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Originally Posted by Raccordv4  After waiting all this time for an E46 M3....the time has come to get one actually (I'm getting the chills writing this ) I'm looking into a 2002-2004 E46 any suggestions on what i should be looking at when buying the car...as far as problems that are out there that you E46 owners know. I would really appreciate it if you guys could help me out in buying my M3. This will be the first BMW i have owned and i have driven nothing but hondas and toyotas before. So i need help. thanx.  |
The one major problem with the E46 platform is the rear subframe has a tendency to fail over time. I found more information at Turner Motorsport about the specifics of why and they say "The E46 rear driveline and suspension are very similar to that of the E36. One of these problems is the rear mounting points for the subframe, which can rip out from their spots in the sheet metal. This happens because the rear differential transmits the torsional load from the engine through the subframe, then into the chassis. This constant loading and unloading weakens the sheet metal and causes it to fatigue and separate from the chassis. BMW tried to fix this problem in the E46 by placing a cross member on the front two mounting points of the subframe. This cross member keeps the front mounting points from having problems by placing the bushing and the stud in double-sheer, thus reducing the twisting action on the sheet metal. The unfortunate side effect of this is that the load from the front of the subframe now gets transmitted to the left rear of the subframe. This is where we have seen many failures of the chassis on low mileage street cars and race cars." Turner Motorsport sells reinforcement kits for the E46 and I highly recommend having it added as soon as possible because one of my friends had theirs fail and it cost him big time to have it fixed. I provided a link below for the kit. Turner Motorsport is ultra reliable and is a BMW specialist BTW and have tons of stuff for the E46.
Turner Motorsport: Table: Reinforcement Kits
In terms of power train the S54 is simply amazing. I was privileged enough to get to drive one a few years back when my car was at my local dealership getting maintenance (That is when it was still under warranty). The dealer who's a family friend of ours noticed me admiring their tester and asked if I would like to test it out. I jumped at the chance without a second thought and let me tell you that I absolutely fell in love with it. You don't really feel the acceleration or notice how fast you are going until you look at the speedometer. It is a deceptively fast car and I'm sure you will love it more especially since you are jumping from Honda's and Toyota's. The E46 M3 is one pretty amazing car.