newbie looking at E36 M3s

[p1_m3 8]

Hi guys - does anyone know anything about this car:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=67257058

think the previous plate was UU1882 and based in AKL.

It may have been a BMW club member prior, not sure.

All help greatfully received.

Edited September 11, 2006 by p1_m3

[liam02 6]

I beleive this was a car for sale on trademe several months ago in Auckland, which sold for the same money he is asking now. I had Jerry Claytons do a pre sale check on it and in their view it was not a good car lots of mechanical and suspension issues.

[p1_m3 8]

I beleive this was a car for sale on trademe several months ago in Auckland, which sold for the same money he is asking now. I had Jerry Claytons do a pre sale check on it and in their view it was not a good car lots of mechanical and suspension issues.

I spoke to Jerry Claytons this morning, and they advised that they did a pre-purchase inspection on it in May this year but for obvious reasons they could not tell me the outcome. Was this your one? If so could you get a copy of it or ask them to release the results to me?

I have also spoken to the previous owner who had it from Jan to May this year, think he's based in Remuera, and he spoke very highly of the car and how he got it checked over, bought it from a friend in the trade etc, got it checked by a specialist. The current owner has owned it from May this year and has a pre-purchase inspection done by Taupo European, and they have given it a clean bill of health.

Any further information would be greatfully received

[liam02 6]

Ok so same car, I will try to find the report otherwise i have no problem asking them to give you the report. I got the same response from the guy living in Remuera i.e that the car was fine however I remeember Jerry Clayton's Han's reeling off a huge list of problems to me over the phone. I rang him back a week later and he said if you spent several thousand on it the car could be OK. I don't know how thorough JCB are compared to the other place you had it checked, it could be JCB are too critical.

If you got it cheap enough maybe its would be worth it, what about the 1994 red one thats for sale or even better the black 1996 evo.

I will try to find the report

[p1_m3 8]

Ok so same car, I will try to find the report otherwise i have no problem asking them to give you the report. I got the same response from the guy living in Remuera i.e that the car was fine however I remeember Jerry Clayton's Han's reeling off a huge list of problems to me over the phone. I rang him back a week later and he said if you spent several thousand on it the car could be OK. I don't know how thorough JCB are compared to the other place you had it checked, it could be JCB are too critical.

If you got it cheap enough maybe its would be worth it, what about the 1994 red one thats for sale or even better the black 1996 evo.

I will try to find the report

thanks mate - appreciate any help you can give. :thumb:

looked at another purple one in Otahuhu for similar money, but its very tatty and has 147k on it.

Black one is out of my price range, not sure about red and dont like yellow - do I sound fussy?

cheers

[bravo 34]

No - you don't sound fussy. NEVER buy anything less than exactly what you want - there a dozens of cars out there (even e36 m3's!) and so you owe ti to yourself to buy the best.

[m325i 705]

Keep looking, you'll find a good one. Dont settle.

[alex 0]

Yeah, its best to search around man, i took about 6 months to find my one, it was worth it cause its faultless apart from a light out for the clock and some glue coming off the door card.. Very easy to fix.

[p1_m3 8]

Ok so same car, I will try to find the report otherwise i have no problem asking them to give you the report. I got the same response from the guy living in Remuera i.e that the car was fine however I remeember Jerry Clayton's Han's reeling off a huge list of problems to me over the phone. I rang him back a week later and he said if you spent several thousand on it the car could be OK. I don't know how thorough JCB are compared to the other place you had it checked, it could be JCB are too critical.

If you got it cheap enough maybe its would be worth it, what about the 1994 red one thats for sale or even better the black 1996 evo.

I will try to find the report

liam02 - What did you end up buying?

Is an AA Pre-purchase inspection worth doing in this case? Have done an AA Lemoncheck already, which is clean apart from quite a few owners over the years including traders etc.

Edited September 11, 2006 by p1_m3

[E30stz 0]

the AA Pre-purchase inspections havent been thorough enough for me to recommend. After an AA inspection, inspectors will refuse to comment or give recommendations on things as they think they will be held liable. I've had both MTA and AA pre-purchase inspections, and neither of them I believe we're to a standard I'd say I was happy with. Try BMW, by the sounds of previous poster it sounsd like they were extremely helpful and were able to make educated recommendations.

