High Mileage M3 - Would YOU?

"RightFootDown" (rightfootdown)
02/03/2016 at 19:13 • Filed to: None

IMAGINE. You’ve been searching for an E92 M3 in a specific color combo and options package. Those that come up that are priced fairly sell quicker than that crazy monkey in a cage eating bananas.

This monkey. Go ahead, watch. It’s funny.

And now one turns up within an hour’s drive. It’s super clean. Single owner, exactly the right color combo and options package. But mileage is high - we’re talking 120k. It’s priced above KBB, but what the hell does KBB know. The market dictates and the market says this car is $6,000 less than the next cheapest M3 you’ve found. It’s got all service history. Clutch just replaced. No mods. It’s got the old iDrive, but is that a deal breaker? You use your iPhone anyway. Can always retrofit the latest iDrive if you want.

Knowing how quickly these seem to sell when priced fairly, and how you just lost out on the last two vehicles, do you take a chance on what could be the best deal yet? - an E92 M3 priced in the teens.

DISCUSSION (7)

rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S > RightFootDown
02/03/2016 at 19:25

I definitely would, because I have a great BMW mechanic and I tend to drive under 5k miles per year across all my cars, so I’d probably only put 5k total or less on this before I went to sell it. Maybe 10k.

Whether you should depends on your use case and your appetite for luxury German car repair costs. You should first keep in mind this was a $60k+ car when new, and that repairs are still for a $60k car not a car that costs under $20k. (You probably know this since you’re here, but lots of people buy these cars cheap that should really be buying a new Honda or Toyota.) If you are going to daily it then you probably should realize with a normal commute this has about 3-5 years of reasonable life left in it before repairs costs might start going up. Or hey you might get lucky.

I think that would be an awesome way to get a great daily tho. I wouldn’t buy a lower-mileage one to daily.

Trunk Impaired 318 > RightFootDown
02/03/2016 at 19:30

If its got a full service history I dont see why not, especially if its that much cheaper than anything else out there. Plus I don’t get all the iDrive hate anyway, I’ve used it in all of its iterations and have never had an issue.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > RightFootDown
02/03/2016 at 19:32

Go for it

AM3R shamefully returns > RightFootDown
02/03/2016 at 19:52

Get a thorough PPI and really examine service records... Rod bearings? If the price was right I would totally do it. The S65 is a very stout engine and even the DCT is fairly solid. The E9x platform itself is overall great IMO. They are also pretty straightforward to work on, and the aftermarket is great.

Another part of me wants to tell you to just hold out, $30k can get you a sub 80k model in most cases.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > RightFootDown
02/03/2016 at 21:29

Yes.

RightFootDown > AM3R shamefully returns
02/04/2016 at 10:11

The slow engine rev experiment sounded okay. I think. Can’t tell about rod bearings until tear down. Not a big deal as we know a local that can replace them for about $1500.

AM3R shamefully returns > RightFootDown
02/04/2016 at 14:07

Definitely still get a PPI on this and have the Indy examine the service records. What options/color is this car? I know what it feels like to be looking for a very particular car.

Also, how much is it going for with that kind of mileage? I was on m3post and recently saw a 220k mile 2008 E90 M3 go for like $16k.