Sold! | Best used BMW M cars you missed out on

From rare colour combos to bread vans, here are some of the M cars that found new owners when you weren't looking

BMW Z3 M Coupe, 2001, 79.8k miles - sold for £40,468*

Isn’t it amazing how a car can commercially tank at launch, only to find a cult following years or even decades down the line? That was very much the case for the Z3 M Coupe, with its polarising ‘bread van’ looks either sending buyers towards the E46 M3 or away from the brand entirely. Sales failed to improve when BMW replaced the launch model’s S50 straight-six with the M3’s S54, with just 168 of those run-out models making their way to the UK. Which is a shame, because the original M Coupe is a marvellous little thing that’ll put as big a smile on your face - as it likely will on passers-by, especially if it’s packing the sought-after S54 like this 2001 car. It’s so desirable, in fact, that this example never went under the PH hammer. Instead, it sold to a buyer who put forward an offer the seller couldn’t refuse in the week prior to the bidding window, with the car ultimately changing hands for £40,468 including the buyer’s premium. They may not have been popular new, but they’re more than making up for it some 25 years later.

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BMW M2 CS, 2026, 190 miles - listed at £109,859

You’d be right to question why a car that’s only been on sale for around six months has wound up on a list crammed full of modern classics. After all, BMW never officially put a number on how many examples of the new M2 CS it would actually make, and we only got our hands on it a month before Christmas. But CS models tend to be built in tiny numbers, and an even tinier fraction of those are earmarked for the UK. Naturally, they all sold in a flash, meaning your only option of finding one now is to trawl the auctions and classifieds. That’s exactly what the new owner of this delivery-mile M2 CS had to do, and likely at a considerable premium. We don’t know exactly what the final agreed price is, but what is for sure is that the £109,859 featured on the listing far exceeds the original £86,800 tag. So if you’ve had a good six months of use and fancy moving one on, there will likely be a queue of buyers shouting ‘take my money!’ to get their hands on it.

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BMW M5 Touring (E61), 2007, 58.5k miles - sold for £38,872*

Green over tan is making a comeback, but what about burgundy over beige? Okay, so it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but this Indianapolis Red E61 M5 Touring proves that it’s a worthy contender for colour combination divinity. Yet, it’s said that only 11 M5 Tourings were graced with this stunning colour worldwide, one that’s even rarer now that Mr Harris has changed his to green. And if that wasn’t enough, BMW reportedly produced just over 1,000 examples of the E61 M5 Touring, so opportunities to pick one up are few and far between. Sadly, you’ve well and truly missed the boat on this one, with the hammer falling at £38,872 including the buyer’s fee, which is a hefty premium over one of the more conventionally optioned E60s. Good news if you’re one of the nine other Indianapolis Red M5 Touring owners across the world, or even if you’ve just got a German performance car in an interesting colour combo. The market’s positively ravenous for them.

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BMW M3 (E30), 1988, 39k miles - listed at £84,995

In case you hadn’t noticed, E30 M3s are changing hands for serious money these days. You’ll surely remember a time when you could pick one up for under £10k, and it wasn’t that long ago when £25k could bag you a seriously tidy example. Now, you’ll need at least double that for one that’s been well used, while a Sport Evolution can comfortably set you back north of six figures. Perhaps they’ve not gone totally loopy yet, but anyone with an original M3 tucked away will be well aware of its resale potential. So if you fancy an E30 to enjoy as intended, this would have been the one to go for. It’s a low-mile Japanese import that’s been dolled up to resemble the mega-money Sport Evolution, meaning you get the run-out model’s sensational looks without paying the sensational price tag. Still, a listed price of £84,995 shows that even modified examples, if done well, can fetch strong money.

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BMW M3 CSL (E46), 2003, 90.9k miles - sold for £74,504*

Much like the E30 on this list, there was once a time when an E46 M3 CSL could be had for the cost of a new VW Golf. Obviously, those days are long behind us for collector-grade cars, but even those that have been driven and enjoyed are beginning to command serious money. Now, 90,982 miles is nothing by E46 standards, but, with so many CSLs stashed away by their owners in the hope of a major payday down the road, it’s refreshing to see one that’s clearly been used and adored by its two previous custodians. And best of all, 23 years and nearly 100k miles of fun have done little to impact its resale value, with this example selling for £74,504 including the buyer’s premium. So make the most of CSL ownership while you can - and when the time comes to sell, you know where to find us.

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If you’d like to sell a BMW or any other premium, performance or collectable car, please submit your car’s details here and a consignor will be in touch. Or, if you’d prefer to list your car on the PistonHeads classifieds, you can do so here.

*Auction car prices shown are inclusive of the buyer’s fee, which is 6% of the selling price + VAT, with a minimum of £695 + VAT.

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