How does this M3 look?

[m3f_egebhardt]

You say the budget is $13,000?

You can get a good one. It just won't be under 100,000 miles.


Or... just buy the Silver M3/4/5 in Menlo Park for $3,000. Fix it however you like it.

[m3f_ramnazeri]

budget is >11K

[m3f_egebhardt]

Ok. Greater than $11,000.

How high over $11,000?


Your signature says "WTB: 97-99 E36 M3 5-speed non-vert".

How about a Salvage title?

2dr or 4dr?

Lux or Sport?

Why not a 95 or 96?

[m3f_ramnazeri]

Ok. Greater than $11,000.

How high over $11,000?

shit sorry i meant <$11,000

[m3f_ramnazeri]

Your signature says "WTB: 97-99 E36 M3 5-speed non-vert".

How about a Salvage title?

2dr or 4dr?

Lux or Sport?

Why not a 95 or 96?

No to salvaged, 2 door or 4 door is fine, Lux or sport is fine but i like the sport lower grille way more, and I was mistaken, I thought the year for all the differences was 97, not 96, so looking for '96+. The reason I'd rather get a '96+ is that I want the 3.2L, ASC+T, staggered tire/wheels and the suspension geometry changes (front caster & camber, swaybar sizing, etc), digital climate control system, side airbags, front strut tower reinforcements installed on top of the front struts,

[m3f_WheyArea]

TIL 90K is "stupid low miles".



Weird ad is weird. I'd be extremely skeptical or walk away entirely.

I'm guessing he meant for a '99 -- about 6k a year? Not 'stupid low' but still pretty low for any car

[m3f_englishtom1596q]

No to salvaged, 2 door or 4 door is fine, Lux or sport is fine but i like the sport lower grille way more, and I was mistaken, I thought the year for all the differences was 97, not 96, so looking for '96+. The reason I'd rather get a '96+ is that I want the 3.2L, ASC+T, staggered tire/wheels and the suspension geometry changes (front caster & camber, swaybar sizing, etc), digital climate control system, side airbags, front strut tower reinforcements installed on top of the front struts,

very good reasonings. For reference i sold my 99 coupe with 98K, all maintenance done for 10,250 and it was immaculate. You can find good ones for good money but you just have to be willing to wait and work for it.

[m3f_ramnazeri]

You can find good ones for good money but you just have to be willing to wait and work for it.

Thats the thing about the E36 M3, I want one now! Its tough to set aside cars that look great just based on the notion that if I keep waiting, the perfect one for me will finally come along, but I know it will

[m3f_badgtho]

Thats the thing about the E36 M3, I want one now! Its tough to set aside cars that look great just based on the notion that if I keep waiting, the perfect one for me will finally come along, but I know it will

Trust me. The wrong car will punish you until the day you sell.

[m3f_egebhardt]

No to salvaged, 2 door or 4 door is fine, Lux or sport is fine but i like the sport lower grille way more, and I was mistaken, I thought the year for all the differences was 97, not 96, so looking for '96+. The reason I'd rather get a '96+ is that I want the 3.2L, ASC+T, staggered tire/wheels and the suspension geometry changes (front caster & camber, swaybar sizing, etc), digital climate control system, side airbags, front strut tower reinforcements installed on top of the front struts,

Good choices, Nazeri:

No salvage

Sport preferred

96-99 OBD2 only

2dr or 4dr


I have a story for you on this car......

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/4359048816.html

A 96 Boston on Black that just popped up again today. I like the color combo so I looked at it in March 2011. That car pops up every year on CList. 274,000 miles asking 6000 (was 7000 this morning). I know that guy paid 4000 or less. I read that stack of records he talks about. The new head was rebuilt at 150,000. Not so new anymore. Basically the original owner (a she) paid 30,000 for about 5000 worth of maintenance, all at Mtn View BMW.


The car got driven a lot by the original owner from Los Gatos. Then it sat for 2 years. Then she sold it to the Santa Cruz guy after having a really hard time letting it go. Some personal attachment. If you want all my detailed notes on the car, call 650-308-9008 or PM me. It had a good clean body but it will need constant maintenance at that mileage. I offered 3000 but never got it. 2 years after that, I got my 96 Boston on Grey with 1/2 the miles.

[m3f_ramnazeri]

thanks for the heads up egebhardt

[m3f_ramnazeri]

the owner has since updated his ad to add in the "cons":



"Cons: Although the car has somewhat low miles for a 1999, it's still a 15 year old car. With that being said, its not in 100% perfect condition, and I feel like the price reflects that. These are just things I've noticed since I've owned the car that I haven't had a chance to address:



-The car has a couple rattles ( rear shock mounts squeak and front sway bar bushings are bad ), you can hear both of them going over bumps. $100

- Exhaust rattle back by muffler, I'm assuming its a hanger. $20

- Shark fin vent in middle of dash is cracked. $30

- Missing the passenger side brake duct on the bumper and fender liner on front passenger side: $40

- Tires are getting bald on the winter set up.

