Harry’s Garage

[Carlos]

I had my e46 M3 for 5 years and 30k+ miles, I can't remember the gearshift being any specific notchy/knuckles/etc, so I'm assuming it was just a nice shift.

I never said it was bad just more mechanical than newer cars.

[Nathan]

Keen DIYer could probably do it in a weekend for about £500.

Less than that IMO, this guy has positioned himself well within a niche.

Same as S65 Shell bearings, £1500+ job not that complicated.

[Beany]

Bmw shifts always get stuck for being a bit bit by. Everything on the internet says the last good shift they did was the 5 speed 3.0 e36 m3 box.

Personally I never had an issue with the evo 6 speeder which itself is virtually identical to the e46 box, but there are loads of threads of people complaining about them and trying various lotions and potions to make them smoother.

Anything more than a decade old or with a hundred k on it will probably benefit from a gearbox oil swap in some way, regardless.

I don't have a problem with the 330i box other than its occasional reluctance to go into first, but that seems to be a TADTS situation. Quick second to first and it's fine.

[integrale_evo]

Keen DIYer could probably do it in a weekend for about £500.

Less than that IMO, this guy has positioned himself well within a niche.

Same as S65 Shell bearings, £1500+ job not that complicated.

I think the spring shifter setups are about £300 so add a pedal box and you’d probably want to stick a new master and slave cylinder in while you’re there and think £500 isn’t far off.

E46 floor repairs are somewhere else where a few specialists have managed to convince everyone that it’s a huge job and £1500-2k

[Mito Man]

There was a WD episode on this conversion

[mik]

So we just need to decide the timing. I think we have enough collective interest that we don’t need to consider any further input from @Marv

[Mark_bt52]

Wasn't the CS basically a CSL with a manual ?

[Beany]

E46 floor repairs are somewhere else where a few specialists have managed to convince everyone that it’s a huge job and £1500-2k

That's interesting - as I understand the job itself is basically clean up the crack/break, weld it as appropriate, then put specific (but not impossible to find) epoxy between the pieces to keep them solid in future, or thereabouts.

I'd assume the specialists are charging through the nose for removing the rear end of the car for access, putting it back in, (ten hours labour at £70+/hr) etc?

[Rich B]

Wasn't the CS basically a CSL with a manual ?

nah, the CSL had forged wheels, CF intake, CF roof, different bodywork, different boot floor, thin rear glass...

[Jobbo]

Wasn't the CS basically a CSL with a manual ?

nah, the CSL had forged wheels, CF intake, CF roof, different bodywork, different boot floor, thin rear glass...

Different seats, different centre console without armrest, different door cards. Still think a manual CS would be the one I'd want; usability is one of the E46 M3's talents and the CSL isn't *that* light, yet seems quite compromised unless you're on it.

[Rich B]

I'd rather have an e92 M3 comp.

[V8Granite]

E46 floor repairs are somewhere else where a few specialists have managed to convince everyone that it’s a huge job and £1500-2k

That's interesting - as I understand the job itself is basically clean up the crack/break, weld it as appropriate, then put specific (but not impossible to find) epoxy between the pieces to keep them solid in future, or thereabouts.

I'd assume the specialists are charging through the nose for removing the rear end of the car for access, putting it back in, (ten hours labour at £70+/hr) etc?

I saw the back of one up in the air in a garage and the rear subframe was off and there was a kit of plates to be fixed on after the cracks were welded up? I’m guessing there are different ways of repairing it then or different depending on how bad it has gone.

Dave!

[Zonda_]

E46 floor repairs are somewhere else where a few specialists have managed to convince everyone that it’s a huge job and £1500-2k

That's interesting - as I understand the job itself is basically clean up the crack/break, weld it as appropriate, then put specific (but not impossible to find) epoxy between the pieces to keep them solid in future, or thereabouts.

I'd assume the specialists are charging through the nose for removing the rear end of the car for access, putting it back in, (ten hours labour at £70+/hr) etc?

Local BMW dealer quoted approx £4k to do mine.

[Mark_bt52]

So mechanically similar? I'd take a CS and stick a carbon airbox on it and enjoy the less compromised seats then I think.

Actually I nearly did about 10 years ago. Was considering swapping the Spec C for one, but then the values seemed to shoot up day by day and I convinced myself that I had missed the boat and the Spec C would be the one set to appreciate. Which never happened...

[Nathan]

Wasn't the CS basically a CSL with a manual ?

nah, the CSL had forged wheels, CF intake, CF roof, different bodywork, different boot floor, thin rear glass...

CS had bigger brakes, quicker steering and revised suspension over the standard car though.

[mik]

I also looked at a Manuel blue CS before I bought the VXR8. The nose was heavily stone-chipped, but otherwise it looked clean.

Advised I was interested - could we go for a drive?

“If you agree to buy and put down a deposit you can have a test drive”

What? What if I notice a fault at that point?

“We will fix it”

I’m not putting down a deposit on a car I haven’t driven.

“That’s our rule”

Goodbye

[Mito Man]

E46 floor repairs are somewhere else where a few specialists have managed to convince everyone that it’s a huge job and £1500-2k

That's interesting - as I understand the job itself is basically clean up the crack/break, weld it as appropriate, then put specific (but not impossible to find) epoxy between the pieces to keep them solid in future, or thereabouts.

I'd assume the specialists are charging through the nose for removing the rear end of the car for access, putting it back in, (ten hours labour at £70+/hr) etc?

Local BMW dealer quoted approx £4k to do mine.

IIRC that’s also on the WD episode. Looks a really simple repair if you can weld.

[Beany]

That's interesting - as I understand the job itself is basically clean up the crack/break, weld it as appropriate, then put specific (but not impossible to find) epoxy between the pieces to keep them solid in future, or thereabouts.

I'd assume the specialists are charging through the nose for removing the rear end of the car for access, putting it back in, (ten hours labour at £70+/hr) etc?

Local BMW dealer quoted approx £4k to do mine.

IIRC that’s also on the WD episode. Looks a really simple repair if you can weld well.

FTFY - as I recall, it's a structural stress point so someone with a few weekends pissing about with a MIG probably need not apply

[Marv]

Wasn't the CS basically a CSL with a manual ?

nah, the CSL had forged wheels, CF intake, CF roof, different bodywork, different boot floor, thin rear glass...

Front and rear bumpers are fully carbon fibre too. Only realised this when I took them off to have them resprayed a slightly different shade of silver grey

[Marv]

E46 floor repairs are somewhere else where a few specialists have managed to convince everyone that it’s a huge job and £1500-2k

That's interesting - as I understand the job itself is basically clean up the crack/break, weld it as appropriate, then put specific (but not impossible to find) epoxy between the pieces to keep them solid in future, or thereabouts.

I'd assume the specialists are charging through the nose for removing the rear end of the car for access, putting it back in, (ten hours labour at £70+/hr) etc?

Local BMW dealer quoted approx £4k to do mine.

The £1.5k-2k job is to weld up any existing cracks and weld on aftermarket reinforcement plates.

I don't think any dealerships would do it that way. When the goodwill replacement scheme was in place for the boot floor cracks, the dealerships would cut away the existing boot floor and weld in a new floor, which was slightly redesigned to prevent future cracks and would also inject resin into the cavity to stop any flexing of the panel. That's the authorised BMW repair.

Given the extra time this takes and a main dealer generally being more expensive than a specialist, the additional cost isn't a surprise. I heard it's around £4-6k to have that job done too.

Unsurprisingly, doing any job yourself is massively cheaper, you just need the skills, tools and suitable area to work on your car...not everyone has that!