Well, im not rich and im still young so hopefully this will change, but at this point in my life im always going to be behind the curve when it comes to the hot new cars, and this is something i do not have a problem with. But in the opinion of e46 m owners, do you think that your cars will be able to be sold and driven daily say four years down the road? Do you think when the prices drop to the low 20's and the miles climb it will still make a great car?

I would really love to own a e46 in the future, but will it last as well as the e36 or do you think electrical gremlins and a high reving technical engine will make it a very unreliable car in the future?

At this point im amazed with my e36, 123xxx and counting and besides a few suspension issues its as good as new.

koa

Will last just as long if not longer... I plan to keep mine well over 100k miles. I think the Bangle design will take BMW in a bad direction. The current M3's will be sought after, much like many Porsche enthusiasts go for the 993's over the 996's (and look at the prices in the market for those two, it's amazing)

def will last have seen numerous m3's for sale with 88k...98k miles...so they obviously still run great till then

This is info is third hand, but I heard of an e46 m3 recently selling on eBay with either 200k or 300k miles. I am telling you what I HEARD, so take with a grain of salt, or do a search.

Still going strong... all problems I have had are documented here in the forum. No major problems aside from a cat meltdown.

The S54 is basically the S50, I very much feel these engines can go 300k like e36. The other components look to be well made just lilke the e36 if not better. No rsm and subframe tearing, and the other systems are very similar to e36.

The e46 should last just as long imo.

The Bmw s54 has won numerous awards and has been recognized globally. And on top of that, everyone knows that bmw's inline six engines are bulletproof.....

ok good, now all i need to do is wait for the prices to fall.. three years cant come fast enough hah

ok good, now all i need to do is wait for the prices to fall.. three years cant come fast enough hah



I think you'll see some pretty good prices in 2008 for these models, at least I'm hoping WE will!:redspot

I have seen a thread or two started that listed an ebay auction for an E46 M3 with like 230K miles -- not to try and help sell it, but just to show the car has held up well :)

Just wild things I am throwing out there

the e46 is way more common than the e36...and way way way more common than the e30. Its tough to mod. It is tougher to DIY which is a bad selling point to real car enthus. Many e46 is coming off leases which should hurt the resale value.

Personally I suspect it will drop with the new M3 coming out. Unless the new m3 is hated my many core bimmer buyers, it will go down a bit. At some point it will plataeu for quite some time like the other ///M.

car prices bottom out after about 10 years though

like a 95E36 wont really depreciate anymore a 90 E30 goes for about the same a a 95 and a 95 is not that much cheaper than a 99..

honestly, after the first 5 years in which your cars value is halved, esentially, the depreciation on the M is like pretty much very very minimal. and after about 10 years, its like worth the same...

^ were not asking for 10 years
hopefully just like 3 or something :)

The E46 will stay strong for a very long time. It is the last BMW to have been produced without Chris Bangle's influence and IMO is the last true BMW. These new designs are complete crap, and unless the new M design is going to change dramatically from the test mules, we're in for a huge disappointment.
The car is strong, the motor is strong (6 straight international engine of the year awards in 3-4 litre, beating out porsche over and over...the s54 platform is incredible), and its a great performer.

"The most successful BMW engine in International Engine of the Year Awards history continues to make its mark with this, its sixth straight capacity class win. Including the overall crown in 2001, as well as the Best New Engine Award in that year, it is now eight ‘Engine Oscars’ for the BMW 3.2-litre in-line six."

these results are for 3-4 litre 2006, not performance...to explain the hybrid motor. And the hybrid motor got most of its point for hybrid reasons so compare the M motor to the porsches and audi's performance wise as they are getting their points in the same areas.

