A little back story: back in October, my friend bought a 1995 E36 M3 coupe. It had something around 100,000 miles on it, light Dinan modifications, and apparently the engine had been rebuilt twice already just... because? I wasn't really sure.

Now, about my friend: the car costed $8000. He works at Big O making close to minimum wage, and only had about $1500 at the time. He decided that, despite this, he still wanted to buy the car. I thought this was a stupid move, but whatever, his life. He bought the car on the spot without having it looked at I believe, put $1000 down and spent the rest on insurance, registration, tags, etc. He told me that he had just enough gas to get him through until next pay check.

Fast forward, he comes to my house a couple weeks later to show it off. Just as we're about to leave to go drive around, his e-brake locks up and he can't get it to disengage. He spends the next couple of hours into the night trying to fix it. He gets it working well enough to drive it. We drive off and, I admit, it was a very nice ride. BMWs aren't my thing, but it was a nice car.

Next day, he has it looked it, and apparently, as well as his e-brake malfunctioning, he needs a new CV assembly. $1000 that he doesn't have (he still owes tons on it btw). In fact, it was only a couple of weeks ago that he got that fixed.

So, a few weeks ago, he tells me he's going to take his friend to buy an M3 Sedan. At this point, I tell him that I wouldn't buy a BMW without a warranty. He replies, VERY smugly, "The drive train and engine in an M3 is GUARANTEED for up to 250,000 miles." His tone of voice pissed me off, but I let it go.

Fast forward to last night: he's coming back from a weekend in Vegas, and 30 miles from where he lives? His car breaks down. His engine is completely shot and he has to have it towed. When I heard about this, I could only laugh. Guaranteed for up to 250,000 miles my ***.

So basically, he still owes about $6000, plus the $1000 he sunk into it for a CV assembly, and now he'll need a new engine, which could cost him $5000.

The point of this is... I don't understand some people when it comes to buying cars. When you're spending that much money on a vehicle, why not save up a little longer and take the time to have it looked at?

Why do people think they have to over reach themselves with the cars they own?

 

I hear ya. You do have to be really careful with what you buy. My brother always complained how much it cost to service his IS 300, which he bought used. It comes with the territory. Nevertheless, you do have to be really careful if you buy a car like an M3. Who knows what the last guy (or gal) did to it.

 

The money you might have saved by not having it looked just went out the window. I'm lucky enough to have been shown/taught enough about cars that I'm pretty confident, but on a German car I would no doubt get it looked at thoroughly...

...& Guaranteed for 250K? Lol. Any BMW on our lot always has something wrong, and they're still under warranty!! Lexus might as well guaranteed mine, it still runs like new at 208K, no major work

 

Any used high performance car should be looked at by a mechanic before being bought. He's only nineteen and is lucky that he lives with his mom and doesn't have to pay living expenses. He can't even sell it to recoup his losses now.

 

ballin on a budget or livin' hood rich is what this soiunds like. Not to say thats what your riend is doing but i know people like that. The buy a car just because of the "name" or badge regardless of age or condition just to say they have it.

 

Mmm, no, he's very much a car person. He's just very impulsive, and stupid with his money. He's never known how to handle or save money. He also refuses to admit he's wrong and tends to blame others.

All of these tend to be qualities that car salesman, especially used car salesman, thrive off of. Haha.

 

To me, it doesn't matter if its a BMW or Benz or Lexus or whatever brand. If a car's out of warranty, it should have a good thorough look by a reputable mechanic. Your friend probably just wanted a BMW M3- the name, the prestige and power, but along with it the maintenance. I wasn't too surprised when I read the original post. A car that old is bound to have some troubles. Hopefully your friend can find some way to either dump the car for something more reliable or somehow save up even more to continue paying for his spur of the moment buying.

 

You're friends with my roomate? Small world.

 

those m3s are beat to hell...sucks for him.

 

I wish my GS was cheap to maintain. Then I guess it would be a civic.

 

*** hole

 

my first bit of advice would be to talk your friend out of the car. an out of warranty BMW (especially an M3) should have not been a option considering he only had $1000. I dont understand people that want to live paycheck to paycheck. Considering it had been "rebuilt" twice just.....because, would have been enough for me to walk away knowing that car has been beat on.

Sorry to hear about your friend but sounds like he has a real problem on his hands now. best thing to do is sell it as a rolling shell and move on.

 

??? Yall are roommates?

 

VALUE.

People put value on things.

Whether or not it's "worth it" to buy a $5000 purse, a $20,000 watch, or a $5000 used-BMW, or a $100 inspection; people will buy things if they feel that it's worth it. It has NOTHING to do with what YOU think.

It may not be the wisest decision, but people make determinations everyday placing a value on what they want and need.

If your buddy was happy with his purchase, let him be.

Unfortunately, there's buyer's remorse. And you don't need to worry about that yourself. Let your buddy do all the stressing. It's a lesson that he has to learn himself.

 

Yeah I'm scratching my head on this one too...