Topaz Blue M3

[JackD]

So yesterday I picked up my new car. It was a slightly impulsive buy, as I wasn't even looking for a car at the start of the week. Tuesday whilst at work I had a quick look on M3 Cutters, which is a rare occurrence as it usually ends up me wanting an M3. I checked the FS section and saw one with "cheap" in the description so thought I'd see what you could get for your money. 48 hours later I was collecting the car from North London!

Spec is Topaz Blue, 52 Plate, Black Leather, Bluetooth, Electric Sunroof, 19" CSL reps, Eibach Springs.

120k on the clock, 25k of which were in the last year as the guy used it to commute. Brand new Michelin Pilot Super Sports on the rear, and will be buying the same for the front shortly. The running in service was done on time, BMW history up to 100k then local specialist since then.

I paid a decent price as the guy was originally part-exing the M3 and his old 635 at BMW for his new Z4M coupe, but sold the 6er privately and the adjusted part ex value dropped disproportionately for his M3. Good news for me though!


I've only had time to give it a super quick wash over, but I'm happy to say that the guy undersold it not oversold!

Only a couple crappy iPhone pictures so far

 

[Gally]

The wheels really do bring the E46 forward a decade.

Don't think I've ever seen them fitted to an M3 in that colour. Looks great. Even tarting it up a bit shouldn't see you lose any real money

 

[Poopensharten]

Provided the rear subframe and no vanos issues arrive i'd say that'll have been a damn good buy!

 

[brisa4984]

I've never seen that blue.. looks great dude

 

[imprezaworks]

Rare colour, looks great. Like it?

 

[JackD]

Rare colour, looks great. Like it?

Love it! Really enjoying the power and noise, the cabin is a lovely place to be in as well (coming from a Clio helps).

I've never seen that blue.. looks great dude

Thanks, it's actually much nicer in real life as well, quite hard to capture its true colour.

Provided the rear subframe and no vanos issues arrive i'd say that'll have been a damn good buy!

Yes I'm hoping so, the seller was a really nice guy and seemed genuine. Apparently whilst his mechanic was recently under the car changing the exhaust he had a little look at the subframe and there's no obvious sign of damage, however I'm still counting on it going at some point.

The wheels really do bring the E46 forward a decade.

Don't think I've ever seen them fitted to an M3 in that colour. Looks great. Even tarting it up a bit shouldn't see you lose any real money

The wheels are currently a very rare shade of 'Brake Dust' - I only have one lambswool mitt so didn't want to dirty it by cleaning the wheels. They are actually silver as shown in the original sellers pictures.

But I agree, the CSL style alloys really transform the car.

 

[JackD]

I can't decide about the front kidneys, whether to change to chrome outer and black slats or to colour coded outer and black slats. Really not a fan of chrome, so the chrome on chrome is really bugging me but I don't want to change it and the car look 'bad manz' in anyway.

 

[Herr Flick]

Lovely mate and circa £5k(??) The spec doesn't really make it a cheap car so I assume it was just because of the PX value?

 

[Cookie]

<3 topaz blue

 

[Gally]

Looks perfect as is. Black grilles are just gonna make you a badman.

 

[Jack!]

I can't decide about the front kidneys, whether to change to chrome outer and black slats or to colour coded outer and black slats. Really not a fan of chrome, so the chrome on chrome is really bugging me but I don't want to change it and the car look 'bad manz' in anyway.

Colour coded, looks great on @Scutch's.

 

[Munson]

Welcome to the hallowed halls of the ///Master Race.

 

[Sir_Dave]

That car was peanuts, excellent buy. Was sorely tempted myself when i saw the ad, but by the time id scrolled to the bottom of the thread it was sold lol

 

[Craig]

Cracking buy mate. Love the colour. The wheels finish it nicely

 

[_Tom]

Love it. Same colour my 330 was.

 

[Mork of Ork]

Black slats, chrome outer imho. Lovely car btw.

 

[lewisredfern001]

I saw this, great buy. Welcome to the M club. Mines advertised for sale as I want a coupe, just been for a blast and love the whole package

 

[JackD]

Cheers for all the replies! Done about 200 miles or so, really enjoying it. Definitely a fan of the rasp!

Luckily for me it has rear parking sensors as I have no idea where my boot starts and ends. Coming from hatchbacks it's going to take a little time to get used to parking, even the bonnet is bloody massive.

The car also has electric folding wing mirrors which I didn't realise are an optional extra.

The only thing I wish it had was the Harmon Kardon audio upgrade, and maybe the satnav, but realistically they're very small issues which are easily changed.

 

[JackD]

Would any kind person mind photoshopping this picture, to chrome outer and black slats, to colour coded outer and black slats, and also black outer and slats?

 

[Cookie]

Cheers for all the replies! Done about 200 miles or so, really enjoying it. Definitely a fan of the rasp!

Luckily for me it has rear parking sensors as I have no idea where my boot starts and ends. Coming from hatchbacks it's going to take a little time to get used to parking, even the bonnet is bloody massive.

The car also has electric folding wing mirrors which I didn't realise are an optional extra.

The only thing I wish it had was the Harmon Kardon audio upgrade, and maybe the satnav, but realistically they're very small issues which are easily changed.

HK doesn't add much to the experience, its not much of an upgrade

 

[Herr Flick]

HK doesn't add much to the experience, its not much of an upgrade

I was going to say, any car of that age won't really benefit from a 'better' system as it will be worn out by now. 95% of the M3's I see always have windows down and bad manz tunes blaring out!

