I Need Someone To Check Out A BMW 330 ZHP For Me

[cakM3]

Probably at a low price ($8,800) due to upcoming maintenance and/or other maintenance issues...Adam, since this is for a friend of yours, can you provide more info regarding the maintenance history/health of this car?

Silver Grey metallic replaced Steel Grey metallic (3/03) just so everyone knows. This actually was not a rare color for earlier models of M3. I have seen a few in my area. Anyway if I was looking at this car some things would come to mind....

- VANOS health
- what inspection cycle the car is in? (I'm guessing car should have recently have gone thru Insp II - was this done or is it outstanding?)
- subframe tears (are there any?)
- signs of worn bushings
- driveline issues (are there any? - CLB/GUIBO)
- as mentioned before rod bearing recall done on this car?
- cooling system overhaul, when was this done... if ever?
- diff seals
- oil pan gasket seals
- SMG clutch health
- SMG system health
- condition of tires (how they're worn) possible suspension issues?
- condition of rear window motors
- sun roof track/motor


Those are the things that come to mind when looking at an ///M being sold for such a low price.... If you're looking for a project car and have the additional funds in case you need to do lots of maintenance, then perhaps this would be a great opportunity to get into an ///M an sort every issue out and bring it back to proper operating order

[Pip]

Probably at a low price ($8,800) due to upcoming maintenance and/or other maintenance issues...Adam, since this is for a friend of yours, can you provide more info regarding the maintenance history/health of this car?

I could understand the price if stock but seems like with all the mods it is low and being "ditched". Dunno. I don't know much about m3 pricing in the pre 2003.5 with higher mileage. I paid a bunch of money ($20+) for an '06 that I've done a fair amount of maintenance on. Probably could have paid less.

Seems like good condition from pics so hard to believe the starting point on a CL ad wouldn't be higher knowing that OBO means anyone on CL is offering $5.

[UdubBadger]

Good call


GoingHAM mobile

[cakM3]

I could understand the price if stock but seems like with all the mods it is low and being "ditched". Dunno. I don't know much about m3 pricing in the pre 2003.5 with higher mileage. I paid a bunch of money ($20+) for an '06 that I've done a fair amount of maintenance on. Probably could have paid less.

Seems like good condition from pics so hard to believe the starting point on a CL ad wouldn't be higher knowing that OBO means anyone on CL is offering $5.

Sean, I shelled out $20k+ for my 2004. As you know I have done a lot of maintenance and upgrades to my ///M over the past 5 years of ownership. As for pricing, I'd say there won't be too much of a difference between older models of M3 (pre 2004) and later. I definitely won't expect to see the asking price of $8,800 unless there are hidden issues that the ad is not mentioning. Like you said seems too good to be true.... more like this car is being "ditched".... I would exercise caution whenever looking at a used E46 ///M at this price...

Not trying to "poo poo" on this CL ad but I would have more questions as to why this car is being sold for so low....

speaking of which... I need to get to my garage and spend some time with my ///M....been driving her in the rain this week... I need to clean her

[Snuffalufigus]

Okay long day lol just got back from test driving a 2011 M3 with a friend of mine. Anywhoo... Here are the details...

So we called the guy and asked about the "valve job" and he said there is a knocking sound coming from the engine. So this could be a rod bearing issue but he wouldn't answer if it is or not over the phone. He's being very sketchy. So we called a local dealership and gave them the Vin number and asked if that recall had been done. It has. So we called him back and asked if we could set up a PPI and pay for it. We just want to know what is really going on. He said no lol he is not going to drive it anywhere and he doesn't want to do a PPI. He's selling as is. So I advise everyone to stay away from this one. But I admit, I have thought about getting an M3 in addition to the ZHP just to have a project car. This could have been a good side project but I don't really trust this deal. And I want to thank you guys for replying so fast! It's great to be apart of such a cool group. I'm not really on here much, mostly the Facebook group.

And lastly an update on my ZHP, just recently had the fcabs replaced and scheduled to get my airbag recall done next week and I get a free loaner. Woo!

Got some weird news though, apparently my car was in an accident and the airbag deployed lol I had no idea but they said the accident was enough to have to replace the front bumper (which the paint on the aftermarket one is starting to chip pretty badly) and headlights. Should I just get the bumper resprayed? Does anyone know how much that would cost?

