Bmw E46 1999- 2003

[Knight Wit A K]

Edited September 18, 2013 by Knight Wit A K

[Supra_Natural]

I would normally agree with you. But if this guy actually knew what he was doing he'd know that there arent any E90 M3s in Sri Lanka. So he should't expect any actual advice, unless his intention was to tell us about the little German snake that slid into his house.

Don't let your anxiety to catch snakes run away with you machan... There IS one confirmed E90 M3 in Kandy and the BMW specialist place has been pushing them for awhile so you never know whether a few more made it in.

And he could be abroad for all we know...

Edited September 18, 2013 by Supra_Natural

[Supra_Natural]

Hey guys .. any advise for a E90 M3 buyer ??

Send a PM to member madmax, he has an E90 M3 in florida.... I'm assuming you aren't in SL?

[Knight Wit A K]

Send a PM to member madmax, he has an E90 M3 in florida.... I'm assuming you aren't in SL?

yes.I'm currently not.. and thanx for the tip..will try to contact him..

I would normally agree with you. But if this guy actually knew what he was doing he'd know that there arent any E90 M3s in Sri Lanka. So he should't expect any actual advice, unless his intention was to tell us about the little German snake that slid into his house.

And guess this watchman guy/girl spends most of the time PMSing autolanka posts as a hobby.. was planning to bring one down to SL but the cost was close to 20mio with taxes... which was way way over my budget so wanted to settle down for a M sport instread ... I'm sure watchman's knowledge about BMW is comprehensive.. but have serious doubts about his EGO..

[Watchman]

Don't let your anxiety to catch snakes run away with you machan... There IS one confirmed E90 M3 in Kandy and the BMW specialist place has been pushing them for awhile so you never know whether a few more made it in.

And he could be abroad for all we know...

Ohh that's certainly an interesting piece of information. Should start nosing around.

Looks like he IS overseas. If it was me, I would ask a 'local' forum to get their opinion about buying a car or a BMW forum to get opinions about the specific model itself. But then again that's just me thinking logically stupid .

[Watchman]

yes.I'm currently not.. and thanx for the tip..will try to contact him..

And guess this watchman guy/girl spends most of the time PMSing autolanka posts as a hobby.. was planning to bring one down to SL but the cost was close to 20mio with taxes... which was way way over my budget so wanted to settle down for a M sport instread ... I'm sure watchman's knowledge about BMW is comprehensive.. but have serious doubts about his EGO..

Yeah dude.. this time of month is very difficult.. you know the scene no machang.. i dont need to explain to you. And yep, I do pick up on posts/questions that aren't the smartest/wisest. It's knd of a hobby/addiction.

I would think a M3 would been much more than 20mil. As I had heard, the even the E46 M3 was in the 18mil range at that time, many a tax increase ago..

My knowledge on BMWs isnt as big as some others here, but you dont have to bee a zoologist to know that a bear shit's in the forest. As for my ego, it IS pretty big you know.

[The Don]

Yeah dude.. this time of month is very difficult.. you know the scene no machang.. i dont need to explain to you. And yep, I do pick up on posts/questions that aren't the smartest/wisest. It's knd of a hobby/addiction.

I would think a M3 would been much more than 20mil. As I had heard, the even the E46 M3 was in the 18mil range at that time, many a tax increase ago..

My knowledge on BMWs isnt as big as some others here, but you dont have to bee a zoologist to know that a bear shit's in the forest. As for my ego, it IS pretty big you know.

Was that for a brand new M3? It could be 20mil if you consider is it 2 or 2.5 years of depreciation and the big engine cars depreciate rapidly in the first couple of years?

[Watchman]

Was that for a brand new M3? It could be 20mil if you consider is it 2 or 2.5 years of depreciation and the big engine cars depreciate rapidly in the first couple of years?

That's a good point, as the current depreciation is much greater than it was in the past so 20mil might even be a possibility. Maybe someone who's familiar with those HS codes n all can do the math for us too

[GTAm]

Max age is 2 years. And all depends on the valuation the SL Customs accepts. The whole industry knows that BMWs come in with unrealistically low valuations and hence they are able to under cut their rivals by a huge margin. So it's entirely possible to get a BM at a relatively low price.

