WWGRM do - E46M3 content

Having done my first track day a couple weeks ago I'm firmly hooked but no longer loving the 944 turbo I bought for that purpose. A combination of not really wanting to spend the time and $$ to rebuild the entire suspension, install a new turbo, swap out the torque tube, and deal with a long list of minor repairs together with a wife who absolutely hates it isn't helping there. Driving past the local used car lot last night I spy a bright red E46 M3. They're closed but I stop anyway, take a quick look and jot down the VIN. When I googled the VIN it turns out it was formerly owned by a woman I used to autocross with. She took immaculate care of her cars but drove the ever living snot out of them on various tracks around the east coast - this is an '02 with just a hair under 100k miles and probably 100+ track days on it. Should I run away from a car that's seen that much track time to use as a DD with perhaps 6 track days a year? My main concern is that the chassis might just be tired. WWGRM do?

I was shopping e46 M3s hard (and recently) before buying my e39 M5. You may have already checked, but these two forums are full of them for sale. Prices are dropping, especially on the '01-'03 models.

Personally, I love them. I really wish BMW had seen fit to produce a sedan version.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/forumdisplay.php?f=75

Easiest advice is to contact her about the car, specifically why she sold it and what you should be on the lookout for.

nderwater wrote: Easiest advice is to contact her about the car, specifically why she sold it and what you should be on the lookout for.

Already sent her an email, but from forum posts on Roadfly I know why - she was moving in to the new 1-series M coupe, time for one last new car before retirement.

The lot is asking $18k for it, which is high for an asking price but it might be worth it depending on what upgrades she left on the car.

That's quite a bit for that car with that mileage I think NADA books it in the lower teens.

The car is solid, make sure the rod bearing recall was done and the rear subframe has no cracks. Also see if the Vanos has been replaced. Other than that it's just regular PPI stuff.

Oh yeah, of course it needs all the coolant stuff replaced unless otherwise done recently.

pigeon wrote: Having done my first track day a couple weeks ago I'm firmly hooked but no longer loving the 944 turbo I bought for that purpose. A combination of not really wanting to spend the time and $$ to rebuild the entire suspension, install a new turbo, swap out the torque tube, and deal with a long list of minor repairs together with a wife who absolutely hates it isn't helping there. Driving past the local used car lot last night I spy a bright red E46 M3. They're closed but I stop anyway, take a quick look and jot down the VIN. When I googled the VIN it turns out it was formerly owned by a woman I used to autocross with. She took immaculate care of her cars but drove the ever living snot out of them on various tracks around the east coast - this is an '02 with just a hair under 100k miles and probably 100+ track days on it. Should I run away from a car that's seen that much track time to use as a DD with perhaps 6 track days a year? My main concern is that the chassis might just be tired. WWGRM do?

YES!!!! RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY!!!

Ok, so I got a quick spin in the car today. Many of the interior plastics are beat up, the leather is scratched in spots, the sunroof shade is broken as are the center vent controls. The drivers door handle needs to be adjusted. The license plate strip needs to be replaced. In short, it's a 10 year old E46 with all the common problems; probably $3-400 gets everything right if I do it myself. But that motor is so sweet, and it's got all the right work done - short shifter, braided brake lines, upgraded pads, fresh suspension. The chassis is tight and squeak free. Ask is 18k but the dealer seemed surprised when I went through and pointed out all the problems. I may call in a favor to find out what he paid at auction and make an offer based on that.

Here's the CL ad: http://rochester.craigslist.org/ctd/2388740000.html

Price is too high for an '02 with 100K miles. Have you looked at any others on sale in your area for comparison? It'd be worth it for your own piece of mind and to be able to say "Look, I like this car but 'Luxury Motors' across town has another '02 for 15 grand. Are you ready to make a deal?"

Not much to choose from around here. I know the price is high, but knowing the prior owner gives me a comfort level I wouldn't have if it were just a random car, and I wouldn't pay more than 16k for it anyway. Another local dealer just sold an '04 with 76k miles for 23k. Another local dealer had an '02 with 99k miles asking 15.5k a couple months ago with 2 sets of wheels, so I do have something to point them to as a "comp".

In reply to pigeon:

That car at the auction would run around 13k depending on condition. The last one we bought was around 11k but it had more miles (125k if I remember correctly) and was not as nice. I sold it for 12,900 pretty quickly. That particular car did not sell at a manheim auction in the past 45 days. They may have wholesaled it driectly from another dealer or bought it through an Adesa auction.

15k would be a fair deal considering you know its history. It really comes down to what he is willing to sell it for. There is no way he is going to get 18.5K

Yeah, I agree with pimpm3, stick to your guns and get them to drop it about three grand.

pigeon wrote: Not much to choose from around here. I know the price is high, but knowing the prior owner gives me a comfort level I wouldn't have if it were just a random car, and I wouldn't pay more than 16k for it anyway. Another local dealer just sold an '04 with 76k miles for 23k. Another local dealer had an '02 with 99k miles asking 15.5k a couple months ago with 2 sets of wheels, so I do have something to point them to as a "comp".

Does the prior owner still have the maintenence records, or did she give them to the current one? Although I suppose that if you knew the prior owner well enough, you'd know how well the car was maintained..even without the paper trail. I guess I'm with pimpm & nderwater here..you have a chance to bargain. You know something about the car that the dealer doesn't. Find the lower price on every "ragged out" example in your locality, and use it as a bargaining tool. The dealer doesn't know that you're familiar with the history of the car..and in the best case, he doesn't know about it himself. Asking price is 18, and you're willing to pay 16? Times are tough right now, if the guy doesn't jump on it, he's delusional.

dyintorace wrote: Personally, I love them. I really wish BMW had seen fit to produce a sedan version.

That^.