Cheap BMW E46 M3s Will Get You Reaching For Your Wallet

With BMW confirming that there’s no chance it’s M-cars will drop to four cylinders in the foreseeable future, we thought we’d have a celebratory look into the classifieds at one of the M Division’s best – and one of our favourites on both sides of the Atlantic.

The E46 M3 was the right size to be confidence-inspiring and exploitable. It had the right engine in the shape of a now-legendary 3.2-litre, 338bhp straight-six screamer at the front. It had pace, excitement, drama, poise, style and everything else it needed to be one of the most desirable driver’s cars of the 2000s.

Okay, so thieves liked the E46 as well, which was a problem, but what a thing it was. That M-spec S54 six-pot revved to 8000rpm and you rowed through a six-speed manual Getrag gearbox as standard. Top speed was 155mph and it would crack the 62mph barrier in a whisker over five seconds.

But that was all irrelevant next to the sheer experience of driving one. It was frenetic, but the chassis was as chatty as a room full of hairdressers, telling you all about what was going on beneath you. The steering was direct, organic and felt properly connected to the road. The corner exit balance was absolutely impeccable. In short, this was one of M’s finest moments to date, and a whole load of group test wins followed.

These days you can pick them up for under £6000 in the UK, and less than $8000 or so in the US. These cars have a lot of mileage on them, though, so if you can afford more it’s best to spend it. Still, it’s pretty damn tempting when you’re ogling what looks like a classifieds bargain.

The 166,000-miler we’ve picked may be leggy and be cursed with major headlight condensation, but at £5989 it’s tantalisingly affordable to anyone with an average full-time job. Running costs might be a different matter, mind you, but let’s not spoil the fantasy. In a lovely dark blue metallic, this one also has a classy grey leather interior, electric and heated front seats with memory functions, a radio/CD and cassette player (ooooh) as well as a Harman Kardon stereo and a widescreen sat-nav.

It’s properly kitted-out. You even get front and rear parking sensors, bi-xenon headlights and some kind of service history, although the advert doesn’t go into details. Anyone tempted? We know we are…