Got bored of the Clio (///M)

[Pep]

Very nice, Joe!

I actually prefer the 18" they are a little less shouty / bling' bling'

It looks like a good spec too... Manual, sat nav

Spec is awesome, heated electric leather, sat nav, Harmon Kardon upgrade, sunroof, parking sensors, xenons etc!

Looks mint Joe. Very understated and not 'look at me'. I need to sell the Clio big time.

Yeah they are nice and subtle in silver, plus easier to keep clean!
Look means as took from the back

Looking good Joe - But i'm sure you could find a better place for snaps then Sainsburys car park ffs:rasp:! Bet it sounds mean as f*ck.

I'm looking at selling the 197 for an R26 - I'm sure you had one at some point? (I lose track with your cars!)

Cheers dude, long time no speak!!!
Did have an R26 for a few months yeah, a minter in blue!

Very nice mate, my previous m3 had 19's which I then changed to CSL 19's and it was always a bit crashy. I am currently in conversation about getting my second one and will probably get 18's as looking to do some track work. Who are you insured with? I'm 24 and had my M3 at 23 and cheapest I could get was £1400 with Admiral and thats living in a very good postcode no points and 7 year ncb.

I've got 5NCB in a D rated postcode mate. I lied a little, on a new quote it's about £1013 with Elephant, although I'm 4 months through my Clio policy which was £650, then was an extra £450 on top, so actually £1100 this year.

Looks great! Much prefer the 18's, I like the dish they have on them rather than the 19's which don't. A set of eibachs to drop it a tax and it'll look lovely.

Will probably get some eibachs once the rear springs snap again, think it's had 2/3 sets already!

Cheers for all the nice comments!

 

[Slammed172]

Nice one, quality cars as CS know.

 

[Dave..]

I must be doing something wrong. Pretty sure we got our 182s at the same time Joe? Yet here I am still in a shitty french hatch back?

 

[chris_p]

Very nice mate, I've got the same seats in my black z4!
If you like the drive now, you'll love it it in a few months, it's a car that keeps on giving back.

You need 19s, I don't care what some say, 18s do nothing for it. It looks pov spec, but it's anything but!
my old steed with the proper wheels:

Or polished for the mr T inside you

 

[chris_p]

An E46 M3? Between 8-11k for a decent one privately. I'd rather genuinely have an R26 though personally

Madness is falling out of your keyboard.
E46 m3s are bargains ATM, and they're so much more special than an r26 in everyway!

 

[Silent_Scone]

I guess they're going for 5k then? You lot must buy some genuine s**t lol.

 

[Bluebeard]

I agree, I think the 18's make it look like a 318 replica.

Ignoring that fact though, its a lovely purchase.

 

[Scoot]

I guess they're going for 5k then? You lot must buy some genuine s**t lol.

r****d
http://pistonheads.com/sales/list.a...&y1=&y2=&txt=&px=&filter=TP&o=p&Submit=Search

 

[Ian_182]

Nice move. Guy at work has bought the same colour combo but with 19s. Fitted a chav plate to it, something like J1 00 GAV. FFS.
.

Yeh i know,how chav.

The next thing he will swap it for one saying boss.

 

[Pep]

^ Jealousy is a cruel mistress!

Chris it looks good, but the same as every M3 on the road nearly!

Just bought myself some smoked front indicators and black kidney grills, so should look a bit meaner next week.

Overall plans are:

Get the leather redyed/conditioned by a pro
Probably some CSL's or BBS's at some point
General tidy up and plenty of maintenance


It's going into my local specialist on Monday for a health check and to make sure there's no big horror stories coming up, needs tax at the end of the month too so won't be getting anything else until August I don't think.
Got some good driving to do over the weekend in it which I'm looking forward to!

 

[Revels]

Nice purchase.

Needs decent wheels though.

 

[Ian_182]

This seams good money.Would need someone like dave to look at it though.

http://pistonheads.com/sales/3967641.htm

 

[Topgeartom]

Lovely stuff JP! I dont mind the 18s at all.

 

[Stefan.]

awesome upgrade jp!!

 

[VeinAST]

Lovely car, I want your interior!!

I don't think the depos or the black grilles look good. I'd recommend colour coding the grilles as it suits the car and doesn't cheapen the look (imo).

 

[chris_p]

The first thing I would do (and did!) would be led rear lights, modernises the car so much.
Keep the grills chrome, it works on silver. Depos look cheap too, some silver bulbs makes a big difference, even my girlfriend noticed!

