Since its introduction, the BMW M3 has been a car aimed at the enthusiast market and desired by many generations of collectors.
The most expensive M3s are the original E30 models built from 1988-1991. The best of these often sell for more than $100,000 and are already serious collector cars.
The next generation M3, the E36, had an extensive production run, being built from 1992 until 1999. This was the first M3 to be offered as a Coupe, a convertible and a sedan. It made the E36 a veritable Swiss Army knife of an enthusiast car with a model for everyone.
In 2000, BMW launched the car that in my opinion was the perfect M3. It offered amazing performance, think 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and a limited top speed of 155 mph, stunning styling and many modern conveniences available (such as Bluetooth) that we consider must-have options today.
The E46 also has serious racing pedigree with BMW campaigning the car in the American Le Mans series in 2000, where in finished 3rd in the standings. In 2001, BMW devised the mythic V8-powered M3 GTR. The car was a rocket ship and won race after race until Porsche called a foul and had the series rules changed for its benefit.
This was the first time BMW had really pushed racing rules to the limit, though they did comply with them. Due to the controversy, the M3 GTR was history.
The Pick of the Day is this 2001 BMW M3 coupe said to be an all-original preservation car that has only covered 34,000 miles from new. Finished in Jet Black (BMW name Schwarz-2) original paint with an optional Nappa Leather interior in black, this is exactly what you should look for in a future classic.
The M3 has been well cared for and recently received a new flywheel and clutch, UUC short throw shifter, Bilstein PSS10 coilovers, and a Supersprint stainless steel exhaust, according to the Kingston, Massachusetts, dealer advertising the BMW on ClassicCars.com.
All of these are period-type modifications that could easily be changed back to original components. The car comes with a lot of detailed service records, the seller adds, which should alleviate some concerns with buying an older BMW M car, which can be expensive to repair.
The E46 M3 is the perfect alternative to the driver who wants the performance of a Porsche 911 but needs more than 2 seats. These are amazing performance cars in their own right and have gathered more and more interest among collectors.
The asking price for this M3 is $28,000, which seems like a great deal with such low mileage.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Even adjusting for mileage and adding every option allowed, they are still asking twice book value. This car might be a collectors car down the road, but we’re years away from that. Yes, it’s worth over book for mileage and condition. But anything over 20K is foolish. And this dealership only has two cars for sale. I guess he wants to get rich by overcharging. Folks are to educated to fall for this, well most people are. If you haven’t driven or seen a car, you shouldn’t always end your story with: this is a great deal at a great price or any other term you use. Because you just don’t know. JT
Hey Jeff thank you so much for the comment and reading the pick. What resource are you using for the value you stated?
Before I wrote this I did some research on the car and here is what I found.
The Hagerty Price guide which is not perfect but still pretty solid as a reference has a #2 condition car, which would be best described as a pretty clean driver level car as being worth $22,000. They then value a #2 condition car which is a low mileage very clean car, which this one appears to be at a value of $34,500.
KBB says 9-10k which is funny as they then list two cars for sale on their site, one with 25,000 miles for 49k and another with 81k miles for $20,990. Strange that they say average price and then there are no compare near that amount.
Finally NADA lists the value at $8,875.
Next I did a search for 2001 BMW M3 cars for sale with mileage under 35,000 miles and here is what I found for manual equipped cars as cars with the SMG gearbox are available for much less money.
the lowest price car had 3ok miles and was being offered for 28k dollars. They go up from there to a high of $49,000 for a 25k mile car.
This tells me that as I have always known, that NADA and KBB prices on cars like this are completely incorrect and make no allowance for exceptional low mile cars. These are tools dealers use when valuing a car for trade in and on a car like this M3, those prices are ridiculous. If I could find E46 M3 cars with sub 40k miles at the KBB and NADA prices I would fly a warehouse full of them.
Now I agree that to truly determine if a car is a good value you really have to see the car in person and will adjust my future articles with that in mind.
But it seems as if your statement about what a low mile E46 M3 coupe is worth does not seem to be the case. These cars just started to move up in price. In 2018 they were cheaper by almost 1/2 of what they cost now. Also if you know these cars as I do you know that many are poorly modified, have tis of miles on them, and are basically just beat. Clean E46 M3 cars now cost considerably more than they did a year or so ago.