http://fancytuning.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/hamann-bmw-7-series-4.jpg[img]
it's 95% similar to this one except all the windows are tinted and the body kit is different
i cant see under the hood but mine would probably blow this one out of the water
show me ur ride or STFU[/QUOTE]
Your shtick is terrible Glare. If you're going to stick to having a car that you think exudes class over the rest of the cars, at least pick something that you can't buy used for 30k after 2 years. Also, maybe keep up to date on the body styles because I don't think you noticed that your linked pic is an F gen and you started talking about owning a 7 series before the F gens were out.
[QUOTE="RF Tesla, post: 16288205, member: 36629"]I was actually debating that point with myself recently. I've been looking at mainly 05/06 M3s, but if I bump my budget up 10k I could get an '08 E92.
I've read plenty of horror stories once the SMG pump fails in that car to ignore that type of transmission.[/QUOTE]
That extra 10k you put into getting the e92 will save you on the transmission. If you bought an e46 with SMG transmission it costs at minimum 10k to get it fixed, assuming it is not the fuse that went out. The SMG pump failing is the 10k fix as far as I know.
The other major problem is the VANOS failure from metal tabs breaking off of the intake cam side and then just destroying the engine. If you can catch it in time the repair is 1k in parts plus labor and if you don't it is the cost of the new engine.
For what it is worth, I looked REAL hard at picking up an 06 IR M3 with comp package and SMG and only like 13k miles on it. I just couldn't get over the VANOS and SMG failures that I read about. Granted, you will see more posts online about shit breaking than not, but it was still a significantly higher percentage than I expected.
I've since moved my sights to the e92 just because it seems to be a lot more reliable at this point, it still has a warranty, and I have only seen like two or three "failed" DCTs that were due to beta software. They weren't really broken, but just needed a software update. I may get another 6 speed car, but I'm pretty tired of shifting gears after 10 years of stop and go traffic.