2008 M3 coupe, thoughts on this deal?

[HebbNH]

Hi all! Somebody traded in a 2008 M3 coupe at my local Chrysler dealer (apparently for a Challenger...don't get it at all but whatever). I went to take a look at it out of curiousity, but am now seriously considering buying it. I'd love to get some of your opinions on this deal. Here are the specs on the car:

2008 Silverstone M3 coupe 6MT
Silver leather (non-extended)
Titanium shadow trim
Technology package
Heated seats
Sunroof/Moonroof/whatever
iPod/USB adaptor
Rear spoiler delete
19" 220M wheels, black
59,430 miles

If you want the tl;dr version, skip to the end now. I'm a "devil is in the details" type, so here are all the details:

Mods: Vorsteiner replica CF lip (doesn't fit well), CF roof spoiler (RD look alike probably), cracked replica CF diffuser (junk), black/white roundels (all in poor shape), CF vinyl wrapped grills (chipping badly), matte black side vents (fading badly), CF sharkfin cover (terrible weave), and exhaust cutouts which I haven't been able to examine yet. All the cheap CF junk hurts the car IMO, and would be removed/replaced if I bought it.

History: Car was originally bought July 2008 in Germany by someone stationed there. Brought back to the US in August 2010, titled in Indiana with 21k miles. Car was sold at auction in May 2011, then titled in Missouri with 42k miles in August 2011. The 2nd owner traded it in last week.

Service: 1,200 mile initial service was performed in Germany, and the car was also serviced at 9,000 miles (aside: kinda weird/cool checking the service manual and seeing the notes/stamp in German). After that things get spotty. The BMW dealerships I've gotten info from show service at 35k for a parking brake cable adjustment, and at 54k a rear wheel bearing and rear axle were replaced. Oil was also changed at 54k. I think there is another service invoice, but they dealer has everything so I'll have to recheck if/when I go back. Also didn't see anything regarding the 37k mile spark plug change. A Bavarian Technic scan shows 6 reported oil changes, 1 front and 1 rear brake change, 2 brake fluid changes, and 2 vehicle checks (not exactly sure what that entails, but it isn't a state inspection, those are listed separately). It shows 10k miles remain until oil, front brakes, and fluid are due, 20k for rear brakes, and 1.5k for another vehicle check.

Warranty: No BMW warranty or extended service plan. No other existing warranty. The Chrysler dealer offers a 2 year 100k powertrain warranty on all pre-owned vehicles, with a $200 deductible on each claim. Warranty will cover service at any SAE certified service/repair shop, but is is non-transferable should I decide to sell the car later on.

Condition: Car seemed to run just fine on the test drive. One of the service techs at the dealer is a friend of mine, and he says there are no mechanical issues whatsoever. Paint looks good, just standard swirl marks that should polish out. Two small dings, one the edge of the trunk, one toward the bottom of the driver door. Looks like PDR would take them out easily. Didn't notice any paint chips on the front end, but given how bad the grills look I plan to examine it more closely.

Price: Car is listed for $42k. I offered $35k Monday afternoon, was shot down quickly. Sales guy is very pleasant but obviously doesn't know much about the car other than it's a BMW, has a V8, and is fast. Pointed out issues with mods, offered $37k, he talked to a manager, and he said they could do $37k. Test drove it, got back and told them I wanted to sleep on it and try to get more history (all they had was an AutoCheck report). Got some service history Tuesday, and told them I wanted to BT scan the car. Did that today, found German service notes in the trunk with owners manual. I told them $37k was a no go when it would need a $3k brake job done soon, but that I wanted to take notes of what options were installed in case any of my friends would be interested. As I was finishing up and getting ready to leave, a second sales guy comes over. We chat a bit, he asks about my 135, just makes small talk. Asks what kind of financing I'd be looking at, and I tell him I planned on just buying it outright. He immediately throws out $34k. I told him that'd be in the ballpark, he says they'd be taking a hit at that price and wasn't 100% they could do it. Also says they almost never deal with foreign cars, especially any in this price range (which is true of almost all dealers out here in the sticks), and would rather move it quickly than have it sit for months (which is exactly what it'll do listed at $42k, duh). Told him I'd think about $34k and get back to them later this week, hence the point of this post.

