When I was looking for a car it was a toss up between an E46 M3 and a Alfa Romeo 147 gta I ended up buying the gta it felt that little bit more special and had more Soul..I do love the M3 though

As expected, a contrarian take.

I truly love the Exiga. I have the 2010 Aussie 2.5L w/CVT. It's gorgeous smooth to drive, and even after 7 years ownership I still giggle when flooring it (the way it just sits at 5.500rpm is too novel, and I LOVE boxers at full noise). That sound has... resonated with me at a visceral level, like church bells to a nun, since I first heard and felt a modified Legacy RS Turbo in the 90's. The challenge is to figure out if it's the beat of the EJ205 your eardrums are being graced with. I love classical music, birdsong, all that jazz (music too)... But a Subie boxer with uneven headers...that is my favourite music in the whole world!! Rotors, straight sixes and V12's are great, but there's something about the Subie growl...Like with V8's, there's a special kind of "dirtiness" that makes me want it to never go away. Not sure about those Volvo 5-cylinders...

I do not agree with you. I own e46 M3 for 20 years and after all these years I still love that car. It is composed, mechanical and one of the greatest BMWs.

No you aren't the only one. I had one of these about 10 years ago. Admittedly it was not a mint example at the time I bought it. And it was a stupid SMG. I didn't even mind about the money spent to bring it back to nearly new condition. I was disappointed by how low quality the parts were e.g. - plastic vanos gears, expansion tanks that need replacing every 2 years (esp. in tropical weather). The SMG gearbox is simply horrid and had to be replaced having seized. After replacement I still had problems with the silly SMG. It felt like spending on this car would be never ending. Ultimately, all that promise of magical steering and otherworldly handling never really met expectations, despite top of the line adjustable Bilsteins in place. Heck the Civic Type R FD2 I also owned at the time was simply way more fun.... and never ever had any problems to boot. So put off was I by this car that I swore off all BMWs since then. Today I run a Porsche 997.2 C2S. Yes, it costs a lot more and yes I needed to also spend to refresh the car but the pay off in terms of fun, involvement and yes that Porsche hydraulic steering feel is well worth the money. Fully fully satisfied and will be keeping it for a long long time. Ultimately the Porsche is also way more reliable, more durable and more bang for buck. Something the e46 M3 could never live up to. I know some people who swear by Bimmers and are huge fans of the e46. But it just isn't for me. Overrated in my book.

One of the greatest things about this generation is how the handling aged on the non-M models. I don't think anyone before or after has dared to make a sedan platform that has the driving feel (different than steering feel) of the e46 platform. I'm going to sell mine soon (a 325xi 5 speed) but it's due to reliability. These cars earned their reputation for developing issues post warranty.

What about the Citroen XM? Direct descendent from the DS via the BX - amazing car but it was as if Citroen were a little ashamed of it and didn't want to sell it!

Maybe the car does not feel well planted because it has a square tire setup, and Eibach spring ratios aren't optimal. What about test driving a bone-stock, properly maintained, and sorted M3?

Buy Japanese... Enough said

Well done from someone who doesn't own a vehicle but wishes to own one and works hard enough from 4am to 6pm but still can't afford any car. A Ferrari with 700 horses is something worth talking about. For me 77 lazy french horses or even less will not be just an achievement but a lifetime achievement. Well done Jay

Last REAL M3…

Ah, the 3.0 V6 HDi. A fantastic engine in a Peugeot or a Citroen, just like the 2.7 predecessor, but likes to blow up in very expensive ways when fitted in a Jaguar and particularly a Land Rover. I do wonder if it's because the JLR application has notably more torque at 600-700 Nm (443-516 lbf/ft) depending on the year?

Sorry but for me like most BMW’s it’s a boring looking car, they just don’t do it for me styling wise. But I dare say I’m in a minority!

Owned mine for 13 years, it is the handling and intake npise i love the most. In reality the diff ratio needs changing as it is too long geared, the original brakes are not great. It looks amazing.

