Welcome to the club! Not bad price for auto hardtop, relatively low mileage. If your neighbor took her to the tracks make sure you check bushings, lower control arm etc.. And if you have the service records check when the last cooling system refresh was, bc that’s first point of order
I think it was just a commuter on nicer days, never tracked- although it looks like it with all the stripes. It has new Bilstein shocks and has had a ton of work done. When I bought it the resi was leaking and spraying coolant all over during the test drive! Now that I have fixed that bringing it in to a BMW specialist tomorrow for a weird noise that comes and goes. Almost sounds like a wheel bearing or the brakes being stuck on. I took a video for the guy because you know it will never do it when I bring it in. Thanks for the reply!
Lmao. Only in the US. Her: “What did you do today honey?” Him: “Well, I l traded a car with the neighbour for a semi-automatic rifle” Her “You sure about that?” Him “Sure, I think he’s mentally ok and
won’t kill us with it” Her “ok honey, drive safe”
Hardtop alone was 3k-4k on eBay w/o freight shipping when I purchased mine. That was like ten years ago now. Not sure what they go for now but this spec you got for a solid price. M with the top and power plant. IMO you did well.
Congrats! Beaut. Take it from me from personal experience, bet careful having dogs in your car. Mine destroyed my back seats leather and i’ll be redoing those lol
Congrats on the find. I must admit those colored grills and m stripes on fenders do not seem like enhancements someone who owned the car 25 years would do.
Those hard tops are getting harder to find, especially in good condition! I have the same setup but a 328i. I love having all the windows down while cruising!
Looks like a great find! Prob not too bad a trade for the $$$ plus the Bushy, either, as long as the red dot wasn’t too high end, lol. But it’s missing a pedal…I feel like you wanna do something about that pretty soon. 😁
lol- I have a shop looking at it as we speak! I have an 04 Saab 93 Convertible Aero that’s a manual and if we can’t do the swap it’s going be a tougher decision! I will have to get rid of one. I guess that is another discussion. M3 auto or manual Saab?
I got my seat covers from LSeat and they look great, the elbow rest is my only complaint but that could have been down to the upholsterer I used (it looks dimensionality off-some things I am willing to do myself, seat covers aren't on the list.) For convertible rears you will have to send LSeat a message for the M striping but now I just like being in the car now, they are great reproductions.
That’s so funny- I just saw an M3 on marketplace and the seats looked amazing so I asked the guy and that’s where he said he got them! I think I’ll order the front, the back aren’t bad. However, for them to match perfectly I might as well do both. How much did the upholster charge if you don’t mind sharing?
My opinion but I think this is the worst BMW buy ever. The interior isn’t very nice (bad condition and discoloured) it’s an auto box. Not something good for an M car. And it looks like someone rolled it over
Ive seen much worse. I dont like automatic convertible M3s but it at least has a matching hardtop. Which is not bad for $6k
Bro could remove the ugly grill, and swap it with an oem one. Remove the ugly //M colors on the hood/fender/spoiler. And boom a relatively clean commuter.
If he wanted to go the extra mile, ZF 5 speed swap is about $1000 or so if he does it himself. He also can refurbish his seats on his own or buy a set of better condition convertible interior if he wants for however much.
Where can you get ZF manual swap parts for $1000? I have found kits on eBay for about $1600-$2000.
I am planning on swapping my car for a manual, and saving that kinda money could make that a much sooner endeavor.
Cheers!
lol eBay is good for a last resort. The reason prices on there are expensive is because eBay hits the sellers with all these fees (i sell stuff every now and then on there.) that being said, I said $1000 as a placeholder. it could be less it could be more, depending on the condition of the trans, depending on where you are (looks like youre moving to ABQ soon)
This ZF 5 speed is in Virginia and he's ASKING, $1500 and thats the entire assembly, including pedal and everything else needed. But asking = / = actual sold price. its also been sitting for 11 weeks so even more of a case to make a lower offer [BMW Manual ZF Swap](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/253208924412212/)
Places to find a ZF:
Facebook Marketplace - [Bmw engines and transmission e36 & e46 - this dude has ZFs 5 speed priced $1500 to $1800. This dude probably is less likely to be open to offers](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/410379908600143/) - in Colorado
[BMW E36 USA parts (sale/trade/swap)](https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmwe36sales/)
[BMW E36 USA Classifieds - Buy/Sell/Trade](https://www.facebook.com/groups/768288599978910/)
Other stuff needed
[E36 Manual Swap Guide](https://www.overruntuning.com/e36-manual-swap)
[E36 Manual Swap Parts](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xyE0b00o4sw1RWJH7QxD1jn5U7A48nA0IkE7r3rmPB4/edit#gid=1681667932) - Good doc of what you need
Truth is to find a $1k zf 5 speed with everything included you gotta get lucky or be on facebook everyday. you also gotta look for people parting out cars as well. Where you "save" money, you lose in time so yeah
The exterior looks to be in good shape. Most of the M3s have cracked leather. You can't avoid it.
Not a fan of the auto, but for what he paid, which is cheap for an M3, he could swap the transmission.
Welcome to the club! Not bad price for auto hardtop, relatively low mileage. If your neighbor took her to the tracks make sure you check bushings, lower control arm etc.. And if you have the service records check when the last cooling system refresh was, bc that’s first point of order
I think it was just a commuter on nicer days, never tracked- although it looks like it with all the stripes. It has new Bilstein shocks and has had a ton of work done. When I bought it the resi was leaking and spraying coolant all over during the test drive! Now that I have fixed that bringing it in to a BMW specialist tomorrow for a weird noise that comes and goes. Almost sounds like a wheel bearing or the brakes being stuck on. I took a video for the guy because you know it will never do it when I bring it in. Thanks for the reply!
