My $3400 M3
1998 M3
Well guys, I just brought it home about 15 minutes ago, for $3400
A little background: The man selling the car was selling it because his son had recently passed away and the car was left in his possession. I wasn't sure I believed him until I saw the death certificate myself. Anywho, he was a great guy, and as LaCrosse mentioned above, it does need work. Before I jump into details, I think that for the price I got it, I could part it out and make my money back pretty easily. Or I could stick some cash into it and have myself a very capable, very fun M3 :D
BAD:
The car as of now needs some work, body work, misc bearings, some minor interior bits, and the transmission (the biggest issue IMO).
-- The body work is as pictured. Dents, scratches, paint chips missing, etc.. The car has been on crappy MN and WI highways for many years, shit happens. However, the rust is contained to a few small surface spots near the headlights and rear license plate. Def not a big deal. Underbody is very nice, I doubt its seen winter driving! My uncle does body work for a living, so this hopefully wont be a big deal. IF they can't be fixed, I can always replace body panels..
-- The motor mounts are shot, they will need to be replaced ASAP. I believe the tranny mounts are getting bad as well, they shall also be replaced ASAP.
-- Interior has some little crap: one little tear on the drivers' seat bolster. My aunt does upholstery for a living, should be an easy fix.. The steering wheel is faded and beginning to shed, will have to be recovered (alcantara is a possibility..) Glove box is tricky, sometimes it opens, sometimes it doesnt lol
-- The tranny is really messed up. I'm not sure what the dealio is, but I know that whatever is wrong is not being helped by that crappy Ebay SSK. The father said the clutch had less than 2k miles on it (his son replaced it 2 months ago, and he passed almost a month ago). To put it simply, the damn thing will NOT go into gear without a fight! It doesn't really grind, it just doesn't want to go. Once I learn more about this issue I'll be able to figure out a gameplan. If worse comes to worse I can always just drop in a new tranny :)
-- I'm sure Ill find a bunch of stuff once I start digging around, new radiator/cooling stuff is around the corner...
GOOD:
-- I was very surprised when I showed up to find no underbody rust! Thats pretty damn rare around here (I hate you CA guys :hitler:).
-- The car has a Remus catback on it, which sounds great!
-- It has Bilstein shocks in front, rides nicely (little stiff but I like it), doesn't look lowered to me, but it could be.. Once I get time I'll look into it.
-- The seats are very, very nice, I'd say a 9.6/10, only fault being a 1 inch rip on the bolster as previously mentioned.
NOT SURE IF ITS GOOD OR BAD:
-- It has a K&N intake, but it doesn't look very nice. I may replace it with a custom built setup, or I may just get a newer filter, probably an oil-less filter like the AFE pro dry..
-- It also has an M50 intake manifold installed (stock included), I haven't had time to read up on it, but he said his son sounded very excited about it and said it was a great mod
All in all I'm very pleased. If the tranny and other shit becomes to bothersome or I run outta cash monies, I can always part it out and get my money back (hopefully).
But in all honesty, I felt terrible for the father/mother selling the car. The mom talked to for an hour about how much her son loved the car and his big plans for it. It would just feel wrong to reduce to to a pile of parts and send it all over the country...not sure why exactly, but thats just how I feel...
Anywho, here are some shitty pics:
Well guys, I just brought it home about 15 minutes ago, for $3400
A little background: The man selling the car was selling it because his son had recently passed away and the car was left in his possession. I wasn't sure I believed him until I saw the death certificate myself. Anywho, he was a great guy, and as LaCrosse mentioned above, it does need work. Before I jump into details, I think that for the price I got it, I could part it out and make my money back pretty easily. Or I could stick some cash into it and have myself a very capable, very fun M3 :D
BAD:
The car as of now needs some work, body work, misc bearings, some minor interior bits, and the transmission (the biggest issue IMO).
-- The body work is as pictured. Dents, scratches, paint chips missing, etc.. The car has been on crappy MN and WI highways for many years, shit happens. However, the rust is contained to a few small surface spots near the headlights and rear license plate. Def not a big deal. Underbody is very nice, I doubt its seen winter driving! My uncle does body work for a living, so this hopefully wont be a big deal. IF they can't be fixed, I can always replace body panels..
-- The motor mounts are shot, they will need to be replaced ASAP. I believe the tranny mounts are getting bad as well, they shall also be replaced ASAP.
-- Interior has some little crap: one little tear on the drivers' seat bolster. My aunt does upholstery for a living, should be an easy fix.. The steering wheel is faded and beginning to shed, will have to be recovered (alcantara is a possibility..) Glove box is tricky, sometimes it opens, sometimes it doesnt lol
-- The tranny is really messed up. I'm not sure what the dealio is, but I know that whatever is wrong is not being helped by that crappy Ebay SSK. The father said the clutch had less than 2k miles on it (his son replaced it 2 months ago, and he passed almost a month ago). To put it simply, the damn thing will NOT go into gear without a fight! It doesn't really grind, it just doesn't want to go. Once I learn more about this issue I'll be able to figure out a gameplan. If worse comes to worse I can always just drop in a new tranny :)
-- I'm sure Ill find a bunch of stuff once I start digging around, new radiator/cooling stuff is around the corner...
GOOD:
-- I was very surprised when I showed up to find no underbody rust! Thats pretty damn rare around here (I hate you CA guys :hitler:).
-- The car has a Remus catback on it, which sounds great!
-- It has Bilstein shocks in front, rides nicely (little stiff but I like it), doesn't look lowered to me, but it could be.. Once I get time I'll look into it.
-- The seats are very, very nice, I'd say a 9.6/10, only fault being a 1 inch rip on the bolster as previously mentioned.
NOT SURE IF ITS GOOD OR BAD:
-- It has a K&N intake, but it doesn't look very nice. I may replace it with a custom built setup, or I may just get a newer filter, probably an oil-less filter like the AFE pro dry..
-- It also has an M50 intake manifold installed (stock included), I haven't had time to read up on it, but he said his son sounded very excited about it and said it was a great mod
All in all I'm very pleased. If the tranny and other shit becomes to bothersome or I run outta cash monies, I can always part it out and get my money back (hopefully).
But in all honesty, I felt terrible for the father/mother selling the car. The mom talked to for an hour about how much her son loved the car and his big plans for it. It would just feel wrong to reduce to to a pile of parts and send it all over the country...not sure why exactly, but thats just how I feel...
Anywho, here are some shitty pics:
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