|
I'm currently looking at a very nice white '89 E30 M3 with 180k miles, everything original (no engine mods at all) except for drivers seat & upgraded bilsteins, with a very nicely maintained interior (no dash cracks.) No accidents, a few dings. Is that too many miles on a 19 year old car to make this a reasonable buy at $11500? It's got a new intake manifold, new air filter & new plugs and new tires, and the owner says he has a shitload of maintenance records from the 1st owner (he's the second.)  Anyone with any thoughts as to whether continuing to pursue this is a stupid move or not?
|
#
¿
Mar 28, 2008 20:07
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 5, 2024 11:38 |
|
|
miklm posted:Is this going ot be your primary/only car/daily driver, or a weekend toy to keep in the garage? If the former, I couldn't advise going through with it, but that's a perfect example for the latter. I certainly doing think its ever going to go down in value unless you abuse it. You could enjoy that without worrying about putting a few miles on it. The paint scheme continues on the passenger rear quarter panel, midway between the B & C pillars. I really love how this car looks and drives (and all the mechanical details seem pretty solid so far.) It would be as a track toy/3rd vehicle/occasional 10 mile drive to work. My main hesitation is that I'm lacking in garage space to keep it (Which is kind of a drag, because this car needs garage love but I don't really have a slot to swap out, unless I banish my wife (MY WIFE) to the street which I'm sure will go over just smashing.) Ugh. I'm kicking myself to go ahead and pull the trigger, but I'm also quietly tabulating the cons in my head also. Stupid parents, teaching me to make reasoned decisions.   The guy takes lousy cellcam photos for showing this car off (which is why it hasn't been snaffled up yet, I'm thinking) 
|
|
#
¿
Mar 28, 2008 21:29
|
|
|
Hello BMW people. I'm thinking of buying my friend's immaculate '08 M3 Coupe, it's got about 15,000 miles on it, and he's selling it because he just bought a Tesla S Performance model and can't justify owning both. No existing issues at all that I'm aware of. I've known this guy for years and worked with him on many projects together (and will continue to do so), so I trust the car's quality. Are there any known nightmarish repair milestones to worry about on this car in the upcoming years/mile marks? Or anything else I should be wary of? (clearly I'm aware of the superior German adhesives already.) Thanks!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2013 01:31
|
|
|
Thanks! All the reliability reports I'd seen said this car was pretty rock solid, but it's nice to know there (probably) aren't any secret massive bills potentially lurking around the corner. I will find out about Inspection I. He bought the car, moved to Seattle 6 months later, realized he hated getting it wet/needing to wash it all the time, so he bought a Leaf to daily drive - fell in love with EV's, and then when he came back to California he ended up living 3 blocks from his office so has barely used it for the last year and a half.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 7, 2013 20:02
|
|
|
Das Volk posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdyKYqb2WNM That sounds f'n fantastic - I am assuming that is along the lines of the exhaust mods you suggested to me... I am still in the process of getting one of these, videos like this are drat good inspiration.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 15, 2013 19:45
|
|
|
Nait Sirhc posted:Oh I forgot this forum was entitled "Automotive Mediocrity"
|
|
#
¿
Jul 9, 2014 22:37
|
|
|
Any of you guys ever rented what Hertz bills as the 3-series "or similar" in Europe (specifically Spain)? The website claims it's manual + 51 mpg, which to me makes me think diesel - anyone driven one/how's the driving experience, and any ideas what might be substituted in as "or similar"? The other option is locking in a Mini Countryman since I can choose that exact model of car... Looking for something fun that my wife & I can rip around the hills in and have some fun driving, the 3-series (presumed) diesel's torque sounds like the kind of thing that makes that activity even better. I wish they rented more manual cars in the US.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2014 23:22
|
|
|
The Mini is claimed at 41 mpg and also outputs more CO2 than the BMW (something like 143, but more than the diesel listing there so presumably it's a petrol engine), all of this of course is 'Subject to a rental car's website being anywhere near accurate'. But yeah, if there's nothing special about the 320d then I'll probably get the Mini. The airport we're going to doesn't have the Jaaaaaaag, alas.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2014 00:17
|
|
|
Nait Sirhc posted:Go through Sixt, and email them about your reservation in advance. That way you can line up the exact car you want. It's surprisingly cheap, too. I got an M135i for 70 euro a day. Awesome, thanks for this info.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2014 01:05
|
|
|
Based on the US license plate of the other vehicle and the positioning of the photograph taken, it seems the driver of a car is taking pictures with his cell phone to mock others on the internet instead of attentively driving safely like a responsible citizen?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2014 22:08
|
|
|
Das Volk posted:I'm just going to leave this here, until I buy an E30 as a DD or something Lookit this guy. Nice. Congrats on the even cooler toy. We need GoPro videos from inside, I want to hear that thing roar once you've gotten it broken in.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 27, 2014 11:45
|
|
|