I own a M3 e46 Cab and a M5 E61 Touring. They have been fully refurbished and are super cool to drive. I will have to disagree with your M3 cab comment as not only the lines are superb top less but the driving is actually a pleasure. I have complimented both vehicles with Carbon air box and Fi exhausts. May be that is the reason...

Gorgeous car. The best looking E46 for sure. I had a 330ci, I had a choice when I sold that to either get an M3 or a 987 Boxster S. I went with the latter and to be honest, I don't regret that choice

A friend had bought one new and it would randomly never start, the dealer never could figure out why. So he would ride his motorcycle to work.... One day his motorcycle was stolen, so he had it towed to the dealer and badgered them. They had to fly someone in from Germany to figure it out. Turns out the fog in his area would short the starter electronics (!). Good luck keeping these on the roads going forward..... Note: I own a Z3 Coupe 3.0 so not out of the woods.

Spring brings excellent cars out in the uk

Has anyone swapped the M3 steering rack against a BMW Compact one?

Drove one of these in my favourite twisty road and was blown away - stunning car. Then I drove a 997 Carrera on the same road and realised the BMW couldn’t hide its humble family car origins. Still want one - that classic BMW’ness is just so right.

As someone who dailies a Renault Safrane, I love a big Frenchie.

REASALE VALUE, LEXUS SINCE START HAD GREAT RESALE VALUE CONTRARY TO ANY FRENCH LUXURY THAT WENT INTO PRICELESS AFTER 2 YEARS, NO ONE WANTS TO BUY BIG FRENCH CAR TO SPEND THOUSANDS ON REPAIRS AND END UP WITH UNDRIVABLE CAR. My friend had Peugeot 406 Coupe, bought brand new, all services in Peugeot dealer, and then after 10 years, one day after service they told him SORRY WE CANT SERVICE YOUR CAR; WE DO NOT SUPPORT OUR OWN CAR AFTER 7 YEARS AFTER END OF PRODUCTION- OFFICIAL PEUGEOT DEALER SERVICE CENTER TOLD THAT TO A MAN THAT BOUGHT A 70k COUPE AND WANTED TO DRIVE IT FOREVER - THATS NOT CUSTOMER SERVICE; THATS NOT PREMIUM OR LUXURY EXPERIENCE:

What's more likely to turn into a large incendiary device? An EV, or a Range Rover? 😅 -- old Jeep and Toyota 4x4 owner

Owning one of these cars you normally need open heart wallet surgery to repair them and keep them running good😊😊😮😮😮 good luck boys or possibly a second job as a rent boy😊😊

Interesting This generation is lovely. I had the E39 M5 and it was the best car ever. I drove a friends M3 with an SMG gearbox and was massively underwhelmed. I thought it was the SMG ruining it. So much so I went away from M5s when the E39 replacement was SMG only in the UK.

had one, one of the very first that arrived in country, it was my first "big machine" and it was a disapointment. fully agree with Jay. at least someone share the opinion now with such a fuzz about the car in second hand market.

I sold my E46 M3 CiC with SMGII last year because I was no driving it enough to justify the pain of living in Manhattan. Specified and built to order in 2002, Carbon Black paint on Cinnamon interior. Drove it just under 60k miles in 21 years. When new it was something special in terms of performance and even after 20 years it still sounded great and was more than quick enough if you revved it. I am not sure what James means about the steering and roadholding as I always felt you could throw it around country bends with no worries. Have to agree about the suspension being a bit harsh although a next gen 3 series on runflats was far worse on the same roads. Now here is the thing: I had almost zero problems in 21 years of ownership. No VANOS issues, no rod bearing issues (mine was original faulty batch which they did under warranty the year it was released so maybe that's why). Had one cracked rear spring but I think I did that by running off the end of my road one night half asleep. Only when it was 19 years old did anything even break - first the alternator (cheap) and then the SMG pump (expensive). Incredibly inexpensive to maintain other than insurance and the routine maintenance.

