Why the E46 BMW M3 is NOT worth the HYPE! 

Or Two

I need a yacht, I'm actually thinking about buying some tools and moving closeby

He is still at just three yachts? Edit: He was buying one every episode..

At least ninja buys stuff from hoovie. When's his next Ferrari purchase?

Commodore Wizard please

It's unreliable even if u baby it

Imagine that. Maintenance makes stuff last longer. :D

M539 Restoration would agreed on maintance part

@@altergreenhorn Sreten is a legend!

This is the difference between an American and an European. Johnny is Albanian, we know how to maintain this cars here in Europe... And we know that BMWs are super reliable, because we do maintenance!

Hey can u help me with my m3 lol I love your channel

I’ve followed your channel for your Pro Tips and my 2006 M3 is totally reliable. I even did the SMG to 6Speed swap on it.

I love your channel and you have helped me so much over the years. You do great work. I did an S54 swap into my 323 sedan. It is so awesome. I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks man.

Prices for the coupe are “hyped up” but convertibles are still dirt cheap

@@TomCogan dirt cheap no. Verts are hovering in $18,000 - $20,000 range. For fair mileage.

Opinions are facts, yo. :D

Hoovie is a sad little cretin, he doesn't have a clue about most things and spouts crap to generate views

Oh could simply ask any E46 owner and get the same exact shitty feedback, horribly reliable, expensive to fix, and nothing more than a cool sounding money pit lol. Wow how extraordinary

I didn’t see it in the video but the noise he was referring to that goes with the engine rpm just a fan?

@@ryanm4319 sure lets ask an E46 M3 owner. I happen to have owned one for 6 years now. The only thing that you mentioned that is true is it being expensive to fix. I have close to 200k miles and other than the "big 3" that need to be done, its been dead reliable. You sound like someone whos never owned one and is just hating for no reason.

@@travis4161 also an e46 owner, there extremely reliable vehicle's. none of mine have ever failed to start or have ever left me stranded.

It's funny, I had the previous generation's 1995, the "worst" M3 of all time. Go figure, I never had a single problem, maintenance was a breeze and I had a ton of enjoyment for a couple of years with it. Even got 30 miles to the gallon if I really nursed it on road trips! Even the bad years can still be good cars 🤞

You got any people who rebuild these here in the west coast ?

@@ivanmartinez632 my BMW INDY mechanic had my E46 M3 transmission rebuilt by a certified //M transmission tech in Orange County, but this was 8 years ago. I don’t talk to him anymore. I got it rebuilt for $400. Worked flawlessly. Let’s just say he owed me some favors…

This is the same clown that junked an Alpina B7 because it needed engine work. He is not a car guy but a RU-vid opportunist out for an easy buck.

Agreed. I have a 2005 M3 and bought it with 20,000 miles. Has 230,000 now and little to no maintenance. Heard 2001 was the E46 to stay away from.

You, wouldn't have bought it if you thought otherwise. :D

Any E46 after 2003 the subframe cracking was taken care of

e46 m3 is a great car no doubt but the e30 and e36 m3 were much better balanced cars over all than the e46 !!

Do the E46 have rod bearing issues too like the e92?

@@hassanrashid5816 YES

Thank you for saying my mind its an awesome car just do the big 3 and your good one and done and all the problems he listed a couple of them plague the 7 and 5 series so its a bmw universal thing of that era

I love Tyler also but this is a regular with him and BMW's. Some cars can handle bad maintainance, but not BMW's. You treat them good, they will be there for you. Don't care about them, they will leave you stranded.

Agreed. But it tells you a lot about how a car's made when even a well-maintained and solid example requires repairs that shouldn't be normal. Changing rod bearings shouldn't be a maintenance item. Plastic water pumps that become brittle and explode at 80K miles-whose idea was that? Toyota, Honda, and others have developed highly reliable variable valve timing systems-why can't BMW (or Ford for that matter?). How come a car with 70K miles is leaking transmission fluid so badly that it destroys the transmission? For cars that cost as much as they do and the vaunted reputation of German precision, these cars should hold up a lot better than they do. They probably just take the Land Rover philosophy-build high-performing vehicles of marginal quality because people will lease it as a status symbol and trade it in after 3 years. Let the next sucker deal with the problems.

