# In market for E30 M3



## TeamM3 (Dec 24, 2002)

looking for a low mileage well kept E30 M3, preferences are post 9/88 production, no sunroof, the closer to factory stock the better, I like white/black but color schemes are minor relative to my other concerns


aware of all the usual places to look, Roadfly, EBay, Turner, E30SIG, etc but if you see anything that may not be obvious please point it out to me. IMO many are overpriced trollers but I have time to wait out the right deal


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

Going STX?


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## TeamM3 (Dec 24, 2002)

that would be my intention eventually :bigpimp: 

think the little old lady from Pasadena has one sitting in her garage? :dunno: :angel:


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## Bruce (Dec 24, 2001)

Mark,

I may be talking out of my ass (again)....but I don't think there are any non sunroof US spec cars. 

However...I might have a lead for you.

Bruce


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## TeamM3 (Dec 24, 2002)

Bruce said:


> Mark,
> 
> I may be talking out of my ass (again)....but I don't think there are any non sunroof US spec cars.
> 
> ...


you may be right, I wasn't sure and none of the info sites seem to say one way or the other, there is an original window sticker for an '88 M3 on the E30SIG site and it doesn't have a sun/moonroof listed on it anywhere so I assumed that they must of been an option

please PM me, I will give you my email addy from there


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

TeamZ4 said:


> that would be my intention eventually :bigpimp:
> 
> think the little old lady from Pasadena has one sitting in her garage? :dunno: :angel:


 :thumbup:

Sweet cars for it.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

TeamZ4 said:


> looking for a low mileage well kept E30 M3, preferences are post 9/88 production, no sunroof, the closer to factory stock the better, I like white/black but color schemes are minor relative to my other concerns
> 
> aware of all the usual places to look, Roadfly, EBay, Turner, E30SIG, etc but if you see anything that may not be obvious please point it out to me. IMO many are overpriced trollers but I have time to wait out the right deal


 Mmm, E30 M3s. :yummy:

All E30 M3s were delivered with sunroofs, sorry. It's fairly common for racers to weld them shut, but you won't find many street/track and street/autox cars like that. There was a very rare OEM glass sunroof that was available at one time. My car has it installed.

My suggestion is to stick to the regular sources, and to be patient. No matter where you find one, it definitely pays to be extremely careful (almost to the point of being paranoid). Keep us posted.


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## bren (Jul 1, 2002)

How about this one from AutoTrader?


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## TeamM3 (Dec 24, 2002)

I'm familiar with the current AutoTrader offerings 

As nice as that one seems on the surface, it's really more than I want to spend

perhaps I should have stated "intermediate" mileage :dunno:

an '88 with claimed 29k mileage and questionable aero kit sold on eBay for $15k about 10 days ago, but who knows how accurate any of it is

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2440498331&category=6131


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

FWIW, plan on spending about $15k to have a strong running M3...no matter how much you spend on it initially. The car that went on eBay is definitely a little eyebrow-raising, but I'm guessing that it's genuine. I would rather have seen the owner put the money into other things, but it's not a bad DTM replica (except for the aero kit).

As for that AutoTrader ad...bren, do you know where the owner lives? I have an idea which one it is. If I'm right, that car is freaking unbelievable and worth every penny.

But TeamZ4 -- I'm guessing that you're less interested in perfect cosmetic condition. For a few thou under $15k (depending on how much work you want to do yourself) you can get a pretty solid car, then put in the money and time to get it where you want. IMO, any knowledgeable M3 owner these days will ask somewhere around $12k for a strong M3 that needs a few things to be "right."


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

I have a friend with 2 of them, and he agrees that '$15k' is the magic number. He has 1 black and 1 white.

Another friend of mine near literally bought one from a 'little old lady from Pasadena' (except it was Huntington Beach) for a song, supposedly in rather good shape, though I haven't seen it yet. And another one turned up in Long Beach recently for about the same price and snapped up by another one of the local multiple-E30M3 owners in the area. So they are out there, at least here in LA. Good luck!


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## TeamM3 (Dec 24, 2002)

the people selling them want too much money  

the problem is these are their recreational vehicles and they have no problem just sitting on them


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

TeamZ4 said:


> the people selling them want too much money
> 
> the problem is these are their recreational vehicles and they have no problem just sitting on them


 Maybe you just have the wrong perception of their value.


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## JLee (Jul 19, 2002)

ha ha...i'm just waiting blair has got to sell eventually :bigpimp: 

but i don't think thats the red M3 your thinking of, the one your thinking of is also for sale but not on autotrader.

jeff


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## ·clyde· (Dec 26, 2001)

JLee said:


> ha ha...i'm just waiting blair has got to sell eventually :bigpimp:


I bet there's a waiting list for if/when he ever sells.


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## TeamM3 (Dec 24, 2002)

Jetfire said:


> Maybe you just have the wrong perception of their value.


apparently I'm not the only one, I've been looking at the same M3's for sale for many months now :dunno:


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

All of you guys trying to find the super-bargain "looks good, runs great, costs less than $10k" M3 are going to be waiting for a while. I'm not saying that they don't exist, but the ones that do have desperate owners, or are not all they appear to be, or simply have owners who don't know much about the car. The "$15,000 rule" still applies pretty well to these cars, even if you're willing to take on a project vehicle.

So...either be extremely patient, or realize that there are always a few E30 M3s on the market, but that they will almost always be at the right market price.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

TeamZ4 said:


> apparently I'm not the only one, I've been looking at the same M3's for sale for many months now :dunno:


 Have you contacted any of them? No flame, just curious.


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## TeamM3 (Dec 24, 2002)

Jetfire said:


> Have you contacted any of them? No flame, just curious.


a few, most are fairly adamant about a firm price, at least for the one's I'm interested in

part of the problem is an '88 model won't fit the rules as well as an '89-'91, which unfortunately was the year of greatest production and the majority of what's for sale at a reasonable price/owner :dunno:

I have a couple I'm working on, not saying there's not any at all, the few that are seem to be the exception though

did you see the one on EBay with a Buy Now price of $19,500 ...


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## JLee (Jul 19, 2002)

well i started this thread in s14 to try and get a read on the market

here

and its interesting. and it shows that sub 40K mile cars are going for close to $20K, and sub 100K mile cars for around $12K and everything else just ranges...

but if you look, some people got some killer deals..so they are out there and we just have to be patient

i may just pick up a high mileage one and take my time with it since it we be a recreational vehicle anyway...

jeff


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