2006 BMW E46 M3 CS

04/07 Update: Following further research, the seller has established the colour to be Mystic Blue, not Lagos Blue as previously stated, and is in fact the only Mystic Blue E46 M3 CS produced for the UK.

With an impeccable service history and just one previous keeper - who owned it from new until April 2019 - this wonderfully original and well-maintained Mystic Blue BMW M3 E46 CS is fitted with the rare and desirable six-speed manual gearbox too.

Believed to be just one of 28 manual cars registered here in the UK in 2006, the vendor bought it from the car’s previous owner; as a friend of his, he’d long lusted after it for years before finally managing to ease it out of his hands just over a year ago.

Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic makes it hard for him to justify keeping such an expensive toy, so it is reluctantly being offered for sale. With a very reasonable reserve, this could be your chance to experience the mighty BMW M3 E46 for a very reasonable sum…

With just the two careful owners - one of whom owned it for 13 of its 14 years - the bodywork looks fabulous with tight shutlines, ripple-free flanks, and an absence of dents, dinks and other damage. The vendor has had the bonnet and front bumper resprayed to remove the stonechips that it had inevitably accumulated, but has left the front wings as they are.

He did this because a) they aren’t too bad anyway, and b) he didn’t want anyone to think the car had had a front-end accident. This recent bodywork means that the Mystic Blue coachwork is in a wonderful condition - and the gorgeous blue colour gives the M3 and understated, discreet look we love.

This Q-car status is further reinforced by the very good ten-spoke, 9.5Jx19 alloy wheels which have been recently refurbished and partially hide the front and rear cross-drilled brake discs. A full set of new Avon ZV7 tyres were fitted less than 1,000 miles ago, so all are still like new and show very good tread.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Problems? Well, there are a few stonechips on the front wings of course, plus the odd minor mark elsewhere but none of it would concern us at all as it looks amazing, even up close.

In fact, the only issue we can see the new owner might like to address is the offside driver’s door mirror, the glass of which which has deteriorated.

The black leather interior looks fabulous and wears its 130k+ mileage very lightly indeed. With barely any visible creasing to the leather of the driver’s seat, you could be looking at a car with a third of the mileage under its belt.

Part of the reason it looks the way it does is because it has been very well cared for, and that regimen includes a recent service and repair to the air-conditioning system, which is now blowing ice-cold.

The rest of the interior – including the refurbished suede steering wheel - is just as good and we can’t see any issues for the new owner to sort out bar sourcing the tools that are missing from the kit in the boot.

That’s the extent of the bad news in the boot because the rest of it is very clean and neatly organised, and lifting the good carpets shows only rust-free metal underneath.

The car’s previous owner is fastidious in how he maintains his cars, so the M3’s servicing history is impeccable. It comprises:

21.04.2006 – the pre-delivery inspection

30.05.2006 at 1,346 miles – the running-in check

06.03.2007 at 10,972 miles – an oil service and micro-filter

28.04.2008 at 22,343 miles – Inspection I, brake fluid change, and micro-filter

02.03.2009 at 34,489 miles – an oil service

16.04.2010 at 47,211 miles – Inspection II

29.04.2010 at 47,630 miles – a brake fluid change

27.06.2011 at 58,681 miles – an oil service

11.05.2012 at 67,827 miles – a brake fluid change

24.09.2012 at 72,058 miles – Inspection I

25.03.2014 at 92,157 miles – an oil service

23.03.2015 at 104,872 miles – Inspection II & Vanos replacements

18.02.2016 at 115,756 miles – an oil service

30.01.2017 at 127,464 miles – an oil service, fresh brake fluid, new rear brake discs and pads, new offside and nearside driveshafts, and new rear coil springs

06.04.2017 at 128,812 – a new clutch and flywheel

14.08.2019 at 132,826 miles – an oil service and micro-filter

Around £8,000 in total has been spent on the car in the last four years, and the only non-BMW main dealer service is the final one in 2019. The last MOT identified the need for a droplink and a brake pipe, both of which have been done.

The engine bay is very clean and well ordered, and the underside is straight, strong and free of corrosion and other problems.

We’ve driven it and can confirm that it drives as a well-sorted M3 E46 should, which is to say very, very well indeed. These cars really are a revelation, and if you haven’t experienced one yet then this example would be a very good place to start.

The M3’s MOT certificate expires in May 2021 and the online MOT history shows nothing of concern over the years.

The BMW also comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a large sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years. It also has the owner’s handbook, the stamped service history and two keys.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

And please be reassured, we’ve undertaken a full COVID-assessment and put into place strict control measure to enable us to safely facilitate a no-contact, socially distanced viewing that includes disinfection of the vehicle before and after your viewing.

NB. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

Despite being what many consider to be the best-driving M3 of them all, the price of the E46 has languished for years, possibly because no matter what they might say in public, most car enthusiasts are just as interested in what a car looks like as they are in its dynamic behaviour.

And yet, we can’t help but thinking that the E46’s time has come; it’s a neat, understated design that just gets better with age; while so many of its Johnny-come-lately contemporaries are losing their gloss, the E46 just quietly matures; it’s Sean Connery, on 19-inch rubber.

This new-found popularity is starting to be reflected in the asking price, too. We’re seeing a slow increase in value year-on-year and asking prices for the very best examples topped £40,000 a while ago.

Which makes the £12,000 to £18,000 we think this two-owner-from-new example will fetch very good value indeed. Offered with a reserve that is even lower, this is your opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of the best-maintained examples in the country for less than you might have thought possible.

And, who knows, if prices continue their upwards trajectory, you might do very nicely out of it in the long-term…

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.