Dilemma on purchase

[dkl2001]

Maybe you guys and gals can give me a little help. I'm looking for a reliable daily driver, and I get relatively good pricing on parts through family. I'm looking at a steel grey 2003 330ci with about 77k miles that looks very nice, and a Dinan supercharged cosmos 97 m3 with around 60k miles. While I'm sure the steel gray 330ci 5 speed is a peppy/comfortable ride that is somewhat of a status symbol, I've eyeballed the e36 m3 since I was little (I'm 25 now). I'm worried about the m3 b/c the driver seat has ridiculous wear on it for 60k miles. From what I've gathered the Dinan S/C is a very reliable power increase. Could any of you help a lost soul out?????

Edit ($15._k for the 330 and $13.6ish for the m3)

Thanks,

Dave

[bmwaddicted49]

buy a new seat...

[dkl2001]

Believe me I would, but I'm worried it may have had the instrument cluster replaced and I may not be getting an accurate represenation of true mileage. Nearly every low mileage (<70k) example I've seen has not had a seat this bad. Last reported carfax record was in 02 when owner #2 bought it.

[bmwaddicted49]

maybe owner #1 was just really fat or something. fat people kill seats.
edit- i think the condition of the paint and overall condition of the rest of the car would be a better way to ballpark mileage, I say get a PPI done on it and see what comes up.

[dkl2001]

Thats what I'm thinking. Passenger seat is perfect, yet driver side and back need work. One door was repainted due to a bad ding, but the paint seems to match fairly well. Ahh the little things...

[Hankdoll]

Dinan SCs are roughly $8k new...unistalled, so $13k seems more than a good deal. It's well known that the seat bolsters wear increadibly fast on these cars. I'd go for the e36 after a PPI.

[I hump my M3]

Depends on what your idea of rediculous wear is. I mean is it crusty cracked and ripped in any places ? That is a sign of carelessness and a lack of pride in ownership, have you driven the car yet ? E36 M3's are notorious for being thrashed beyond belief especially if this guy DINANED his car. I would really get a mechanical inspection done maybe by your nearest BMW dealer on it just to be safe .

[nepenthean]

I had an 06 330ci zhp and sold it for a 99 ///m3. Happy.

[RRSperry]

Couple of things.

Is the Dinan sc a Vortech or Powerdyne? Vortech good, Powerdyne bad...

If the mileage has been tampered with, the tamper dot next to the mileage will be lit. That means if the cluster has been swapped without also changing the coding plug, or having a new coding made by a dealer, that dot will light up.

While the 330 is a nice car, it ain't a SC M3... If you are serious about either car, get them inspected. I would actually find a Dinan BMW dealer... They will have at least 1 tech familiar with Steve's products.

[pbonsalb]

If you are not automatically going for the M3 because of what you know and want, then you should buy the 330. Its newer, quieter, smoother, more comfortable, and has acceleration and handling good enough to please most people. To me, its a Buick, but I am not most people. Drive it and if you like it, buy it. M3 are fun, but they are old and less comfortable and the driving feel probably won't matter to you.

[egebhardt]

You can get the Driver's seat recovered for around $800. Good black leather is expensive. I won't touch anything Forced Air myself, but I'm a conservative 35 yr old.

[xtremsiege2]

a reliable daily would be the 330ci, you just can't buy a modified car, supercharged at that and hope it starts up every morning. As cool and fun as it would be, it isn't practical and certainly won't be cheap to maintain. If it was a second car for you, id say go for it because thats a good deal for a s/c m3, in your case no.

The carfax is also shady, most likely the guy did his own work or had the maintenance done on the side so it wasn't registered showing the mileage.

[WytLytnyn]

Depends on what your idea of rediculous wear is. I mean is it crusty cracked and ripped in any places ? That is a sign of carelessness and a lack of pride in ownership, have you driven the car yet ? E36 M3's are notorious for being thrashed beyond belief especially if this guy DINANED his car. I would really get a mechanical inspection done maybe by your nearest BMW dealer on it just to be safe . Sounds like my car. The sun, shrinkage and wear busted the shoulder seam on the driver seat, plus my fat ass jumping into it 6+ times a day over 8 years has worn it out.