That's why unsub him few months back...he's not worth the hype...😂😂

You can't mention anything common sense here, Tyler is just trying to stir up sh*t for attention.

I'd love to see him having to deal with an S14 or an S38! I loved my E34 M5, but that valve adjustment was always something I dreaded having to schedule.

I like how car ninja shut him down and told him that they’re reliable, he’s acting like a boomer and crap talking recent bmws which are great and talking down on these which are also great, I don’t get it but looking at the likes I guess he knows his fan base.

@@entrapperneur it's all about entertainment and he's making money out of it which is obvious. If you watch anything car related on TV, that's complete ton of bullsh*t most of the time. And as everyone think BMW's are money pits it's easy to tell them that this one is also bad and everyone gonna believe

event ninth and eigth generation honda civics with the 1.8 liter engine have to do that

Well I'm selling my nom M E46 convertible 5 speed for 6500 if you're interested...

Just a note of caution, I bought my 2005 at 126k and it ran great. I recently did rod bearings as a preventative measure (it really isn't all that expensive) and most of the bearings were showing copper. The peace of mind is worth more than the cost of the job IMO.

Hoovie isn't used to having cars with few problems, so he is suspect of every car he buys. When he gets one that needs just normal work he doesn't know how to react.

i have an 03 SMG with over 300 000 km (Canadian driven) = 186 411 miles Do all the maintenance needed and the car will run forever Btw its been my daily and winter driven

@@jaredbuttles1753 Agreed, just had them done on my 2004 @ 180k without prior service records, and when I saw the condition they were in it's a wonder they hadn't spun yet. VANOS lockdown is a must as well, learned that one the hard way and it was a pricey ordeal with the head off, new valves, etc. Subframe is next on the list once I have the cash, and then I'll be ready to take this car to the grave with me. I've learned to do pretty much all the other routine maintenance items along the way, starting from zero tools / zero experience to just having completed a clutch / flywheel job. Call it Stockholm syndrome if you want, but I love this car and will never give it up.

Wish I’d kept my E36 M3. Was a fun car

I agree with everything you said. I'm personally an e36 M3 fan and own one as a daily driver. It's the most balanced power vs chassis matching I've ever come across. I'm OK with the flack they get, because it keeps them less expensive and the secret of those in the know of just how incredible the e36 is.

@@johnpearson492 e36 is the goat

Do not forget the car's influence in NFS Most Wanted and Carbon

Brilliant synopsis of being a 90s car nut!

I agree that oil changes will definitely keep the engine and turbo etc in good shape, however it won't affect the water pump, clutch and starter motor.

servicing your car doenst help with other poor quality things breaking down. i had my e39 window actuators fail. coolant hoses break. sunroof motor fail. even the cupholders were poor quality and broke into 2 pieces. i had over 20+ issues that were just due to poor engineering and quality. not to mention it left me stranded 3 times. garbage vehicles.

@@prezVZ only the 540i was garbage. E39's with the straight six are absolutely bulletproof outside of the plastic cooling issues. But you only deal with that once every 10 or so years, and if you have ever picked up a wrench in your life, you can do the full service yourself, in about 5 hours, for well under a grand.... so yeah, you just dont know how to do maintenance properly, or you had a v8.

@@prezVZ but I will agree about the cupholders. Absolutely ass. ALL my window regulators have lasted almost 200k miles, without issue though.

@@prezVZ you're right, no amount of maintenance makes up for poor quality or workmanship. Unless you want to replace things proactively. And when you're talking about BMW engine cooling systems, that can get expensive.

Mine currently parked up with a subframe crack gonna fix it this winter tho

I was going to say, he mentioned two of the 3 big ticket items with this car, but I heard nothing about the rear subframe. I'm assuming Johnny looked it over and it passed his inspection.

I had one PPI'd and the tech said it was cracked so bad he didn't even recommend driving it until the issue was fixed. Will never forget the look on the owner's face..