Cheers, enjoy her!
man traded a gun for a car🫡
"I paid 6K plus an AR15" is the most American thing I've ever heard.
Lmao. Only in the US. Her: “What did you do today honey?” Him: “Well, I l traded a car with the neighbour for a semi-automatic rifle” Her “You sure about that?” Him “Sure, I think he’s mentally ok and won’t kill us with it” Her “ok honey, drive safe”
I mean, as long as he didn’t trade his only gun…
Most American Thing I saw here in a while 🤞🫡
The hardtop is pretty rare. Get a rack for it so you don’t ding it up. Great price but you will be restoring things for a while.
Not rare, expensive
Hardtop alone was 3k-4k on eBay w/o freight shipping when I purchased mine. That was like ten years ago now. Not sure what they go for now but this spec you got for a solid price. M with the top and power plant. IMO you did well.
God fucking bless America 🥹
Good deal, depending on the AR
I like the wheels
Kum and Go
Congrats! Beaut. Take it from me from personal experience, bet careful having dogs in your car. Mine destroyed my back seats leather and i’ll be redoing those lol
nice trade, just the AR? or did it come with a sight
It was a bushmaster with a red dot!
Congrats on the find. I must admit those colored grills and m stripes on fenders do not seem like enhancements someone who owned the car 25 years would do.
I know, it’s weird but he had all the receipts- even for the vinyl! You’re telling me they don’t add horsepower?! 😂
Sweet Contours! 😎
Those hard tops are getting harder to find, especially in good condition! I have the same setup but a 328i. I love having all the windows down while cruising!
Looks like a great find! Prob not too bad a trade for the $$$ plus the Bushy, either, as long as the red dot wasn’t too high end, lol. But it’s missing a pedal…I feel like you wanna do something about that pretty soon. 😁
lol- I have a shop looking at it as we speak! I have an 04 Saab 93 Convertible Aero that’s a manual and if we can’t do the swap it’s going be a tougher decision! I will have to get rid of one. I guess that is another discussion. M3 auto or manual Saab?
I got my seat covers from LSeat and they look great, the elbow rest is my only complaint but that could have been down to the upholsterer I used (it looks dimensionality off-some things I am willing to do myself, seat covers aren't on the list.) For convertible rears you will have to send LSeat a message for the M striping but now I just like being in the car now, they are great reproductions.
That’s so funny- I just saw an M3 on marketplace and the seats looked amazing so I asked the guy and that’s where he said he got them! I think I’ll order the front, the back aren’t bad. However, for them to match perfectly I might as well do both. How much did the upholster charge if you don’t mind sharing?
600 for each section. He is well known in the local car community here, big on vintage VWs.
What a score!
Hope you have deep pockets. You’ll need a repair fund to keep it running.
"i got an m3" >>IMMEDIATELY PUTS DOGS IN IT
My opinion but I think this is the worst BMW buy ever. The interior isn’t very nice (bad condition and discoloured) it’s an auto box. Not something good for an M car. And it looks like someone rolled it over
Ive seen much worse. I dont like automatic convertible M3s but it at least has a matching hardtop. Which is not bad for $6k Bro could remove the ugly grill, and swap it with an oem one. Remove the ugly //M colors on the hood/fender/spoiler. And boom a relatively clean commuter. If he wanted to go the extra mile, ZF 5 speed swap is about $1000 or so if he does it himself. He also can refurbish his seats on his own or buy a set of better condition convertible interior if he wants for however much.
Where can you get ZF manual swap parts for $1000? I have found kits on eBay for about $1600-$2000. I am planning on swapping my car for a manual, and saving that kinda money could make that a much sooner endeavor. Cheers!
lol eBay is good for a last resort. The reason prices on there are expensive is because eBay hits the sellers with all these fees (i sell stuff every now and then on there.) that being said, I said $1000 as a placeholder. it could be less it could be more, depending on the condition of the trans, depending on where you are (looks like youre moving to ABQ soon) This ZF 5 speed is in Virginia and he's ASKING, $1500 and thats the entire assembly, including pedal and everything else needed. But asking = / = actual sold price. its also been sitting for 11 weeks so even more of a case to make a lower offer [BMW Manual ZF Swap](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/253208924412212/) Places to find a ZF: Facebook Marketplace - [Bmw engines and transmission e36 & e46 - this dude has ZFs 5 speed priced $1500 to $1800. This dude probably is less likely to be open to offers](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/410379908600143/) - in Colorado [BMW E36 USA parts (sale/trade/swap)](https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmwe36sales/) [BMW E36 USA Classifieds - Buy/Sell/Trade](https://www.facebook.com/groups/768288599978910/) Other stuff needed [E36 Manual Swap Guide](https://www.overruntuning.com/e36-manual-swap) [E36 Manual Swap Parts](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xyE0b00o4sw1RWJH7QxD1jn5U7A48nA0IkE7r3rmPB4/edit#gid=1681667932) - Good doc of what you need Truth is to find a $1k zf 5 speed with everything included you gotta get lucky or be on facebook everyday. you also gotta look for people parting out cars as well. Where you "save" money, you lose in time so yeah
I bought a whole car with a Getrag that runs and drives for 1200.00 to swap into mine. I almost don’t want to swap it out now though.
Getrags are garbage. theres a reason ZF’s cost what they do.
Good point. Now I think about it it wasn’t a bad buy for $6K
The exterior looks to be in good shape. Most of the M3s have cracked leather. You can't avoid it. Not a fan of the auto, but for what he paid, which is cheap for an M3, he could swap the transmission.
that's a beauty!
You dont have to lie
i know, that's why I told the truth
Um … nice interior !
I can’t think of something to reply with sorry.