On the other hand, all of the rubber and plastic on the exterior is starting to go but can easily be replaced.

The powertrain is strong and has been professionally maintained since day one of my ownership stint. I just had a leaking rear seal on the tranny replaced and had a new EVO3 and DSSR put in with a UUC clutch line. It's got a mark on the back bumper from where a lady hit me at less than 5mph but I took the money that her insurance gave me and tossed in my IRA instead of getting new bumper shocks and a respray/blending job.

To the OP: find an independent shop to go over the car. If it doesn't check out or you have the slightest inkling that the seller isn't throwing straight, walkaway. You can always find another deal on an M3. I'd rather have a cherry, properly maintained 328i than an M3 that I got a deal on because the seller had to make concessions based on problems with the car.

[RRSperry]

a reliable daily would be the 330ci, you just can't buy a modified car, supercharged at that and hope it starts up every morning. As cool and fun as it would be, it isn't practical and certainly won't be cheap to maintain. If it was a second car for you, id say go for it because thats a good deal for a s/c m3, in your case no.


That thinking is just like when people thought the earth was flat, and if you got too close to the edge, you would fall off. There is no reason what so ever that a SC car can't be reliable as a daily driver. Ask PaulE.

[Temp1981]

I would not even sweat the seat, if it is not too bad you could probably dye it or do the leatherique process to it, and bring a little life back to it.
+1 on the mechanic check out though, any time you have FI there is greater potential for problems, but there is no reason you can't DD the car. The 330, well it is a 330, if you want a cushy spot to set your butt in, then get that. But i think you would be more satisfied with the ///M, just prepare your wallet for maintenance.

[LBCpride]

I had an 06 330ci zhp and sold it for a 99 ///m3. Happy.

Nice:buttrock

[Eric98Sedan]

First of all, the M3 is priced WAY too low considering the mileage AND the SC. Even without the SC, low mileage NICE cars go for well above 13.6k. The driver's seat should show some wear. But the overall condition of the car should be 'near' showroom @ 60k miles. And, it should drive very nice, even if completely original.

Unless the guy just wants to unload it asap, it seems too good to be true.

[Motorsport333]

back seat driver...

Do you have a pics of this car? I purchased my cosmos last year and the back seat was flawless, but really it could've been anything that caused that much wear on the car's seat. Did you ask the seller about it?

[Tremelune]

I would take an E36 over a 330 every day. That said, chips? Repaints? Replaced dash components? That car sounds iffy. Mine has 100k miles and, aside from a few minor cosmetic blemishes, has no issues and feels as tight as any other I've driven.

Look elsewhere for a clean M3 with a trustworthy owner. $12-14 is a common price to find.

[allshallperish]

It probably had a S52 engine swap for the S/C. That could be a reason for the low miles, and the bad interior; because the chassis/interior has probably a lot more miles.

Idk just making an assumption.

[RDM3]

Maybe you guys and gals can give me a little help. I'm looking for a reliable daily driver, and I get relatively good pricing on parts through family. I'm looking at a steel grey 2003 330ci with about 77k miles that looks very nice, and a Dinan supercharged cosmos 97 m3 with around 60k miles. While I'm sure the steel gray 330ci 5 speed is a peppy/comfortable ride that is somewhat of a status symbol, I've eyeballed the e36 m3 since I was little (I'm 25 now). I'm worried about the m3 b/c the driver seat has ridiculous wear on it for 60k miles. From what I've gathered the Dinan S/C is a very reliable power increase. Could any of you help a lost soul out?????

Edit ($15._k for the 330 and $13.6ish for the m3)

Thanks,

Dave


I have a 97 Dinan Sc'd M3 and I love it, it is not my daily driver, I have a 2000 4.4l X5 for that, I can say the SC has been on for about 5 years and i h ave had zero issues, it is a vortech, but for the past 2 years it has only been driven about 800 miles per year.