Through my time spent shopping for these cars, I too, found that many were over-valued/priced compared to realistic market prices. I think a lot of private owners are starting to realize their Ms aren't quite worth what they think it is, but dealers seemed to have ignored that, at least when I was looking.

About 5-6 months ago I found a "base" 2001 M3 with 19.5k miles and the dealer was asking $30k for it; this car had no CD player, manual seats and cloth interior mind you. It did have Xenons but that was about the only option (though there weren't THAT many in '01). It was in good, not excellent condition; it had some minor scratches, paint crack on the rear bumper and the front bumper didnt look to properly align with the fenders, etc... The dealer would not go any lower than $28k on it because "it's an M car and it sells itself."

I've still be watching prices on these cars, though I am not actively shopping for one anymore, and have noticed that prices have come down a bit. You can average mileage ZCP cars for around $28-30k, which was near impossible not that long ago. The one posted above did have extraordinarily low miles though!

 

haha and i will continue to see the car at the lot itself

a lot of the private sellers and dealers are like that these days. they are over confident with their cars and prices, but they don't realize the market and economy has come down dramatically for them to accept the reality. shopping for our e93 m3 was a prime example

the e46 m3 prices are definitely down a lot already specially with the e9x out for more than a year, if condition is good, that's a bargain car

 

car prices have dropped dramatically with the economy; its a great time to buy. regardless of what options you want on your m3, just remember: certified pre-owned = peace of mind. don't take the chance on a used bmw with no warranty, you are more likely (than lexus atleast ) to be left with a headache

 

I agree with the idea of finding a CPO version of your dreamcar if possible..
It will cover the big things when they break.

I didnt have time to do much more research today for you, but have this for you to check out the local Puget Sound BMW CCA chapter, in Seattle here --

http://www.bmwpugetsound.com/

DanF

 

K, I'm going to bump my thread from March.

I found this one; it's not exaclty what I want (I didn't want silver, and I wanted 04 or newer) but it seems like it might actually be a good buy.

Any input you guys have on it would be great.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/1167728715.html

Thanks guys


Oh Stokdge, you have PM re: that car in the linky ^ & if you know it.

 

Faymester that looks like a good deal, the only thing left would be to test drive the car, as that is the deciding factor when it comes to a car like this. Good luck!

You need to stop post wh0ring now!

Your desire to increase your post count heavily outweighs your perceived intelligence level, as your errant posts only show your complete lack of knowledge!

 

Fay any updates? This is still a superb car and a bargain for the price, IMO (once u find a well maintained one).

 

I'm doing the due dillegence on this car right now & so far it's looking better than any of the other ones I've come across even though it's not exactly perfect (if we recall, I was after newer and not silver ... but I'm giving it a chance)

Also of importance to me since this one is in Seattle, I have to consider importing (& the fees that go with that) as well as the exchange rate difference ... for me that car costs ~$27,600.

 

Is the xrate for US vs Canadian dollars that much at the moment? At that price you can't anything better or close to this in Canada? A co-worker of mine found an '04 with 28k miles on it for $26k not long ago so it's hard to imagine that even being in Canada you couldn't find a good deal like this, though I am not familiar with the used M3 market up there.

Also, if you do import it, how long would it sit in customs? Is it relatively "easy" to bring a car in?

 

& here's why:

1. It has manual seats (I think that would really get to me over time and I want to not change cars again for a while after this)

2. The color combo, silver on blk, so very many cars in Vancouver are silver on black - has to be the most popular color combination here so I just really don't want that.


It's proving to be very hard to find a manual coupe though. Today for example I called a dealership (they had a white on red fully loaded 04 so I was going to go take a look) and asked to clarify if it was a 6spd manual or SMG. The guy said SMG and I said thanks but I didn't want it then. This guy could not understand that the lack of 3 pedals meant no dice. He proceeded to tell me that he drives an SMG and that this particular car was great blah blah. I point blank cut him off (getting frustrated that he wasn't listening to me at all) and told him that under no circumstances did I want an SMG & that no amount of convincing would change my mind. [I also told him I think SMG is the biggest joke going and there was no way I was having one, he stopped talking around that point] /rant

Sorry for that, but I'm getting frustrated that every time I tell someone I want a true manual they feel the need to tell me I really want an SMG; don't tell me what I want, I'm paying and I'm telling you I want a manual. I'm convinced it is largely due to being a tall blonde that always wears heels; the appearance influence is something I'm used to and can usually correct relatively early on in a situation but for some reason when it comes to cars just knowing my stuff better than the moron I'm talking to doesn't seem to be quite enough.


The short of it: still looking. I'm close to calling some1 in to find the car for me like I originally planned, I just thought it might be possible to find one that fit the bill my self.


edit: exchange rate fluctuation means I can look a little further into the states here for a bit so maybe that will make this a little easier.

 

This one seems priced pretty high for an 04... http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/1220677283.html low miles though, and probably just a weekend car for the guy. lives on mercer island, fancy part of town.

This is competition package.. but it's silver on black http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/1218284285.html

black on black in portland http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

 

Have you tried autotrader.com? also,check out the classified section of the various Bimmer forums. There are E46 M3's with manual tranny power seats to be had. Are you sure you want a BMW though? I heard most are leased and are never kept by owners.. Also, they tend to blow up & live in the shop..

 

ooo thx I'll look into those after my midterm (clearly I'm studying hard right now lol)

Autotrader lots (tones of SMGs listed as manuals because 'yea, it's a clutchless manual' BS I say to that - see rant above).

I'll give a look at the Bimmer forums classified again, the E46 seems to not change hands very often.

Yes, after much consideration to all car options I have decided I want the E46 M3; the blowing up was an 01 - 03.5 SMG specific issue (I'm looking at 04 & newer, and not SMG so I'm in the clear on that). I've got an excellent shop and other cars I can drive, so I'm not too concerned about that either. The Rover (which everyone likes to tell me is the least reliable vehicle out there) is proving to be the most reliable thing in the stable right now (yea, it's doing better than my IS300) so when people tell me my M3 will spend a lot of time in the shop I just shrug and say I'm ok w. that.

 

One of my good friends has a museum-quality E46 M3 6-speed that is probably the best cared-for car that I know. If I recall correctly it's a 03.5 that was built after the fixes for previous problems on the model and it does have the LED tail lights.

It is your not-favorite silver / black leather combo however and I do know he wants $30K for it due to it's pristine condition. He just ordered a new Porsche 997 GT3 and says if he can't sell it for close to his asking price he'll just put it into storage for a few years.

Know it's on the other side of the country + south for you but would be a fun trip driving back .

 

Fay, if you can, jump on this, I know exactly who/what vehicle Dave is talking about...

Damn GT3!?!!?! Yall gonna have a club over there?