Member
I am looking at a 2002 M3 with SMG. It has 87k miles. They are asking $17.5. If I got this for around $15k, would it be a good buy?
Member
yes, buy it!
Member
No, maybe 12-13k. We need way more info. Clean carfax? Maintenance? Vert? # of owners? Fully loaded?
Last edited by MegamanDS; 02-04-2010 at 05:01 PM.
Member
three owners. Clean carfax, except it says that odometer might have been played with. I think its an error. Fully loaded, except no Navigation. What is a Inspection III???
Member
M3s go for inspection stages every 20-25k miles. Stage III should be done around 70-75k miles. Usually takes about a day and costs up to $2000 depending on what they find.
Member
Considering all checks out, 15k would be a very very good deal.
-Bryan
Member
What goes into a inspection III? Can a non-BMW dealership do this inspection?
Member
Inspection "III" would simply be the second Inspection I.
They just repeat...I,II,I,II every 25-30k or so.
-Bryan
Member
I am buying this at non-bmw dealership(Ford). What do I need to look for?
Member
What is trade in on that car? The dealer is going to have something close to that in the car usually and they might or might not have spent some money on "reconditioning" which seems to generally consist of a machine car wash and a coat of Armor All on the interior.
I doubt you'll have much luck getting a dealer to come down over 2k on that car. But good luck if its the car you want. As far as what to look for, my advice would be to arrange with the Ford Dealer to take the car to your local BMW dealership for an inspection before buying. An independent shop can do a PPI, but only the dealership will have access to the cars service history at least until the warranty was up and possibly beyond.
Member
Have you looked at the maintenance records? What do they look like? When is the next major service due ($$$).
PPI done?
All M3s are not the same.
Member
I checked out the car yesterday, and it was in terrible condition. Bumper was was falling off and the interior was in very bad condition. Do you think this car would be worth restoring if I get it for very cheap? Like $4k less the asking price?
Member
hmm the 01-03 E46 goes for 15k-18k regularly.. find a nicer example.
Member
The Kbb is $17K for excellent condition. The car is in poor condition. How much could a buyer offer? I can't imagine anyone wanting to pay anything near their asking price of $17.5. (the dealership must know this. The car was in sad condition.) What is the lowest price the dealership could sell the car?
Last edited by aj6543; 02-10-2010 at 09:11 PM.
Member
Why would you buy a car in "sad condition"? What do you think that says about how it was maintained?Originally Posted by aj6543
There are too many good cars out there to take on someone's problem car.
Member
If I can get it for cheap. I don't mind putting money into restoring it. How much should I offer them for the car??
Member
walk away. KBB prices are normally pretty optimistic as well (high). look at NADA
Member
Typically when the exterior isn't taken care of, niether was anything else...I'd avoid that, these cars aren't that rare.
I also wouldn't read too much into car value guides, I typically end up paying more than KBB but I that gets me a pristine car with full records. Then it's just a case of keeping up with maintenaince, which your going to need to do regardless. I read a lot of horror stories on forums, but these cars really are pretty tough if they're taken care of (others experiences, I haven't had mine that long and I only drive it about 400-500 miles a month on open roads). Spend the money up front for a good car and you'll likely be rewarded with a good experience. My $.02
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