I have a chance to buy a former car back . . .

I sold my E46 M3 three years ago.  I've tried to buy it back, twice, to no avail.  Last spring, after the second attempt to buy it, we went a different route and bought an S197 Mustang (there's a build thread).  The Mustang has been fabulous -- and I really love it for what it is.

On Friday, the owner of "my" M3 reached out to see if I want it back -- for about 8k more than I paid.  I think the price is reasonable, as they have been appreciating, and he has done an incredible amount of work to it.  The "big three" have all been addressed (VANOS, rod bearings, and rear subframe) plus a ton of other work.  The list is almost overwhelming . . . Sadly he dumped the TCKline suspension for a stock suspension.  And he got rid of the Apex wheels . . . now it rides on style 67s.

Pros:

All done, and is the perfect driver and occasional track car because it's not too pretty.

Will likely continue to appreciate.

8k rpm.  No turbo.

It's not a financial issue to purchase it.

Cons:

I have nowhere to park it.

It doesn't do anything that the M2 can't do.  Or the Mustang, for that matter.

No turbo

I'm torn -- if it were the spring I'd likely be all over it.  But if I buy it it goes into storage for six months.  And frankly, five cars is probably too much.

So, what completely solicited advice do you have for me?

I've recently bought back two cars I used to own. I went through a complete restoration on one and it is not the car that I sold or loved when I owned it. The memory was far better than the reality. The other I pretty much bought as a rolling roll cage for a new race car and didn't really like the car the first time I owned it so I'm not really worried about my love for it not being there.

ZOO (Forum Supporter) said:

I sold my E46 M3 three years ago.  I've tried to buy it back, twice, to no avail. 

On Friday, the owner of "my" M3 reached out to see if I want it back --

It's not a financial issue to purchase it.

 

 

 

Any further questions?  

Why did you sell it in the first place?  

Only if you think you can flip it and make a buck.

If you're anything like me, once you have it, you'll wish you'd never bought it back.

In reply to dean1484 :

Two reasons -- I thought I needed the $$$ to buy the M2.  And it was at the stage of its life where it needed some major investment (which he did).  I sold it for more than I purchased it, too.

Go take it for a test drive.  That should answer all questions.

Dusterbd13-michael said:

I've recently bought back two cars I used to own. I went through a complete restoration on one and it is not the car that I sold or loved when I owned it. The memory was far better than the reality. The other I pretty much bought as a rolling roll cage for a new race car and didn't really like the car the first time I owned it so I'm not really worried about my love for it not being there.

This is why i turned down buying back my WRX.  The memory is more fond, it'll never be the same.  Let the ones that got away stay away

In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :

Yep, I did this once (not the same car but the same make and model) and it was a nightmare. The memories were better than the reality.

After moving away from home and contemplating moving home a friend of mine told me "you can't sit back down at the same bar stool". He was right, time changes things. 

Given your stable (Miata, M2, GTI), I'd probably pass. The e46 M3 is a truly wonderful car (I enjoyed mine immensely) but it doesn't seem to fill a hole in your lineup. 

I test drove my '92 Mustang GT when the next owner put it up for sale. As others have said, the idea of it and the memories were better than the reality.

In your situation, I'd pass.

Buy a turbo kit for it today then you'll have to buy it tomorrow. Win, win...

8 cars here. It's an addiction.

Appleseed, why don't you sell the Murdercycle,  and get a bigger bike?

Never. It started as a $440 motorcycle. It owes me nothing. I'd spend the rest of my life trying  to get it back. I don't want to star in one of these threads.

I disagree with the assumption it will continue to appreciate. The typical cars that appreciate are low miles, and unmodded. There are exceptions to this rule, but I wouldn't use values in 2021 to base any assumptions. 

If someone could lease a big enough shop than there might be enough room for all the family rides. 

I'll offer an opposing view:

You've heard me say I've /we've owned the Datsun 1200 for 36 years; that's not entirely true. I've actually sold the car twice. 

The first time within 24hrs of buying it; I'd actually hooned it down the twisty roads at the rail yard yet didn't appreciate it. I also needed a pick up so my buddy bought it. Within 4 years we were autocrossing and racing it.

I sold it again in the late 90s because I had a very fast single seater at the time. It's been 20 years since I bought it back the second time. 

The car is slow, it doesn't do anything particularly better than any other car but I love driving it every time I drive it.

I've only bought one car back, and I didn't regret it at all. I since resold it, just because it fit someone else's needs better than mine. But it's not like you can never like a car again after having sold it once.

You can always sell it again if it doesn't live up to your memory!

Would it be difficult giving up the Mustang? If it's not good enough to make the Mustang feel like wasted parking, then I suspect there's less there than memory suggests.

As others have suggested, hopefully a test drive would help remove any rose-tinting of the past that's going on, though I could also see you wrestling with wondering whether the missing magic is just the need to reupgrade the unfortunately downgraded suspension.

The memory is more fond that the reality.  Yeah, that's it right there.  I pined for a corrado vr6 for years.  Finally bought one a few months ago and have been doing the finish sorting on it.  I like it, but its definitely not what I remember.  I doubt I'll keep it long term.

Yeah I suggest test driving it and seeing what you think.

My thing is, you already have an M2, that is a VERY similar car to an E46 M3, except faster. People are getting all horny for the E46 these days, but I think it's about nostalgia more than anything else. I love the way they look, but I prefer the E36 chassis, except the slow steering ratio.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it t goes up in value from here given that it's sort of the end of an era.

Jesse Ransom said:

Would it be difficult giving up the Mustang? If it's not good enough to make the Mustang feel like wasted parking, then I suspect there's less there than memory suggests.

The Mustang is a terrific track car for my partner -- it's fast enough, and cheap enough, to never be replaceable by the M3.  And parts are everywhere!  I'm surprised more people aren't tracking them for HPDE, to be honest.

In reply to lateapexer :

Thanks, Dad -- I'll start looking!

I liked my E46 M3 but I don't think I'd be all that hot to own another one, unless I got a great deal on it.  Sort of the same issue as my corrado, I've gotten too used to driving cars with 4-500hp, the older cars just don't have the spark for me anymore

Wait... you sold it three years ago, all they did was maintenance and repairs that needed to be done anyway, they removed performance parts in favor of stock stuff.... and it's worth $8000 more just because it's old?

I would approach it like this.  If you were in the market for another E46 M3 (which it sounds like you are not in any way), would you look at the market and see how much more they're worth now and say "great, sign me up."

This is like you bought Amazon stock when it was a normal price, it went up a little and you sold it.  Now you're wondering if you should buy Amazon again and it's ridiculously pricey.  Do you dive in while it's high and hope it keeps going up?

I would skip it.  You indicated that you aren't in the market for one, the prices have skyrocketed, you don't have the space, and you went another route.  I think the two main reasons you're considering buying it are A) you had tried to buy it before your plans changed and part of your brain thinks it should still want to buy it, and B) you used to own it and it has some kind of sentimental value.  Both are illogical, but valid.  But neither one of those reasons is a viable reason to buy that car back.

Personal opinion.  Don't take back your ex.  She broke your heart once and you tried to get her back, but you've met someone new.  Now the ex comes crawling back to you with even more baggage, not as great in the performance department, and someone else wearing out her equipment for the last three years.  Best to sever all ties with that ex.