The e46 M3 thread

[92 SC400]

People I know that have experience with this say its a mixed bag when looking at cars purchased at auction thought most are ok. Lots are repo'd and not bad at all; some of it is just people living beyond their means, losing their jobs and not being able to afford to keep their car. Even if the dealer did buy the car at auction and it is visually OK, has a good service history, and has not been in an accident, it really doesnt matter if it was purchased at auction or taken as a trade. The important thing is about how it was treated prior to being sold at auction and that you should still be able to get info on, provided you know someone who can obtain that info for you from a BMW dealer.

[Amini9]

Originally Posted by Faymester

Next question, not specific to the e46 but is relevant to my search:

What can anyone tell me about these car auctions? If a dealer got the car at auction, should I just be avoiding those all around?

As the other guy said, it's a mixed bag.

It's BEST to avoid any from public auctions, but sometimes there are some really clean ones in the dealer auctions. I don't know if you can tell, but when you drive a poorly maintained car, it feels different then a well maintained one.

Try to get any reports from the auctions, carfax, and autocheck.
If you see one from the auction, try to get it fully inspected (check for frame damage or any "hidden" accidents) as these auction cars tend to be shady.

[xHartawann]

My friend recently got one. E46 M3 Supercharged by Active i believe... so sick. I do feel scared riding in his car though because his Gruppe M exhaust is so damn loud. We got pulled over twice in 3 days but both we got let off. Maybe because its Euro? =P