Watch a Crashed E46 BMW M3 Get Fixed by a Russian Mechanic

Usually, Russian mechanic Arthur Tussik is asked to bring luxury cars imported from America back to life after significant damage. But this old M3 doesn't look too bad. By the look of things, the car slid on the track and scraped its left side on the crash barrier.

Of course, the damage isn't minor by any major, but it's mostly cosmetic, compared to that 7 Series horror story we found, which had a basically two halves welded together. And if you hit a wall in the old M3, you're probably going to die anyway, so crashworthiness isn't the issue here.

You could almost call it by-the-book, were it not for the occasional appearance of old blankets. Various panels are removed, including the front fender, door, and rear, which only comes off when you take an angle grinder to the D-pillar. The cool think is that this M3 appears to be rust-free, which is rare for a car of this era. Could this be imported from sunny California?

Why is the donor part full of little holes? Because they had to bore out all the welds. After checking the alignment, Arthur fuses the back of the Bimmer back together. One new fender and one repaired one are matched to the new hood and other accessories. After paint, the E46 looks good, but it looks like they weren't able to source the molding for the door.

The E46 version of the famous M car has been around since 2000. So looking at this repair is like your high-school sweetheart frozen in time. Under the bulging hood is the equally famous inline-6 S54 engine, making 333 horsepower when pushed to 8,000rpm. It's even more old-school than the 1 Series M Coupe, and a good example will set you back $20,000 to $30,000, depending on options. Of course, you can have one for half that money if you're willing to go dumpster diving.