E92 M3 - BUYER

[raf_paul]

Dear Members,



I have been an observer of this forum for some time and believe the moment has arrived to make my first BMW purchase. I am based in Cape Town and am interested in acquiring an E92 M3 coupe located in Johannesburg.

AutoTrader - BMW M3 e92

Vin : WBSWD92050PY38752

Please find the link and videos to the vehicle below for your reference. I would appreciate any insights or opinions regarding the condition and value of this vehicle, as I am not an expert and welcome all feedback.

Thank you in advance for your guidance

 

[jld010]

Offer 400k for it..check if the rod bearings were done

 

[TBP88]

Haha, a CPT gent buying an E92M3, nothing could go wrong
Car looks reasonable, doubt it has much of the maintaining you'd need done, I'd be sure to have 50k+ set aside to sort things out when it lands (and don't be shocked if it costs more like R100k).

 

[raf_paul]

Haha, a CPT gent buying an E92M3, nothing could go wrong
Car looks reasonable, doubt it has much of the maintaining you'd need done, I'd be sure to have 50k+ set aside to sort things out when it lands (and don't be shocked if it costs more like R100k).

Wondering if I should find one woth less mileage, but the prices become unreasonable

 

[M3boi]

Wondering if I should find one woth less mileage, but the prices become unreasonable

Either way you'll most likely have to do some maintenance (rod bearings, actuators, etc).

 

[General.Massacre]

Offer 400k for it..check if the rod bearings were done

I dont know what dealers you've been to that "just" accept a R125k drop in asking price jut because you offering a certain amount.
dealers rarely even want to drop R5000 on a vehicle regardless of make, and on an M3, this will be a case of "We know what we have" sale, and guaranteed not to budge. Let alone for R125k less than asking. lol

 

[raf_paul]

I dont know what dealers you've been to that "just" accept a R125k drop in asking price jut because you offering a certain amount.
dealers rarely even want to drop R5000 on a vehicle regardless of make, and on an M3, this will be a case of "We know what we have" sale, and guaranteed not to budge. Let alone for R125k less than asking. lol

I agree. The dealer did drop his price a lot, from the initial advertised price. His reason was that he is overstocked. I dont know if it is a red flag or not, which is another reason I made this post.

 

[General.Massacre]

I agree. The dealer did drop his price a lot, from the initial advertised price. His reason was that he is overstocked. I dont know if it is a red flag or not, which is another reason I made this post.

Willowcrest Motors has been around in that location for more than 25years, believe me its not a case of over stocked.
More a case of overpriced, and no one is wanting to buy a Pre-LCI (I would say its not yet LCI, as its not got the LED Taillights, but does have the newer iDrive) M3 for more than 500k, which is absurd, no matter how good a car it is. Sorry to the fan boys, id love one too, but to pay that price for one is crazy, even for a "cult" car.

I agree on the 400k mark for the car, but still, the dealer wont drop that much on the price, you might get away with a 500k offer. but even then might get some resistance, and the reason will be "we have already dropped the price and will make a loss", i guarantee the poor guy who traded it in got maybe 300k for it. But thats a guess.

 

[Bushnut#1]

I agree. The dealer did drop his price a lot, from the initial advertised price. His reason was that he is overstocked. I dont know if it is a red flag or not, which is another reason I made this post.

Send an external company to carry out the inspection on your behalf if you unable to do the inspection yourself , I recently purchased a car in Johannesburg (I am based in CPT) and if i may suggest i used View4you (https://www.view4you.co.za/) and received a comprehensive report based on their inspection .

 

[tamgoem]

I agree. The dealer did drop his price a lot, from the initial advertised price. His reason was that he is overstocked. I dont know if it is a red flag or not, which is another reason I made this post.

Kak storie.

Overstocked never, they find space to put a car. Like next door. Dealer has been around for a while. Some decent cars there, some bad ones. It is well worth paying someone the 2/3k to properly inspect the car.

 

[Benji]

I agree. The dealer did drop his price a lot, from the initial advertised price. His reason was that he is overstocked. I dont know if it is a red flag or not, which is another reason I made this post.

They are not far from me, I could have a look at it for you if you are serious about buying it, sent you a PM

 

[MR_Y]

I am not an expert

Welcome to the forum.

Putting my old man, battle scarred hat on, the point above is worth highlighting.
A used high performance BMW will bleed you dry (ask some of us on this forum).
My advice would be to start smaller/simpler, build up the expertise/experience (ie battle scars) and then make the full fat M car commitment. Even experts get hit quite hard with unexpected costs/headaches, BUT they are going in with eyes wide open and have such expectations.

That's my 2c

 

[tamgoem]

Welcome to the forum.

Putting my old man, battle scarred hat on, the point above is worth highlighting.
A used high performance BMW will bleed you dry (ask some of us on this forum).
My advice would be to start smaller/simpler, build up the expertise/experience (ie battle scars) and then make the full fat M car commitment. Even experts get hit quite hard with unexpected costs/headaches, BUT they are going in with eyes wide open and have such expectations.

That's my 2c

What is 300k between you and your engine rebuilder?

 

[General.Massacre]

What is 300k between you and your engine rebuilder?

its called a Situationship lmao. ask me how i know.

 

[raf_paul]

its called a Situationship lmao. ask me how i know.

How you know

 

[Cooper]

Dealers are not going miraculously drop prices heavily on M cars, they are in demand and they wont just stand unless something is wrong with it that others have already spotted.
It's going to be best for you to physically check the car out yourself. From there spend the money on a quality check from BMW for added peace of mind

 

[tamgoem]

Dealers are not going miraculously drop prices heavily on M cars, they are in demand and they wont just stand unless something is wrong with it that others have already spotted.
It's going to be best for you to physically check the car out yourself. From there spend the money on a quality check from BMW for added peace of mind

I would not trust a BMW dealer to know a failed rod bearing from lose ashtray.

 

[Cooper]

It's not going be a dissection but it will cover the fundamentals, at least.
Hence me saying to OP to check the car out himself. Everyone has there own opinion and different standards, at the end of the day he will be living with the car not us.

 

[raf_paul]

Appreciate this response gents. But after I offered him 400k as per @jld10 advised he doesn't want to talk me again 🤣jk.

I think im going to hang in and see if one pops up with less mileage and reasonably priced.

 

[Cooper]

You may as well look for a higher priced one with less km and newer model instead of buying one where rod bearings wasn't done, unless you get it at a good price.