It’s not exactly difficult to have repaired plus it’s well known

Well you can just swap out the old one if the car is otherwise good.

It took 2 years but I finally got one myself lol

It is good looking, but M F80/82 and F92 is looking sharper.

@@FVBmovies completely missed the point.

@@jjcvk i mean it’s just subjective

I agree with you. Although I don't reckon they'll surpass the values of the E30. Especially considering there are only 18000 E30 M3s in existence, compared to 85,000 E46s. I don't think the E46 is special enough to be worth more than the OG.

yeah but on these recent cars its not just limited to maintenance now, low quality plastic parts of the 00s, the car is programmed to die regardless of maintenance

Everyone that I talk to that sold one totally regret it

I’ve got to agree with you I’ve driven every m3 and it’s still my favorite it’s why I own one lmao. I’ve never had issues besides subframe which was expected and I’m fixing. My e46 m3 has let me down fewer times than my e39 528 or my e28 528 in fact it’s never let me down once.

I agree about the E46. Disagree about the Vette. I like both. But for a daily family wagon, there is no better car than a 2003-2006 E46 330i/d for under 15k. Mines on 70k , cost £2k 5 years ago and touch wood, just servicing and tyres. So comfy, quick enough, 28mpg++ And it just drives... it's just so perfect. I nearly got an e46 in February. £11k he wanted (SMG, 74K, Subframe points done) . I asked for a month to get some extra cash and he auctioned it... for £16000 😭😭😭

Totally agree. When these came out they were the coolest car to have the C5 wasn’t even close IMO. Back then the SMG was even cool. Lol

You neglected to mention the horrific subframe issues on these cars. You sound like the classic BMW excuse maker/apologist. I've had 5 of them over the years, most were trouble free, except for a warped head on my '77 530i. They were trouble free because I drove them gently (mostly) and sparingly and sold them before major issues cropped up. I used to love the brand and was very loyal, but too much bad publicity from the Bangle era cars, forward, has put me off BMW. They shit the bed with their idiotic maintenance schedules, trying to save a few bucks, and they've tarnished their reputation permanently. And now the styling direction of their M cars is laughable. Yikes on the buck-toothed beaver look. I drive a Mercedes and a Honda now. I prefer the Honda for daily driving/errand running, and not a cent has been spent on maintenance, other than fluid changes, for the past 14 yrs.

@@realMaverickBuckley 11k for that was a bargain 😂

Not really. The E30 won races.

Besides that,it was in NFS MOST WANTED.Thats what it famous in more young generstions of adults.)

@@pequod1 E9X is nice but personally the gaps and the iDrive is frustrating

@@Indskret No idrive is the answer. Even 5 year old screen interfaces in cars start to seem dated.

cant forget about the rod bearings issue

Oh I don't know. The E92 and F30 coupes were pretty nice. To each their own. I won't touch one myself. No i-drive bmws for me.

@@Indskret You can get an E9X M3 without iDrive.

holy shit you gotta e90 for under $10k? thats insane. e92 is by far my favorite m3

@@SicSemperBeats yeah man heres the story on it. Was a local trade in and the dealer had no idea what it was worth. Listed it for $10k and i offered $6 k lol ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AONFgTGFxtA.html

Yeah, E9x 6MT might well be the ultimate naturally aspirated M3, although I might prefer the DCT. I certainly prefer the DCT on the turbo engines N54/55.

I owned 2 E46 (M but not M3)s. Most of us Croats see the M3 as the 2nd coming of jesus.

Exactly, I test drove both an E46 and an E90 when I was looking for a car, and I found the E90 just as engaging and better to live with. The E46 is an awesome chassis, but I wish it didn't take away from how good the E36 and E90 are too.

Which brand csl tune did you use if you don’t mind me asking, I’m in the market for a good csl tune but none have caught my eye yet. I been fairly satisfied as I learned to rev match without any tune.

Nail on the head. Not sure where he got the idea that these suffer from rod bearings so bad either. Maybe from when people took 10k miles per oil change like BMW used to suggest (which is wrong).

