New to the fold... E36 M3 Evo with pics
Discussion
Am new in this forum, so please be gentle 
Picked my first M car up with Johnny (who I owe more than a thank you to) on Tuesday.
Some of you will have already seen her in the ///M Power bargain thread in GG, but for those who haven't...
She's a 1997 E36 M3 Evo in Techno Violet (to match my boots), de-spoilered and de-badged, with 111k on the clock and with FSH (almost all BMW), parking sensors, climate control, heated seats - not electric, has a tracker fitted, VERY clean and tidy, alloys are totally unmarked, interior is much more than reasonable, and mint compared to some we looked at, extremely tidy for her age.
MOT'd until July next year, last owner change in 2003. Lots of history/receipts. If I were to be picky there is one tiny ding on the bonnet, and drivers mirror currently not working (though is being repaired under warranty).
And all for under £4k.
Now on a private plate, but have only driven her maybe 20 miles or so as all paperwork was only completed at DVLA offices this afternoon.
So far so good...
Story behind her...
Johnny and I must have covered nearly two thousand miles looking for this car after he bought the plate for my birthday back at the beginning of August. The Tiv is too old for it to go on, so was my E30, my other daily runner wouldn't have done it justice.
I decided on three cars. A decent Celica - GT4 or newer VVTI, Integra Type R or an M3 Evo. We looked at GT4s, but they were either too modded or tatty imports, and Integra Type R DC2s turned out the same.
I then sold my E30 to a persistent neighbour (he's continued to ask me to sell it to him for the past four years - not sure what he thinks of my new arrival yet!) and since Johnny parted with his 1 series in July we decided something RWD was needed again. But our search was becoming tiresome.
So we booked time off to hunt harder and ended up in Amaterdam relaxing
Two days before leaving I found a lovely '97 Evo convertible with less than 60k at £7k (which I believe is still out there just not yet advertised officially...) We went to see it, drove it, it was perfect. But...we weren't quite in the correct financial position due to our holiday and new PS3 & 50" Plasma!!
So upon returning in September we continued our search, to no avail. Just couldn't find the one.
I was becoming disheartened and on a whim looked at some local dealers sites, made a few phone calls, and accidentally found this for sale at a very small, mainly commercial vehicle dealer just a few miles away!!!
First investigation revealed the car was 'sold', but on a dubious basis, to a passer by, having never had a chance to be advertised. But I persevered, checked the car over alone, then again with Johnny, drove the car, and asked the vendor to keep me in mind (along with half a dozen others he had numbers for) if the 'sale' didn't come to fruition. Fortunately for us 48 hours later it fell through and the deal was complete.
Am going to put her in for a service in the next few weeks, just for peace of mind. But am very much enjoying her so far, as are my boys...
Not bad for a school run car
A few pics:
ETA - Rear plate is now all adjusted and fits correctly.
Picked my first M car up with Johnny (who I owe more than a thank you to
) on Tuesday.Some of you will have already seen her in the ///M Power bargain thread in GG, but for those who haven't...
She's a 1997 E36 M3 Evo in Techno Violet (to match my boots), de-spoilered and de-badged, with 111k on the clock and with FSH (almost all BMW), parking sensors, climate control, heated seats - not electric, has a tracker fitted, VERY clean and tidy, alloys are totally unmarked, interior is much more than reasonable, and mint compared to some we looked at, extremely tidy for her age.
MOT'd until July next year, last owner change in 2003. Lots of history/receipts. If I were to be picky there is one tiny ding on the bonnet, and drivers mirror currently not working (though is being repaired under warranty).
And all for under £4k.
Now on a private plate, but have only driven her maybe 20 miles or so as all paperwork was only completed at DVLA offices this afternoon.
So far so good...
Story behind her...
Johnny and I must have covered nearly two thousand miles looking for this car after he bought the plate for my birthday back at the beginning of August. The Tiv is too old for it to go on, so was my E30, my other daily runner wouldn't have done it justice.
I decided on three cars. A decent Celica - GT4 or newer VVTI, Integra Type R or an M3 Evo. We looked at GT4s, but they were either too modded or tatty imports, and Integra Type R DC2s turned out the same.
I then sold my E30 to a persistent neighbour (he's continued to ask me to sell it to him for the past four years - not sure what he thinks of my new arrival yet!) and since Johnny parted with his 1 series in July we decided something RWD was needed again. But our search was becoming tiresome.
So we booked time off to hunt harder and ended up in Amaterdam relaxing
Two days before leaving I found a lovely '97 Evo convertible with less than 60k at £7k (which I believe is still out there just not yet advertised officially...) We went to see it, drove it, it was perfect. But...we weren't quite in the correct financial position due to our holiday and new PS3 & 50" Plasma!!
So upon returning in September we continued our search, to no avail. Just couldn't find the one.
I was becoming disheartened and on a whim looked at some local dealers sites, made a few phone calls, and accidentally found this for sale at a very small, mainly commercial vehicle dealer just a few miles away!!!
First investigation revealed the car was 'sold', but on a dubious basis, to a passer by, having never had a chance to be advertised. But I persevered, checked the car over alone, then again with Johnny, drove the car, and asked the vendor to keep me in mind (along with half a dozen others he had numbers for) if the 'sale' didn't come to fruition. Fortunately for us 48 hours later it fell through and the deal was complete.
Am going to put her in for a service in the next few weeks, just for peace of mind. But am very much enjoying her so far, as are my boys...
Not bad for a school run car
A few pics:
ETA - Rear plate is now all adjusted and fits correctly.
Edited by Gretchen on Thursday 15th October 21:40
@ the numberplate 
Lovely looking M and I can't believe you picked her up for less that £4K. Thats ALOT of car for not alot of money.
Thank god I got rid of mine when I did, 3 years ago. Even then I only got £6.5K for it when trading it against the CSL, after paying £13.5K 3 years before. The dealer tidied her up and put it on his forecourt for £10K a couple of weeks later!!! Good try.
I'd agree with the badge part, get her on.
Thank god I got rid of mine when I did, 3 years ago. Even then I only got £6.5K for it when trading it against the CSL, after paying £13.5K 3 years before. The dealer tidied her up and put it on his forecourt for £10K a couple of weeks later!!! Good try.
I'd agree with the badge part, get her on.
chippy17 said:
lovely motor I think leave badge off or put a 318i badge on
now when you say under £4k, do you mean a fiver under or 1k under, really need to know, put my mind at rest as I have just bought a 3.0 car so need to know I did ok compared to yours!
I think a fiver should cover it...now when you say under £4k, do you mean a fiver under or 1k under, really need to know, put my mind at rest as I have just bought a 3.0 car so need to know I did ok compared to yours!
Johnny said:
chippy17 said:
lovely motor I think leave badge off or put a 318i badge on
now when you say under £4k, do you mean a fiver under or 1k under, really need to know, put my mind at rest as I have just bought a 3.0 car so need to know I did ok compared to yours!
I think a fiver should cover it...now when you say under £4k, do you mean a fiver under or 1k under, really need to know, put my mind at rest as I have just bought a 3.0 car so need to know I did ok compared to yours!
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