cheap 11plate exBMW M3s

[AndrewO]

All on the BMW approved website, low mileage white 11plates with DCT/EDC. Looks very tempting but I found out the catch.

They are all ex-experience days cars

Mileage is anywhere from 2500 to 6000. Would these cars really have done that amount of mileage on track ? Anyone done one of these ?

They are all up for £37990, 5yr service pack, road tax is extra. Apparently they have been overhauled, what that consists of I don't know.

Edited by AndrewO on Saturday 13th October 11:40

[skeeterm5]

They are built to be driven and if they come with BWM warranty whats the risk?

S

[baz1985]

I think a 2012/12 E92 DCT Comp Pack should be do-able @<£40k.

[wheelsmith]

AndrewO said:

All on the BMW approved website, low mileage white 11plates with DCT/EDC. Looks very tempting but I found out the catch.

They are all ex-experience days cars

Mileage is anywhere from 2500 to 6000. Would these cars really have done that amount of mileage on track ? Anyone done one of these ?

They are all up for £37990, 5yr service pack, road tax is extra. Apparently they have been overhauled, what that consists of I don't know.

Edited by AndrewO on Saturday 13th October 11:40

The main issue I can see is over-revving of the engine on the downshift if it's a manual car, not a problem if its DCT box. The engines are meant to be revved on the V8, so that's not a problem. Brakes could be a bit cooked, but you'll be able to tell on the test drive.
It wouldn't bother the cars were ex-driving experience, if I had a warranty and the bodywork wasn't stone chipped/marked/etc. Probably go like a stabbed rat

[R5YUP]

I've been looking at these.

You'd assume they would have been maintained regardless of cost - so as long as consumables are fully refreshed and condition is immaculate I don't think it would bother me too much. After all, they are just being driven exactly as they were designed to be.

Are you saying 5 year servicing is included or extra? Would certainly make them very tempting if the former.

All seem good spec too.

Cheers
RS

[AndrewO]

BMW have an offer on this weekend to include a 5yr service pack but really it comes out of the dealers pocket, It costs them £1k from BMW.

After a bit of calling around I've put a deposit down on one, I took the lowest mileage one !! So the one at Conwy with 2380mls is mine.

Deal was £37500 to include the 5yr service pack, I need to tax it. Might have got a bit more off on a second round but couldn't be bothered.

Spoke with BMW UK this morning about the cars, sounds like they were allocated to employees and were used for lots of tasks, experiences included.

[AndrewO]

baz1985 said:

I think a 2012/12 E92 DCT Comp Pack should be do-able @<£40k.

Cheapest I found was a 11plate DCT/EDC Comp pack for £37k but that sold (private sale). £35k is the trade-in price on a 5000ml 11plate DCT/EDC/19s M3 so dealers are selling anywhere between £35-40k for an 11plate.

[AndrewO]

skeeterm5 said:

They are built to be driven and if they come with BWM warranty whats the risk?

S

Risk is the Engine/gearbox goes pop 1day after the warranty expires

[neil-c]

AndrewO said:

BMW have an offer on this weekend to include a 5yr service pack but really it comes out of the dealers pocket, It costs them £1k from BMW.

If this is part of the nationwide approved used car promotion then be careful as small print says only 4 and 6 cylinder cars are eligible for the 5yr service pack.

I think the white M3s have it included anyway but just in case anyone is looking at others during the offer

[thepony]

AndrewO said:

Risk is the Engine/gearbox goes pop 1day after the warranty expires

A BMW Insured Warranty Comprehensive cover would mitigate this risk

[AndrewO]

neil-c said:

If this is part of the nationwide approved used car promotion then be careful as small print says only 4 and 6 cylinder cars are eligible for the 5yr service pack.

I think the white M3s have it included anyway but just in case anyone is looking at others during the offer

I have yet to see the written confirmation but I was expecting 5yrs from date of my sale/pickup. Something to check Monday.

I've just read the offer on the web, yip, V8s not covered plus from the date of registration.

