Guide to buying used E9x M3

[NoSoupForU]

Has anyone put together some sort of guide to buying a used E9x M3? What to look for? Should I buy some sort of extended warranty? I just want a bare bones M3 with no options. I plan to track it about 10x per year.

[MTROIS]

I do not have a "guide" but would look for the following (not in the order of importance):

* only one previous owner
* clean carfax (although it does not necessarily guarantee that the car was not in any kind of accident)
* receipts for all the scheduled maintenance (additional oil changes in between scheduled services a BIG plus!)
* check out the seller' s house or other cars to see if he/she seems to be taking good care of his stuff (can also approach the guy as a "buddy" and see if he reacts in a childish manner that could imply burn outs, revving the engine when cold, ...)
* if possible, bring the car to a BMW dealer to read the stats and see if the engine was over-revved
* if the car was tracked or autocrossed a few times (not every other weekend though), not a big deal IMO... as long as the oil, break fluid, etc... were changed appropriately!
* talk to the guy about BMW and exotic/classic cars in general to see if he is a real car enthusiast (i.e., taking care of his car) or if he is simply a poseur (i.e., a guy who will just do drag racing at the light to impress his friends)
* no/few mods


As fas as the extended warranty is concerned, I do not think it does exist. The extended maintenance program yes... as long as you will hit the miles within the alloted time.

[MrHarris]

Extended warranty is available. Invoice pricing is in the low 4's I believe.

[JCtx]

Two comments: Dealer CAN'T tell you if car was overrevved; at least mine didn't (only by court order was his precise answer).
It's my understanding extended warranty and maintenance can only be purchased by original owner, but am not positive. I know one of the two is true (ask your dealer, or maybe somebody here can set the record straight).

My only recommendation is be ready to buy. If you don't have your finances ready, don't waste people's time; it's frustrating. As far as options, only you know what you want and/or can afford, but generally speaking, options on a used car are a great value, as you only pay a small fraction of what they were worth when new. Good luck.

[signes]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

It's my understanding extended warranty and maintenance can only be purchased by original owner, but am not positive.

Both have to be purchased by the original owner to get BMW extended coverage. Easy enough to get it done before they sell you the car if you know you want it.

Two things I always do. 1) Get the dealer to pull the service history and have a look at what has been done (and hasn't); 2) if you are serious about the car, pay a dealer or reputable indie BMW shop to do a pre-purchase inspection. Accident damage/paint work is the biggest thing to look out for.