A couple things from an American. 1. Detroit proper has lost 2/3 of its population. They don't have London style emission problems because statistically speaking, there's hardly anyone there. Our cities tend to rot out from the core like European cities aren't ever allowed to. 🙂 It's really a national embarrassment that we're just used to, so we hardly notice. 2. I live in the American West, in a city. I'm not actually a cowboy. But my state does border on Canada. Just to go to Vancouver, Canada from my home, is 3 charges, perhaps 4 to pay it safe since i would be driving through mountains and nearly enpty countryside song the way. That's not counting any sightseeing i would want to do in that beautiful area once i got there. The American East Coast area might be more like Europe distancewuse. But the western half of the US and Canada has distances more akin to driving across Asia. There are places one simply can't even go with an EV. It's quaint, to us, that you can take a trip to Scotland like that. If one lives in Los Angeles, it takes 17 hours and 1150 miles to visit a friend in Seattle, then hundreds more miles to go around and hike, ski, etc. which is what you'd probably do there. There aren't trains everywhere because the geography makes passenger service economically unviable outside big metro areas. It's a very pretty road trip, and we have world class skiing, alpine scenery, and beaches around the West, but ordinary distances to us, are hard to even grasp for an Englishman. 🙂

Your lucky it didnt have pole positions fitted init 😊

Despite of all its faults, it gives it character. Having owned one 6-7 years ago I enjoyed every faultless minute of it. However, as you said, at circa 25 years old there's always something wrong with them, demanding good money. Then again, cars are just about the worst investment you can make, but at this stage you can enjoy an E46 M3 for a year or so and not lose any money selling it on. Perhaps an E86 Z4M might give you a better experience if you can get past its looks (I personally like it). Great video btw, thanks!

I owned both an E36 M3 German Spec Coupe and an E46 M3 Coupe and still to this day insist that the E36 was the better all rounder for daily use...it wasn`t as powerful as the E46 but it somehow just felt lighter on its feet and easier to drive...I always found the manual box in the E46 to be a little difficult to live with, the gear throw was too long and the clutch was horrendous to use in Johannesburg traffic (where I was when I owned both cars)...

Completely agree Jay. Recently drove one of these with 52k miles, looked and felt brand new. Steering is completely dead and you feel isolated from the drivetrain. Not a special enough of an experience for me to put up with the maintenance. With current pricing a 987 blows this away!

Interesting, most of the suggestions of the issues you speak of seem to come from the UK. I think you need to have the government get involved in anti-price-gouging legislation. I live in Oz and I would say around 60-80% of EV owners are in their own home and do 90% of their charging at home. One of our power utility operators offers $0.08 per kWh for overnight charging and around $0.37 for peak rate charging. Shoulder period is $0.19. Most of the independent paid for chargers are around $0.45 and of course there are quite a few free ones but as you say they probably won't last. Anyhow this means that the $0.45 operators have to way up carefully how much they charge if they want to get enough customers with such low priced competition for such a large part of the market. The thing about heavy cables is somewhat disingenuous, because if I compare EVERY charging cable I've EVER used they are much lighter than a petrol/diesel hose, and more flexible. In regard to EV fires, they happen way less often per capita then ICE cars, in fact the last I read was that in order of fire risk it's 1. Diesel/Petrol, 2. Hybrids, 3. EVs with Hybrids being I think it was 45 times more likely than an EV to go up in smoke.

