Is this E36 M3 worth the money?

'95 Dakar Yellow coupe, 5 speed, 153k miles, manual Vaders. STOCK. No CEL's, and it handles, accelerates, and brakes as it should. Everything works as it should so far as I can tell. Has paint chips on the air dam, and a minor rust bubble on the LR wheel arch. Has some evidence of paintwork on the LR quarter (overspray in the wheel well) but it looks like it was done right. Dealer wants $7299, and claims they can't/won't budge on the price (initially they were asking 9.5k, I countered with $7k before I ever drove it). Car lived its entire life in CO before coming to MO when the PO traded it in.

From all appearances, the car looks like it's been taken care of. Has matching Michelin Pilot A/S on original wheels, looks like they're about 1/3 worn.

The big issue is that it has the original radiator (plastic tanks with a BMW sticker and a 1994 date stamp). The salesman said he could contact the PO, who traded the car in on a new 335d. He is not sure if he can get me service records or not, but the car appears to have been well taken care of.

IF they can get me records indicating that the T-belt has been done and the metal waterpump installed fairly recently, is this a good price? What other questions should I be asking?

There were no gronks or clunks from underneath, but should I put it on a rack and check the trailing arm and control arm bushings anyway?

Umm... No timing belt on the S50.

Seems like a decent price to me. The '95 was the only year for OBD I, which many like better for mods. Stock, unmolested M3's are getting less common.

I wouldn't assume the water pump has been changed, but it's not a big deal to replace it.

95s usually go for less than the OBD2 cars. Deferred maintenance will kill you on these cars, I'd want to see a stack of receipts or new parts on the car. At that age, every bushing in the suspension should have been replaced at least once, and preferably twice.

The cooling system replacement is a must, but it's a few hours of work and $350 out of pocket.

I'd check out the condition of the suspension and then try to get it for between $6-6.5K...

YES
also: bitch about how much work you're going to have to do and how much it's going to cost to go through the suspension and cooling system=]
if they have it listed for $7300 they'll take $6500 cash for sure

It is true that it is getting harder to find a clean stock e36 m3, but at the same time there is enough out there in that price range to be picky. The problem with e36 M3's is that for a little more you can get a newer one, with less miles. You will spend thousands to try to fix a neglected car, so just buy the nicest car you can afford, and it will be cheaper in the long run trust me. I was originally looking in the same price range as you but I ended up spending $10,200 on mine. It is a 1999 with 70k miles, all of its records, and no paint work.

You will have to do a cooling system immedietly, figure $350 to $500 if you do it yourself. I just did my cars and I went with the Stewart waterpump, and a new Valeo M-coupe radiator. I also replaced my thermostat, fan clutch, and hoses. I spent right around 500 for everything. Obviously you will spend more if you have to pay someone labor.

If the bushings have not been done budget for that in the near future. Mine had them done 10,000 miles before I purchased tha car.

At that price with those miles, I would want all of the records. Another thing that is raising a red flag for me is the fact that the LR fender is the only one with rust and it is the only one with overspray. Maybe the repair wasn't done as well as it may appear... Just sayin.

Mmm..... original recipe E36 M3.... 3-liter engine... drool

It's a BMW. It will be expensive to maintain properly. Whether or not basic maintenance was done is a drop in the bucket. I wouldn't worry about it.

Sounds decent I'd still want to get it on a lift to check out the rear shock mounts, SF mounts, and RTAB pockets to make sure that there is no expensive sheet metal repair lurking.

Also as the others have said if you have no service record on the water pump/rad I'd price that in to your bottom line: the Stewart pump is a nice piece but the Graf metal impeller does get the job done at ~25% of the cost. Also for Rad replacement Mishimoto's are a good value/dollar upgrade, not much above the cost of a new Behr/Valeo unit and you get an all aluminum rad.

My last bit is that too me there seems to be two types of M3 owners (esp with E36 M3's) ones who are anal and keep the maintenance up to date and ones (usually kids) that thought they could afford an M3 until stuff starting coming up for replacement and then they just hacked it together or limped it along until they had to dump it (most of the dirt cheap E36 M3's out there right now). Being that this dude (provided the story from the dealer is on the up and up) traded this in on a new E90 and the dealer put it on their lot versus just kicking to the auctions makes me inclined to think that this car is more from the "anal" type owner.

I have had an M3 now as my DD for almost three years and 30 000 miles. It has been as reliable as any of my previous DDs from Mazda and Toyota. Parts aren't too dear, they are easy to source, and the car is simple to work on.

It's been autoxed, tracked, and driven in all conditions. It is the best all around car I've ever owned. It even gets reasonable fuel economy.

Here's the secret -- I bought it from someone who also took good care with it. It didn't have many "mods" that would have presented problems in the future. I suspect it is worth as much today as I paid when I bought it, too.

Hard to see how you could go wrong with the price, some awareness of potential areas of concern, and a bit of a budget to address the well-known maintenance areas.

Rob

That sounds pretty good to me. However, i have wanted one forever. offer 6500

Re read your post... I would say that 7.3k is probably pretty good. It is hard to find one that hasn't been beat to E36 M3 under 10k. Also, found that post. That dealer is crazy with their asking price.

A different take - pass - on the rust alone. If it were the dealer taking it in on trade they would be pointing out that it has rust issues, previous accident or rust repair, no service records for some items and overdue maintenance for things like the cooling system - which doesn't sound like the anal-type owner. Every BMW enthusiast knows the cooling system is a wear item at 60-80k. Over that is on borrowed time. Also assume the motor mounts are shot - a failed one can be an expensive proposition. Patience for a better car - airfare is still cheap to go anywhere for the right one.