Hopefully you learned your lesson. Cheap M3s are never cheap. Spend the money upfront, buy a car in the spec you want, that has been well taken care of and maintained, and you will be well ahead.
I had an idea of what I was getting into. I didn’t keep a running tally on the invoices until now which motivated the video. Moving forward I’ll stay on top of it. As for future purchases I’ll try to be smart but I make no promises.
Thanks for sharing. If you love your car, the cost doesn’t matter. I have spent tens of thousands on building out my Landcruiser. The good thing about doing this stuff now, is you know it’s done properly for you to enjoy without issues. Keen to see more vids where you are enjoying this vehicle more. Mark from Australia 🇦🇺
@ it’s a 79 series Landcruiser. Very basic truck so they require some mods to make them more useable. If you can get your hands on one, they are the best vehicle that Toyota make in my opinion
Crazy costs, I have a 2003 330ci Clubsport (UK) - I had a replacement engine, new rod bearings, seals etc, diff seals, new cooling system all for around £5k. Prices in the USA are crazy! Great Video, great car!
This is so crazy.. I had an e46 M3 before.. sold it before it bankrupted me.. in 2 years I had spent so much in maintenance $$$ .. not even worth the hype
Life is more than money! Still worth it though, it will always be a special car! I think a 6 speed manual and a short shift kit, in good condition with the areas addressed (Vanos, subframe, rod bearings) etc will only appreciate in value. Nice car! Show some more vids of you driving it!
Thanks for the comment. It’s def worth it. The preventative maintenance for the peace of mind and the manual swap for the joy of rowing through the gears all the way to the redline.
Yo this is madness to pay that much. I own a 2006 BMW M3 ZCP in interlagos blue that I bought for $18k. It needed a clutch ($750), rear main seal ($20), pinion seal ($50), shifter rebuild ($35) and new tires ($900). Why is my cost so low? Because I can do all the work myself. This car does not need to be expensive. You just have to be able to wrench a little bit.
Crazy costs. 60k in maintenance? And you thought it was worth it? How much time was it in the shop. I owned a Honda Manual for 20 years, I think I’ve need 3 12v batteries, tires, and 10x oil changes. I do it all myself except for the tires. Costs me on avg less $100 a year to maintain. Never spent any time in the shop except to get new tires. Hella fun manual
Roughly 13k in maintenance and 13k for the manual swap. The rest was the initial cost of the car about 33k with taxes and all. I do the basic maintenance on my s2000. The M3 required some bigger items I didn’t feel comfortable tackling on my own. As for time the manual swap was four months :( Every other time it was a couple of days.
wont ever gamble on german cars. i daily a 1987 corvette. you work on it the same way you would a truck. go to AutoZone and buy parts same day. can do anything in your driveway on jackstands. not to mention the reliability. gets good mpg too. i could buy and maintain 5 different beautiful, low mile C4s for less than 55000 dollars! and not to put your car down, but a different corvette every day of the work week would turn a lot more heads than an M3. crazy!
LS swap with T56 would have been a cheaper alternative.. I know it’s not acceptable to purists but I’ve always wanted to do an LS swap into an E92 M3..
The S54 is the main event for me so another engine was never an option. I don’t doubt there were plenty of cheaper options. I just got started sorting it and felt compelled to see it through.
My history with "performance" BMWs: E34 540 > E39 M5 > E36 M3 > E46 330 > No thanks. I'm done. The worst car was definitely the E36 M3 but I kinda knew it was going to be rough. The biggest disappointment was, without a shadow of a doubt, the E46. I swear, when I bought it I figured it'd be my "forever car" and it just had one problem after another... and then the bodywork started going rusty. With the benefit of hindsight, I reckon the E39 5-series is THE best car BMW ever built. They're still nice to look at, they still feel modern to drive, they're simple to work on and they were built like tanks! Sure, a new BMW will be better than an E39 for a few years but, once a modern BMW is more than, say, 5 years old the E39 will end up being a better car. And, I'm pretty sure the E39 M5 is THE most iconic super-saloon in the history of motoring.