meatpimp posted:Must... resist... siren's call of... beater Schnitzer 7... It's kind of funny a (almost certainly shambolic) 18 year old $100k (when new) car in the used market is worth the same amount as a well sorted 30 year old $12,000 (when new) car (Volvo 240) just because the 240 had no power options to go bad.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 1, 2014 22:42
|
|
|
I have that exact Skene under-mount bracket for use (when necessary) with my car, it's pretty great for CA fix-it ticket situations.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 6, 2014 01:17
|
|
|
So I bought a winter beater Poormobile   2008 Space Gray Metallic, black novilo (whatever that is) leather with the DCT, leather carbon dash trim, premium sound & carbon roof. Everything is pristine - still smells like a new car, the previous owner was a little old software engineer I've known for 15 years who did a meticulous run-in, oil changed every 4000 miles, and generally kept it extremely nice for me while kindly eating most of the depreciation hit. All the maintenance records, & a fresh set of Michelin Pilot Sports on it with 200 miles on them, and a 90 minute test drive up the PCH and he had me hooked. So I brought it home with me.   I was torn between the DCT and a manual, it took me forever to actually find a manual to test drive in LA - and while I love to do my own footwork, this car's insane joy for revs (and ability to get well into 'losing-your-license' speeds in 2nd) seemed better matched to the immediacy of the DCT and I didn't enjoy the feeling of the clutch/gearbox enough to sway me from this immaculate example with such a known provenance. So far, so good, pushing that M button on the steering wheel turns it from a relatively tame ride that still means business to a tensed and poised legit race car that makes the best noises ever when you downshift aggressively. The DCT changes gears with a brutal sharpness if you turn the dial up to 6, and serenely for the wife with it in 1-3. And because it was specced while the first owner lived in Seattle, it's even got seat warmers and the fold down rear seats. I've had it for a week now, about 400 miles, and I'm already 'casually' visiting the local O'Reilly stores to see which ones sell the type of unicorn blood (8.8 liters of) the S65 demands. It's insanely fun to drive - Das Volk was right, this is truly the greatest car ever made. Bring on the $1.50 gas!!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2015 05:07
|
|
|
Thanks guys. It really is heroin-level addiction in terms of that noise it makes when you put your foot down. I fear that the local Shell station owner is going to send his kids to college on me. I did the adult thing long enough to get to the point where I knew if I got much older, I'd start to get a little TOO responsible. So I'm glad this one came around at just the right time for me to buy it, but it's probably ruined me for just about anything else south of a GT3. Thanks for the motivation to finally just go and buy a fun car to everyone here who has posted their nice rides from all vintages.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2015 06:39
|
|
|
Das Volk posted:Awesome, you bought it! And it's really well taken care of too, which is key to the longevity of those motors. Yeah, that was kind of my feeling too, I knew that there was a spring mod that everyone said helped with the clutch feel, but I didn't have that 'Yes, I'm a bit concerned I will definitely miss a manual on this car" thought like I've had on other cars (like the Z4 M Coupe, which I considered also) when I did do a test drive, and after a blast through some canyons down to the PCH yesterday, I'm not regretting the lack of a third pedal at all as the DCT does everything a manual does in terms of staying in the gear you want to be in and shifting exactly when you demand. An Audi R8 followed me nearly the whole run on a very tight road, and it was extremely fun to feel like I wasn't impeding his progress at all and you don't even have to really break the law to feel like you're ripping it up in this car. Grip! on turn-in... Followed by that squirm the rear does when you give it just a little juice coming out of the turn. I can't believe I lived this long without experiencing that on a regular basis.. I'm afraid my wife would likely immediately murder me if I bought your CSL wheels, those are the only mod I actually actively want right now (..and maybe an akrapovic exhaust... and, and, and) but she was also very supportive in my purchase of the car (and thoroughly enjoys riding in it) so hopefully you don't find any buyers and still have them in 6 months... She's owned two Mk1 MR2's (one LHD, one RHD) so she certainly is on board with the concept of automotive enthusiasm but I may need to finesse the time period before 'upgrading' my extremely nice toy right off the bat.  ynotony posted:Congrats! I've been in the market for a few months, patiently waiting for a 6-speed E90 to popup. Your post is making it hard for me to not be hasty and just buy a coupe. I was always thinking coupe despite always having been a saloon/sedan owner prior to this car and realized I almost never use my back seats any more. I had been trying to buy this one from the PO for a little under 2 years - he hesitated at the last minute back then on selling it due to having some real estate roadblocks so I'd pretty much given up on this one ever coming around - but when I randomly texted him to ask about some options on another similar car I'd found at a dealer 60 miles away (with 20k more miles and two owners, and no carbon roof), he says "Why don't you just buy mine?" and a couple days later I was driving it home. Since he also has a Tesla Performance S, he put less than 500 miles on the M3 in that 2 years I waited, but did put on a fresh set of Pilot Sports and kept it hooked up to the trickle charger - so I'm very glad I held out. I love knowing everything that's ever been done to the car, and knowing it was run in exactly to the letter. And that it's 100% stock. Now perhaps this post will encourage you to hassle meatpimp's dad to sell you his E90 - 5k miles is quite frankly, insanely low - 16k on this still kind of blows my mind with regard to the value I got for the level of car it is (and how fun it is to just aimlessly drive around.) I paid, including tax and DMV fees etc, about half what the window sticker suggested this E92 cost new, and about a grand less than the factory invoice on a Challenger Scat Pack in premium paint with the tech pack and driver convenience packs in my zip code. Warranties are for the timid!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 27, 2015 00:27
