E46 M3 Base vs ZCP Conundrum

[oceansize]

I currently have a 2002 E46 SMG base with 103K miles that I purchased in January and have spent the past year taking care of various items ranging from the subframe reinforcement and valve adjustment to a paint correction and wheel & interior seat restoration. The car runs beautifully and is in good shape cosmetically with the only knock against it being in an "undesirable" color combination of Titanium Silver over Dove Grey. The rod bearings were taken care of prior to my ownership at 85K miles and the VANOS was done according to the previous owner sans documentation however my mechanic has tested it twice and found no faults. I am enjoying the car immensely however part of me is yearning for a ZCP model, either in Interlagos Blue or another dark color. That being said, I wanted to solicit feedback on the following:

- Fair asking price for my car, knowing full well I will likely not recover the $20K I have put in for deferred maintenance and cosmetic restoration
- Decision on whether to go ahead with a manual conversion and whether that will add value

I am no rush to part with my car and jump into a ZCP model, rather I am thinking aloud on what the best options going forward are. Thank you all in advance!

Interior swap will change your life. It's what I did. Dove grey to Imola. Tiag and imola is such a good combo. You've got a good car it sounds like, swap the interior and move on IMO. Interior swap is easy, just a little time consuming.

[adr_M3]

I currently have a 2002 E46 SMG base with 103K miles that I purchased in January and have spent the past year taking care of various items ranging from the subframe reinforcement and valve adjustment to a paint correction and wheel & interior seat restoration. The car runs beautifully and is in good shape cosmetically with the only knock against it being in an "undesirable" color combination of Titanium Silver over Dove Grey. The rod bearings were taken care of prior to my ownership at 85K miles and the VANOS was done according to the previous owner sans documentation however my mechanic has tested it twice and found no faults. I am enjoying the car immensely however part of me is yearning for a ZCP model, either in Interlagos Blue or another dark color. That being said, I wanted to solicit feedback on the following:

- Fair asking price for my car, knowing full well I will likely not recover the $20K I have put in for deferred maintenance and cosmetic restoration
- Decision on whether to go ahead with a manual conversion and whether that will add value

I am no rush to part with my car and jump into a ZCP model, rather I am thinking aloud on what the best options going forward are. Thank you all in advance!