I would recommend paying the extra $$$ and taking to BMW. At least then you know at your first service how much its going to cost and also your dealing with a specialist whom I'd hope would be much more thorough than someone who doesnt see BMW's every day.

Edited September 11, 2006 by E30stz

[Nic325i 0]

I had my car (not an M3 unfortunately) checked at BM Workshop on New North Road. Can't remember the price, but it was only slightly more than AA. The check seemed very good - haven't had any problems come up that I wasn't forewarned about.

[325GRANT 0]

spend the money and get it checked by bmw, its about 0.8% the the purchase price of the car.

[liam02 6]

I ended up buying a 1996 Evo sedan, I looked and looked also however the one's with lowest K's were all smg. 90% of the people I spoke to put me off these. this included BMW dealers who had one for sale! My car is a very rare colour called Byzanz. Sedan only colour I had to look it up on the internet to see what the hell this colour was. A sedan is fine by me as I have kids and p/up clients etc. I always find that just after you buy a car another one just whatt your after pops up.

Jerry Clayton charges $145 to do the inspection, and i would rather have a main dealer check it than anyone else ( i had them do a vanos check on mine ). That said if i can't find it I will ring them for you and ask them to give it to you, Hans is the guy to deal with.

[p1_m3 8]

I ended up buying a 1996 Evo sedan, I looked and looked also however the one's with lowest K's were all smg. 90% of the people I spoke to put me off these. this included BMW dealers who had one for sale! My car is a very rare colour called Byzanz. Sedan only colour I had to look it up on the internet to see what the hell this colour was. A sedan is fine by me as I have kids and p/up clients etc. I always find that just after you buy a car another one just whatt your after pops up.

Jerry Clayton charges $145 to do the inspection, and i would rather have a main dealer check it than anyone else ( i had them do a vanos check on mine ). That said if i can't find it I will ring them for you and ask them to give it to you, Hans is the guy to deal with.

Thanks Liam02 - was this a pre-purchase inspection for $145? The current owner has sent me a copy of a pre-purchase inspection he had done in August this year, I guess to help potential buyers (as he bought it in May). It has been done by Taupo European who are the BMW dealer down there, all the boxes are ticked fine as having passed, noted that one tyre was slightly worn on the inside and minor seepage of oil from the power steer hose. Also noted that it was a good clean vehicle. And that was it. It cost $80.

Not sure what to do now, seems like its had the appropriate checks and getting an AA done may only just confirm this report. Possibly the previous owner got the bits fixed when they were raised by your report? Not sure.

If you can I would like to be able to call JCB tomorrow to verify the report, if they are not majors then maybe they got fixed??

p.s. my avatar has gone awol

Edited September 11, 2006 by p1_m3

[E30stz 0]

you can never be to sure. Would you rather waste $145 or possibly lose out a further $500 + on servicing. Your about to buy into what you'd hope is years of motoring, I'd feel much safer hearing first hand how good condition the car is in.

[M3 Cab 0]

I ended up buying a 1996 Evo sedan, I looked and looked also however the one's with lowest K's were all smg. 90% of the people I spoke to put me off these. this included BMW dealers who had one for sale! My car is a very rare colour called Byzanz. Sedan only colour I had to look it up on the internet to see what the hell this colour was. A sedan is fine by me as I have kids and p/up clients etc. I always find that just after you buy a car another one just whatt your after pops up.

Jerry Clayton charges $145 to do the inspection, and i would rather have a main dealer check it than anyone else ( i had them do a vanos check on mine ). That said if i can't find it I will ring them for you and ask them to give it to you, Hans is the guy to deal with.

Hey was your car the one for sale in the south the bronze looking colour? it looked good.

I agree with most and that is to get the car checked at a main dealer. The cost is minimal compared to what you could be up for in the event that something goes wrong. My M3 comes out of warrenty next month and i'm seriously considering buying another BMW warrenty for it just so all the big ticket items are covered.

On the SMG front i have lived with it now for 2 years and I'm in the 10% who thinks its ok. Its not BMW's best work and a manual would be the better option but i wouldn't be put off a car that had it if the right car came up.

Good luck with your purchase dude. One things for sure once you find the right M3 you will enjoy every minute it

[p1_m3 8]

Ok so the suggested course of action is to get a main dealer to inspect it? But thats been done recently (August 06) by these guys http://www.taupoeuropean.co.nz/pages/bmw.html.