|
|
|
mrk posted:
 fellow new-to-us-M3 owner. Very sharp car, I like that red interior on the black cars a lot. Congrats on finding such a pristine one!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 30, 2015 21:57
|
|
|
Jealous Cow posted:I'm leaning toward a F82 for May ED. e: sort of like this 
Ether Frenzy fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Feb 1, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2015 00:37
|
|
|
Interesting. I haven't seen many that color, I suppose darker colored cars are more rare in the SoCal sun though. Definitely worked with the early 70's stock car tires. SO is definitely the right choice, looks great in all lights.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2015 00:50
|
|
|
Jealous Cow posted:So I traded the M3 for a big blue thing. Congrats! Great color. What's your feelings so far vs the E92 on ye olde butte dyno? And how does it compare audibly? I got mine a present and bought it a 160 GB ipod... but have since realized I like listening to the gears whining, diff clunking etc etc and the general race car noises it makes with the M button on more than I like listening to the music on the ipod.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 6, 2015 00:11
|
|
|
So after sitting in the garage for 3 days due to rain, my E92 M3 is showing signs of a battery that's on the way out; remote key access didn't work this morning, slow crank but started, and then all my settings/trip odometer/etc are reset to default (boooo). It's probably the original battery given that I only have 17k miles, and the PO kept it on the tender all the time. What is the best option for replacement, do I need to get it done by the dealer?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2015 20:12
|
|
|
Somewhat Heroic posted:Pretty sure that era of car will require you to get the battery registered with the OBC because the car will output slightly higher voltage to the battery as it ages. If you replace with a brand new battery and don't register it the battery will overcharge and you'll cook it early. Funzo posted:The dealer will have to do some coding so it charges properly. I just went through this with my E90. I replaced the battery myself, the dealer charged my around $30 I think for the coding. They also replaced the hold down and the vent tube. Thanks guys, that's kind of what I thought I'd seen before joining the E90 crew, and the M3 forums agree - surprising to hear it's only $30 from the dealer though. I'll probably get the battery from Sears or something and then have the coding done at a shop.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 4, 2015 19:29
|
|
|
BraveUlysses posted:30-40k mi/yr at 20mpg highway, somebody must love paying for gas. Hahahahaha. Try maybe 15 in real life conditions. I have not cracked 13 (city mostly) yet despite my...admittedly... less-than-stellar (okay, half-assed) efforts to use "D"/no M button in the mornings and NOT floor it EVERYwhere, but I can't imagine that someone who's put 216k miles on a V8 M3 does not drive it pretty enthusiastically when possible. My 2008 has... 200k fewer miles than this one.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2015 21:57
|
|
|
Comrade Flynn posted:I'm actually really excited about it. 2011 fully loaded 335is with DCT and 15k miles. Going to put a JB4 tune on as soon as we get it and probably throw some MPSS tires on there. Anything else you guys recommend? Start looking for M3/M4's for 6 months down the road Once those tires are used up Jealous Cow posted:My girlfriend won't let me buy her a new car. She drives a piece of poo poo Corolla and it makes me sad. My wife owned not one but two MK1 MR2s before I met her. One RHD, one LHD. Also a Saleen Foxbody Mustang at one point. She's pretty cool. Ether Frenzy fucked around with this message at 04:11 on Apr 1, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Apr 1, 2015 04:06
|
|
|
   EAS's instagram posted:europeanautosource
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2015 00:08
|
|
|
Crustashio posted:did you guys know gullible is not in the dictionary  It worked because it's *almost* feasible that someone would legit do it. (and a pretty solid bit of 'shooping helped)
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2015 01:41
|
|
|
Not mine but he ain't wrong. Aside from getting a E93 of course.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2015 02:19
|
|
|
Gloss black roof adds 5 HP Carbon print vinyl adds 7-10
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2015 20:08
|
|
|
Bape Culture posted:Anyone know anything about this? Dunno if you ever found out your oil question but I just happened upon this discussion. http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1094877&highlight=new+dealer+oil
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2015 21:21
|
|
|
GentlemanofLeisure posted:Had a torrential downpour Ouch. At least it wasn't anything more substantial than that undertray, I saw your first line and flashed back to that guy who drove his 3 series through a river and killed it... Glass half full, eh? Good excuse for those "needed" upgrade add-ons though!
