bigfeller
04-11-2012, 06:26 AM
1997 BMW M3 purchased from a friend (bfc member oiltycoon) in Houston, Texas, and brought into Canada 4 years ago. Car is a coupe, 5 spd, cosmos black with black Vaders, sunroof, 18 button OBC, 150K miles (243K km). I’ve spent 4 years and nearly $10K on this car making it run like a champ. It’s a BMW, so it always seems to want/need something, but all of the major preventative maintenance has been done. Until last week, it ran flawlessly.
http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc/120411/389r1/1338fi4_20.jpeg
http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc/120411/392r1/1943a88_20.jpeg
http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc/120411/393r1/3150497_20.jpeg
THE GOOD:
NO RUST- Car has only been in Canada for four years, and has only seen two winters; Krown Rustproofed four times in four years
Rogue Engineering RSMs ($120)
UUC Poly RTABs ($150)
Bimmerworld RTAB pocket reinforcements ($350)
BMW X-brace ($150)
Ireland Engineering strut tower brace ($300)
Koni SAs (front) done in 2011 ($400)
Koni SRTs (rear) in 2011 ($300)
UUC Swaybarbarian sway bars with Bimmerworld HD endlinks and Turner Motorsports subframe reinforcements ($600)
Oil Pump Nut loctited in 2010 ($500)
New Cooling System in 2006; new water pump again in 2010 ($750)
CD43 ($250)
Trunk has been sound deadened with HushMat; rear hookup for amp including power, ground, remote, and line-level converters
CSB and Guibo replaced in 2010 ($250)
All belts and pullies replaced in 2010 ($300)
E46 M3 ZCP Steering rack w/ new column U-joint and tie rods ($500)
Brand New Zimmerman Rotors (front) ($200)
E21 tranny mounts with enforcer cups ($100)
UUC Evo SSK (short shift kit) ($300)
DS1s with General Exclaim UHPs 225/45/17
Diff professionally rebuilt in Spring 2011 by Mauricio’s Auto with Diffsonline kit (new bearings, seals throughout) and new mount bushings ($1500)
ZKW Headlights with DRLs (city lights) activated ($700)
Alcantara headliner ($500)
Clear corner lenses front and rear ($300)
Starter replaced last year with OEM Bosch ($250)
No accidents and clean CarFax
Service history from 2006; partial records from original owner. I’ve also done lots of other small maintenance items; fuel filters, regular synthetic oil changes, new throttle cable and pedal, brake light switch, seals, etc. CarProof report showing three owners and no accidents will be included with the sale
THE BAD:
The CEL came on last week, and car started running roughly, and losing power. RMP Motors did a compression test and pulled the valve cover; all the valves look good, cams are fine, but compression is low on cylinders 4 and 5, which means it probably has a head gasket failure between these cylinders and/or cracked head.
It’s impossible to know for sure without opening up the engine, and I’m not interested in doing that right now as I have other priorities.
Most likely the car will need a new head gasket ($1000) and it may have a cracked head, necessitating a new one ($725 from these guys; http://www.autoheadperformance.com ).
No other motor issues as far as I can tell- bottom end seems to be solid; so sludge and synthetic oil since new. Not insurmountable repairs, but not inexpensive ones either. If I don't get any offers at my asking price, I'll park the car and probably swap an S54, LS1, or Ford 302 into it sometime down the road. I’ve got this car 90% there, and now someone else can take it home. The only other issues with the car are:
Foglights are cracked
ZKW lens covers both have chips/cracks
5th Gear Lean (not worth fixing yet as clutch was done 35K ago)
Rear brake rotors are warped and/or need turning
The going rate for a clean, rust and accident-free, average mileage M3 is about $11K these days in Canada ($20K for cherry low-mileage examples, $5-6K for neglected basket cases). With that said, in light of all of the extras the car comes with, and the motor work it needs, and the other maintenance that has been done, the price is $6,500 CAD firm. Car is located in Toronto, ON. Buyer must pick up car in person.
