I'm looking to get a e46 M3, manual is preferred, but came upon an 04 which looks in pretty good shape and serviced. Anything to look out for? How reliable is the SMG? The car has had minor front end damage back in 05, but damage was cosmetic. The price is around $9k, so kinda skeptical or maybe a good deal because of the high mileage. Any guidance appreciated.
Whaaa-hah-ha-hah-ha-har-ha... *cough* *cough* Uh... define "reliable".... well.... it probably wouldn't cost too much more than the price of the car to replace it, whenever it reaches its last working mile. Generally speaking, I'd say hold out & keep looking for a manual. Yes, I'm sure there are plenty out there who love the smg's*, but I'd hate to have to pay the repair costs. I suppose it could be argued it's all relative. *(more power to 'em!)
Agree SMG is very costly to repair and you will have to repair it. Also you don't wanna buy a M car that has been in any kind of accident very hard to resell again.
I'm not sure I would go as far as generalizing that much. If it's minor cosmetic damage that just involved paint work, then it's not a big deal.
I drove both cars before finding a 6 speed manual convertible. The SMG can shift faster than I can! The gear box is the same as the manual 6-speed but with an electrohydraulic clutch actuated by the shifter or paddles. The computer of the electrohydraulic clutch ties into almost every system in the car...my understanding is that when it fails you get to call AAA. The conservative estimate to repair the system may be higher than the price of the car you are looking at. The front end damage is a red flag...but not a deal breaker if you are just looking for a daily driver.
SMG = So Many Gremlins... Remember that the E46 got SMG II. SMG III was the ingenious, fiendish Getrag system behind the M5/M6 V10, which was not even designed for a six-speed manual until the Yanks began to whine. (There is some advantage to being the biggest M market, nicht wahr?) If I had an SMG II car, I'd drive it off a bridge. A BMW engineer who heard my complaints about it said, "Yes, but remember, if we had not had SMG I and SMG II, we would never have gotten to SMG III!" So there ya go, beta-testers! Finally, of course, they went to a seven-speed double-clutch robobox, which is better in most ways, but I still hate it. The one thing that kept me from going crazy and trading the roadster in on a Z435is was that it was available only with the DCT. Thanks, but I'll keep my six-speed I'll-select-the-gear-thank-you manual behind my S54. Which is what any right-thinking E46 driver would do.
Just searched autotrader for 2000-2006 M3 coupes with manual transmission nationwide, came up with 135 results - a quick look showed some were convertibles, as well as smg (their listing criteria is not foolproof; that's quite a few to consider though). There's also Ebay, and autotempest.com searches a variety of car sites, it's good for searching craigslist across the country or a specified mileage range from your home zip.