Would like to view the Jerry Clayton report when its available, but theres not much more I can do unless I get another inspection by the same dealer (assuming the AA is not worth the effort).

If I go and look at it - what advice can anyone offer as things to look for?

cheers for all your help so far guys

[Yuen 16]

I ended up buying a 1996 Evo sedan, I looked and looked also however the one's with lowest K's were all smg. 90% of the people I spoke to put me off these. this included BMW dealers who had one for sale! My car is a very rare colour called Byzanz. Sedan only colour I had to look it up on the internet to see what the hell this colour was. A sedan is fine by me as I have kids and p/up clients etc. I always find that just after you buy a car another one just whatt your after pops up.

Jerry Clayton charges $145 to do the inspection, and i would rather have a main dealer check it than anyone else ( i had them do a vanos check on mine ). That said if i can't find it I will ring them for you and ask them to give it to you, Hans is the guy to deal with.

I remember seeing a Byzanz M3 on TradeMe, it's a 6-speed right? Love how it looks, M3 sedan in a rare colour, who could ask for more?

Good luck on the search for your M3 p1_m3, don't rush it, take your time and you'll get what you're looking for!

[BMW POWER 2]

Heres one for sale at my work -

1997 BMW M3 Evolution Coupe

64,000 kms

Sequential Manual Gearbox

3200cc

Dark Blue Metallic

$39,990

New Zealand new, full leather interior, CD, alloys, climate air, very quick. (Amen to this statement)

It is absolutely mint.

http://www.armstrongprestige.co.nz/usedcars/dunedin.html

(Haven't got much time this morning.. Tonight I'll help hya a bit more with your quest)

Edited September 12, 2006 by BMW POWER

[liam02 6]

Yes my car was the one on trademe awhile back.

The Blue one M Power has just shown, is this a car from auckland used to be owned by david findlow plate DF GAS, if it is I agree it is mint. I came very close to buying it. Jerry Claytons gave it a glowing report.

[p1_m3 8]

Thanks for all your help guys - particularly Liam02.

Going to look at the car on Friday, have quite a lot of background now and will negotiate hard if it looks and drives right. Also going to contact Taupo European about the pre-purchase inspection, looked clean as a whistle on the report but I just want to check.

Thanks for the details on the Dunners M3 Evo BMW POWER, but thats out of my price range by quite a long way.

[BMW POWER 2]

Thanks for all your help guys - particularly Liam02.

Going to look at the car on Friday, have quite a lot of background now and will negotiate hard if it looks and drives right. Also going to contact Taupo European about the pre-purchase inspection, looked clean as a whistle on the report but I just want to check.

Thanks for the details on the Dunners M3 Evo BMW POWER, but thats out of my price range by quite a long way.

Liam - I'm not sure if it is.I'll find out and get back to you. Has a mustard interior if that helps?

No problems mate- here to help. It was initially priced at $44,990, but I hinted that it is infact over priced.

If your limit is $35k i'm sure you could negotiate.. It is absolutely mint and drives excellent.

Otherwise, good luck with the M3 on Friday.Hope all goes well.

Regards

Emma

[liam02 6]

it is the car, the mustard interior is what I liked about the car.

Emma what did he trade it on for him to sell it down your way?

[m_reaney 0]

Hi M3 Cab,

Can you tell me more about BMW Warranty's, costs invloved, whats covered etc..? Cheers

Hey was your car the one for sale in the south the bronze looking colour? it looked good.

I agree with most and that is to get the car checked at a main dealer. The cost is minimal compared to what you could be up for in the event that something goes wrong. My M3 comes out of warrenty next month and i'm seriously considering buying another BMW warrenty for it just so all the big ticket items are covered.

On the SMG front i have lived with it now for 2 years and I'm in the 10% who thinks its ok. Its not BMW's best work and a manual would be the better option but i wouldn't be put off a car that had it if the right car came up.

Good luck with your purchase dude. One things for sure once you find the right M3 you will enjoy every minute it

[Adzy 0]

Sweet! another E36 evo owner! Let me just say that the car will exceed your every expectation, and in my opinion looks better than the E46.

Great stuff.