Found: Clean 6MT E90 M3 - Preferably ZCP

[germandriven]

I may have the car you are searching for. PM me for details.

[meticulist]

Originally Posted by germandriven

I may have the car you are searching for. PM me for details.

PM sent, thanks!

[meticulist]

TTT - Thank you to everyone that has reached out. I have a few leads I'm working through, but still open to any, preferably 2011.5-.75 6MT ZCP E90's in very good condition.

Thanks!

[94jedi]

Bit of advice - don't settle. Buy a beater if you have to in the meantime. Wait for the car you want or you'll always be pining for that color or option you didn't get. just my two cents, good luck on your search.

[meticulist]

Originally Posted by 94jedi

Bit of advice - don't settle. Buy a beater if you have to in the meantime. Wait for the car you want or you'll always be pining for that color or option you didn't get. just my two cents, good luck on your search.

Thanks, that's kind of what I'm grappling with right now. I've found a few that are close enough that I would be fine, but if I'm going to pay top dollar then I feel like I would want it to be prefect. Just not sure if that is realistic, especially given that I need to turn my current car in withing next week...

[meticulist]

bump!

[JRF]

Originally Posted by meticulist

Bump - Updated the original post to be even more specific.

really nice one on BaT right now.....

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-bmw-m3-55/

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by JRF

really nice one on BaT right now.....

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-bmw-m3-55/

2008 with okay miles and high owners. I bet someone is going to get a deal for that! Looks clean.

[meticulist]

Bump, hoping the car gods shine down a 2011.75 ZCP 6MT slicktop this week?!

[AC/DC]

OP, I think you're going to be looking for quite a while to find this car. 1220 ZCP E90s, a third of them or so alpine white, less than half 6MT, and then less than half of those would be slicktops. Lastly, the chance of it being low mileage at this point is slim. You might want to look at EAG. They have one right now with 51k miles. Other than that, you should be scouring Autotrader, Bring a Trailer, or Carmax. Best of luck!

[meticulist]

Originally Posted by MBimmer2011

OP, I think you're going to be looking for quite a while to find this car. 1220 ZCP E90s, a third of them or so alpine white, less than half 6MT, and then less than half of those would be slicktops. Lastly, the chance of it being low mileage at this point is slim. You might want to look at EAG. They have one right now with 51k miles. Other than that, you should be scouring Autotrader, Bring a Trailer, or Carmax. Best of luck!

Thanks, slicktop would be a nice to have, but not a deal breaker. I'm flexible on color if the rest of the package is there as well. I'm definitely scouring the web everyday, and I'm finding more out there than some of the comments led me to believe, but you're 100% correct that finding the right combo of color/options/price/condition is challenging.

The EAG car checks nearly everything on the list, it's a very early 2011, and their asking price is not for the faint of heart. Pricing seems challenging as of recent when the 2011.5-11.75 ZCP's that are being listed seem to be at higher and higher asking prices, but I'm not really seeing them sell.

The one on BaT (and here) last week also leads to confusion when it failed to meet reserve despite a strong listing. It was an 08' with 60,000 miles, so obviously a different car, but even when factoring in premium for lower miles, year, and comp package, does that double the price?!? Or this one from May that would have been perfect that fetched $35.5K https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2011-bmw-m3-48/

Very interesting to see pricing kind of all over right now.

[psmalley92]

I have a 2011.5 ZCP Melbourne Red E90. I am the second owner. I had it listed up here for almost six months and turned down some big time offers for two reason... 1) I just really didn't want to sell 2) There is only ~1300 of these cars and less than half are manual's.

I actually had mine sold but the deal fell through and I've decided not to list it again.

My car is a fully loaded (minus cold weather package) slicktop with 125k on it now. Great service history. I've owned it for over 40k miles and to be honest at this point, I don't think I will ever let the car go for less than 30k at this point.

Finding a true ZCP Manual car almost seems impossible at this point.

In short, good luck on your search, and if you're okay with 125k, I would probably let me car go for $30,000. Lol (but probably not).

[meticulist]

Bump - I've updated the initial post with additional parameters as I've come to better understand what I'm looking for.

