I am going to view a few of these cars with a friend next week (he's buying)

The car will be around an 03 plate up to 50k miles (hopefully less)

I've had a couple of these but they were much newer

I'm aware of clutch issues, rear springs snapping, door seals coming adrift, recall for con rod bearing issues, auto dim rear view mirrors leaking, etc.

I'm pretty good at assessing a cars general condition but would appreciate any advice

The car will probably be a cabriolet

I've only driven SMG models and have no experience of the manual, so any views on this would also be welcomed

Ta

 

Manual gearbox is a bit agricultural, so don't worry if it's not brilliant. None of them are.

Rear trailing arm bushes: ie too much play in the rear wheels. Check uneven tyre wear also.

Check if the power steering whines under full lock, the PAS is a weak point

The rest is the usual noddy stuff:

make sure it had its 1500 mile service, buy a car after an Inspection II service, as they're rather pricey

Great car, not so great running costs.

 

I was looking to get one and was put off by the chassis cracking issues at the rear subframe that are appearing more and more. check out

http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21572

I'm probably overreacting..but even if BMW repair it.. it's 2 weeks work and would worry me!

 

Chilled, thanks

S2000Si, thanks, I was unware of the subframe issues

 

BMW learned a lot from the Austin Allegro.

The M46 Coupe was one of the few BMWs I liked. Shame really...

 

There have been a few issues with the subframes of the e46's, BMW give a 10 year unlimited mile warranty on this which should give some reassurance.

Most people I know who have had this work done, it has taken up to 4 weeks, and during this time they get a hire car supplied by BMW.

 

...except for the Potato Boys who've fitted aftermarket suspension, that is!

 

Why the hopefully less?

On the age and type of the car you are looking at I would be looking to get one that has had jobs done rather than concentrate on mileage.

for example, < 50k milers may well need a clutch and discs (if they haven't been touched before). & it is likely rear trailing arm bushes will need looking at.

You used to be able to get the cars service history along with replacement part history off BMW. I don't know if this is still possible?

I wouldn't worry about a full BMWSH so long as it has been to a decent indy where they know what the difference is between an Insp. 1 & Insp. 2.

In an ideal world it would have BMW warranty. Once the warranty is not renewed on these cars then the warranty can not be reinstated.

 

Gearbox is more than a bit agricultural IMO .... it was why I sold my Z4M after only 7 months !! I thought I would get used to it but hated it.

I thought the initial running in service was 1200 miles .... not 1500 ? It was certainly 1200 on the Z4M .... same engine effectively .... though different ECU.

 

because generally the lower the miles the better the car IMO

although I accept this isn't always the case

ideally he will be looking for something that has had a pampered existence

point taken on the brakes and clutch, etc.