Every car enthusiast goes through the phase where they feel the need to test drive all of their potential next cars in order to figure out what they will get when they sell or crash their car someday. At least I tell myself that to make me feel better. This weekend, I took a trip to Northern VA and test drove two e93 M3’s from two different dealerships. One was a pretty smooth ride and the other….uh…I’m just not sure how they came up with that price.
Better: 2008 BMW M3 Convertible, 92k miles
Asking Price: $18,777
This car was a trade-in at a Volkswagen dealership, which had me assuming they probably wouldn’t know much about the car. When I asked about the rod bearings, they told me bearings are something they sometimes do with the brakes, but the brakes were fine on this car. Lol. Regardless, I purchased my own e90 335xi from a Honda dealership, and that worked out in my favor when it was time for negotiation after a thorough PPI.
The interior and exterior of this car were immaculate. Little to no curb rash, paint chips, or cracks in the coral red leather seats. This one came with many of the premium packages one would hope for when buying a used M3, and all-around was a very desirable spec. The car was well-detailed inside and out, and started and idled smoothly. Someone had retrofitted android auto/carplay into the iDrive system, a tasteful and useful upgrade.
I had never driven an e9x M3 before, so this was my first experience in one. The DCT felt buttery smooth shifting between gears compared to my ZF auto and clunky SMGs I had driven before. Once the oil temp was nominal, I switched it into manual so I could feel the monster of a V8 everyone raved about. And oh, does she sing. For a brief moment as you climb the steep ladder towards 9000RPM, all of the problems in your world fade away from existence, leaving you in unburdened and weightless bliss. If heaven is real, it exists just a hair north of 9000RPM. Or at 7k if you are Ken Miles (BAD JOKE SORRY). If everyone felt that way at least once a day, what a happy world we would live in. If only life didn’t require brakes.
“There’s a point at 7,000 RPM… where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless. Just disappears.“
-Carroll Shelby (Ford vs. Ferrari)
What the S65 lacks for on the lower end it makes up for on the upper, lagging behind an N54 or N55 up until about 90mph, where that relentless V8 catches up and refuses to lose steam. I will always personally prefer torquey boosted motors that pin me to the back of my seat over roaring naturally aspirated ones, but god will I miss that incredible exhaust note.
The one thing I did notice while driving was that the steering felt just a little bit off. Upon parking and turning, I heard a slight whine from what I assumed to be the power steering. After a quick walk around, I quickly noticed that the car appeared to be lowered. After a few more seconds I realized that it was only in the rear…and then that it was only on one side. The passenger side tire had maybe a 1″ gap in between it and fender…whereas the driver side had about 2.5″…I am still not sure which one was right.
What would I pay?
$18,000 easy with that rear strut taken care of. Good price, good spec, and good quality.
Beater: 2011 BMW M3 Convertible, 119k miles
Asking Price: $19,995
This car was being sold by a private performance automotive dealership, and almost looked cheap parked between a satin black wrapped 2016 AMG GT S and a red 2018 Hellcat they had for sale. It began to actually look cheap once I got a little closer. This 2011 Interlagos Blue e93 had seen better days, and treatment, by the looks of the liquid stains all over the exterior and lack of any recent detailing.
Upon sitting in it, I heard the e brake cry in pain, which was either a direct insult at my weight or an overlooked maintenance item. Paint was chipped in places, there was a gouge in the sidewall of a tire & wheel, and there was a nice chunk of trim missing from the roof. Under the hood, it looked very clean, except for some spatters of coolant that had definitely happened post-detail, which was concerning. As I pulled it out of the spot, I could immediately feel and hear the difference in ride quality from the better M3. The steering felt looser, a little shaky, and the car lurched out of its spot rather than smoothly going.
As I ripped down the road, I could feel some hesitation in the gear shifts of what should be a buttery smooth DCT. The exhaust sounded like it had a res delete, and the throttle at lower end felt torquier, making me think there might be a light tune on the car. Nonetheless, once you got over 50, the car felt like shit. At anything north of 5000RPM, it just didn’t feel the same at the better car. Weird noises were ever-present when accelerating and slowing down, and the steering felt burdened.
What would I pay?
$15,000 tops considering all the mystery sounds I heard. Realistically though, I wouldn’t touch this car with a 10 foot pole nor waste $150 getting a PPI.
In Conclusion
I would normally agree that you get what you pay for…but that wasn’t quite the case in this scenario. I think the better car was undervalued a little bit, and the beater car wildly overvalued. Regardless, when you look at the used car market for the past 3 years, any e9x M3 under 20k feels like a bargain. But seeing examples such as these makes me think those prices are coming down fast.
Thanks for reading!
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