 

[VeinAST]

The first thing I would do (and did!) would be led rear lights, modernises the car so much.
Keep the grills chrome, it works on silver. Depos look cheap too, some silver bulbs makes a big difference, even my girlfriend noticed!

Which LED rears did you get?? Some are on eBay for £130 but i cba with the hassle of an error coming up on the dash

 

[chris_p]

Which LED rears did you get?? Some are on eBay for £130 but i cba with the hassle of an error coming up on the dash

Depo.
They look identical to the BMW lights however they do not have a back on them.
There's no need for an Lcm reflash either.

 

[chris_p]

 

[Ben]

Car looks fantastic, would love to own one.


Any links to where you got the rear lights from Chris?

 

[chris_p]

I arranged a group buy from America on m3 cutters, have a search on there for more info!

 

[Alastair.]

lovely car, wheels kinda make it look like a m3 rep to me.

 

[partybish]

Lovely motor, the red interior looks good and I totally understand about the compromise on the wheels. They're meant to handle better on the 18s and you can always get some 19s at a later stage (maybe even some CSLs?)

 

[hughesclio]

An E46 M3? Between 8-11k for a decent one privately. I'd rather genuinely have an R26 though personally

i wouldnt, i had an e46 m3 for 3 years and thought id have a try at alow mileage mint r26, biggest mistake in my 20 years of driving, was slow (stage 2 remap) crap on fuel and rattled all over, passenger window did what it wanted when it wanted.
one thing that i did like about the megane was the confidence it gave you when wanting to give it some round the bends.
needless to say i kept that car 8 weeks before i went back to an m3

 

[Gray]

e46 M3's are soooo tempting, must keep my sensible head on for the house deposit!

Ill keep an eye out for you on Pride Park, Joe

 

[Gaz_]

r****d
http://pistonheads.com/sales/list.a...&y1=&y2=&txt=&px=&filter=TP&o=p&Submit=Search

Looking there all decent ones are still over 10k?

hardly 197 money.

It might come to a shock to Dave but not everyone wants an M3 and associated running costs. Yes they are a lovely bit of kit, but they cant be run on Renault service cost

Whats happening to these M3's is what happens to every car. As soon as they become 10k and under they get into the wrong hands. There will be lots of sheddy ones around that have been run on a shoe string, just so someone can say they owned one.

 

[chris_p]

Looking there all decent ones are still over 10k?

hardly 197 money.

It might come to a shock to Dave but not everyone wants an M3 and associated running costs. Yes they are a lovely bit of kit, but they cant be run on Renault service cost

Whats happening to these M3's is what happens to every car. As soon as they become 10k and under they get into the wrong hands. There will be lots of sheddy ones around that have been run on a shoe string, just so someone can say they owned one.

They can cost a lot of money when things go wrong, other than that they're not miles apart tbh. Inspection 2 is a potentially crippling service but all in all I find it funny how scared people are with these cars. Get a decent warranty and you're away.

To compare one to a 197/r26 is wrong, the only similarity is the price tag. They're simply in different leagues.

One of the main reasons m3s have dropped in price is the subframes are only guaranteed from BMW upto 10 years.
The economy doesn't help either, buyers are very cautious ATM, it's not easy to sell a high performance car let alone when there's such a large choice of m3s. A car is only worth what people are willing to pay.

 

[Gaz_]

They can cost a lot of money when things go wrong, other than that they're not miles apart tbh. Inspection 2 is a potentially crippling service but all in all I find it funny how scared people are with these cars. Get a decent warranty and you're away.

To compare one to a 197/r26 is wrong, the only similarity is the price tag. They're simply in different leagues.

One of the main reasons m3s have dropped in price is the subframes are only guaranteed from BMW upto 10 years.
The economy doesn't help either, buyers are very cautious ATM, it's not easy to sell a high performance car let alone when there's such a large choice of m3s. A car is only worth what people are willing to pay.

Correct.

 

[Scoot]

Lol, there are plenty below 10k that are decent, what direct experiance do you have to determine a good one from a bad may I ask?

Heres my new one that I picked up today, although it was advertised for slightly less than 10k so must be a shitter.

 

[*Badger*]

Welcome to the M3owners.net

Nice spec, I wanted a sun roof but had to do without. If you don't like the chrome grills, you can get 4 pot e46 ones which have chrome outers but black slats, bit of in the middle. About £40 from a dealer. Manual FTW. 19's also tbh, I've had mine refurbished shadow chrome as bright as possible with a powder coated finish (as standards peel as they are diamond cut) and they look awesome when clean. I'd get a picture but it's filthy at the minute. I've owned mine for 6 months now and despite it costing a bucket load in fuel, it's an awesome car.