Not a huge BMW fan, but that car is absolutely stunning.
Has our M3 been sitting too much lately? Well, you could say that.
Since purchasing our 2004 BMW M3 in the fall of 2016, we have put a little more than 4000 miles on it–not a typo–and that includes driving it back to our Florida base from the seller’s house in Tennessee with a stop at BimmerWorld in Alton, Virginia.
Why has it sat so much? Our M3 is too nice to put on track, while we have been autocrossing the Garage Rescue Miata. Then add in our work-from-home situation.
Oh, and the rod bearings had us scared as we didn’t have any history on them. Were they about to give way, taking the engine with it?
[BMW rod bearings: What is the real story here?]
Now that the rod bearings have been replaced, we really have no excuse for letting the M3 sit.
We have heard the same from several friends in the industry as well: We really should be driving this one more. Don’t be so concerned with the number on the odometer.
So we recently drove it to our $2000 Challenge, two hours each way and, sadly, possibly our longest trip with the car since retrieving it.
[BMW-powered Miata boosts its way into $2000 Challenge glory]
How was the drive through the middle of the state of Florida? Glorious.
The E46 M3 delivers the perfect touring car experience. It’s comfortable. It’s quick. It makes cool noises. You can rev it.
It’s also a bit of a throwback, analog machine. No screens. No complex center stack. No voice controls. It starts with an actual key.
We had the car on display at the weekend’s Hagerty Cars and Caffeine and fielded a steady stream of questions.
“Yes, it’s the car from the videos and web updates.”
“Yep, it’s largely original.”
“Yes, those are 17-inch Apex wheels.”
The following weekend, we went to Henry’s Depot in Sanford, Florida, for a morning get-together hosted by Orlando Cars and Coffee.
On a rather comfortable Sunday morning we shoved off for the 45-minute drive–mostly highway save for the last bit that follows Lake Monroe.
And, again, the drive reminded us why we fell in love with the E46-chassis M3 at that first hello, back during the initial press launch some 20 years ago.
It’s the right size, doesn’t make many demands upon the driver and has a subtle look that those in the know, know.
OEM+ is what those at the show called it. It doesn’t look modified but, if you get close to it, see how it’s the M3 that maybe BMW should have made: a little lower, a little more attitude.
Before each show, we ran the car through our one-hour quick detail–or at least a version of it: quick detailer for the paint, vinyl treatment for the black stuff and an under-hood wipe-down. Watch this video for the specifics.
One recent change, though: Since our seats are close to 20 years old–where does the time go?–and are showing some cracking, we started treating them with Lithium’s Leather Love. More on that soon.
Not a huge BMW fan, but that car is absolutely stunning.
surfshibby07 said:Not a huge BMW fan, but that car is absolutely stunning.
Thanks. OEM+ for the win, right?
If you scroll through the photos, you’ll find one little thing that changed between the $2000 Challenge the cars and coffee.
I need to do a full photo shoot on it, too. I was thinking tonight, but someone made a huge mess in my office. Lemme see how the day goes.
Not project car related, but I often found myself offering to drive my Honda instead of my wife's car simply because–since my car is older and has more miles–I felt that we needed to "preserve" the lower mileage of my wife's car.
Thankfully, my wife offered a similar point: It's a car, it's meant to be driven.
Poor Rio hasn't been started since we got home from One Lap. Being broken, needing an oil change and the wife putting the brakes on me driving anything with more than two pedals for a while she may sit a bit longer.
I bought my current e46 M3 around the same time, I put 80k miles on it since! 
Slippery said:I bought my current e46 M3 around the same time, I put 80k miles on it since!
Nice. And pictures?
In reply to David S. Wallens :
In reply to Slippery :
Nice.
10K miles on mine since I bought it 5 years ago. Those miles were essentially all on track though, and I've changed the rod bearings twice in that time. :)
David S. Wallens said:surfshibby07 said:Not a huge BMW fan, but that car is absolutely stunning.
Thanks. OEM+ for the win, right?
If you scroll through the photos, you’ll find one little thing that changed between the $2000 Challenge the cars and coffee.
I need to do a full photo shoot on it, too. I was thinking tonight, but someone made a huge mess in my office. Lemme see how the day goes.
Editorial Director, Grassroots Motorsports & Classic Motorsports
Yellow fogs?