The devil you know versus the devil you don’t. I have had my car long enough and put enough miles on it, 25,000, to trust it more than what someone else is selling.
Performance notwithstanding, your video just reinforces why why I steer a wide berth away from the German imports. German engineering?!? Where? In rod bearings that fail predictably, much less, fail predictably in less than 100K miles? Buy a 2014-2017 Chevy SS, preferably with the 6 speed manual, and you have a dependable sports sedan that rivals the E39. They are not cheap, but you can be into an unmolested one with low miles for under $50K and have only normal maintenance to worry about.
Hopefully you learned your lesson. Cheap M3s are never cheap. Spend the money upfront, buy a car in the spec you want, that has been well taken care of and maintained, and you will be well ahead.
I had an idea of what I was getting into. I didn’t keep a running tally on the invoices until now which motivated the video. Moving forward I’ll stay on top of it. As for future purchases I’ll try to be smart but I make no promises.
@@gt1r That’s right, there’s no such thing as a reliable, "cheap" M3! - or as a matter of fact, any decent sports car!
Thanks for sharing. If you love your car, the cost doesn’t matter. I have spent tens of thousands on building out my Landcruiser. The good thing about doing this stuff now, is you know it’s done properly for you to enjoy without issues. Keen to see more vids where you are enjoying this vehicle more. Mark from Australia 🇦🇺
Thanks Mark! Yeah, the peace of mind is totally worth it. What series Landcruiser do you have? I might be considering one in the future.
@ it’s a 79 series Landcruiser. Very basic truck so they require some mods to make them more useable. If you can get your hands on one, they are the best vehicle that Toyota make in my opinion
Crazy costs, I have a 2003 330ci Clubsport (UK) - I had a replacement engine, new rod bearings, seals etc, diff seals, new cooling system all for around £5k. Prices in the USA are crazy! Great Video, great car!
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, I get jealous watching all the UK car content.
13k for a manual swap?!?! Oh man sorry you got hosed 😢
That may be. I got multiple quotes and for the parts I wanted that was the going rate in Nashville.
@@garagetrouble Any reputable shop would've charged around what you paid for parts plus labor. It's the cost of not doing things yourself.
@ thanks for your reply. That’s what I figured.
@@Nachizl248 that’s a fair price. 13K is reasonable for a job done right.
In California 3k all day for the swap when using the same transmission.
This is so crazy.. I had an e46 M3 before.. sold it before it bankrupted me.. in 2 years I had spent so much in maintenance $$$ .. not even worth the hype
Life is more than money! Still worth it though, it will always be a special car! I think a 6 speed manual and a short shift kit, in good condition with the areas addressed (Vanos, subframe, rod bearings) etc will only appreciate in value. Nice car! Show some more vids of you driving it!
Thanks! Yeah, it’s fantastic and I should be over the hump in large maintenance items. The plan is to keep driving it. Cheers.
These cars suck bro he should’ve just bought a Supra and upgraded the suspension
@ Mk 5 Supra?
@@navin9315what do you drive ?
Thank you for sharing u absolute nut ball
lol, no problem
thanks for all the insights bro
No problemo
As long as you're happy!
Thanks for sharing, big number but worth it . Always was and always will be a unique experience driving a E46 m3
Thanks for the comment. It’s def worth it. The preventative maintenance for the peace of mind and the manual swap for the joy of rowing through the gears all the way to the redline.
Worth every penny 100% . Great car
Thanks!
I had one for 3 years and never even blown a fuse
Fuses usually blow if there if a high current draw…if all is kept stock electrically, then you really have no reason to blow a fuse….
I mean I haven’t blown a fuse either, lol
@@garagetrouble so you’re using two TH-cam accounts here? Using another account to comment on your main one.
@@paulsz6194 no, I am not that clever
As long as you’re happy and not actually broke. Lol
I am happy and I am not broke but my wallet is def lighter than it could be.
