E36 M3 test... What do you think of this car?

[carreauchompeur]

E36 M3 convertible

There might be a prize at the end.

[RobCrezz]

??

[carreauchompeur]

Come on, give my your first impressions of the car and then I'll embark on an instructional lesson about not buying cheap M3s...

[jamesson]

It scrubs up well, but that is no indication of its mechanical condition. Oh, and I do hate it when adverts say "First to see will definitely buy". That alone would make me look elsewhere.

Go on then, what happened?

[Bisonhead]

It looks ok...obviously cant tell what is under the bonnet from here. Please enlighten us!

[V8Wagon]

Good to know it has the 'standard' 'extras'

Go on then Carrera-Chomper spill the BBQ Beanz

[carreauchompeur]

Against my better judgement, and in a decision which I still look back on with huge bewilderment, I bought this car in January last year. Completely ignoring the manifest and concerning issues with it. It was bought by a trader a month later, and I lost a few hundred quid on it (Being completely honest about condition etc...)

It'll now be on its 13th owner at least.
4 mismatched ditchfinders
VANOS leak near rocker cover seal(Although I think they sorted this)
Chicken wire in front grille.
Previous "home" converted from SMG to manual- They have now changed the clocks to hide this.
Utterly bodged "lowered" suspension (springs probably cut)
Roof needs help to get down
Power steering leak

But best of all, the FSH is actually a few BMW stamps in a duplicate book until, IIRC, about 50k and 7yrs ago then a small collection of random receipts. Wonder what the service book says now... Even when I bought it, the mileage over the last couple of years was somewhat questionable..

It does beg the question why I bought it. You're all right. But they ALWAYS look shiny in the adverts

[billzeebub]

Looks pretty standard M3, has a non-standard gear lever and looks like it may have been lowered. Non-factory stereo?!..clutching at straws Apart from the factI am always suspicious of overly cheap things, if it looks too good to be true etc

[ajb85]

Can't help but think they look a bit old and naff now (not unlike myself!) but on the surface it looks an honest car. Pretty sure Techno Violet isn't an Individual colour though.

[Mark-C]

So you looked at it, saw the issues and then bought it anyway?

Not sure whether that deserves a or a .

I reckon if you paid what it's listed at and only lost a few hundred you got away lightly.

[carreauchompeur]

Mark-C said:

So you looked at it, saw the issues and then bought it anyway?

Not sure whether that deserves a or a .

Bit of both To be honest it was a typical "excited young child" reaction. In fairness to the car it had a lot of power and did go well in straight lines.

I paid £3100 and sold it for £2900, I mainly bought it because I recognised some of the issues and knew I'd be able to resell it without major difficulty. Thankfully though my local garage stopped me just before I spent £1000 on new suspension.

On the upside though, it meant I passed over the second ropey one I looked at and I've now got an absolute cracker.