My Estoril Blue E46 M3 Cab

KevM

RMS Regular
Messages
7,247
Location
Banbridge
So, last summer, I decided to sell the wee Boxster. I loved the wee car, & found it great to drive, but being a 2 seater normally meant that I had to either pick a passenger, or just leave it in the garage & take something else... ☹️

Ever since then, I had been trying to think of a modern-classic 4 seater that'd hold its value reasonably well, that we could all go for a drive in on sunny weekends for a bit of fun. I concluded that a MK1 Focus RS was that car. I talked it over with Mrs M, she gave the green light, but told me that she "didn't really get it".

I got chatting to a few old colleagues a while back and one told me to forget the Focus & to get an E46 M3. & It seemed a good suggestion! So, I started my search & found a well cared for Silver manual coupe & agreed a deal. But due to work commitments, the guy just gave me far too much time to see other things...

A few Saturday evenings back, me & Mrs M were having a glass of wine, I was browsing the classifieds & spotted a nice Estoril Cab for Sale in Reading. It was a fair bit more expensive than the Silver car, but seemed to have a few big jobs done, so I sent the guy a message. After a few texts back & forth, I sent an offer. He had a new 911 coming that weekend so counter-offered, we agreed a price & 25 minutes later, the Mrs had disappeared off into the office, had a one-way flight & a ferry home booked & told me I was off to London the next morning!! So, we packed the kids off to their grans for a sleepover & we got to sleep for an early start 🤢

So, the alarm went off at 4.30am & the road-trip began!! 😬😄
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Belfast City for 5.30 - headed for Heathrow
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...& London shortly after 7.30am, ready to jump on a Bus to Reading!
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So, an hour later, I had reached my destination and after a 2+ hour nightmare trying to persuade Danske Bank fraud team that I wasn't trying to send all my money to a stranger, I had myself an E46 M3 & I was on my way!
Straight to the Services for some Super, a bit of lunch & a quick pic to send home!

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I have to admit, for the first 15 minutes of driving the car, I had pretty much concluded that I had made a mistake. No regret, but I had decided it was another case of Never meet your Heros. The car felt a bit awkward & clunky & not very nice around the outskirts of Reading.
But once I hit the better roads & the car had warmed up well, it all started to make sense! 💙

With a 4.5hr drive ahead of me, in a car I didn't really know, had me a little nervous, but after 30 or so minutes, all was good! Seat adjusted, Radio on, Cruise control on and we were all set & headed for Holyhead 😎
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With the delay with the payment, I hadn't left myself much time for breaks, but still managed a quick stretch of the legs and a photo op somewhere around the Welsh border
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4 and a bit hours later & we pulled up safely in the queue at Holyhead, headed for Dublin. By the time I arrived at the boat on Sunday evening, I was really over the moon with our purchase!!
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Next stop, Dublin Port....
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I arrived home safely in Banbridge just after 1am.
Quite a day, but what a car!!

I am about 2 weeks in now and there have been a few minor jobs along the way, which I will update over the next few days.

But enjoying every minute of it so far 👍🏻

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Eager

RMS Regular
Messages
19,625
Location
fields
Drives
broooooom
Cool, nice to see someone go for a cab

Not sure if true but was told they don’t suffer from subframe issues as much as they are stronger underneath due to no roof
 

big_pete

RMS Regular
Messages
17,439
Location
Ballyclare
Drives
Soulless pos
Lovely, I’ve had 2 cabs and they really let you enjoy that s54 soundtrack so much more lol!

Something I always say to people is you need a bit of time behind the wheel of an M3 to really appreciate them, e36 and e46 in particular.

That looks a cracking example!
 

WSK

RMS Regular
Messages
2,472
Drives
R
Nice, looks the part, enjoy!

As said by Pete, you need to spend time behind the wheel of the e46 to appreciate the machine it is. They are a bit clunky and mechanical especially around busy cities - but on open roads they come into their own, really want to be driven hard. Regret selling mine tbh.

Oh and there will be plenty of minor jobs to keep on top of, M3 life :laughing:
 

AlpineF30

RMS Regular
Messages
4,968
Drives
BMW M3
You know my feelings on it with our conversations before you went!

Unreal car health to enjoy!
 

KevM

RMS Regular
OP
KevM
Messages
7,247
Location
Banbridge
So, after a really long Sunday, it was straight home and into bed shortly after 1am. Thankfully, everyone was sleeping by the time I arrived, as the car wasnt really looking its very best! The guy I have bought from, had been pretty-much daily driving the car and parking it outside. So, between that and the 5.5 hour drive home through wet and windy Wales & torrential rain the whole way up the Mexican Autobahn to NI, it needed a bit of a tidy up. So, I got up on Monday morning and away to work in the car to get it tidied up for the Big Reveal to the folks! lol

Out at lunchtime for a quick wash & vacuum, & of course a set of NI std issue Metros.... :eyes::laughing:
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A bit about the car...

Its a 2003 manual Cab, the car turned 84k miles on the way home - I think I am the 4th or 5th Keeper. It seems to all be fairly standard, apart from a Dealer fit AC Schnitzer back box and Carbon/Chrome diffuser.
It has the usual thick folder of history, always nice to have. The guy I bought it from, had it as a stop-gap after his new 992 was delayed. He only had it a few months. Before that, it belonged to RBM BMW Specialists in Hampshire. They had it as a mini-project and documented a lot of the work they did on Instagram, so although I was buying blind, I had plenty of good info about the car. In the past 6 months, its had the Rod Bearings replaced (the old ones were in really great shape), a full new OEM suspension with Eibach lowering springs (catches on my garage door ffs), and an Inspection 2 service.

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I have ordered a few bits and pieces myself in the past week.
I have a short aerial (I think it looks a bit better on the Cab), but the old one had seized into the base, so have fitted a new one of those too. A new bonnet badge and a new gear knob to freshen things up too. I hope to add a double din E46-Homage Bluetooth/Nav headunit in the near future too.
 
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Tufty

RMS Regular
Messages
7,422
Location
Co Armagh
Drives
RS3/RS4/S6
It seems to be a well looked after car and that colour is so nice.

All the best with it Kev.
 

WSK

RMS Regular
Messages
2,472
Drives
R
Looks the part cleaned up! Set of spacers also help a lot!!

Think i had 12mm all round!
 
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