buying an 08 M3

[xfactor]

Hi Guys,

I'm about to buy an 08 M3. Just wandering if I'm getting a good deal or not. I've been looking for a month or two, and I found this deal to be the best.

The car has 81K, US import and Im paying low 40s. The car looks and handles flawless and looks to be well taken care of. I would rather get the car with the extended warranty but they all start at 52K plus. I'm not sure if 10K difference is worth it or not. Let me know what you guys think. I tried to find out about any major service that's coming but I couldn't really figure out with the unique schedules that the new M3s have. Any pointers or any pitfalls/gotchas you can think of, please let me know.

[m3cragg]

id pass on that one myself
US car and to many miles

[kasimmmmm]

to give you an example, US E46 M3's go for low 20s vs an equivalent canadian car go for mid to high 20s. you'll get that money back when you're reselling so stick with the canadian car.
Plus some options on US cars may seem strange in this part of the world. For instance, I saw a US car from down south with leather but no heated seats, yes I know... WTF.
And finally, these days prices are so on par that it doesn't make sense to buy a used car from US. You'll pay 13% plus an additional 6% and you're already at what some Canadian E92/E90's M3's are going for with the same mileage. My 2 cents bro...

[DeltaBMW'r]

US car $64K... equivalent CDN car $85k... after 6% duty, shipping and import fees, you'll still save $15k+ >>> that equates to alot of "free" service

Aside from "Cold Weather Package" being STD on CDN cars what's the real difference?

Years ago I bought a Nissan 350Z in US for $24K... they were selling for $42K used in Canada at that time. By the time I paid all fees, duty, taxes and transportation, it was $31K in my driveway. The equivalent CDN Z would have been $42k plus taxes.. about $50k. I sold it for $29K (market value at that time) after 3 years with a loss of $3k... If I bought the CDN Z my loss would have been $15-20K. In hindsight, it was a great decision!!

[xfactor]

This car comes with the Winter package, so I'm not too worried about it. I figure whatever I'm saving, I'll just pass it on to the next owner. I probably will keep this car for two years, and I'll be surprised if I put more than 30K in that time. So, when time to sell it will have ~110K in KMs.

What I am concerned about is the 80K that it has. Having owned only a 330ci before, I don't have much experience in owning an M3 and was wandering if 80K is considered to be too high of a mileage for these cars. Spending another 10-15K is not much of a problem but the question is am I expecting 10-15K worth or repairs in the next two years?

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated!

[Twinbo]

At low 40's that seems like a great deal. You probably won't spend 10-15 on repairs but the big "if" is will you have motor/transmission problems associated with high mileage. I would say if you have all service records from date of purchase and things look good then go for it.
I just bought an 08 e92 for mid fifties to give you a sense of your savings (it has 35K and is CPO).
As a last point you can find a good independent shop that specializes in Ms have a look at the car as well which may relieve some of the pre-purchase stress. Then take it to them for service and save 25% in service rates.

Good luck

[Vise]

Are you importing yourself or is it the black one that's been on Autotrader for a while? Just wondering...

80k seems somewhat high for a 2008 but maybe its just me... my 2008 has under 40k but mind you it didn't go in service until Dec. 2008. Really up to you to decide if you're willing to pickup an M3 without warranty. Personally I would try and get a lower mileage CPO car in the low 50 range but that's just me.

[Prince_of_Persia]

I would pass, 80 K and US models. Get a CPO!

[Jaypod]

I would pass, you can still by an 08 even not CPO that would have factory warranty left on it. I think you will find something better out there. Good luck

[kasimmmmm]

Originally Posted by Delta335i

US car $64K... equivalent CDN car $85k... after 6% duty, shipping and import fees, you'll still save $15k+ >>> that equates to alot of "free" service

Aside from "Cold Weather Package" being STD on CDN cars what's the real difference?

Years ago I bought a Nissan 350Z in US for $24K... they were selling for $42K used in Canada at that time. By the time I paid all fees, duty, taxes and transportation, it was $31K in my driveway. The equivalent CDN Z would have been $42k plus taxes.. about $50k. I sold it for $29K (market value at that time) after 3 years with a loss of $3k... If I bought the CDN Z my loss would have been $15-20K. In hindsight, it was a great decision!!

i was obviously referring about used cars, i thought it was clear with my example of a used M3. He's speaking of a used car, you have to compare apples to apples.
Plus my previous 350z was purchased for 42K brand new, I honestly don't remember them being sold in the 40's, used since they were between 38k to 45k from the dealership ( there weren't many add-ons available - base model, track and enthusiast package)
My friend had a 350z that was a US car, an 06, he sold it for 20K and at the same time my friend purchased an 03 for 18K and thats how much they devalue.

