First Attempt at Buying an E46 M3

"bobbe17" (rob-runte) 01/23/2017 at 11:20 • Filed to: None

2

14

The M3 I did buy after a track day last September

Now that I can post again, I thought I’d share the story of when I first tried to buy an E46 M3 about three years ago. I had finally worn down my fiancé with talking about it for 6 months straight, so the time had come to begin the search. I was looking for one with a manual, under $20k, around 100k miles, not black or silver, in the Milwaukee or Chicago area. Finally on Craigslist, a red one fit my criteria in Chicago.

So I began contacting the guy about his Imola Red M3 with around 90k miles on it. It seemed like a pretty good candidate as the guy was a BMW CCA member and was fairly informative about the car so I decided to setup a test drive. We set it up only two days or so ahead of time so I didn’t think it’d be necessary to confirm with him the day of. A buddy of mine and I drove down to one of Chicago suburbs to meet with this guy after work. We got there and waited a while and the guy didn’t show up. I called him a few times and when he finally answered, he told me he was at work downtown. He said he’d have to go home first to pick up the car and then he could meet us. My friend and I then when to Portillo’s and sat around for the next hour and half waiting for him.

So finally the moment arrived to take a look at the car. At this point it was night time so a visual inspection was pretty worthless. It was the first M3 I had driven so I was very happy with how it drove. This one had a Dinan tune and a Dinan exhaust, which I wasn’t crazy about because it really droned on all the time. But I had been looking for a while and this car was in my price range and in good condition so I was ready to move forward with it.

I then began working with him to setup a PPI to make sure everything was ok. He was initially flexible though hard to reach. Throughout the whole process he always preferred texting which was a huge pain because it took half an hour to have a basic conversation.

I did some forum and Google research and found an independent mechanic in his area that I wanted to have the inspection done at. He suggested a different independent which I said was ok. I was willing to set everything up or let him do it, whichever was easiest. He said he would take care of it but that he was busy so it would be a little while.

About a week after our last communication, out of the blue he sends me the below text message saying that the inspection with an oil change came out “perfect.”

I’ll admit that maybe I was being picky, but the fact that he went against what I had requested without letting me know really rubbed me the wrong way. When I pointed out that it wasn’t what we agreed on and that I still wanted the other shop to look at it, he went on a massive self righteous rant.

Needless to say, I think I made the right decision walking away from it. It took a month or two until an Imola Red M3 went up for sale in Milwaukee which I jumped on. It had 15k more miles, was $3k less, and the seller was a great guy.

Party-vi > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 11:23

2

What a prick. Also, Fluid Motor Union? Noice.

bobbe17 > Party-vi 01/23/2017 at 11:37

1

Seemed like good guys over the phone, wish I would have been able to work with them but oh well.

Party-vi > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 11:38

2

FMU does some nice work.

Arrivederci > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 11:40

0

I’ve encountered several pricks when contemplating buying their vehicle. As soon as I confirm their prick-status, I basically sever all ties with them. One guy had a nice Cayman S, another had a MB E63.

Nisman > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 11:47

1

This guy is the definition of a prick. I hope he never sells it.

E90M3 > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 11:53

0

Better than BMW telling you that you don’t qualify, that’s what happened to me when I tired to buy an E90.

bobbe17 > Nisman 01/23/2017 at 11:53

0

This was about three years ago so I’m pretty sure he sold it. I think I checked his craigslist ad and it was up for another month or two after.

bobbe17 > Arrivederci 01/23/2017 at 11:54

1

It was pretty quick realization that if he was already being this big of a pain, the purchasing process would just get worse. Seems like they don’t realize how easy it is for the buyer to walk away and go somewhere else.

AfromanGTO > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 12:02

0

Younger E46 M3 guys back in 04-10 used to be really cool. It was always the older guys and teenagers who had them tended to be the giant douchebags. They were slower than the GTO on the street, and would say the M3 is faster on the track. Until you are on the track waiting to get the wave to pass by them. Then they huff and puff about how their tires aren’t ideal for this track. Sounded like that guy was a prick.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 13:57

0

“You need to buy a 325"? Who even says that?? Crappy seller who thinks he and his car are hot stuff.

bobbe17 > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 01/23/2017 at 14:16

0

Right? That was the icing on the cake. Such a condescending douchebag.

NJAnon > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 17:17

0

Your fiance didn’t want a BMW? idk man 8D

bobbe17 > NJAnon 01/23/2017 at 17:26

0

Something about not very comfortable and why do we need another car. Also the actual search started 3 months before our wedding and the one I bought was purchased 3 weeks before our wedding. She may have had a valid argument.

NJAnon > bobbe17 01/23/2017 at 17:53

0

Honeymoon gift for you both then. You both have your oppo cars (I don’t know what your other vehicle is I presume its a Cadillac CTS-V or another BMW)

I mean if the buyer couldn’t wait until after the wedding (while totally insanely immensely important to you two) he/she probably was like “hey buy it now I don’t care if your getting married soon. :P