Still amazing after all these years!

[cobra]

I've owned my 05 M3 for 12 years now and I still LOVE driving it. The whole experience is so dialed, BMW nailed it with this one.

The balance of looks, handling, power, practicality, and just physically a good fit ergonomically. Every time I walk away I do a double-take because it's just so classically styled and relevant despite the current style of cars.

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but just wanted to share.

Also, I have to give a HUGE thank you to Ian and Liam and others who got the forum started up again. This immense knowledge base must be cherished.

[Oregon]

Indeed. While I've owned mine for but 7 years it can still scare the hell outta' me.

[jet_dogg]

Fell out of love with my shit 3-4 years into it after all the typical bmw surprises and failures. We were in the midst of the rod bearing fiasco and emerging subframe nonsense which all left a bad taste in my mouth.

Drove it, got bored of it, drove it less. Coil after coil, tps after tps, alternator after altnerator, I just started to feel apathetic towards it over the subsequent years to the point I hardly drove it anymore. Fast forward to the continuous progression of all the new bmw garbage (and cars in general) made me appreciate the car more as well as unlocking the power potential and tuning mastery that evolved. I didn't want to waste a bunch of money on this thing but it is becoming a cult classic and rising values has eroded the guilt I was feeling at throwing a bunch of money into what I thought would be a worthless car a couple of years ago. I won't go into all the things I like about it but there is no doubt it is special.

I have sort of fell in love again and it's like 2003 all over again, just with newer and better shit available. Everything has been figured out and simplified to maintain since all failure points have been identified. When my car's all done you can catch me in the canyons (or maybe not).

[Nate047]

I've only had mine for about 2.5 years, it drives me crazy sometimes but I do really like the platform. I bought one that was neglected, sort of convinced myself it was a good buy but it really wasn't lol. I am constantly pouring money and time into this car, however, I do not want to get rid of it. So that says a lot.

[cobra]

Maybe I've gotten lucky. Zero electrical issues, and the vanos hub is my only failure which didn't take out any other parts. Other than that it's been pretty routine maintenance and basic stuff.

[jet_dogg]

My issues,
-multiple coils
-tps sensors
-two alternators
-hvac panel
-subframe
-vanos solenoid (bought a new one when they were around 5-600 a few years ago)
-multiple door seals
-cam sensor
-crackly titan shadow
-rear parcel shelf replaced (forgot the reason)
-fuel pump
-fuel sender

That's off the top of my head.

[erickhoyos]

Have mine for over 6 years as my daily and still love it. It’s more reliable than my mom’s Acura CL, the only issues it’s ever had are CPV, chain tensioner, fuel pump, and clutch slave cylinder. Best first car I’ve ever had.

[yhp2009]

Its great to hear these every once in awhile. It affirms that im not crazy and this car really does bring alot of smiles.
Going on my 5th year of ownership and just did the rod bearings. And at over 100k miles, it runs exactly like i imagine a classic NA sports car to run. The loud noise, handling, and response with just enough power to get you amped. There are certainly better cars out there, but this one with this combination of traits makes it memorable everytime i drive it

[TexaZ3]

I'm on my 4th E46M, which clearly indicates I can't live without one. Every time I convince myself that I need to move on and get something else, I regret selling it and end up getting another one in a very short period of time. First it was a beater SMG, then a nicer SMG, then a 6MT, and finally a nice ZCP. These cars are legendary for a reason.

[chilone]

I've had BMWs for years and have ALWAYS wanted an M so I just finally got one. A 2007 M Roadster with 20,000 miles on it and it's fantastic. I know what's inevitably coming and I hope it's worth it!

[Sharocks]

Almost 10 years with mine. M3F OG's will remember my dilemma many years ago with selling my E36 M3's to fund an E46 M3 when the market was down on them.

Overall, I like the car. I think it looks the part which is why I spend the money on it.

Performance wise, there is obviously better, I was very close to buying an SS 1LE and potentially considering parting out the M3 but keeping it stock-ish.

I still want an SS 1LE because CTS V Wagons with manuals are stupid expensive now. But the M3 stays.

Also it's damn hard to find an M3 with decent history without paying EAG dumbass money. So another reason why it stays.

[skristedja]

I've daily driven mine for 10 years and 80k miles now (total of 130k on the car) and it's only left me stranded once for overdue ignition coils. Obviously it's expensive to fix the big three (vanos, subframe, rod bearings) but other than that it's really not bad especially since it's a fairly easy car to work on yourself compared to most stuff these days. I'm also always amazed at how ice-cold the AC is after this long on the original parts. I've been in brand new loaner cars (MB and BMW) with worse AC. I find that the e46 was right at the peak before modern cars got ruined with the arms race of amenities and "efficiency." Cars are just too complicated nowadays just for the sake of saying they have more features than others. Lane keep assist, self-driving, etc? How about just paying attention while operating your 80mph 2-ton vehicle? /rant

[Tbonem3]

I'm so smitten, I'm twice bitten.

[jet_dogg]

Almost 10 years with mine. M3F OG's will remember my dilemma many years ago with selling my E36 M3's to fund an E46 M3 when the market was down on them.

Overall, I like the car. I think it looks the part which is why I spend the money on it.

Performance wise, there is obviously better, I was very close to buying an SS 1LE and potentially considering parting out the M3 but keeping it stock-ish.

I still want an SS 1LE because CTS V Wagons with manuals are stupid expensive now. But the M3 stays.

Also it's damn hard to find an M3 with decent history without paying EAG dumbass money. So another reason why it stays.

The solution is keep the M and get the other lmao. I thought about one of the new caddy's coming out bc manual and blackwing but I don't like superchargers.

Probably going to be a pcar in the future to add. Going forward the M will be harder to replace as it's not like it was years ago.

[Obioban]

I've owned my 05 M3 for 12 years now and I still LOVE driving it. The whole experience is so dialed, BMW nailed it with this one.

The balance of looks, handling, power, practicality, and just physically a good fit ergonomically. Every time I walk away I do a double-take because it's just so classically styled and relevant despite the current style of cars.

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but just wanted to share.

100% agreed. It seems crazy to me that after owning this car for 16 years, I still enjoy it so much. I get to drive a fairly large variety of modern, fast stuff... and never do I get back in my car and wish I had anything else.

I think a lot of current owners feel the car is less reliable than it actually is, because they picked up someone else's car that was behind on maintenance or sold because it had issues. Once you lock down the 2 scary failure modes, it's really pretty easy to own/run. Replace cooling system/bushings/sensors/rod bearings every 100,000 miles. For the average person, that's 8 years of daily driving. Better still, with FCP existing, that's free after the first round. If you wait for things to fail, sure, you're going to have a bad time. If you proactively replace things that are going to fail at pretty predictable (and not particularly short) intervals, and don't use junk parts, you can have a pretty smooth and easy ownership experience.