Nearly any car from 2000 and up isn't actually unreliable if you keep up with maintenance (at least mechanically)

@@tati-anaroseee4316 I also believe this to be true, this and the maintenance intervals getting too infrequent, I drive a jaguar diesel, service interval says oil every 2 years or 36.000km, I am not doing that, I do oil every year, car is rock solid, and it's supposedly a drama queen for reliability.

@@tati-anaroseee4316 a 20 year old car you buy used is gonna have problems. BMWs are gonna be more expensive to fix than say a toyota. Also cars like this probably have been raced for 20 years by the previous owners....

@@glennv3176 yup I drive a Benz c class with a V6 and it's not had a single issue other than a dead battery due to living in the desert. I do oil every 6-8 months depending on how much I drive but I drive a lot. Still drives brand new at 270k miles

wut!??! Thats awesome! Good for you dude! thats the dream!

Start your own channel.

@@chrispy3866 I think I’m camera shy… 😞 but I’ve been thinking about it…also I don’t have a camera or computer to edit…

Nice man!

@@joshuamartin6841 But surely you have several thousand spare dollars that you had budgeted for the engine repairs? 🤔

Its is the best m3 ever made

Yeah - 20 year old car needs maintenance. Oh the horrors. Funny how Hoovie shits on them but continues to buy them and is going full Pokemon at that.

Every Damm second of it

Great content, they are always broken. .

We are all just enabling an addict

@@Moncru hoovie would do this without us...

He’ll sell them all for more than he bought them. Practically 0 risk especially augmented with ad revenue and very good prices from the Ninja and Wizard.

BMW forums become a life saver for DIY maintenance.

It’s all pretty sensible stuff for mine, like plastic that’s disintegrated after 20 years😂🤷‍♂️

The big killer with BMW's is that people don't take care of them... I've heard the N/A I6 is the most reliable BMW engine.

I have a DIY channel on my Z4C si

@@MartinJones123 It is the most reliable. There were just a couple things (vanos &rod bearings) that needed to be built with higher grade materials. Other than that, it’s the Nokia Engine of BMW’s

LSB?? Oh man,... the dream.

BRUH LSB?! I HAVE ALPINE WHITE WITH IMOLA RED SAME HERE IM SO SAD FOR YOU BRUH

what would you recommend on how to learn how to take care of these things?

@@oni5909 plz keep it. amazing car

@@giudasilva3651 i got her at 165k it’s at 169k now rather just sell her

I mean, it could have been the crank or the rear subframe mounts, so there is some element of suspense there...

I guess as a mechanic, you love them because they're always in your shop?

keep pounding those brews

I like the looks of the next gen (E90) with the V8, too.

I agree. Even the top line 2 door coupe was absolutely gorgeous and you still see plenty around.

Rod bearings and Vanos rebuild, then the engine is good forever pretty much 🤙

Well, normally, as long as you mantain every car well, it lasts longer

They do. Easy 180k ++ miles.

That's exactly it. You can buy BMW and "take care of it", or Mercedes and only change the oil

@@mro4ts457 Haha! is that all? That's a lie

Agreed. 03 coupe steel gray 6mt here

well sorted E46 in some nice colour spec is always worth the hype, at least for me

Unpopular opinion but the c32 of the time was a more well rounded and more fun car

Typically m3 owner has to tell the world. When I had mine I was proud but others just look at you funny ,I learnt this very fast .

Mystic Blue FTW!

What’s up with the steering wheel? Is it at an angle or something? I have an E46 M3 and a Legacy GT, can’t quite figure out how to describe it, but the seating position of the Legacy seems more “connected” while the E46 is a obviously a much more engaging car overall.

@@jakegianino5762 Hi Jake, take a close look at the center of the driver seat bottom and compare it to the center of the seat back. Don't let the pleats in the leather fool you measure with tape or something from the side bolsters. You will notice the centers are not in the same alignment. Then project a line from the center of the steering wheel and you will notice it also does not line up with the center line of the seat. This puts a small twist in your back when your driving. I also have a Subaru (Impreza STI) and no such problem there. It's a BMW thing. Many of their cars are like this. Cheers

@@garysgarage2118 thanks man I had no idea how to describe it I wonder if someone makes a kit for a fix

I have an E39 M5 and a 523 and yes true about the steering

What's the catch with steering? How can it be better than M5 in that department?