If resale value is not a factor for you, go for a US car. I'm in accounting to i naturally try to look at all angles, even resale... incase you're wondering who gives a sh*t about resale and why is he talking about it. In fact there are a couple of US cars on sale locally in the 40s, at least they were a month ago.

regardless, good luck on your car hunt!

[GMW]

I too would pass on that car dude. Not a good deal.
Head south and find something with 3-4 years warranty remaining.
I've bought my last 3 cars from the states and 1 bike.
My latest deal saw me saving over $20k before taxes on a new M3 ZCP.

I challenge you to just do a search on ebay (or manheim) for what you can get for low 40's. It's shocking.

[xfactor]

So comparing apples to apples:
2008 M3, cdn car and let's assume that it has 60K in mileage. Right now Autotrader average for this is 53K. With the 60K mileage the warranty will expire next year (4yrs) or after the next 20K KMs.

The rate of depreciation per year is roughly 13%. So if the car is sold again in 2013, it will have about 100K Kms, and be worth 40K.
Cost of ownership:53-40= 13

On the other hand:
2008 M3, US car with 80K in mileage and the same 13% of depreciation
Kms in 2 yrs: 120KM
Value: 32K
Cost of ownership = 42-13= 9K

With the cost of ownership being 4K diff, does it make a diff. Probably not. So might as well buy the car with the lessor mileage.

Or take a leap of faith and have my BMW mechanic take a look and that's the best I can do to mitigate the risk. As for finding an M3 in the states for the price I'm getting. Haven't seen on in ebay/autoTrader/cars in the past 6 mths.

I'll let you all know how it goes and sorry for the ugly math up there.

[DeltaBMW'r]

Originally Posted by kasimmmmm

i was obviously referring about used cars, i thought it was clear with my example of a used M3. He's speaking of a used car, you have to compare apples to apples.
Plus my previous 350z was purchased for 42K brand new, I honestly don't remember them being sold in the 40's, used since they were between 38k to 45k from the dealership ( there weren't many add-ons available - base model, track and enthusiast package)
My friend had a 350z that was a US car, an 06, he sold it for 20K and at the same time my friend purchased an 03 for 18K and thats how much they devalue.

If resale value is not a factor for you, go for a US car. I'm in accounting to i naturally try to look at all angles, even resale... incase you're wondering who gives a sh*t about resale and why is he talking about it. In fact there are a couple of US cars on sale locally in the 40s, at least they were a month ago.

regardless, good luck on your car hunt!

I am comparing USED M3's
Auto West BMW in BC has a demo 2011 for $80,800. Used 2011's with less miles on them are selling in the US for about US$64k.
So I guess I am comparing "apples to apples".

So you obviously knew the Vancouver market in 2006 for 350z's. Not bad for a guy living in Toronto. So you knew that Southside Nissan in May of 2006 was selling a demo 350Z with 8000 km on it for $42k. I bought a used 2006 Z in the US with 9000 km on it for US$24k... Sold it two years later for CDN$29k

[kasimmmmm]

The car in discussion is an '08 M3 and there you are talking about 2011 demo cars... but in the case of new car/demo comparison that you are pointing out, 15K in savings sounds only right, given that you have 65K in hard cash.

Side note in regards to all the guys above saying go CPO, my families personal experience if I may share: A bird flew into my dad's X5 and broke is side view mirror... they replaced it without a question. The extra 2K he paid was worth it in his scenario because he would have been dishing out cash to fix that side view mirror. My brother had an issue with his 1 series passenger seat where something was poking out, it was taken care off right away as well, they replaced it right away.

[Twinbo]

Originally Posted by kasimmmmm

The car in discussion is an '08 M3 and there you are talking about 2011 demo cars... but in the case of new car/demo comparison that you are pointing out, 15K in savings sounds only right, given that you have 65K in hard cash.

Side note in regards to all the guys above saying go CPO, my families personal experience if I may share: A bird flew into my dad's X5 and broke is side view mirror... they replaced it without a question. The extra 2K he paid was worth it in his scenario because he would have been dishing out cash to fix that side view mirror. My brother had an issue with his 1 series passenger seat where something was poking out, it was taken care off right away as well, they replaced it right away.

kasimmmmm did you used to be part of a Civic board years ago??

The name is really familiar but this would have been 6 or 7 years ago.

Strange coincidence if so (but shows we share a taste in cars).

[kasimmmmm]

^ yes... had a K20 swapped EM2 civic back in the day! thats cool, ended with the same cars again, years later.

[exmowner]

http://montreal.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...AdIdZ300436943

I'll make you a great price on my m3 under warranty!

55000kms

alexps2@videotron.ca

[exmowner]

The m3 has every available dealer option with no modifications other then the factory bmw darkline tail lights, it's seen the rain 2 times.

Smells new and you can eat off the engine.

The car is from florida and i imported it myself.

I have a summer home in orlando and a condo tenant in my building decided to sell. I have every service record.

Let me know if you'd be interested.

Alex