E46 BMW 330 ZHP Buyers Corner -- Is it a good deal?

[DatZHP]

Hey guys,

So im looking to join the ZHP family and was wondering if you guys can give some pointers. Theres a couple im looking at, the links being https://www.easyautosales.com/used-c...dium=referral#

the second one is https://cars.trovit.com/listing/used...i.uXO1D1X1k91T

Im still waiting for them to contact me, but i wanted to see what you guys think of them. I live in Maryland, so both of these are too far for me to go check out. If anyone is close and willing to check them out in person that would be helpful. Let me know what you guys think, or what types of things i should be looking for.

Thanks

[joeybananaz18]

Despite the first option having the performance intake, id probably go with the second as it looks like its been cared for and comes with all records, which in my book is almost priceless.

[DatZHP]

Well, i asked(in my initial message) the first guy about maintenance records. Havent heard back from him yet, not really expecting to till mid saturday, if not till monday. Also i forgot to mention what i was looking for in case anyone was wondering. Im mostly trying to get an 05 or 06, MT(of course), Coupe only, dark colors in/out and somewhere under 100k miles(mostly because getting the loan might be an issue if its too far above 100).

Im not too concerned about the aftermarket intake, would care more to know how it was driven. Also really would like to see those records. :3

Sorry for not mentioning what i was looking for at the start.

[bandwagn]

Im not too concerned about the aftermarket intake, would care more to know how it was driven. Also really would like to see those records. :3.

The BMW Performance intake is actually a good thing - they are NLA and going for decent money - THE oem option for an intake upgrade.

A used dealer is unlikely to have maintenance records - plan for a PPI and budget for remedial items..

[DatZHP]

I should be able to handle that, this will not be my daily driver, so i am ok with small issues here and there. Granted records are always nice, takes almost all of the guess work out of maintenance. But i still have not heard from either person, so ill kinda take any biters at this point. Any of you guys know of any other sites with cars to check out? The convertibles are everywhere, but its hard to find a regular coupe with around 100k or less miles.

[DatZHP]

So im managed to get a hold of one of the two original people i contacted. I managed to get a hold of the dealer that has this car https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...delCode1=330CI, It seems the car was mostly used as a lease car, then sold at an auction. The carfax shows some of the maintenance records on it(seems like it was in service at the right intervals) and the asking price 17.9k.

What do you guys think? Good, bad? I can probably talk him down on the price. Anyone close enough to check out the car for me in person?

[BMWCurves]

Personally, $18k is steep, for a few reasons:
A) The mileage - it's not commensurate with the price. Yes, low mileage ZHPs are becoming rarer by the day, but still. For $18k I would at least expect <60k miles, not pushing 75k miles like this car.
B) The options - it does not appear to have either the Cold Weather or the Premium Packages. While their absence is not make or break, their asking price of $18k should reflect a well-equipped car. It doesn't have heated seats, park distance control (PDC), or navigation, either.
C) The body - Although it doesn't directly affect price, the car is a coupe. The Performance Package (for some) is really only worth it on the sedan since the E46 M3 never came in a sedan version, so this is as close as one could get to a sedan E46 M3 from the factory. Again, this does not affect price, but something to consider.
D) Maintenance - this is the big one for me. I paid $14k for my car with 49k miles. I ended up replacing most of the stuff you would replace on a car with double the mileage. Why? Not because the car didn't follow BMW's scheduled maintenance, but because the car's parts were old with age rather than miles. That includes brakes, suspension, cooling system, belts, pulleys, spark plugs, fluids, etc, to the tune of a few thousand dollars. So while I do have a low mileage car (just crossed 61k), I essentially paid a price premium for it, with no significant benefit because I would have done similar maintenance on a car with 100k. My guess is this car will need to do some maintenance for similar reasons.
E) Bimmers R Us - they're in the business of securing low-ish mileage examples of desirable BMWs and bumping up the price pretty steeply. I'd personally struggle to do business with them.

All that said: the car itself looks like it'd be a very nice example to drive, but I can't get over that price.

[DatZHP]

Yeah the price i felt was steep too once i asked the guy, ive seen others before a while back in the same condition that were going for like 14-15k. The non heated seats are not really an issue for me since i didnt even want the leather seats. With the matter of it being a coupe, that is what i was looking for, not too fond of the sedans. If anything, Navi would be "neat" to have, but not necessary as i am used to being without one.

But like you said, that price is an issue; My immediate reaction when he said it was that it was too high. If i can get them down to say.. 15.5k(altought i honestly doubt they would) what do you think of that for its price? Or should i just keep looking?

[holyc0w]

The non heated seats are not really an issue for me since i didnt even want the leather seats.

You can get heated cloth seats.

[BMWCurves]

Yeah the price i felt was steep too once i asked the guy, ive seen others before a while back in the same condition that were going for like 14-15k. The non heated seats are not really an issue for me since i didnt even want the leather seats. With the matter of it being a coupe, that is what i was looking for, not too fond of the sedans. If anything, Navi would be "neat" to have, but not necessary as i am used to being without one.

But like you said, that price is an issue; My immediate reaction when he said it was that it was too high. If i can get them down to say.. 15.5k(altought i honestly doubt they would) what do you think of that for its price? Or should i just keep looking?

I still think $15k is high, but you're also buying from a dealer, so maybe not.