1997 328is coupe, 5sp manual, 78k miles, upgrades - $13,500 (Seattle)

[todor]

The car is in absolutely perfect condition, the paint is very shiny, looks and drives like new... even better than new, because it has cold air intake, exhaust from ActiveAutowerke, Jim Conforti chip tuning (shark injector), projector headlights w/ eyelids, smoked tails.

Sport pkg, 5-sp manual, full OBC, traction control, premium audio, all options for the model except automatic transmission.

More info and pics here:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/car/144213806.html
(http://seattle.craigslist.org/car/140879258.html)

[HOOJ]

Put your flame suit on.

[10kken]

Put your flame suit on.
Nice car, except for the ricer tail lights and the steering wheel cover :eek: .

I'd imagine that you'd have a hard time getting that price for it though. Thing is that you never really get back what you pay for from your aftermarket parts - you're generally better off selling them separately. And while the milage is low and the car is in goos shape, there are M3s selling for that price range.

[328ischef]

clean looking car aside of the head and tail light selection. Good luck with the sale

[Poke2120]

Love this quote:

"This is the fastest 328 on the market and it handles like nothing else."

AND

"Only 10% of the E36 3-series sold in the US have manual transmission."

Dude are you kidding me? Do you just make this shit up for fun?

The tail lights, headlights, and steering wheel cover are terrible. Ebay specials?

[todor]

Ah come on guys, don't be hatin' :)
I realize appearance is a very subjective thing, and I do have the stock lights and tails for the car, and the steering wheel cover is obviously removable. I personally like the way the lights look, but if potential buyers don't, I can put the stock ones back on... The ONLY reason I have the wheel cover there is for grip, because I like to turn it with one hand.

And about the price: in my area (Seattle) car prices are generally higher than most other places. Yes, you can get an M3 for that price but it'll be a 95 with high miles (130+ k). In fact, that's what I'm planning to do: get a higher-mileage M3. It's a trade-off between reliability and price. Higher-mileage E36s also cost a lot more to maintain, for someone who can't do the work him/herself. You all know that.

And about the statistics: I heard that "10% came with manual" from a dealer (a non-BMW one). Don't know if it's really true, but I thought I'd put it there because when I was looking for a 328, most of them were automatic, so it seems to be roughly true. And obviously, that applies only to the non-M 3-series, as most of the M3s came with manual.
My car IS the fastest 328 on the Seattle market as far as I know. I looked at craigslist, autotrader, cars.com and a few other places, and there just aren't many manual 328s (with a clean title), and none of them have modifications. So that statement is true to the best of my knowledge.

Here are some pics of the car with the stock lights:

[10kken]

Your correct about the realtive number of 328s with automatic transmissions out there - most of them are automatics. At this point, that's also generally true of almost any modle of BMW, with the exception of the M cars. The Amercian market loves those automatics.

Having said that, I think you're gonig to have a hard time getting close to your asking price. If you wait long enough you might get it, but my guess is that you won't, certainly not on this forum.

But good luck.

[todor]

I can wait, I'm not in a hurry. And seriously guys, BMW prices are higher in the Seattle area. Look at AutoTrader:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresults.jsp?advanced=y&bkms=1142226269648&certified=&isp=y&search=y&lang=en&search_type=both&make=BMW&model=328I&make2=BMW&model2=328IS&make3=sel_one&start_year=1996&end_year=1999&min_price=1&max_price=17000&max_mileage=&distance=100&address=98102&engine=&fuel=&drive=&transmission=Manual&doors=&color=&x=77&y=8
or craigslist:
(for 328is) http://seattle.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/search?areaID=2&subAreaID=0&query=328is&catAbbreviation=car&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max
(for 328i) http://seattle.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/search?areaID=2&subAreaID=0&query=328i&catAbbreviation=car&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max
What's unique about my car compared to the others are the following things:
- manual transmission
- sport package
- it's a coupe
- full OBC
- low mileage
- upgrades (intake, exhaust, chip, lighting)

Anyway, I'm targeting a buyer who wants a clean car that's in perfect condition and doesn't require any fixes or maintenance. I know that every potential buyer will want to take the car to an inspection, so I've made sure that everything that needs to be replaced has been replaced, and the inspection won't find anything, it'll just say that the car is great.

[Springtown]

If you really want to sell that car, spring for the upgraded steering wheel cover...you know, the furry one. :)

[todor]

If you really want to sell that car, spring for the upgraded steering wheel cover...you know, the furry one. :)

Yeah but then I'd have so many people wanting to look at the car that I wouldn't have time to show it to all of them. So I better stick with the yellow $12 cover.

seriously, because of all of you guys, i just removed the cover today.... looks better but i can't turn the wheel with 1 hand when i'm parking - it slips too much.

anyway, whatever the big deal was about that cover, it's gone now so if anyone has comments about the car itself (not stupid stuff like the steering wheel cover or "ricer" taillights), let me know. and for the record, the lights are not "ricer"... if anything, the headlights look more like those of a E39, with the turn signal being in one unit with the headlights, which wasn't what I was going for but that E39 look is certainly not a ricer look and the projector headlights do light the way better than the stock ones. Whatever, as I said, I have the stock lights too, so let's talk about something that matters for a change.

[todor]

I've updated the craigslist link in the first post because the old one expired.

[todor]

Sold for $13,500
Biatches!
;)

[BigFace]

Sold for $13,500
Biatches!
;)

proof or BAN

[themadhatter]

proof or BAN
did somebody ask for a ban? :devillook

---

scan the sales slip for ownage.

[todor]

LOL
you guys crack me up
fine, i'll see what i can do for a proof... but the "sales slip" or "bill of sale" in WA is on the title itself and the buyer took that. i've already deposited the check too so i can't scan that. i'll think of something though.. sheeesh...

[Wiseguy ON]

Wow. I just sold a newer M3 for less than that.

[RedV]

that must be canadian dollars lol

[todor]

i just realized i have the "report of sale" slip. i'll scan it tomorrow before i turn it in.