Ideally looking for:
- 2011.5 - 2011.75
- ZCP strongly preferred
- Split folding rear seats a near must (everything else would have to be too good to pass on)
- Slicktop preferred
- Clean, in good, honest, well cared for condition
- <60,000 miles
- Preferably NOT Jerez/Jet Black. I would strongly prefer IB, AW, SGM, MR, but would certainly consider or SSII as well (in that order of preference).

[meticulist]

TTT - Looking for a clean, well cared for 6MT E90 M3, preferably late 2011, ZCP, with option 465 (fold down rear seats).

[meticulist]

TTT - Looking for a clean, well cared for 6MT E90 M3, preferably late 2011, ZCP, with option 465 (fold down rear seats).

[meticulist]

Bump - Cash in hand, looking for a clean, well cared for 6MT E90 M3, preferably late 2011, ZCP, with option 465 (fold down rear seats).

[jmann2380]

EAG car went pending. How much were they asking? I have it's clone but with Speed Cloth and Interlagos, so just curious. Not for sale though, sorry!

Just to give you a bit of hope, I had a WTB thread on here last year and had everyone tell me what I was looking for didn't exist, I'd be looking for 10 years, blah blah blah.

Basically the same ad as you minus the requirement on the split fold seats and I wanted a NO nav car. In the end I found exactly what I wanted but with Nav... a member on here messaged me and lived 90 minutes from me. He was the original owner and was thinking of selling. Some back and forth, a PPI and an exchange of $34k made it happen. The car had no accidents, was in good shape but was by no means a cream puff and with the owner not driving it much, maintenance was lacking a bit.

I was willing to pay $40k for a top notch car and that is exactly what I have into it after getting it sorted.

Full Fluid Change & Plugs = $1100
Full OEM Brake Job = $1750
Changed all badges with new = $350
New 359 Wheels w/ Center Caps = $2250
New 255/275 Michelin 4S = $1800
New Floor Mats & Trunk Cover = $200
New Stereo Trim Panels & Pedal Pads = $100

$7550
-$2000 Original wheels/tires plus a cold weather set I sold
———–
$5550 spent within a month of purchase.

Good luck with your search and don't give up!!!

BTW, I actually like the Nav screen now, not for directions but for seeing who's calling, the radio stations, etc. Glad I didn't pass the car up for that.

-Josh

[meticulist]

Originally Posted by jmann2380

EAG car went pending. How much were they asking?
-Josh

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Josh! Here's the thing, I too received the number of messages and comments that people looked for years or they just aren't out there, which I would agree with in the sense that maybe the exact color, option, mileage, ownership history, and pricing perfect-for-you-combo takes years to find, but the fact of the matter is that I have found 8+ that I am seriously considering or have seriously considered that are very close.

And of those 8+ cars, the few that were closest to ideal combos want(ed) prices thousands more than market. I've made a few above market offers too, realizing those people don't have to sell to me, but I think it comes down to them doing a quick search and seeing a number listed for sale currently with crazy high numbers, though there's no evidence of any of them fetching those amounts.

Using the EAG car as an example, I think most will agree they will typically fetch a $5,000 - $7,000 premium above market for this type of car, and even they lowered their asking price last week to $47,xxx and it just went pending yesterday. Like the MR ZCP that sold on BaT in May for $35.5 or the JB that sold for $34k last week (that needed some love), it seems pretty clear that a ZCP 6MT with less than 50,000 miles will be around $40K +/- a few grand for condition, options, history, color, etc.

Maybe I'm shooting myself in the foot in my own WTB thread for posting that logic, but the discussion is interesting to me outside of my own searching. I've made offers in the mid $40k range (what I consider to be above market value) that were turned down. I fully respect a seller can charge whatever they like, and it's clear I'm willing to add a premium on top since I'm the one that needs/wants the car, but the rational part of me has trouble reconciling paying a 15% premium over what seems to be true market value. Maybe I'm off base, but the BaT and EAG sales seem to support that logic.

Anyways, continuing to scour the internet everyday and hold out hope one will pop up. Thanks again for the hope!

