Used car advice

[diergray]

I currently drive a 1995 Dodge Neon. It has 109,000 miles and is really starting to get long in the tooth. A guy at work is selling a 1995 BMW M3 Sedan 2d. I will list the specs below. Is this a good deal? I have never bought a used car before so any advice you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Asking $13,000 Or Best Offer

BLUE with Light Gray Leather Interior, 62,200 Miles, Excellent Condition, Just Has 60,000 miles service (Inspection I) at BMW dealer at end of June, Has 4-wheel alignment service this June, Has had all scheduled oil changes and maintenance (Records available), Inspection/ Emissions until January 2004, New Battery

Price includes additional 4 Dunlop SP Winter Sport Tires on its wheels. A Must for winter driving.

Premium Features:
• 5-speed electronic-controlled automatic transmission with Economy, Sport & Manual Shift Modes
• Security alarm system with keyless entry
• Premium Forged BMW 5-Spoke 17" Alloy wheels
• BMW 6-Discs CD Player in the Truck
• Electric Sunroof
• Heated front seats
• On-Board computer (outside temperature, estimated cruising range, average trip speed, limit speed, Passive anti-theft immobilization system, etc..)

Standard Features:
• 3.0 liter DOHC, 24 Valve, 240hp, inline six cylinder engine
• 4 Michelin Pilot SX 235/40 Z-rated tires
• Cruise Control
• Audio system: AM/FM stereo tuner with auto-reverse cassette deck; 250 watt amplifier with 10 high performance speakers
• 4-wheel ventilated disc brakes with ABS system
• Limited slip differential
• BMW Motersport tuned suspension
• Sports seats
• Split Fold down rear seats
• Halogen free-form headlights and fog lights
• Variable ratio, variable assist power steering
• Driver and passenger side airbags

[Coucher]

Doesn't sound like too bad of a deal. Maybe ask him to take it to a local Certified BMW dealer and have them do a pre-purchase inspection. They're usually about $125, but then you have the peace of mind that it's a "Certified Pre-Owned BMW"

[WarWagon]

Sounds like a reasonable price for an M3. The biggie here is the fact that he's kept it well maintained with documented regular service appointments.

[Peryn]

Blue Book looks to be 15k-17.5k

Id say 13,000 is i pretty good deal. Especially if its in that good of condition. Also 62k miles is pretty low for an 8 year old car, and with its regular maintenance, it will last a long time.

Id say its definately a price to look at...

[Elitegibson]

"BMW M3 Sedan 2d"

Well, which is it? Sedan == 4 doors. 2d == 2 doors. Personally, I like the sedan M3 more than the coupe version. That is a really good price if everything is in a good condition. One thing to remember about the 62k miles is that in a car like the M3, they are likely to be hard-driven miles. Getting it checked out by a dealer definitely sounds like a good idea, especially before you drop almost 15k on it.


Ohhhh......M3s make me so hot!

[diergray]

Thanks for all of the advice.

It is a 2d which is really the only negative for me since I have kids.

I am going to test drive it tomorrow. Should I pay for the BMW Certified Pre-Owned Inspection or should he?

[pdoege]

BMWs tend to be very expensive to repair when they are out of warranty.

See if you can get the dealer to certify it pre-owned. That will extend the warranty out to 100k miles.

If not, price out a 3rd party warranty and add that onto the price. If it is more than the blue book value, walk.

The best way of purchasing these types of cars is directly from an auto auction. Bribe a dealer to buy it for you. $300 can save you $4000.

The M3 2d is a nice car. Make sure that your child seats will fit in the rear. Not much room back there.

Used E39 540s and 528s are going really cheap at auction. The M3s still carry a premium.

Peter