E36 M3 pricing

Well, we've been saying clean all-original cars are getting hard to find, but he's asking how much for this one?

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=19021&endYear=1999&modelCode1=M3&showcaseOwnerId=65227599&startYear=1995&makeCode1=BMW&listingType=used&listingTypes=used&sellerTypes=b&searchRadius=100&mmt=%5BBMW%5BM3%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&listingId=288790590&Log=0

I trust you noted it is in "IMMACULATE CONDITION !!!!!" ?

With a sales pitch like that, I'm reaching for my checkbook right now.

But it comes with M3 baseball caps!!!!

Tom_Spangler wrote: But it comes with M3 baseball caps!!!!

And a bunch of E36 M3 hanging from the rear view mirror. That price is truly ridiculous.

That car was $43k new. I'm not sure... but I don't think E36 M3s are appreciating in value.

I'd give him a solid $16k for it.

The car is 18 years old and has 3008 miles on it? Why do that? Even if he somehow got the 50k for it, it would still have been a terrible 'investment' and I assume it would have been insured for at least a lot of that time and probably there would have been interest paid when it was new. Why buy a new car that is fairly common and basically park it for 18 years?

I'd even consider a solid $20k if it were Dakar and didn't have a sunroof.

mazdeuce wrote: The car is 18 years old and has 3008 miles on it? Why do that? Even if he somehow got the 50k for it, it would still have been a terrible 'investment' and I assume it would have been insured for at least a lot of that time and probably there would have been interest paid when it was new. Why buy a new car that is fairly common and basically park it for 18 years?

Its the same type of people who have been selling low milage Hemi Cuda's and the like at the auction houses......

2900 miles on a '99? "barely left my garage". Why did he even bother buying it? Can't really consider that an investment vehicle - nobody in their right mind will give them 50K for it.

16K would be way too high. Edmunds is saying $8450, even when I factored in the mileage, condition, and every available option checkbox.

In the Corvette world, you see these ultra low-miles garage queens pretty regularly. I think the consensus is that they are kind of a white elephant. You can either buy it to drive it and kill it's value, or keep it ultra-low miles and rub it with a diaper between trips in and out of your enclosed trailer.

Unfortunately for this guy, I don't see too many BMW owners wanting to do the garage-queen thing. As is, I would say that someone would probably go $18-20k for that. But I'm on the West Coast where even driver quality E36 M's go for $8-12k.

In reply to mazdeuce:

Maybe he thought he was going to have it for 30 years and life is forcing the sale? IIRC the late '90's is when the boomers started bidding old-school Detroit Iron into the stratosphere. Maybe he looked at that and thought, "what can I buy now that will be worth 10 times as much in 30 years?" Not saying it's a smart investment, but I can see it.

(PS: MY1999 was only 14-15 years ago.)

jstein77 wrote: 2900 miles on a '99? "barely left my garage".

there was a smokey & the bandit edition T/A at mecum last year that had 72 original miles.....I think it was a 77 model year The same guy had several other clean, unrestored, low milage, and still in dealer plastic wrap vehicles there. I've driven several of them, and they've sold quite well for what they are. This could be worth 50k in about a decade. It isn't yet though.

Yeah even the BMWCCA guys don't ask that much for their cars!

No glovebox sag!

jstein77 wrote: 16K would be way too high. Edmunds is saying $8450, even when I factored in the mileage, condition, and every available option checkbox.

Edmunds is way off with enthusiast cars. $8500 will buy you a nice driver, and this is clearly more valuable than that. I think mid-teens is about right. But it will still take the right person.

There's always the possibility that it's just up for sale so that he can tell "someone" that he's trying to sell it and he has no intention of actually selling it.

moerdogg wrote: I trust you noted it is in "IMMACULATE CONDITION !!!!!" ? With a sales pitch like that, I'm reaching for my checkbook right now.

I don't care if the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION happened in the back seat, it ain't worth $50K.

Now if it also had Jesus' profile sun faded into the clearcoat...maybe.

This is just normal spring time craziness. We get it pretty bad over here every year. A lot of the interesting (collector, antiques, etc.) cars that are worth 5-15K for the rest of the year, are worth double that amount all of a sudden.

Every once in a while, one of those sellers will get a sucker into paying a crazy amount. The rest will either sell it at the correct price in 1-2 month or keep it until next year, when they will go fishing again.

These days, I could post two or three cars in the "Post your delusional CL ad here" thread every day.

One day, far into the future this car may worth close to what he is asking.......maybe....if the stars all align. That is, of course if it stays in pristine shape for the next 10-15 years. If it is the last bone-stock, perfect E36 M3....maybe. Even then.....maybe not.

Crazier things have happened at auction though. At Amelia I saw a Fiat Jolly bring $100K---- so nuttier things have, and do happen.

They made a lot of E36 M3s. There are still plenty left, although not many in this sort of shape. I'd say it's worth $20K, maybe $25K to the perfect buyer. Twice that is going to take a bunch of luck.

And I'd agree that the Edmunds figures are way off. Very nice E36 M3s bring $12-$16K, with drivers around $7-$10K. I've seen running examples in need of love sell for $6,500, but not much less.

Insanely low mileage 1995 lightweights have sold in the 30s - so this is crack pipe.

That said, I'm always following the market 'cause I have one, and this is the lowest mileage example I've ever seen.

love the wheels, color, but it doesnt matter, it's dove grey interior. yuck.

ShadowSix wrote: In reply to mazdeuce: PS: MY1999 was only 14-15 years ago.)

I think I carried the 2 the wrong direction indicating that I need way way more coffee in my life.

WilberM3 wrote: love the wheels, color, but it doesnt matter, it's dove grey interior. yuck.

I hadn't really looked closely at the pictures, but I agree - YUCK. My $3k 328i has a black interior that looks 100x better. I also noticed all those cheap plasticy interior pieces that I put up with every day would be kinda hard to accept at Ferrari money, or even the $18-20k I think this is really worth.

Who the heck buys an M3 to take to car shows? I thought that's what Corvettes were for.

SEADave wrote:

WilberM3 wrote: love the wheels, color, but it doesnt matter, it's dove grey interior. yuck.

I hadn't really looked closely at the pictures, but I agree - YUCK. My $3k 328i has a black interior that looks 100x better. I also noticed all those cheap plasticy interior pieces that I put up with every day would be kinda hard to accept at Ferrari money, or even the $18-20k I think this is really worth.

Probably my least favorite thing about my M3 was the interior. The materials were, quite frankly, crap, and Dove only made it worse.

Fully loaded from the manufactory! Excellent!

I paid $7,200 for a completely stock 97 in excellent condition a few years ago. The deals are out there if you aren't in a rush and stay off the forums.

That's beyond Euro M3 pricing... And way out of line.