[Col 666]

If its the ones i think they are I saw them in action around Knockhill last year, Tiff Needel was drifting the life out of some of them on a BMW customer day.
They also had half roll cages in them.

[AndrewO]

R5YUP said:

I've been looking at these.

Are you saying 5 year servicing is included or extra? Would certainly make them very tempting if the former.

All seem good spec too.

Cheers
RS

Confirmed the 5yr pack starts when I drive it away. If you want to look at it give me a shout (Caversham)

[Jarrod]

AndrewO said:

All on the BMW approved website, low mileage white 11plates with DCT/EDC. Looks very tempting but I found out the catch.

They are all ex-experience days cars

Mileage is anywhere from 2500 to 6000. Would these cars really have done that amount of mileage on track ? Anyone done one of these ?

They are all up for £37990, 5yr service pack, road tax is extra. Apparently they have been overhauled, what that consists of I don't know.

Edited by AndrewO on Saturday 13th October 11:40

Yes I drove one in July, great fun. They had different brake pads in and also the seat belt butlers where removed but they were standard apart from that. Yes they do alot of miles and get driven very hard but if they are covered under warranty then you should be fine. They seemed to be slightly more limited on the track so I don't know if BMW do something to turn the limiter down as well. I suppose the question for any mechanical boffins out there is what would break/wear out after the warranty runs out which is down to being hammered round a track?

[julians]

Jarrod said:

I suppose the question for any mechanical boffins out there is what would break/wear out after the warranty runs out which is down to being hammered round a track?

Engine,gearbox, diff, dampers, suspension bushes, steering rack, ball joints, wheel bearings.

I wouldnt buy one of the higher mileage ones, unless it was at a significant discount (read huge) to a non track car of same spec.

Assuming that all the mileage is track miles (which maybe it isnt), the average miles covered in an open pitlane trackday is ~100 maybe, so car with 7000 miles on has done the equivalent of 70 open pitlane trackdays. Thats a lot of track miles, enough to wear a lot of components - maybe these cars have had all the worn components replaced?

Having said all the above , the majority of people that will go on an experience day wont be too experienced in track driving so the cars probably dont get that much hammer, except off the instructors.

[Sir_Dave]

Buying an ex Palmersport/track day M3, thats done 6k track only miles, for nearly £40k?

You are indeed bonkers lol. They will have all been ragged to absolute f*ck. Sod that.

[Blowfish]

If it is one of the ex brands hatch experience m3's then your probably ok. I done one of their experience days and they did not let me rag the car at all, even kept traction control on full and I was not allowed to shift with paddles it had to stay in auto!

[Slobberchops]

Sir_Dave said:

Buying an ex Palmersport/track day M3, thats done 6k track only miles, for nearly £40k?

You are indeed bonkers lol. They will have all been ragged to absolute f*ck. Sod that.

Was there recently and they had load of brand new ones lined up so it did look like some would be coming off their fleet.

(We all ragged the cars we used. A lot.)

Edited by Slobberchops on Thursday 18th October 18:58

[AndrewO]

I didn't mind buying what was sold to me which was "range of duties" employee car that was used for demo's, loans and experiences. But its now looking like its an exPalmerSport GTP car, now thats a different story and one that makes me nervous. Even with 2300odd miles, thats a serious amount of track miles. bks, I'm out.

What annoys me the most is the fact that BMW (UK and dealer netk) are not open about where these cars came from. I really doubt anyone would buy one if they knew 12cars each year were ragged around tracks and sold as exBMW cars.

Post I found on M3cutters:-
Apparently BMW 'lend' them the cars for a year - Palmer strip it out & uprate them - then after the years up they convert them back & hand them back to BMW. So don't buy any used white M3's

[Jarrod]

Blowfish said:

If it is one of the ex brands hatch experience m3's then your probably ok. I done one of their experience days and they did not let me rag the car at all, even kept traction control on full and I was not allowed to shift with paddles it had to stay in auto!

LOL you must have had the wrong instructor, when he found out I had one he just said drive it like you stole it (but keep it on the track!).