hey guys,

i've noticed that there is a flood of E46 M3's in the used car market. i also noticed that they are going pretty cheap and have depreciated pretty quick. why are so many owners selling the M and why so cheap? too much supply maybe?

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

 

A number of possible reasons.
Some E46 M3s had serious engine problems.....and a significant number of them had engine replacements. Perhaps these cars are on the market because some former owners just weren't satisfied with the engine replacement job the dealerships did.......or because of recurring electrical problems.......or because they could not afford the insurance ( especially with speeding tickets )........ or they are tired of a rock-stiff and kidney-pounding ride........or the cars were bought back by BMW under lemon laws.......or, maybe simply because the way these cars skate and slip over slippery surfaces like hockey pucks, their owners wanted something a little better suited to foul weather.

 

LOL! I love M3's but this one post right here may be enough to stop me from buying one.

 

if this is true, it would mean that reliability is concern. Only thing that can lower the resale of BMW is reliability.

 

just buy a 2003.5 or newer w/ warranty and drop it on coilovers

problem solved

 

maybe the novelty wore off quick and they wanted to go to a 4dr sedan instead? I know it wore off quickly for me when i had VW's R32...it was fun but wasnt practical.

Or maybe, the M3 drivers actually got married because they met so many women while driving that M3 that now they are forced to sell it for a more family oriented sedan because their wives know that if their husbands are driving around in M3's that's just too much temptation for other women to be jocking on their man. LOL

 

this thread is getting a little funny....well, most people sell them beacuse they dont wanna deal with the high maintenance of a bmw when the warranty expires...this is why most german cars along with english cars suffer in the second hand market. For instance, there is practically no market for used jaguars.

 

personally i don't agree with marshall....

engine problem was ONLY for the very initial badge of 2001 m3. since then it's fixed and i haven't heard of any major engine problems anymore. that's a solid car, i don't see proofs of major reliability issues (read, i am talking about major ones).

more than likely it's due to lease ends / warranty expiring imho

if you follow all the way from 01. m3 was "rare" in the beginning when it came out. you didn't see a lot of them for sale at all. but in 03 time frame, sudeenly you saw a lot of them on the market. prices weren't as cheap but it was not surprisingly high at all. why? lease ends after 3 yrs, and people were trying to sell their cars due to conditions and over mileages.

and this just got worse as 1) m3 became more and more popular, 2) more and more lease ends, 3) a lot of them with higher mileage and warranty is over.

once you hit this stage, you start to see a flood of them on the market and prices take another big slump. together with the new m3 coming out "soon", car enthusiasts and those with money decide it's time for them to sell their cars and wait for something better.

moreover, with the development of cars these two yrs (the m3 was out in 01. back then it was very fast. but nowadays it's not as spectacular as it was, after 5 yrs), you get more people just trying to sell their m3 and get something else in the market.

personally i think that's why, and i am not surprised

 

well, that doesnt mean you will sell the car for cheap, does it? the fact that people want to sell their cars, doesnt mean that the resale should be very bad...

Once again, low pricing means used cars buyers dont want to buy them...

 

Many would wonder how much the former owner have abused it . . .

 

the 02 for sale there has 30,000+ miles (plus it's 4 years old)

asking price is $37,500 or ~$20K less then he paid for it

seems about right to me

to put it in perspective I got 10K for my 6 year old $50,000 GS400 with 100,000 miles

 

Probably so many for sale because too many BMW owners lease. Combine that with a suspension that is more hardcore than some drivers probably realized...

 

Here is some fuel to the reliablity factor.....My Dads 04' M3 just had his power steering pump go out.....17K miles. DADS SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!

 

i was kinda of joking but you know it's simple economics more cars on the market pricing has to be adjusted to get interested buyers otherwise they sit...all the factors posted all weigh in on the used car market for these M3.

 

i'v seen many used m3s for low to mid 30's. i guess its a comb. of factors that have brought prices down. thank god i own a lexus