I have personally always wanted to own an E36 M3 and one has recently popped up in my area and quite honestly I have no idea if asking price is reasonable or not. Asking price is $8,000. It’s claimed to have been meticulously maintained since the current owner purchased it in 2003. It currently sits at 120,000 miles. I live in Massachusetts so the winters get pretty rough and the current owner says it has been garaged every winter since ownership. I know if these cars are well maintained they can easily reach 200,000 plus miles. I recently met a customer at work with a 95 M3 that had his baby still purring after 310,000 miles. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I say check it out yourself. Check CL around the country, Autotrader, BAT, this site. Make a list (I use an Excel file). Include year, mileage, features including what's old/new, stated condition. You'll start to get a feel for the cars' values.
Best thing to do in your situation is pay for a pre-purchase inspection. The information is invaluable and it can help spot potential nightmares. Also, since you pay for it, most sellers are not against it and its better than having to bring a jack to inspect the car yourself. After the inspection you can reference other selling sites and such for pricing information to determine if the price is fair or not.
I checked every major car selling website out there and prices are extremely all over the place. I’m seeing 95-99s in decent to good condition but all with 180K plus miles ranging from 10-15 thousand and then the occasional 40k miles or less for anywhere from 20-40 thousand. I’ve seen like 3 that are 70-100k miles that appear to be decently taken care of for around 8-12 but are 1999s and convertible and personally I am not a fan of this particular model in a convertible.
I paid 12,500 for a 96 with 150k on it. I don’t feel I overpaid as it’s pretty damn good shape. Do with that what you will.
Color combos and packages will also determine price. Automatic convertibles have way less demand so those are usually less expensive than clean coupes and sedans. Technoviolet, Byzanz are two colors that will have bigger premiums. At the end of the day, the perceived value is subjective. I always recommend that if you aren't set on a specific color and such, then simply find the cleanest and well maintained example and you can enjoy driving it. Unfortunately that is harder and harder these days, more so for us living in the northeast with rust.
If you're willing to travel, it can really open up your options.
This is all the info that’s listed, my messages have yet to be responded too along with several pictures that only show exterior and interior except this apparent tear in the seat but both look immaculate:
1995 BMW M3
VIN: WBSBF0325SEN91686
Price: $9,000 OBO (knocked down to 8)
Location: Braintree, MA
Odometer: 124,174 miles
Transmission: Automatic
Exterior Color: Electric Blue
Interior Color: Light Gray
Seats: Leather with M3 logo
Engine: 6-Cyl, 3.0L
Drivetrain: RWD
Braking & Traction: ABS (4-Wheel)
Steering: Power Steering, Tilt Wheel
Entertainment: AM/FM stereo, single disc CD Player
Comfort & Convenience: Heated seats, A/C, power windows, power door locks, cruise control
Title status: Clean
Meticulously maintained 1995 M3. Car has been garaged and primarily driven in the summer. Driver’s seat leather needs repair as there is a tear on the left side; back seats are in pristine condition as they were rarely used. Second owner, car was purchased in 2003. For sale as is, no warranties included. Contact us with any questions. Read Less
Also all my searches have been nationwide and the cars are either ok condition with higher miles or very low asking the world for the car. I’m 21 and as much as I’d absolutely love to have a 40k mile that would probably outlast me and it’s just not feasible for me financially
Last edited by Joshmo978; 08-24-2020 at 03:54 PM.
The car probably would have sold already if it wasn't an automatic. The price could be fair if it truly has been pampered and it is absolutely rust free. Automatics tend to be less abused but are far less desirable. Those transmissions aren't particularly problematic, it is just a driver preference thing. These cars are fun to drive but they aren't fast by today's standards so it is all about the driving experience, for most fans of these cars, the fun is being well balanced and an analog experience, which means running through the gears. If you don't have to have a manual, that opens more options.
Personally, I would rather have a very nice example of an 328 with a manual for less money. The non-M e36's will nevery be worth as much but are 80-90% as fun for 50% the cost. Depending on your intended use, you really should at least test drive a non-M. The e36 M3's sold in the US were closer to the non-M cars than any other generation of 3 series. The engines were bored and stroked versions of the same block with more aggressive cams and the suspensions were tweaked, but they cars just aren't that different comprared to the previous and successive M3's. If your budget allows (triple it, and you really want a "real" e36 M3, the early euro M3's are old enough to be imported.
If you haven't already, read up on the difference between the OBDI cars (325 & 95 M3) and the OBDII cars (328, 323 & later M3). Most of the difference is in the engine management, improvements for emissions that drove displacements up to reach the same (basically) power output. As the 95 was the only year of the OBDI M3, it may eventually be worth more.
gdavid said it best, this car would have already sold if it were a manual transmission.
Buy the car, and put a manual in it... I happen to have a 70K mile 5 speed tranny sitting the garage...ool
No matter where you go, there you are...
This is a good deal even for an auto. My guess is that he's not responding because it's already sold.
120k miles @ $8k is a good deal even for an auto, and after a manual swap you'd still be under $9k and it would be worth $16-$20k depending on what the records show and what the actual condition is.
That's too many miles for anyone to really worry about it not originally being a manual and having been swapped, but that's great mileage for a driver, and anyone buying a driver would be stoked to have mileage that low. And no one money shifts an auto, either. This would be a great investment. Make the swap, drive it for a year or two while you address any outstanding issues, sell it and double your money. Or keep for the next 10, 20, or 50 years.
-Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.
The best thing to do is go over and inspect and be prepared to pay cash for it. Asking for PPI sends you to the back of the line after anyone willing to come look at the car where it sits. A seller's goal is sell a vehicle quickly for the most money, not to take it around town for a PPI so you can ask for $200 off because the headliner is sagging.
$8K (even for an auto) at 120K is a great price and the car is probably already sold. Seller likely has an inbox full of "when were the window regulators last cleaned" and "Can I take for PPI" type messages meanwhile somebody already showed up and bought it.
"Electric blue?" Avus blue most likely, which is also popular. If it were silver or black, it's a $5k to 6k car. It's a fair deal if in person it is as nice as you describe the photos. But, the slushbox is holding it back.
Tom
Currently 1995 M3 manual coupe, 1993 325is
Past cars
2003 530i
1998 528i
1995 530i
1988 528e
1988 535i
1987 2.7i
1972 2002
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