That was my first car! I miss it every day

@@JedemPoKucama V8 E39's had steering box. I6 E39's had rack and pinion.

@@JedemPoKucama Rack and pinion in the I6 cars. Better road feedback and more precise. It’s immediately noticeable driving them back to back. The M5s have a steering box.

He's rich and cars like this make him even more money so he doesnt care. But average income people shouldnt buy old cars like this as a means of transportation. You WILL be sorry.

@@alphatrion100 they are great to buy if you want mechanical experience 😆

@@UnWrecked they are cool for a second car...if you have money to burn.

E39 tourings are gorgeous. I current have a E91 328i that’ll at some point get a n54 since we didn’t get the 335 touring. But that n52 is bulletproof and I absolutely love it. Can’t wait to get my genuine Alpina body kit for it to make it look good since we didn’t get those cars either

Best BMW ever = E46 M3

Cheers in my E46 320i

@@pakdolan E46 gang🤙 Cheers*

Hoovie just says it to be a contrarian. Even Wizard who'd whine about a free trip to Barbados says the E46s are great cars. As with many cars, only people who haven't owned one or bought a sh1tbox and expected it to be a gem, moan about them. I just missed a car identical to this for only £10,500 😭😭😭🤮😭😭😭🤮😞

Yep, what he said, the click bait is strong with Hoovie. I know that’s how he monetises his content, but it’s irritating nonetheless, especially when he spouts stuff that’s just plain wrong

?? Ive had an e36, they are cheap af.

Unless you purchased a BMW with the N63 engine, a total turd of a motor. Not their only trash can, but took them three revisions to stop the recalls.

Yes, but reliability includes design flaws, amount of maintainance required and mean time before failure.

It's definitely a very well maintained car, I wonder how the gearbox failed. Went dry and wasn't noticed perhaps? Given how well it looks like it was maintained, that seems a bit strange that it wasn't noticed.

Currently over 1 year into e21 ownership Literally bulletproof lol amazingly built car and IIRC its the last hand built bmw (no machines all human hands)

(I'm not Doug) Cars and Bids has free listings!

@@Aezetyr I may end up listing it there in a couple of weeks.

The sunroof delete cars are the way to go.

This is wrong on so many levels.. E9X has light years better build quality than any E46 and servicing both cars is quite literally identical. If you spent 5K on maintenance you got ripped off hard.

@@augustortiz I respectfully disagree. S65 requires more attention than s54. Parts are way more expensive as well. My e9x came with extensive records going back to day 1. I had to do a transmission flush (both filters, pan and side pan gaskets, mechatronics sleeve seal on a separate occasion, new tires, water pump and thermostat, I also chose to revert back to stock suspension setup). Now compare the prices of these items with the same parts/services on e46 M3.

If it was "run low" on fluid, there may be more than bad bearings. Like dogs and gears, too.

@@TucsonDude True, but the transmission has to come out anyway, so why not take a look?

@@Ijusthopeitsquick Sometimes, a teardown is just not worth the effort if there's sufficient metal in the oil.

420G isn't easily rebuildable

@@TucsonDude Well then they should at least take a look at the oil...

4:26 is a pretty good shot. You're right!

haha niice. You're one f those guys who discovers hidden entrances & Pyramids in Satellite photos I take?

If you wanted cheap maintenance you should have bought a Toyota or Honda.

@@Just_Pele If a car is going to be expensive to maintain and unreliable, it should not be expensive to purchase.

@@jcdawg8363 It's not unreliable. If you maintain them they're very reliable.

​@@Just_Pele Or, learn how to do the maintenance myself, which is what I did.

@@paradox206 Then why did it keep you up at night?

Yes I just picked one up, no subframe issues but went straight for the rod bearings a day after buying it. I think I can hold on the vanos as they are not making any noise for now and my understanding is that the van also give you a warning sign