I think what made the e46 M3 a legend is the NA engine as the last NA and the looks.. I want one just for the looks 😂😂😂😂😂

I’ve never owned or driven an M3, I’d love to. I know a lad who owned the CSL that was featured on Top Gear eons ago. I have owned an e46 but the 2.0d compact, it was a fantastic car I wish I’d have kept. Was great speaking with you at ShedFest last week. I was telling you about the red GT4 my mate used to have, your drip tray under your Ferrari was brilliant 😂

"Windscreen wipers work really well though." 🤣. Lucky I didn't take a swig of my coffee when you said that or my laptop screen would need windscreen wipers too 😆

EV's are not that great. I have known six (6) people who owned them and three ran away screaming due to poor reliability issues, expense of repairs, and because the advertised charging times and battery range for long trips are a pipe dream as the car ages a couple years or is not run in a narrow range of temperate climate. During winter seeing the battery run down 75 percent in under 70 miles makes these cars a joke. As a city commuter they are some of the worst possible cars imaginable because if you don't have a garage where to charge your car the power is 4x as expensive in the "superchargers" and this is where their painfully short range and long charging times will rear their ugly heads. For the United States market the fact that the EV does not pollute is a very bad thing because it means it doesn't have to have OBD-2 communication potential. So now you can't find a shade tree or neighborhood mechanic to fix your car inexpensively when its out of warranty and because the diagnostics and repair is proprietary you have to pay stealership prices for the entire life of the car. One example is how the battery on a Model 3 costs 14k to replace after 6-8 years (though it starts degrading almost right away). That pays for a lot of oil changes and gasoline! They are perfect for single people without children or families who enjoy a lot of excess time and money who feel the need to virtue signal. Everyone else for now would not be well served.

Perhaps the car is overrated but prices haven’t gone stupid like some of the JDM stuff. People outside the car community aren’t going mad for E46 M3’s which I think is a good thing.

It’s the sound that I find disappointing. I’ve never liked the overly tinny sound of these.

12:15 did anyone else know James owns Ferrari's??

That version of the M3 was great. I believe there was another niche version released shortly afterwards called a CS, which had a shorter steering rack, different alloy wheels, uprated brakes, different steering wheel and sports front seats - it wasn't as hardcore as the CSL that was released, but was a step up from the regular M3.

Bought one in October convertible SMG absolutely love it, engine noise is fantastic so smooth. It’s my second car so only comes out when dry and with the roof off! E46 is the pinnacle of bmw design just gradually got worse with each new model. Spent £1300 on it since October. Don’t really mind though. It’s 21years old. I’ve serviced the gearbox. Preventative maintenance. New cooling system. Subframe has been previously done. Only got 62k on the clock so the value is only going one way. Steering is slow and a bit weird sometimes, but I’ve had a 335d e91 a Fiat Coupe a 1985 Alfa gtv6 (still own) Fiat 500 (still own) and various other family hatchbacks with different size engines. I need a four seater with space for two growing teenagers. Porsche for 20k will be a money pit and back seats are stupid. Aston Martin out of the budget and only marginally better rear seats in a DB9. So having slightly vague steering is a compromise. Plus it’s a completely different car having no roof so you review it and drive it with a different perspective

the 2 most happy days of German car ownership? The day you buy it and the day you sell it.

(Yawn) Rather have my Alfa GT 3.2 - more fun to drive than any old Beema.

In period, I thought I wanted an E46 M3 (in Phoenix Yellow). But then I got in an AMG and it was just better.

id rather have a E46 330CI much the same still hve fun but less hassle and cost .

This comment is made before the review part even starts... The E46 either in Coupe or M3 form is desperately pretty... But hopelessly unreliable. I have lusted after them for more then 2 decades but I've bought many cars for a lot more money then these were or are worth...

Yep, overrated don't understand hype! Full of faults. Never again.

The goatea beard is very creepy adult looking

Your M3 sounds like my E46 Alpina B3 3.3 - just endless, constant, and often expensive problems. The Alpina fettled engine was superb, but the E46 platform was cost-engineered garbage, feeling especially cheap as I'd come out of an E36 328i. Whilst the '36 wasn't exactly a Lexus, it was noticeably better than the '46. It too wasn't particularly resolved when pressing on. Even on the softer Alpina setup, it was never quite sure where it wanted to be on the road. Steering was numb: Turn in was okay, but loaded through the corner it stopped talking.