VIR. Certainly an enthusiest owned car. Hope you enjoy it.

M2Pilot wrote: I met the original owner at O'fest in Greenville NC. At that time she was driving an e30 M3 if I remember correctly & had just ordered the e46. Since then I've seen her at another O'fest & been in the same run group at a HPDE at VIR. Certainly an enthusiest owned car. Hope you enjoy it.

I met Holly when I lived in Buffalo and first started autocrossing - probably 10 years ago. Wonderful lady - more than once I asked her if she wanted to adopt another son LOL. IIRC she had an E36M3 before the E46M3. She traded this car in on a new 1M, and she also has a Z3 for autocross and sunny days. Knowing that she was the prior owner and how she maintained and drove this car gave me lots of comfort on the purchase. Someday I hope to move up to advanced run group and show her what her car can still do, but considering I have exactly 2 days of HPDE experience I have a ways to go...

I drove an E46 M3 for the first time at our autox this week. Awesome motor, lovely balance. However, I didn't feel it was massively "better" than my E36 M3, and I thoroughly expected it to.

Congrats. I have an '02 too. Mine's the best car I've ever owned and this is after my trouble-free wrx which i said was the best car I've ever owned.

Know anything about the shocks it's running? I'm due I think (75k)

Did she give you her custom tow hitch for that car? If not, call her and get it RIGHT NOW.

A friend and I spent 15 hours fabricating a hitch for my old E46 M3 so I could tow a tire trailer to the track. Mine and Holly's are the only ones I know of...

docwyte wrote: Did she give you her custom tow hitch for that car? If not, call her and get it RIGHT NOW. A friend and I spent 15 hours fabricating a hitch for my old E46 M3 so I could tow a tire trailer to the track. Mine and Holly's are the only ones I know of...

I need to call her as soon as I get her number, but yes, that's in the plans.

Way jealous - congrats!

pigeon wrote: She traded this car in on a new 1M, and she also has a Z3 for autocross and sunny days.

Congrats on the purchase. I've owned two red M3's (e36s though) and love the color! Please keep us well stocked with reviews as you get to know the car. They are really falling into a sweet spot price-wise.

As for the 1M, tell her now that you want to buy that car when she's done with it! After watching the video reviews of that car, I want!