Thinking about getting a 01' - 03 M3. Any problems??

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#1
I think the time has come for me to purchase a new vechicle. A few weeks ago I had 03' 540i fever and this week I'm leaning towards a 01' - 03' M3. I spoke to a guy today and he told me that the valves go bad in them which makes me a bit worried. I spoke to another knowledgable mech and he also nodded on me getting one. I guess all I have to do is find out what actually goes wrong with these things (like any other bmw) and make sure they were fixed. Any comments/suggestions are welcome. I'm looking to pick one up before Thanksgiving.
 

Tom

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#2
You should be fine. My best advice would be to do a PPI (Pre-Purchase Inspection) before you buy it. It cost roughly $120 and they will check pretty much ever component.

If you are looking at a 01 or slightly newer, just to make sure that all recalls have been performed as well as maintenance at the proper intervals.
 
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#3
Oh I most definately plan on getting a PPI on it. I've been reading up on them and I haven't really found a site that gets into much detail about the problems. I've been reading about this "SMG" feature but not clear on what it is. Can you shed some light? Thanks in advance
 
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#6
Get the SMG if you don't know how to drive stick, which would be odd to be buying a high performance, 333hp sports coupe.

SMG has a lot of problems as well, get the real feel of driving and go manual. Its a really tight clutch, but once you get it, you can get really loud in that car, especially between 6-7K rpm [confused] .
 
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#7
After a lot of intensive reading, I have realized that these machines are in the shop every 15K miles and I don't have that kind of time to be in the shop every 8 months checking valves. I've decided to start looking for a 99 M3. I have a 92 E36 right now and I know my way around that car after driving it for the past 7 years so I know EXACTLY what to look for.

A fellow BMW lover told me I will get about 30K out of the clutch (2 - 3 years) but I have to change the normal stuff (thermostat, water pump and radiator before I hit 90K. Wish me luck...I'm going to look at my first one Sunday afternoon.
 
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#8
m5runner said:
After a lot of intensive reading, I have realized that these machines are in the shop every 15K miles and I don't have that kind of time to be in the shop every 8 months checking valves.
The valves don't need to be checked every 15k, its more like @ 30k. Now, the oil is "supposed" to be done every 15k (depending upon driving conditions) per BMW. Quite a few of us change our oil ourselves every 5-7k.
 


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