Background: I have tracked my turbo a few times, but it's way too much car for me. And if I ever crashed it on the track, I could never afford to replace it (since Insurance doesn't cover track use) and the wife would probably kill me.

Situation: I want to get an E46 M3 for track use only. It will stay mostly stock (outside of upgraded pads) for the first year or 2.

I was hoping to only spend around $25k total (including inspection, taxes, pads, etc). Here are 2 cars I'm interested in.

# 1 - 2005 M3 45k miles with BMW Extended Maintenance Package thru 1/31/2011 and 19" BBS CH wheels with high performance tires (supposedly worth $3,000) and a few cosmetic mods listed for $30,500.

# 2 - 2001 M3 67k miles, 18" factory wheels. No warranty, no mods, new street tires listed for $20,000.

Questions:
1 - I know about the sub-frame and control arm issues on pre-2003's, so that will be looked at. Anything else I should be worried about on a 2001 with that kind of mileage?

2 - Both are clearly overpriced per KBB, if I could get $3k off each (big assumption) is the 2005 worth the extra $10k for a car that will probably get a few weekend trips to the hardware store and then 3-5 DE events a year?

Thanks for your help. Clearly I couldn't post this in a regular BMW forum without being flamed.

edit: # 1's carfax came back clean with 3 previous owners. #2 had 2 owners and no accidents as well.

em

 

The subframe and RTABS are issues on all e46 models, not just Pre 2003. The only thing they fixed for 2003.5 and up is the rod bearing recall. I've had a 2001, 2003, and 2004 M3 and they're all solid cars. If its just for track use only, I'd say you get the 2001 and put the extra 10k in to mods. The only difference btw the 2001 and 2004+ is LED taillights, longer trunk handle, and the rod bearing was fixed (but most likely the recall would have been completed on the 2001).