- Coolant level switch is bad, it reads that the coolant level is low (only on start up), even though it was just flushed and filled when the rad/thermostat was done: $20

- Low beam failure: With HID's you need to run a resister pack or it will throw a code. $10

- Belt tensioner rattles occasionally, very faint, but BMW mentioned to it to me last time I was in: $50

- Driver side rear bumper trim missing, the body shop lost it while it was in for paint work. They reimbursed me for it, I just haven't had the time to source a new one: $20

- Driver seat doesn't recline forward to let allow passengers in the back seat.

- No front floor mats, but the carpet is extremely well kept.

- Small tear in the driver side seat ( only stitching, luckily not a rip ). The driver seat isn't the original one to the car, it had a bucket seat in it from the previous owner taking it to the track, so I had to find another seat locally. Can be stitched for very cheap.

- 5th gear gate spring is worn ( Still shifts fine, but its the spring that helps puts the shifter back in the middle after taking it out of 5th gear to neutral ): $10

- CEL just came on a couple days ago (3/5/14), I took it to Dinan to have a diagnostic ran. It came back nothing performance related, it has to do with the anti theft system, no giving the correct signal to the computer. He said the most common issue is the ignition key has a sensor ring that gets worn and doesn't get a clean signal and throws a code. Unfortunately I don't have a spare to check if thats the problem, but I'm going to look further into it shortly. "



He still has not responded to my email asking about why he replaced the valves and if he has the carfax.



Any thoughts?

[m3f_TomS2]

the owner has since updated his ad to add in the "cons":



"Cons: Although the car has somewhat low miles for a 1999, it's still a 15 year old car. With that being said, its not in 100% perfect condition, and I feel like the price reflects that. These are just things I've noticed since I've owned the car that I haven't had a chance to address:



-The car has a couple rattles ( rear shock mounts squeak and front sway bar bushings are bad ), you can hear both of them going over bumps. $100

- Exhaust rattle back by muffler, I'm assuming its a hanger. $20

- Shark fin vent in middle of dash is cracked. $30

- Missing the passenger side brake duct on the bumper and fender liner on front passenger side: $40

- Tires are getting bald on the winter set up.

- Coolant level switch is bad, it reads that the coolant level is low (only on start up), even though it was just flushed and filled when the rad/thermostat was done: $20

- Low beam failure: With HID's you need to run a resister pack or it will throw a code. $10

- Belt tensioner rattles occasionally, very faint, but BMW mentioned to it to me last time I was in: $50

- Driver side rear bumper trim missing, the body shop lost it while it was in for paint work. They reimbursed me for it, I just haven't had the time to source a new one: $20

- Driver seat doesn't recline forward to let allow passengers in the back seat.

- No front floor mats, but the carpet is extremely well kept.

- Small tear in the driver side seat ( only stitching, luckily not a rip ). The driver seat isn't the original one to the car, it had a bucket seat in it from the previous owner taking it to the track, so I had to find another seat locally. Can be stitched for very cheap.

- 5th gear gate spring is worn ( Still shifts fine, but its the spring that helps puts the shifter back in the middle after taking it out of 5th gear to neutral ): $10

- CEL just came on a couple days ago (3/5/14), I took it to Dinan to have a diagnostic ran. It came back nothing performance related, it has to do with the anti theft system, no giving the correct signal to the computer. He said the most common issue is the ignition key has a sensor ring that gets worn and doesn't get a clean signal and throws a code. Unfortunately I don't have a spare to check if thats the problem, but I'm going to look further into it shortly. "



He still has not responded to my email asking about why he replaced the valves and if he has the carfax.



Any thoughts?

Buy it. Then you can experience the answer to the question - What are the best two days of owning a Jaguar (insert old German car)? The day you buy it, and the day you sell it.



GLWP



Decide what kind of car you want. You say you've been looking for a few months, what do you want? A project or a no excuse, no questions car? This has too many questions for my taste.



Here is a fresh one owner car with a starry eyed seller.

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/4366299565.html

[m3f_scoobiedoo2029]

Thats the thing about the E36 M3, I want one now! Its tough to set aside cars that look great just based on the notion that if I keep waiting, the perfect one for me will finally come along, but I know it will

want good car now: http://enthusiastauto.com



ive meet two people that have bought cars from them and have been very happy after they got over the sticker shock.