[Snuffalufigus]

Sean, I shelled out $20k+ for my 2004. As you know I have done a lot of maintenance and upgrades to my ///M over the past 5 years of ownership. As for pricing, I'd say there won't be too much of a difference between older models of M3 (pre 2004) and later. I definitely won't expect to see the asking price of $8,800 unless there are hidden issues that the ad is not mentioning. Like you said seems too good to be true.... more like this car is being "ditched".... I would exercise caution whenever looking at a used E46 ///M at this price...

Not trying to "poo poo" on this CL ad but I would have more questions as to why this car is being sold for so low....

speaking of which... I need to get to my garage and spend some time with my ///M....been driving her in the rain this week... I need to clean her

I appreciate the advice and I'll pass it on to him.

[WOLFN8TR]

I would stay away from that M3! A seller who will not take the vehicle in for a PPI is hiding something!

And lastly an update on my ZHP, just recently had the fcabs replaced and scheduled to get my airbag recall done next week and I get a free loaner. Woo!

Got some weird news though, apparently my car was in an accident and the airbag deployed lol I had no idea but they said the accident was enough to have to replace the front bumper (which the paint on the aftermarket one is starting to chip pretty badly) and headlights. Should I just get the bumper resprayed? Does anyone know how much that would cost?

Interesting, I never knew that. A few years ago I had all the door dings removed and the dent guy said the passenger side was resprayed. It's very hard to see without a trained eye. I think a bumper respray is $300-$500.

BTW for those who don't know Adam "Snuffalufigus" bought my 2005 ZHP.

[cakM3]

Okay long day lol just got back from test driving a 2011 M3 with a friend of mine. Anywhoo... Here are the details...

So we called the guy and asked about the "valve job" and he said there is a knocking sound coming from the engine. So this could be a rod bearing issue but he wouldn't answer if it is or not over the phone. He's being very sketchy. So we called a local dealership and gave them the Vin number and asked if that recall had been done. It has. So we called him back and asked if we could set up a PPI and pay for it. We just want to know what is really going on. He said no lol he is not going to drive it anywhere and he doesn't want to do a PPI. He's selling as is. So I advise everyone to stay away from this one...

To start... there should never be a knocking sound coming from any engine, especially an S54. Something is very wrong with this engine if you are getting knocking sounds - guy probably abused the car. The fact that this douche (yes I'm calling him a douche because of how he treated that poor poor M3) wouldn't answer your questions regarding rod bearing issue should say something. (two red flags)... then he wouldn't allow anyone to get a PPI on this car (3rd red flag), and states he's not going to drive the car anywhere (probably can't hence the knocking sounds from his broken engine) 4th red flag. Way too many things wrong with this picture....such a waste of a good car too.

[Snuffalufigus]

I would stay away from that M3! A seller who will not take the vehicle in for a PPI is hiding something!



Interesting, I never knew that. A few years ago I had all the door dings removed and the dent guy said the passenger side was resprayed. It's very hard to see without a trained eye. I think a bumper respray is $300-$500.

BTW for those who don't know Adam "Snuffalufigus" bought my 2005 ZHP.

Yep I just assumed whoever had the car before you got into the accident. They said there was no frame damage which is the only thing I was worried about. Still an amazing car and I got it from a pretty cool guy!

[Snuffalufigus]

To start... there should never be a knocking sound coming from any engine, especially an S54. Something is very wrong with this engine if you are getting knocking sounds - guy probably abused the car. The fact that this douche (yes I'm calling him a douche because of how he treated that poor poor M3) wouldn't answer your questions regarding rod bearing issue should say something. (two red flags)... then he wouldn't allow anyone to get a PPI on this car (3rd red flag), and states he's not going to drive the car anywhere (probably can't hence the knocking sounds from his broken engine) 4th red flag. Way too many things wrong with this picture....such a waste of a good car too.

I agree 100%. I called one last time to ask if he would be willing to drop the price significantly due to the future costs of maintenance. Of course he said hell no lol he's not dropping the price one bit. Oh and btw there were 40 something records showing up on the carfax report. Tis a sad day for that M3