[c1nder]

Pre facelift (1998-2002): The only options available in SL were the petrol 1.9 four pot, 2.0 ltr 6 pot and diesel 2 ltr 4 pot. The best pick would be a 6 pot if a good one can be found... 1.9 is good if you are worried about fuel consumption, but no considerable difference. The Diesels engines were made with another partner (either Rover or Peugeot) not sure. The more loaded the cars were, given their age now, there are things that can go wrong with the electronics.

Petrol engines:

• bullet proof as long as servicing and maintenance is done on time.
• a bit expensive to run in terms of fuel, but no headaches in terms of maintenance, repairs.

Diesels:

• Cheaper to run on a daily basis
• Lots of repairs related to the engine, turbo, gearbox, diesel pump, etc and is expensive.

Facelift (2002-2005): Again same options lists, but updated engines for petrols and diesels. Petrol engines are available in 2 ltr 4 pots and 2.2 ltr 6 pots, diesels were 2ltr 4 pots, in SL. Cosmetic updates were done to the lights, front fenders, bonnet and kidney grill.

Petrol engines:

• Better pulling power than the pre-facelift 1.9. However, expensive on maintenance due to a mechnical problem with the engine that results in a repair costing more 150k. Its common in all 318i facelift models.
• 2.2 ltr petrol is very rare in SL.

Diesels:

• Had a diesel commonrail engine thats better than the prefacelift engine. Lesser engine repairs from what I have heard.
• Better grunt and more power.

What is this repair you're talking about that exists in 318i facelifts?

Edited September 20, 2013 by c1nder

[rangerover]

What is this repair you're talking about that exists in 318i facelifts?

Oil starts to leak from the valve seals. My previous E90 320i had to go through a semi engine overhaul at 40,000 KM. But that was an extreme case. But the N42 engine has an inherent problem with oil leaks. I would always recommend a prefacelift e46 for a petrol and a facelift e46 for a diesel

[MadMMX]

Actually beg to differ on this. Been using a E46 N42 for the past 7 years now. The valve seal repair actually isn't such a big deal - only that our local stealers tend to try to rip you off completely when you do the repair. I did mine at the agents a few years ago - got down the parts from UK (Genuine from a dealer) cost me less than LKR 25k and had the agent actually fit them - labour cost another 27K which included some other stuff where I actually also changed the timing chain guides / tensioners ..etc. Don't get taken in by all the BS about changing piston rings and all that crap. Put the headset in which includes the valve seats and the rocker cover gasket ..etc and its a 3 day repair. Ignore all the BS about you should change this ...etc when you're taking this and that out. Use your own good judgement. The oil leaks are for when the seals around the engine start to get a little old (lets face it - these cars are approaching ten years old) but the good thing is that each individual seal is order able and only cost like a few pounds genuine from the dealers. Have replaced all of them over the years even including the sump gasket which only costs like 15 pounds genuine. Use your good judgement - find a good garage also which has lifts and who has folks who will allow you to also put in your two cents worth and these cars will give you years of driving pleasure. The only important thing is to do your maintenance on time. Mind you the service interval is pretty long too. The N42 give your more power than the M43 with way more economy and is not prone to maintenance like the diesels. You can take your injectors out at home once a year or two and get them cleaned ultrasonically and you're good to go. Try doing that in a diesel ! ( Which incidentally I have owned in the past ) I have done all the major repairs that people dread including changing the a/c evaporator / suspension stuff / head repair / engine mounts / new clutch.. etc and it most of it using genuine parts if not uprated and some actually replaced at the local agents and it certainly hasn't broken the bank - if not being cheaper that some of the jap car repairs that I have had to do in the past. If you have access to the BMW diagnostics - your don't have to worry about maka bass diags - as the cars diagnose themselves.

I guess it all boils down to good judgement. Also when your buying these - look for the service records and check with the agents / others to make sure the maintenance was done right.

Just my two cents.

Cheers,

MadMMx

Edited September 20, 2013 by MadMMX