So, what do you all think? Talked to previous owner a few minutes ago. They gave him $34k on the trade-in. Planning on offering $33k, conditional on the car checking out 100% on a full inspection by a BMW dealership. How's that sound?

Thanks all!

[Day Laborer]

http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/ove...stingtype=used

that seems to be the cheapest price advertised at the moment.

if it had extended warranty.. i would say go for it.
Rather than paying $3k on new brakes, invest in the extended maintenance program.. that would cover the brakes and the upcoming oil services.

seems like a good deal

[Endless619]

No warranty is big for me. If it was CPO'd I would say go for it. I paid $45k for mine 6 months ago with 45k miles and CPO with every option available from BMW. I know I could have gotten it for much lower but was in a time crunch so went back and forth for a little bit.
With that said I am the second owner and my car came from the east coast where I was kinda so so on it but went for it after looking at complete history from the dealer and car fax. I had extended maintenance on my Z4MC with no warranty and honestly I would rather have a bumper to bumper limited warranty VS just maintenance. Things that will fail will cost you a lot with no warranty. Thats what I had to weigh in before I got rid of the Z4MC. Sometimes I wish I would have kept the Z4MC. Much better car but I won't go there on an M3 forum.

X5 was different. I went in with a lot of cash and they dropped the price $10k and I bought outright. lol Cash is king.

Do some more shopping around and see what CPO'd cars are really going for with same options.

[Raja Ventureshield]

At 34k I think it would be a steal. I hope you get it.

[HebbNH]

Updated with new info! New stuff in BOLD.

[gatorfast]

Seems like a good deal to me. You can always pick up an extended warranty from BMW and still come out on top over purchasing CPO.

[HebbNH]

Well, so much for that. Somebody came in this morning and bought it for the asking price ($41,987) from a different salesman than the one I was dealing with. I guess there really is a sucker born every minute! Anyway, if anyone around St. Louis is looking for a new Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep, give Barreth Chrysler in Washington, MO a shot. Ask for Alan Wilmoth and tell him Greg "the BMW guy" sent you. Absolutely the most pleasant car salesman I've ever dealt with. And thanks again for the responses/advice, guys.

[meko]

This is really for the best. Having just been through what you went through I can say you really were not into the car. They went below your original offer but you didn't jump at it. You were looking for reasons not to buy it. Too many questions about the cars history and poor cheap mods. Remember you are researching cars history as well as past owner. This isn't the car you want to own. Keep looking and good luck

[Hurricane]

I would pass on this deal. I would be wary about the the previous owners. I stress owners. The car is roughly 4-5 years old and has had two previous owners. The car has also been poorly modded based on your description above. Who knows what has been added or removed from that engine? I know you talked to the previous owner who claims the car is fine but I would still pass. There are a lot of great cars available on this site and others. I would hold out and buy a 1 owner car.

Good Luck.

[Raja Ventureshield]

yeah, no worries. So many Ms on sale. Get a car with a little bit lowr mileage and from an owner if you can. So you can get the history of the car first hand.

[MotorWerksParts]

Pardon my ignorance, but if something were to happen to this car, would you take it to this dealer or the BMW shop, if it had CPO? Could you get a warranty via BMW perhaps?

[HebbNH]

Originally Posted by MotorWerksParts

Pardon my ignorance, but if something were to happen to this car, would you take it to this dealer or the BMW shop, if it had CPO? Could you get a warranty via BMW perhaps?

Not that it matters now, since somebody else bought it (), but I was told I could take it to a BMW dealer to have work done. The BMW dealer would submit a claim through the warranty company, and Barreth (the dealer where the car was) would cover the cost of the work. And yes, I could've gotten a warranty through BMW for probably another $2K-$3K. At which point I would've been much better off getting a newer car with fewer miles that still had the original factory warranty for a slightly more money.

[PhillyNate]

I love someone who does proper research and homework. There will be other proper M's. Just be as diligent and dedicated as you were on this and you shall have it. Good luck.