E46 M3 Base vs ZCP Conundrum

[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!

[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.

[9kracing]

You people and your red interiors

[EthanolTurbo]

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.

Idk what it is about silver cars with red interiors but I always loved that combo on S2000's and E46 M3's. 🥵

[oceansize]

You people and your red interiors

I feel ya, one man’s treasure…. another man’s garbage.

[bigjae46]

The ZCP doesn't really add much except for the possibilities with the ABS. But interlagos blue is a great looking color!

[heinzboehmer]

MK20 or MK60? If MK20, then it might be worth considering trading the car for an MK60 car.

I personally don't think it's worth paying the premium for a ZCP car unless you really want Interlagos. The steering rack is the only part that I would say is worth it, but you can always buy that separately (or a ZHP rack for pretty much the same experience) and swap it in. Interior trim is cool as well, but at the end of the day, it's just some trim.

(this is all coming from someone who has an MK60 swapped car that has been retrofitted with all the ZCP parts, btw)

[lcrain]

What is it about the ZCP that you feel you are missing? The grass is always greener. I have a IB zcp and I love it but cruise control would be nice. Unless you really want interlagos blue, which was only available with the zcp cars, I would probably stick with what you have and modify it to suit your wants.

[adr_M3]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm drawn to the ZCP mainly for the 19" competition wheels as well as the purported improved steering rack as well as the color contrast between Interlagos and Dove Grey. oceansize brings up a good point in that my least favorite as aspect on my car is the interior color, so I will look into this as possibility of switching it out for a cinnamon or Imola red interior. For those of you who did interior swaps, are there any particular places I should be looking in addition scanning eBay and/or Google searches?

[adr_M3]

MK20 or MK60? If MK20, then it might be worth considering trading the car for an MK60 car.

I personally don't think it's worth paying the premium for a ZCP car unless you really want Interlagos. The steering rack is the only part that I would say is worth it, but you can always buy that separately (or a ZHP rack for pretty much the same experience) and swap it in. Interior trim is cool as well, but at the end of the day, it's just some trim.

(this is all coming from someone who has an MK60 swapped car that has been retrofitted with all the ZCP parts, btw)

I believe my car has the MK20 DSC module as it's a 2002 MY that was originally delivered in 2001, however I haven't found any faults in the driving dynamics of my current car

[lcrain]

I believe my car has the MK20 DSC module as it's a 2002 MY that was originally delivered in 2001, however I haven't found any faults in the driving dynamics of my current car

That is correct. Some will disagree with me, but I think the mk20 vs. mk60 is not going to be noticeable in most street driving conditions. I swapped it into my e36 m3 race car and I certainly notice the improved braking performance on the track when threshold or trail braking. For a street car, I would not worry about it.

[oceansize]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm drawn to the ZCP mainly for the 19" competition wheels as well as the purported improved steering rack as well as the color contrast between Interlagos and Dove Grey. oceansize brings up a good point in that my least favorite as aspect on my car is the interior color, so I will look into this as possibility of switching it out for a cinnamon or Imola red interior. For those of you who did interior swaps, are there any particular places I should be looking in addition scanning eBay and/or Google searches?

I bought my seats (front and rear, door cards, and rear panels from bmwrestoredseats. I bought my carpets from mpartsww. I also bought spare door handle and dash trim and refinished in titanium base/clear. I think titanium might be the only color you do that with and not look goofy.

[9kracing]

I bought my seats (front and rear, door cards, and rear panels from bmwrestoredseats.

Fuck that guy

[Nate047]

- 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

TBH I think you will get that $20k. It will just be the total price you get for the car.

So if you have another like $15-20k+ ready and you want to put it all towards a really nice ZCP, go for it. Or just keep the car you have, swap the interior, get the wheels you want, and enjoy it.

I say this as someone who made a lot of bad choices with my own car, that cost me precious time I'll never get back. I lost a lot of time that I could have spent just enjoying the car instead of chasing something "better."