 

[Knuckles]

@JackD

Black slats and chrome surrounds or coloured surrounds and black slats for me

 

[JackD]

@JackD
Black slats and chrome surrounds or coloured surrounds and black slats for me

Thanks a lot mate, that's perfect. I agree as well, black/black is definitely out of the window for me now.

I'll be buying new kidneys from BMW, off a 4 pot model, as they come with chrome outer and black slats, so I may fit them for a while and see how I get on. Then I can always get the outer coded at a later date.

 

[JackD]

Well it's booked in for the Airbag recall, went to my local scrappy looking for the kidneys but no luck, may try the one at pease pottage if not they're £80 from BMW.

Quoted £200 for few bits of paint, plus about £50 to remove and refit windscreen as the a-pillar has a little bit of rust. Luckily all arches are clear though.

Fresh plates have been ordered along with new BMW badges front and rear, and also M3 badge for the back end.

 

[cat171]

I think it looks fantastic! The wheels are made of win too :up:
Yeah, chrome outer & black slats looks the best imo.

 

[JackD]

I think it looks fantastic! The wheels are made of win too :up:
Yeah, chrome outer & black slats looks the best imo.

Cheers, I agree about the wheels. Suit the car so well. Really happy with my purchase!

Tyres aren't as expensive as I had feared either, fronts about £160 and rears £180 for Michelin PSS.

The Nurburgring sticker has also been removed!

 

[cat171]

Check out Costco's too for Michelin's. They have really good prices.

 

[Adam93]

Lovely colour Topaz, personally i would put the 18's on as IMO they look so right on an E46 M3. Oh, and don't swap to black kidney's, i think the car loses its classy appeal tbh.
Enjoy it mate, excellent car.

 

[JackD]

Check out Costco's too for Michelin's. They have really good prices.

Ah cool, never would have tried them. I will try and track someone down who has a Costco card to get a price, cheers!

 

[JackD]

Lovely colour Topaz, personally i would put the 18's on as IMO they look so right on an E46 M3. Oh, and don't swap to black kidney's, i think the car loses its classy appeal tbh.
Enjoy it mate, excellent car.

Cheers, it's a lovely colour especially in the flesh. You're the first person to suggest to swap to OEM 18s! I'm not really a fan of the standard alloys, so will definitely be sticking to the CSL style alloys (though they definitely need a clean and maybe a refurb down the line.)

 

[cat171]

Ah cool, never would have tried them. I will try and track someone down who has a Costco card to get a price, cheers!

No probs, they have a huge contract with Michelin so they're supposed to offer the best prices around.

Lovely colour Topaz, personally i would put the 18's on as IMO they look so right on an E46 M3. Oh, and don't swap to black kidney's, i think the car loses its classy appeal tbh.
Enjoy it mate, excellent car.

I did lol at that mate! If you see Scutch's car on his temporary 18's compared to his CSL wheels, you'll see what a step back it is.

 

[Budgie]

As said mate, absolutely love this.

So jealous.

 

[JackD]

Check out Costco's too for Michelin's. They have really good prices.

They were actually £150 fitted which is very good, however no stock for at least 8 weeks. Black circles, Openeo, Tyre Leader etc all come in at around £145 delivered not fitted though.

Will measure the tread later and see if it can wait! Thanks pal

 

[JackD]

Bloody love this car!

 

[JackD]

New clean uncluttered plates have arrived which will freshen up the front and rear end, also placed an order for a carbon CSL style rear diffuser which I'm rather excited about. Should look similar to this, hopefully will arrive later this month.

Still need to sort the front grilles out, need to try the breakers yard at Pease Pottage, will get new BMW parts if no luck there.

After speaking to a local windscreen fitter it seems that when my screen is taken out for paint it's likely to need replacing as they're prone to smashing, or breaking a trim surround which is a pain, was quoted £200 for the paint but that's going to be £400+ now if the screen needs doing as well. Not the end of the world as the screens a bit pitted anyway but that money could have been spend on a front splitter! Maybe some other time...

Going to get a compression test done just to keep an eye on potential head gasket issues, then take it to a local dyno and hopefully see that it's putting out a healthy figure.

 

[Bluebeard]

A new screen, with new wipers, and a good glass coating makes for a lovely winter experience! Do it!

(I'm such a loser)

 

[mak2503]

They are such great cars. I had a Carbon Black one a few years back with Kiwi leather and it was amazing. I loved the way it drove, sounded and the look of the thing. They seem to cover so many bases with not bad fuel consumption, enough room in the car for passengers and a reasonable boot.
Your one is an amazing colour and I wish my one had your wheels. I had the standard 19's but needed to refurb them as the laquar came away.

 

[JackD]

They are such great cars. I had a Carbon Black one a few years back with Kiwi leather and it was amazing. I loved the way it drove, sounded and the look of the thing. They seem to cover so many bases with not bad fuel consumption, enough room in the car for passengers and a reasonable boot.
Your one is an amazing colour and I wish my one had your wheels. I had the standard 19's but needed to refurb them as the laquar came away.

Thanks mate, I really love the colour too. Fairly rare as well which is nice. That's exactly it, they're such a good all rounder. Averaging 25-30mpg (a bit of motorway traveling helps), comfy and spacious, but plant your foot and they shift pretty damn fast!

A new screen, with new wipers, and a good glass coating makes for a lovely winter experience! Do it!

(I'm such a loser)

Yes that sounds like a good plan, never used a glass coating before though - any recommendations? Will be handy on the rear glass as there's no wiper, just heating elements. I will also go over any exterior plastics with a trim restorer.

Hadn't planned on making the car mint but it's bodywork is so good already, it only needs a few little touch ups!

 

[Ph1 Tom]

Looks great and a lovely colour!

 

[ROB91]

Thats lovley, the colour is amazing.