<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="500"> <tbody><tr><td class="eotyheader04light" bgcolor="#fffdee" height="20"> Results</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="eotybody04" bgcolor="#c9d5b7">
</td> <td bgcolor="#fffdee" width="2">
</td> <td bgcolor="#fffdee"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="300"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#c9d5b7"> <td>
</td> <td class="quote1">points</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="results">1. BMW 3.2-litre (M3, Z4 M)</td> <td class="quote1">235</td> </tr> <tr> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="results">2. Toyota 3.5-litre Hybrid (GS 450h)</td> <td class="quote1">189</td> </tr> <tr> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="results">3. Porsche 3.8-litre (911)</td> <td class="quote1">156</td> </tr> <tr> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="results">4. Porsche 3.6-litre Turbo (911 Turbo)</td> <td class="quote1">131</td> </tr> <tr> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="results"> 5. Toyota 3.3-litre Hybrid (Lexus RX 400h)</td> <td class="quote1">102</td> </tr> <tr> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="results">6. Audi 3.2-litre V6 FSI (A4, A6, A8)</td> <td class="quote1">89</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody> </table>

I think the e46 will carry on the M legacy and just like the e36 it will retain its value. Even a 2001 M3 with 5k miles is still worth almost $40k. Its 5 years old, and any e46 M3 with less than 5k miles is a steal at $40k. Hell a 2002 with that many miles would be even more than that.

I dont think the new M3 will effect many of the core M enthusiasts or possible consumers. It will be priced too high and be in a completely different consumer category and already is receiving criticism for its design.

and now the M5 V-10 has racked up 7 awards in 2 years inlcuding best performance 2005/2006 and Engine of the Year 2005/2006. Oh yeah...

The e46 will be around for a long time. E46 M3 FTMFW!!!!!

another good opinion, and btw your cars color/int is my dream combo!!

another good opinion, and btw your cars color/int is my dream combo!!

Thanks man. I actually wanted black on black. but this was the only car in my range that i could get my hands on... then he pulled up and I fell in love with the cinnamon interior. I still get a kick out of how blue this car can get after I wash it. it really is a great combo, although I still havent seen what the Imola Red interior looks like in person.

Will last just as long if not longer... I plan to keep mine well over 100k miles. I think the Bangle design will take BMW in a bad direction. The current M3's will be sought after, much like many Porsche enthusiasts go for the 993's over the 996's (and look at the prices in the market for those two, it's amazing)


Eh, i dont think so. I think the biggest factor is price. The newer generation M3's are going to be quite a bit more expensive than E46's, which will force many to opt for a used version. That should keep their prices fairly steady, but not like a 993...those were ahead of their time, and still compete with the latest and greatest in performance. I would even go as far as to call a 993 a collector car, kind of like an E30 M3. Unfortunately, only very few models of E36 M3's have become collector models (LTW, GT, etc). I think it will be the same for E46s as well when the time comes.

Well, im not rich and im still young so hopefully this will change, but at this point in my life im always going to be behind the curve when it comes to the hot new cars, and this is something i do not have a problem with. But in the opinion of e46 m owners, do you think that your cars will be able to be sold and driven daily say four years down the road? Do you think when the prices drop to the low 20's and the miles climb it will still make a great car?

I would really love to own a e46 in the future, but will it last as well as the e36 or do you think electrical gremlins and a high reving technical engine will make it a very unreliable car in the future?

At this point im amazed with my e36, 123xxx and counting and besides a few suspension issues its as good as new.

koa

It doesn't hurt that the M3 engine is being used in the new M roadster.

I would really love to own a e46 in the future, but will it last as well as the e36 or do you think electrical gremlins and a high reving technical engine will make it a very unreliable car in the future?

At this point im amazed with my e36, 123xxx and counting and besides a few suspension issues its as good as new.

koa

you are ahead of the game with an e36. it's a great car and should last you a long time. i do love my e46 m3, but i do at times wish i also had an e36 (and an e30 for that matter). :D

My 2002 now has 105K+ on it and it feels like it just woke up...

The S54 is a great motor, no doubt. It is a very high specific ouput race motor. But generally, the higher the state of tune, rpm and complexity, the less durable the motor.

In light of this, I seriously doubt S54's will enjoy the same longevity of the S50's and S52's, which easily go 200k+ before needing any work.