Buyers Guide

Below you will find what to look out for when looking to purchase an M3 most of it is common sense really but some are not. (This guide is not complete. I will be adding more soon)

General  Rust is not a major issue as can easily be rectified although this should be reflected in the price. It can also be a indication of how well or not the car has been looked after.

Noisey Vanos. Most M3 Vanos's do make some kind of noise as long as it not excessive it should be ok. The noise is cause by small amounts of gear wear (if it sound like marbles in a can (loud!) leave well alone) if the goes and accelerates ok then the Vanos is working as it should (check documentation for any replacement of the Vanos.

Mis-firing/hesitation  Of course this can be an expensive job to diagnose and fix as there can be so many causes of a misfire or hesitation (Vanos, Air Flow Meter, Lambda Sensors, Air Leak, fueling problem etc ). If this is present it is best to leave alone as there is no way you can know what the cause is easily . You need to buy an M3 with no hesitation/misfiring problems at all, whatever the seller may say...

Rear Trailing Arm Bushes this is another one to look out for. This is not an expensive problem to rectify but one to look for when viewing the car. It will also give you some good bargaining power. If the car seems to have vague steering or seems to steer from the rear/ feels a little unstable then the RTAB could be worn.

Balljoint wear. Quite a common one for the M3. When driving the car over bumps or steer you can get a knocking from the front of the car. This could indicated the wearing of the ball joints. Again good bargaining power. Not a major fix and can be done relatively cheaply.