2003 E46 M3

[Essam Khafagi]

Hello everyone...

I am thinking to buy a 2003 M3 with SMG.. 120,000km and it has everthing.. Condition is perfect.. it has Hamman body kit, pedals and gear knob.

Any special concerns or problems in this model? Any known problem with SMG?

I took a pic with my mobile phone ... quality is bad

Your opinions and feedback would be appreciated...

[LeMansX5]

Have you test driven it? Is this the original or first paint job?

[rayxi]

That seems like a lot of km's to me but that may be par for your neck of the woods. Are there maintenance records?

Try posting on E46Fanatics as well, you'll probably get M3 owners responding there.

[Ajogu]

I don't recall M3's with that original color. From what I remember, that has the SMG II which some might consider quite "jerkey" at lower speeds. You actually need to drive an SMG to know what its all about. So, like LemansX5 said, give it a test drive first.
ps. How do you know it is in perfect condition? Do you know its history?

[Essam Khafagi]

Thank you guys for the replies

I have tested it today and it is awesome! ... it is simply a bullet

I was not comfortable with SMG but I got used to it after a while ... u just have to deal with it as "manual" transmission and u can feel the shifting a bit harder than my automatic X5 ... I did not like its full automatic mode but the maunal shifting is very nice

As for the colour, yes it is original and it is called Phoenix Yellow I guess. I have seen a lot of M3s with that colour.

and how I know the condition, yes there is maintenance history at the dealer and my mechanic tested it too.

The guy is asking for 21,500$ and I am offering 18,500$ ... I might test it again tomorrow.

[Essam Khafagi]

here is the colour in high quality pic ... but it is a different car of course

[mrkbbd]

I would personally not buy anything older than '04, you have to remember that it's a high-performance car that has been driven as hard as you can possibly imagine. I have always been told to NEVER buy a used high-performance car.

[Meiac09]

a "ground-breaking" piece of tech. like SMG that is out of warranty, and with high-ish mileage = :eek: IMO. Then again, I'm not that adventurous, or good with DIY...

[Major04]

The other thing - make sure that the water pump has been replaced.

[Essam Khafagi]

Thanks everyone for the replies
I did not get the M3
I ended up getting 2003 318i with 70,000km in an excellent condition
It will be delivered in two days after detailing and changing brake pads and some other stuff ... will post pics later