You are free to talk to Rocco at RMP about the car- most of the service has been performed there- or you can have your mechanic inspect it. It runs and drives (on 4 of 6 cylinders) so you can take it to any shop you'd like for a second opinion.
http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc/120411/389r1/1338fi4_20.jpeg
http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc/120411/392r1/1943a88_20.jpeg
http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc/120411/393r1/3150497_20.jpeg
THE GOOD:
NO RUST- Car has only been in Canada for four years, and has only seen two winters; Krown Rustproofed four times in four years
Rogue Engineering RSMs ($120)
UUC Poly RTABs ($150)
Bimmerworld RTAB pocket reinforcements ($350)
BMW X-brace ($150)
Ireland Engineering strut tower brace ($300)
Koni SAs (front) done in 2011 ($400)
Koni SRTs (rear) in 2011 ($300)
UUC Swaybarbarian sway bars with Bimmerworld HD endlinks and Turner Motorsports subframe reinforcements ($600)
Oil Pump Nut loctited in 2010 ($500)
New Cooling System in 2006; new water pump again in 2010 ($750)
CD43 ($250)
Trunk has been sound deadened with HushMat; rear hookup for amp including power, ground, remote, and line-level converters
CSB and Guibo replaced in 2010 ($250)
All belts and pullies replaced in 2010 ($300)
E46 M3 ZCP Steering rack w/ new column U-joint and tie rods ($500)
Brand New Zimmerman Rotors (front) ($200)
E21 tranny mounts with enforcer cups ($100)
UUC Evo SSK (short shift kit) ($300)
DS1s with General Exclaim UHPs 225/45/17
Diff professionally rebuilt in Spring 2011 by Mauricio’s Auto with Diffsonline kit (new bearings, seals throughout) and new mount bushings ($1500)
ZKW Headlights with DRLs (city lights) activated ($700)
Alcantara headliner ($500)
Clear corner lenses front and rear ($300)
Starter replaced last year with OEM Bosch ($250)
No accidents and clean CarFax
Service history from 2006; partial records from original owner. I’ve also done lots of other small maintenance items; fuel filters, regular synthetic oil changes, new throttle cable and pedal, brake light switch, seals, etc. CarProof report showing three owners and no accidents will be included with the sale
THE BAD:
The CEL came on last week, and car started running roughly, and losing power. RMP Motors did a compression test and pulled the valve cover; all the valves look good, cams are fine, but compression is low on cylinders 4 and 5, which means it probably has a head gasket failure between these cylinders and/or cracked head.
It’s impossible to know for sure without opening up the engine, and I’m not interested in doing that right now as I have other priorities.
Most likely the car will need a new head gasket ($1000) and it may have a cracked head, necessitating a new one ($725 from these guys; http://www.autoheadperformance.com ).
No other motor issues as far as I can tell- bottom end seems to be solid; so sludge and synthetic oil since new. Not insurmountable repairs, but not inexpensive ones either. If I don't get any offers at my asking price, I'll park the car and probably swap an S54, LS1, or Ford 302 into it sometime down the road. I’ve got this car 90% there, and now someone else can take it home. The only other issues with the car are:
Foglights are cracked
ZKW lens covers both have chips/cracks
5th Gear Lean (not worth fixing yet as clutch was done 35K ago)
Rear brake rotors are warped and/or need turning
The going rate for a clean, rust and accident-free, average mileage M3 is about $11K these days in Canada ($20K for cherry low-mileage examples, $5-6K for neglected basket cases). With that said, in light of all of the extras the car comes with, and the motor work it needs, and the other maintenance that has been done, the price is $6,500 CAD firm. Car is located in Toronto, ON. Buyer must pick up car in person.
You are free to talk to Rocco at RMP about the car- most of the service has been performed there- or you can have your mechanic inspect it. It runs and drives (on 4 of 6 cylinders) so you can take it to any shop you'd like for a second opinion.