[cognoscenti]

Good talking points all around in this thread. Only thing I'd add is that lower mileage is not always better, if you are looking for a daily driver. E90s with <40K miles have been garage queens much of the time, which is bad for any car. Your 60K mile limit should net some good examples.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by meticulist

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Josh! Here's the thing, I too received the number of messages and comments that people looked for years or they just aren't out there, which I would agree with in the sense that maybe the exact color, option, mileage, ownership history, and pricing perfect-for-you-combo takes years to find, but the fact of the matter is that I have found 8+ that I am seriously considering or have seriously considered that are very close.

And of those 8+ cars, the few that were closest to ideal combos want(ed) prices thousands more than market. I've made a few above market offers too, realizing those people don't have to sell to me, but I think it comes down to them doing a quick search and seeing a number listed for sale currently with crazy high numbers, though there's no evidence of any of them fetching those amounts.

Using the EAG car as an example, I think most will agree they will typically fetch a $5,000 - $7,000 premium above market for this type of car, and even they lowered their asking price last week to $47,xxx and it just went pending yesterday. Like the MR ZCP that sold on BaT in May for $35.5 or the JB that sold for $34k last week (that needed some love), it seems pretty clear that a ZCP 6MT with less than 50,000 miles will be around $40K +/- a few grand for condition, options, history, color, etc.

Maybe I'm shooting myself in the foot in my own WTB thread for posting that logic, but the discussion is interesting to me outside of my own searching. I've made offers in the mid $40k range (what I consider to be above market value) that were turned down. I fully respect a seller can charge whatever they like, and it's clear I'm willing to add a premium on top since I'm the one that needs/wants the car, but the rational part of me has trouble reconciling paying a 15% premium over what seems to be true market value. Maybe I'm off base, but the BaT and EAG sales seem to support that logic.

Anyways, continuing to scour the internet everyday and hold out hope one will pop up. Thanks again for the hope!

Just thinking out loud but is a ZCP car really any better than a car with 359 wheels and Ohlins or similar? Correct me if I'm wrong but EDC can be had on a non ZCP car as well right? I assume any LSD software that BMW wrote for the diff can be after market coded as well? So if one were to get a good deal on a non ZCP car, I think you could make it look the part with the wheels and handle as well as a ZCP with some upgrades. If you were going to keep the car a long time and not worry about resale, could be a good path to go down if you find a car with the specs you want but without ZCP?

[meticulist]

Originally Posted by akkando

Just thinking out loud but is a ZCP car really any better than a car with 359 wheels and Ohlins or similar? Correct me if I'm wrong but EDC can be had on a non ZCP car as well right? I assume any LSD software that BMW wrote for the diff can be after market coded as well? So if one were to get a good deal on a non ZCP car, I think you could make it look the part with the wheels and handle as well as a ZCP with some upgrades. If you were going to keep the car a long time and not worry about resale, could be a good path to go down if you find a car with the specs you want but without ZCP?

You're absolutely correct, and I'm actually considering going that route. Especially taking the wheels out of the equation, ZCP doesn't really add or change much that couldn't be done on my own. Part of me does always feel like it's always done slightly better when from the factory, and I do like the special aspect of the cars with the ZCP that were only offered for a year, but rationally, it makes way more sense to just modify the suspension, source the wheels, and potentially run a flash.

[derbo]

Originally Posted by meticulist

You're absolutely correct, and I'm actually considering going that route. Especially taking the wheels out of the equation, ZCP doesn't really add or change much that couldn't be done on my own. Part of me does always feel like it's always done slightly better when from the factory, and I do like the special aspect of the cars with the ZCP that were only offered for a year, but rationally, it makes way more sense to just modify the suspension, source the wheels, and potentially run a flash.

Unless you are adamant on keeping the stock ZCP suspension and wheels, I would look for a non-ZCP.

If I found a ZCP, I probably wouldn't have touch suspension, but since I didnt, I deleted EDC, went MCS coilovers and got a set of nice BBS GT4s to go with it. I think I have a better car than the ZCP in my personal eyes.