My friend Brad is thinking about buying a used 2002 M3. It has about 50,000 miles. Its Laguna Seca Blue and going for about 27k. I keep telling him to buy it, but I figured ID ask some of you for an unbiased opinion...cause everyone on the bimmerforums of course will say to buy it lol

 

sounds like a decent price, if he doesnt want an evo then tell him to get the m3

 

Naw. He doesnt want an Evo. Wants a little luxury to go with his performance.

 

Sure- sounds like a good price but have it thouroughly checked by a BMW dealer, it's going to cost a little now but better than alot later. BMW stands for Bring Money With- cause it'll cost you

 

yeah I figured the M series were built a little better. I think it has a warranty till 100k. But Ill tell him to have it checked out at a BMW dealership first

 

If it has a warranty i wouldnt worry about it.

My first reaction was don't buy an 02, because that was the first year they came out, but with a warranty, it shouldnt be bad.

Just make sure you carfax it first

 

Its a solid car, I've driven a few m3's and the ride is comfortable at the same time. And handles pretty good in the rain for a rwd drive based car.

 

yup!

My dad has one, and a couple of friends had them (upgraded to the new M5)

And they're decent. I prefer me a 6-Speed over the SMG as well.

Imagine the cost of replacing an SMG transmission

 

2001 was the first year... they had some sort of internal engine recall (bearings recall or something). A few 2002 were also affected by this recall so call bmw corp with the vin# of the car to make sure. The SMG transmission is exactly the same as the SMG transmission, so it would be the same cost to replace. The SMG just uses some sort of hydraulic clutch to change gears and such.

I say go for it if he has a good amount of warranty left. You should also remind him that maintenance on that car will be pricey. around $1500 every 15k-30k miles (depending on how hard you drive it)

 

The SMG hasn't gotten rave reviews, so I'd go with the manual. You can live with an SMG, but I hear they are jerky and stuff when shifting, the idea behind them being that you still get the same power from a manual tranny because SMG doesn't have a torque converter. Anyway I don't think he can go wrong with an M3, awesome car. 27k sounds like a decent price.

Maintenance costs can be somewhat high through dealer, but there are so many used Bimmers out there nowadays that it's easier to find used parts.

 

1500 every 15 to 30k?? Jesus thats allot. I dont even pay that for the Evo lol. I thought Beamers all had the free service plan as long as they were under warranty.

Thanks for all the good info everyone.

 

I like that color! And the e46 is a classic.

 

SMGs are known for their issues in that car.

 

mmm Laguna Seca Bluuue

 

tell him to save his money and get a newer car.