Yo this is madness to pay that much. I own a 2006 BMW M3 ZCP in interlagos blue that I bought for $18k. It needed a clutch ($750), rear main seal ($20), pinion seal ($50), shifter rebuild ($35) and new tires ($900). Why is my cost so low? Because I can do all the work myself. This car does not need to be expensive. You just have to be able to wrench a little bit.
It’s complicated but yeah wrenching myself would have saved tons on labor. Thanks for the comment.
What rod bearings and bolts did your shop go with?
Invoice says…
S54 Rod Bearing Bolt Set - Late - 201-6103
S54 Rod Bearing Set - VAC-HPRBS-S54-HX
Crazy costs. 60k in maintenance? And you thought it was worth it? How much time was it in the shop. I owned a Honda Manual for 20 years, I think I’ve need 3 12v batteries, tires, and 10x oil changes. I do it all myself except for the tires. Costs me on avg less $100 a year to maintain. Never spent any time in the shop except to get new tires. Hella fun manual
Roughly 13k in maintenance and 13k for the manual swap. The rest was the initial cost of the car about 33k with taxes and all. I do the basic maintenance on my s2000. The M3 required some bigger items I didn’t feel comfortable tackling on my own. As for time the manual swap was four months :( Every other time it was a couple of days.
wont ever gamble on german cars. i daily a 1987 corvette. you work on it the same way you would a truck. go to AutoZone and buy parts same day. can do anything in your driveway on jackstands. not to mention the reliability. gets good mpg too. i could buy and maintain 5 different beautiful, low mile C4s for less than 55000 dollars! and not to put your car down, but a different corvette every day of the work week would turn a lot more heads than an M3. crazy!
I appreciate this point of view. C4 Corvettes are not for me. I agree that they would get a lot more attention though.
LS swap with T56 would have been a cheaper alternative.. I know it’s not acceptable to purists but I’ve always wanted to do an LS swap into an E92 M3..
The S54 is the main event for me so another engine was never an option. I don’t doubt there were plenty of cheaper options. I just got started sorting it and felt compelled to see it through.
This guy has Stockholm Syndrom.
I won’t lie. I have def asked myself this.
My history with "performance" BMWs: E34 540 > E39 M5 > E36 M3 > E46 330 > No thanks. I'm done.
The worst car was definitely the E36 M3 but I kinda knew it was going to be rough.
The biggest disappointment was, without a shadow of a doubt, the E46.
I swear, when I bought it I figured it'd be my "forever car" and it just had one problem after another... and then the bodywork started going rusty.
With the benefit of hindsight, I reckon the E39 5-series is THE best car BMW ever built.
They're still nice to look at, they still feel modern to drive, they're simple to work on and they were built like tanks!
Sure, a new BMW will be better than an E39 for a few years but, once a modern BMW is more than, say, 5 years old the E39 will end up being a better car.
And, I'm pretty sure the E39 M5 is THE most iconic super-saloon in the history of motoring.
Thanks for the comment. I love me an E39!
$13k for a manual swap?!? Why not just sell your car and buy a 6 spd? But if you love it then who cares 😊
The devil you know versus the devil you don’t. I have had my car long enough and put enough miles on it, 25,000, to trust it more than what someone else is selling.
Performance notwithstanding, your video just reinforces why why I steer a wide berth away from the German imports. German engineering?!? Where? In rod bearings that fail predictably, much less, fail predictably in less than 100K miles? Buy a 2014-2017 Chevy SS, preferably with the 6 speed manual, and you have a dependable sports sedan that rivals the E39. They are not cheap, but you can be into an unmolested one with low miles for under $50K and have only normal maintenance to worry about.
I would love to experience a Chevy SS and more American cars. Thanks for the comment.
big mistake on 6 speed swap. you shoulda did 8hp70 8 speed auto swap.
I appreciate your comment and your opinion but selling or going manual were the only options I would accept.
Makes me sick man that’s awful to hear. Glad you’re happy with your car tho !
Appreciate it!