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2015 02:52
|
|
|
the milk machine posted:Hypothetically, how bad of an idea would a 2008 M3 with 160k miles be in terms of random expensive/involved M-related maintenance? Hypothetically. My '08 had 16k when I bought it, so it'd be kind of interesting to have the complete two opposite ends of the spectrum here to compare. I have to assume if that one made it to 160k it's gonna keep on making it, and an owner that kept it for that long probably kept up on all the maintenance or it wouldn't be too sellable at this point. Oil change x 3 a year = $600-900 Tires once a year = $1200-1500 Other than those two things it doesn't seem to need a lot of ongoing/scheduled maintenance, but obviously 160k miles is taking a bit of a chance that NOTHING is gonna break at some point. Ether Frenzy fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Jun 2, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jun 2, 2015 20:14
|
|
|
BusinessWallet posted:Jesus, thanks for the head's up. Seems impossible to find a reliable example of this car for less than 40K.  Keep in mind most dealers are adding $2-4k in 'negotiable' price when they list them in the hopes you don't know this. A lot of private owners are insane maniacs who think the fact they forgot to ever drive their cars means BIG BUCKS in the resale market, and set unrealistic expectations, and probably won't be willing to deal as much, but I know when I was very casually looking at other ones to test drive beyond the one I bought, once I showed interest I had 3 dealerships in the SoCal area barrage-emailing me with cars they were dying to get rid of because they'd been on the lot for 3 months (as there is a limited market of buyers with actual money looking for this car, too) so I feel like there's more flexibility in dealer pricing than they're letting on. Here's a 22k mile '08 at $37k. http://cpo.bmwusa.com/used/BMW/2008-BMW-M3-bcb6f9cf0a0a00de3b7dd6f5cfc9a40c.htm?geoZip=91403 Details are a bit sparse for an alleged BMW dealer (like - which color black is it?) but by and large I feel like BMW dealers are probably less likely to accept lemons of this car because they know what to look for before getting stuck with a turd. Look in markets other than the lovely Snow Belt where people think it's a Real Big deal they didn't ruin their car with salt and grime and overprice accordingly. Avoid any car from Florida or Texas, like someone else mentioned. The chances a Floridian or Texan touched it at some point is entirely too large to take that chance. HotCanadianChick posted:That's life's way of telling you that you should really be looking for an E46 M3 (god's own true M3) instead. FWIW the guy I bought my E92 from traded his 20k mile 2004 E46 M3 in for it and said he never missed it once, the E92 was a thousand times more reliable and more fun to boot. He also did the BMW Nordschliefe training school twice, once in E92 and a year later in the F80 M4. He did not come home and purchase an F80 because of how it sounded.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2015 22:50
|
|
|
I remember reading an article in EVO or some other "Motoring magazine that knows what they're talking about" a couple years ago discussing tramlining in tires, and how surprised they were to find vastly different levels of it in some brands of tires that were otherwise very similar in all-around/general performance. So maybe try swapping the tires and see what happens? Unfortunately I don't remember enough of the specifics to find the article (or remember what brands they said did it more) but the tone was definitely "Now here's something we didn't expect".
