1996 M3 with 150K

Hi,

I'll be looking at an 1996 M3 with 152k miles in the next few
days with an eye toward purchasing it. My question is, is it
worth buying a car with this many miles? I currently own a
1987 535i with 187k so I'm no stranger to old cars with high
mileage but my worry is that the surprise parts I'll need to
replace on an M3 will be MUCH more expensive than my 535.
Any comments?

Marty

definitely more expensive. i'm no expert, but i've been reading a few
posts on how expensive M3 repairs get. so, start with this:
think about whatever parts/repairs you've had to do on your 5-series
baby and do an equivalent search for M3s and you'll catch a few good
hits, i'd think.

or did you already do that?

Martin Gutowski wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'll be looking at an 1996 M3 with 152k miles in the next few
> days with an eye toward purchasing it. My question is, is it
> worth buying a car with this many miles? I currently own a
> 1987 535i with 187k so I'm no stranger to old cars with high
> mileage but my worry is that the surprise parts I'll need to
> replace on an M3 will be MUCH more expensive than my 535.
> Any comments?
>
> Marty

Martin Gutowski wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'll be looking at an 1996 M3 with 152k miles in the next few
> days with an eye toward purchasing it. My question is, is it
> worth buying a car with this many miles? I currently own a
> 1987 535i with 187k so I'm no stranger to old cars with high
> mileage but my worry is that the surprise parts I'll need to
> replace on an M3 will be MUCH more expensive than my 535.
> Any comments?
>
> Marty

It all depends Marty, what do you expect to do with it, and how well
was it previously maintained.

I've seen some ther peoples cars that liked like crap after less than
100k miles, and others that looked nearly showroom after twice that.

--
-Fred W

I may be able to help if you are interested in a 98 M3 4 dr auto...
Email me offline if interested. JM -

Thanks, JM
-------------------------------------
Martin Gutowski wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'll be looking at an 1996 M3 with 152k miles in the next few
> days with an eye toward purchasing it. My question is, is it
> worth buying a car with this many miles? I currently own a
> 1987 535i with 187k so I'm no stranger to old cars with high
> mileage but my worry is that the surprise parts I'll need to
> replace on an M3 will be MUCH more expensive than my 535.
> Any comments?
>
> Marty

I have a 98 M3 that I bought from my brother in 2003. I LOVE it. Yes
it is old and has its own issues but nothing serious. DO NOT take it
in for BMW service. I did and it cost 900 bucks. Find a decent
foreign car mechanic and use them exclusively. I have not had and
problems except for the radio display going out. Radio still worked
though :-)

I say GO FOR IT!


Martin Gutowski wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'll be looking at an 1996 M3 with 152k miles in the next few
> days with an eye toward purchasing it. My question is, is it
> worth buying a car with this many miles? I currently own a
> 1987 535i with 187k so I'm no stranger to old cars with high
> mileage but my worry is that the surprise parts I'll need to
> replace on an M3 will be MUCH more expensive than my 535.
> Any comments?
>
> Marty

Martin Gutowski wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'll be looking at an 1996 M3 with 152k miles in the next few
> days with an eye toward purchasing it. My question is, is it
> worth buying a car with this many miles? I currently own a
> 1987 535i with 187k so I'm no stranger to old cars with high
> mileage but my worry is that the surprise parts I'll need to
> replace on an M3 will be MUCH more expensive than my 535.
> Any comments?
>
> Marty

I guess this would be a relatively cheap 3.0, instead of the 3.2
version? Hang on, if you're in the states you may not have got the
320+hp 3.2 evo version. In any case, google for problems. Often
brakes and suspension parts are M3 specific and can be expensive but
other parts are off the shelf 3-series and are cheap.