I've had a pretty good month ...

[mightydave]

As I sit here on a Monday morning, I look back on the month I've just had and just shake my head in disbelief (and lots and lots of joy).

I am a car-addict who has never sought the cure. It has gotten much worse with age. Six months ago I was daily driving a '14 650 Gran Coupe and my wife was driving her '11 X5 35d. Since I work at home and drive infrequently, it was hard to justify the 650 in the garage - so I decided to sell the Gran Coupe to my brother. With it heading to its new home, I decided it was time to cross off one item on my long wishlist, and look for an E36 M3 sedan. I have owned 8 BMWs over the years, but never an M-car. I am 42 so the E36 M3 was the first M-car I remember lusting over.

I found one and tried working a deal on a silver one out of state but the deal ultimate had issues wrapping up. I was getting discouraged thinking it wasn't going to happen, when fate intervened. I was on a flight heading home late on a Friday evening - with wifi on the flight and nothing but time. I decided I would run my normal Craigslist searches to see what had popped up the previous few days. Much to my surprise, a two owner, Estoril blue (my preferred color), manual sedan had popped up not 25 miles from my home. I frantically emailed the owner - who had owned and cared for it for 16 years - and hoped for the best. By early afternoon the next day and with only $7600 paid, I was the proud owner of my first M-car.

Pictured here with my brother's E46 M3 convertible and my old E30 325i Convertible (now my brother's)

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Little did I know my month was about to get even better.

A number of years ago I bought my true dream car - my '91 850i. I spent months and months obsessing over every post on here, saving inspiration photos from all the well known guys on here and collecting parts for my purchase. I bought mine in Washington DC and drove back 1100 miles to Kansas. I bought a CSi kit and some M-pars and had high hopes for the build. The problem was I was also the father of two young boys and didn't really factor how inconvenient the non-existent back seat would be to our growing family. I fought it for many months but ultimately cracked and sold my 850 to another forum member on here. The factory sport seats alone make me regret that sale nearly every day since.

But with the M3 in the fold, I was reinvigorated to start searching for an 8. I bid on a few on eBay - inquired about a handful on CL and built my saved search bookmarks like I always do when I'm searching. I even reached out to the guy I sold the 850 to, inquiring about how the ownership was going, in case he was getting itchy to sell.

A couple Tuesdays ago, I saw something strange during my normal searching. An ad on CarGurus for an 850CSi. Showed no price (call to inquire) and only one stock photo. It was at a BMW dealership though - so I immediately wondered if it was real. So I emailed and got a quick response back saying yes, they had it and this is the price. I won't post the price on here - so if you are curious, PM me. It ended up being a one owner car - bought, serviced and ultimately traded back in to the same dealer. Full service records, with tens of thousands of dollars spent over it's life. And again, all at the same originally selling dealer. Pretty cool. I immediately wanted it and offered the price, sight unseen, with no additional information. Yet I was second in line and someone more local to this dealer was supposed to be there within a day or two. Needless to say, I didn't sleep for two days.

The price the car was listed at matched how you'd list it if it were a 6-speed 850i or Ci in average condition. When I received the photos, it was clear that this one was in fact in average condition, both interior and exterior. That didn't bother me a bit, since that's the type of thing I enjoy handling. The service records told a story of a car where everything that needed handling was handled promptly. For the price, it was a no-brainer.

After a long two days of waiting, the dealer called and said the car was mine if I wanted it. I did, and now it's in my garage.

It has some needs. The wheels need refinishing, lots of PDR, the front and rear bumpers need a respray and the seat backs need to be rebuilt. When it arrived on the truck on Saturday night, I was a little worried about driving it the first time - but wow, what an experience. It handles great, pulls like a freight train and sounds incredible. I cannot believe I own this car.

Since it needs a few touches, I'll save the full photo detail for a later thread, but I couldn't contain my excitement and felt the need to share.

So, CSi #126, Arctic Silver over Black now lives in Lawrence, KS. It's been a damn good month.

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[nrp22101]

Awesome find. Congrats and I admit, I'm a bit jealous. So, whats with the tease....why no price???


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[taylorpatterson]

Hiya Mighty Dave!

Wouldn't you know it, your car and my car are siblings, almost twinsies - I have CSi #125

Welcome to club 255 - and go out an enjoy that CSi!!!

[TedBobo]

Dang! Great find and great story.

[mightydave]

Hey guys - so glad to be back among the 8ers.

nrp22101 - it's not intended as a tease at all - honestly. I know when I owned I was hyper-aware and hyper-sensitive to the market for these cars. I don't want to put out a number that artificially impacts the perceived value (not that it would) just because I stumbled into a really good deal. That may be a dumb reason but it's the one I have.

Now I get to start looking for parts - in particular the plastic seat top part - which are broken on both sides of mine.

As soon as I get it looking the way it should (in particular the wheels, which look horrible today), I will post a ton of photos.

[2japs2germs]

wow 2 gems for the price of your daily 6 series. score and congrats

[nrp22101]

I respect that. Just wondering.

Hey guys - so glad to be back among the 8ers.

nrp22101 - it's not intended as a tease at all - honestly. I know when I owned I was hyper-aware and hyper-sensitive to the market for these cars. I don't want to put out a number that artificially impacts the perceived value (not that it would) just because I stumbled into a really good deal. That may be a dumb reason but it's the one I have.

Now I get to start looking for parts - in particular the plastic seat top part - which are broken on both sides of mine.

As soon as I get it looking the way it should (in particular the wheels, which look horrible today), I will post a ton of photos.

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[kiwiCSi]

Nice find!
Congrats and welcome to CSi ownership.
While you're refurbishing those wheels, you'll no doubt take the opportunity to correct the orientation of those throwing star centers (a pet 'hate' of mine is seeing them fitted backwards).
Look forward to seeing pictures of this project as it progresses.
Can you tell us the mileage?
Also please register the car on 8coupe and M-Registry.

[mightydave]

kiwiCSi - I'm glad you mentioned the backwards stars - I would have totally missed it!

The mileage is a shade over 135k. I registered on 8coupe the day the transaction completed but I'll definitely take a look at M-Registry as well. Thanks much!

[rogbmw]

Welcome to the 225 club!! Great find. I remember a few weeks ago when it popped up. Congrats!!!

[mightydave]

Welcome to the 225 club!! Great find. I remember a few weeks ago when it popped up. Congrats!!!

Thanks Rog! I’ve trained myself to ALWAYS inquire when one comes up - even with stock photos and no price. The “you never know” mantra certainly applied this time!

[David9999999]

Wow. Great story and find!

[bmw528e11]

Mightydave! Great story! What is the mileage, if you don't mind me asking?

[kiwiCSi]

Dave has given us the mileage in his post above.

[tvjake2]

This is one of the most amazing stories on the Forum in a loooonnnggg time. You should buy a lottery ticket.

[1959terry]

Awesome find. Congrats and I admit, I'm a bit jealous. So, whats with the tease....why no price???

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Doesnt want the wife to know how much he spent