Not driving your car to preserve it for the next owner is like not berking your spouse to save them for the next partner.
My feelings while owning my BMW were that I was going to be it's last owner and was giong to drive it till it ended. That didn't happen, but it is happening with my XJ, which I love as a car even more.
You don't drive your car because it is precious
I don't drive my car because it doesn't run
We are not the same
Every year I say I'm going to drive my fun car (996 Turbo) more. Then I drive it about the same. There are multiple reasons why but the big one is I bring my 85lb dog to work with me most days and I refuse to put him in my nice car. He's a good boy, but rambunctious and will end up damaging the interior of the car. Then there's the lack of covered parking at work and the possible hail storms, etc.
End of the day, my Land Cruiser is just more suited to Dad/work/dog use....
Honestly I don't drive anything anymore. My truck which I drive the most only saw 3000 miles last year. I put 1000 miles on my other two cars and loaned out my 4x4 as a spare vehicle to a family member. I should probably leave the house more.
Work from home has totally changed my driving situation such that I'm wondering why I have so many cars. It used to be that the wife and I each commuted 35,000 miles/year. If the weather permitted, I did it on a motorcycle (6,000 miles/year), then a Miata, (25,000 miles/year), or an Audi in the snow (6,000 miles/year). She mostly drove her Focus RS year round. Now it seems like the only I vehicle I actually drive regularly is the Tacoma to haul the racecar. It's like I need to start coming up with excuses to drive the other cars now. I've gone from always having oil to change and maintenance to do to having batteries to charge...
Part of the reason I want to move from OKC........NW AR has so many amazing roads.
The BRZ I got in September only has 1800 miles on it to this point. No fun roads around here.
thatsnowinnebago said:David S. Wallens said:surfshibby07 said:Not a huge BMW fan, but that car is absolutely stunning.
Thanks. OEM+ for the win, right?
If you scroll through the photos, you’ll find one little thing that changed between the $2000 Challenge the cars and coffee.
I need to do a full photo shoot on it, too. I was thinking tonight, but someone made a huge mess in my office. Lemme see how the day goes.
Editorial Director, Grassroots Motorsports & Classic Motorsports
Yellow fogs?
Do we like?
In reply to Berck :
As I keep saying, I don’t want more cars, I want more time to enjoy the ones that we have.
So for years I thought I wanted something that looked fantastic and made you smile every time you saw it (like David's M3) but then I realized I'd be worried about it to much.
I own some cool stuff and I get compliments on them, despite the cars being a bit scruffy, but the plus side is I'm not worried about them and so I drive them more.
Note my cars, motorcycles and bicycles do make me smile every time I walk out to the garage.
In reply to Berck :
Make a reason to drive every day. You have a competition license. The hazards are different, but the attention requirements are similar, and all of those faculties need continuous use. Exercise is not just the muscles. When I had a racing license I made a point of driving something 100 miles a day. Crappy ill handling shop truck is good for maybe a doubler factor for the miles, but I did it, and I did not crash the racecar. I firmly believe it helped.
I'm building my project right now with the specific goal of driving it 25,000 miles a year. I'm adding a number of things to the build just to make that realistic.
Cars are meant to be enjoyed. If you enjoy it by staring at it while it's parked in your penthouse living room, power to you.
Just please don't hide it in a garage in the dark.
dclafleur said:Honestly I don't drive anything anymore.
I used to live in a town that wasn't bike friendly. I drove 2 miles to work, 3 miles to the beach, 3 miles to the pool hall, etc. I'm back living in my home town 7 months per year. I bike to the beach, the post office, the grocery store, etc. I can enjoy driving, because I don't have to.
David S. Wallens said:thatsnowinnebago said:David S. Wallens said:surfshibby07 said:Not a huge BMW fan, but that car is absolutely stunning.
Thanks. OEM+ for the win, right?
If you scroll through the photos, you’ll find one little thing that changed between the $2000 Challenge the cars and coffee.
I need to do a full photo shoot on it, too. I was thinking tonight, but someone made a huge mess in my office. Lemme see how the day goes.
Editorial Director, Grassroots Motorsports & Classic Motorsports
Yellow fogs?
Do we like?
I like.
In reply to Slippery :
Thanks. I had a coupon. :)
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