|
|
#
¿
Jun 5, 2015 18:51
|
|
|
I'm super picky but I'd only buy one of these from a BMW dealer if I hadn't found the right private seller. At least then there's someone in corporate who if nothing else might feel a little brand-shame if you do have any issues, and in theory if it's on a BMW lot it either a) got traded in by someone who liked and cared for it enough to come get another BMW or b) was purchased by BMW auction buyers with knowledge about the car's quality/saleability and were confident it wasn't going to be a problem car that sits on the lot for 2-3-4 months gathering dust. Also anything that needed done before the dealer selling it was done by people who might have seen one of them before and not a Nissan tech with a downloaded PDF. Also it's weird to have non-power seats in the theory of 'lightness' but then add 100 pounds of moonroof over your head. Don't forget you have to pay tax on the purchase.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 7, 2015 21:23
|
|
|
BrokenKnucklez posted:Its an SMG not a DCT. The biggest failure is the SMG pump which will munch a gear box if it decides to poo poo itself at the right time. If he's looking for a E9x it's most definitely a DCT. Which is completely different from the SMG in the E46. Overpriced Balloons: Oil changes are $200-$400 depending on your comfort level of letting someone who doesn't know what they're doing (you) do the oil changes on your low-tolerance, high-compression race engine, and since there is no dipstick it's not as straightforward an event as most cars and has a little anxiety-inducing step at the end where you... have to turn on the engine and run it for 15 minutes before it'll tell you how much oil is in there. So you better get it mostly right. If you don't do an oil change immediately after buying an E9x M3 (unless you have complete service records and it was done in the last 3k miles before you bought it) you're a maniac who loves to live dangerously. Oil change intervals are 3k-5k depending on how mechanically sympathetic you are. It takes 9 liters of $15-a-bottle oil. A set of tires are $1100-$1500 depending on how sticky you want. So I guess count on keeping that record of spending $1500 within a month of purchase intact. There's virtually no exterior changes across the run of the E92 aside from the change to LED taillights in 2011 that almost no one will notice without parking them next to each other, and a very slight change to the shape of the rear view mirrors (most people on the forums prefer the smaller ones pre-LCI), the 2009 and up has a easier-to-update nav system and a more streamlined iDrive. 2011 got the COMBOX system, which allows streaming via bluetooth phones (previous versions just have BT connectivity.) 2009 had a very tiny change to the seats, the headrests don't tilt like they do on the 2008's. 2011's and up had the option to get ZCP wheels, so those typically indicate the younger cars - but they fit on all years and a lot of people retrofit them to older ones so it's not the automatic way to tell the car's age. 2011.5 introduced the stop/start feature, but what sort of savage runs an M3 and has it shut down at stoplights? The cars are pretty bulletproof, the only thing to read up on is the potentially dreaded Rod Bearing issue which is pretty rare and can be monitored for by religiously sending your oil in for Blackstone reports. Don't get one with a moonroof because the coupe comes as standard with a very expensive carbon fibre roof and a PO who specced a moonroof and then paid extra to literally downgrade his car indicates bad decision making and probably beat on the car before it was warmed up because they don't know any better.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 18, 2015 19:39
|
|
|
Ah, thought you were referring to Overpriced Balloons' comments about considering both E46 and E92 M's.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 18, 2015 20:52
|
|
|
Pierced Bronson posted:Not all M cars are made to order in advance by customers, dealerships order them for their own inventory all the time. So it's a little unrealistic to say that the cars without sunroofs were not beat on inappropriately, or that the cars with sunroofs are guaranteed to have been. It was a joke to get across the point that buying one with a moonroof is a bad idea because the ones without them are objectively better.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 19, 2015 18:55
|
|
|
You can't even put an E92 M3 into launch control until you've warmed it up for 8 miles (I realize this is a different car and launch control has no application here, it's just a illustration that 5km doesn't seem like too much for a legitimate test of a BMW performance car) so either 1) They were just warming yours up to test that their work wasn't about to puke coolant all over you on your drive home (likely) 2) They went out and were doing Roadkill style donuts in it before the oil was even warm because the BMW dealership techs have never seen anything as hoonable as a E39 M5 but they only did it for 5km because they had other things to do So either nothing to worry about or something to be terrified about! Your choice.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 16, 2015 21:08
|
|
|
Post some pictures.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 16, 2015 23:12
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 5, 2024 11:38 |
|
|
fyodor posted:why go through the trouble of V8 and no exhaust burble?! Good question. https://vimeo.com/124575684
|
|
#
¿
Jul 18, 2015 23:44
|
|
