Who remembers this M3

Seems like this is the guy who got that stupidly cheap Estoril blue M3 that was damaged (dents, etc) on carsales a little while ago from England that sold for $24k. Seems he has repaired it and attempting to make a little profit off of it haha.

http://carsales.mobi/cars/details/?R=14121681

Sorry for the mobile link

I bet he will get that too...

Ah so this is a brit import?

Explains the lack of OBM

Yeah it was a personal import from the last owner and was covered in damage all over the car. If you didn't know this car from before it would seem like a good deal at $37k but I wouldn't touch it knowing its past

Good to know.

When looking at cheap E46 Ms I noticed a black coupe in the high $30Ks, the interior had, from memory, the dark silver M trim across the dash, wood trim on the door cards, and bright titanium trim on the gear lever surround with convertible switches (3 switches on driver's side bank)

Needless to say I didn't enquire

Haha yeah you have to wonder why some owners do to these cars.

If anyone is actually interested mine is still for sale

Originally Posted by God_speed

Good to know.

When looking at cheap E46 Ms I noticed a black coupe in the high $30Ks, the interior had, from memory, the dark silver M trim across the dash, wood trim on the door cards, and bright titanium trim on the gear lever surround with convertible switches (3 switches on driver's side bank)

Needless to say I didn't enquire

Yeah it also had an SMG cluster, no HK emblems on the door speakers (vut had HK sound) and the plates were an abbreviation for a panel beater that on their website said they quoted in chassis re-alignments..

Funny how this guy doesn't mention that it's an import. At least it's clear by the lack of nav and the MPH display on the cluster.

Haha you saw the same one Dec. I remember the lack of HK tweeter covers now. Didn't look further into the beater association - good sleuthing!

On the Skylines forum quite a few of us are pretty avid at spotting dodge looking deals on Skylines on CS and warning other members about them.

Yeah it's highly unlikely the seller is unaware it's an import even if he's not the importer himself. Obviously it's a turnoff for many people so as the seller it's better if you can tell any prospects over the phone that it's an import rather than state it in the ad. Not to say that all private imports are not worth buying. They just can't command as high a price obviously. Hope this guy fesses up the history and the buyer does his homework.

Before I got my '99 E38 740 I test drove an immac black '97 740 that had only done 35,000km (and looked it from the interior ,service records etc), but it was a HK import - no sunroof, no xenons, no monitor (not even 4:3), and NO auto climate - had the IHKR rotary dial A/C which I found fascinating. It DID have DSP audio, rear blind, EDC, and exterior mirror package, and the PO in HK had gone to the trouble of fitting the facelift front fenders, headlights and grille.

It's amazing the different spec that countries get though. I think our Aussie cars tend to be very highly specified, but we pay through the nose for them too.

The seller would have to know it's an import because whoever he bought it off stated in the ad that it was a British import and stated everything about the damage and ended up selling it for a silly price because of it all. I could be seeing things but in his current pictures of the car does the boot still look damaged? Or is it just the light?

Needless to say Im sure someone who knows nothing about these cars and doesn't research it will jump on this car because of the colour, low km and price. I can bet you $1000 there is a nice subframe crack in there as well based on its previous condition and lack of car the PO had for it.

And the reason a lot of cars here in Aus being highly speced is exactly because we pay such a high premium for them all. Why? Because the car companies know that Australians are aware of the massive price increases in cars here compared to the US and Europe. So to justify it they just spec them up, and they will keep doing it because so many of us are dumb enough to keep paying the prices because we have no choice. I mean look at the "M3 pure edition" they just brought out for this year, they have removed half the luxuries out of it and dropped the price by about 30k and they say "it's a bargain for what you get" ($125k price tag). Go to the US and look at the same speced M3 and you will find it over there for about $60k tops. Such a joke.

Originally Posted by DesiredM

The seller would have to know it's an import because whoever he bought it off stated in the ad that it was a British import and stated everything about the damage and ended up selling it for a silly price because of it all. I could be seeing things but in his current pictures of the car does the boot still look damaged? Or is it just the light?

Needless to say Im sure someone who knows nothing about these cars and doesn't research it will jump on this car because of the colour, low km and price. I can bet you $1000 there is a nice subframe crack in there as well based on its previous condition and lack of car the PO had for it.

ill honestly take you up on that offer.. $1K i say there isnt a crack

Originally Posted by YGOAMG

ill honestly take you up on that offer.. $1K i say there isnt a crack

Really? Your very positive about that haha? When I called the PO when it was for sale he was a very honest guy and admitted he had tracked the car in the UK and that it had a lack of service records and didn't service it as often as he should have which is why the price was so low. I asked about the subframe and he said he hasn't had it inspected.

From someone saying that, my assumption is that from the abuse it would have had to have some sort of crack in there.

Originally Posted by DesiredM

And the reason a lot of cars here in Aus being highly speced is exactly because we pay such a high premium for them all. Why? Because the car companies know that Australians are aware of the massive price increases in cars here compared to the US and Europe. So to justify it they just spec them up, and they will keep doing it because so many of us are dumb enough to keep paying the prices because we have no choice. I mean look at the "M3 pure edition" they just brought out for this year, they have removed half the luxuries out of it and dropped the price by about 30k and they say "it's a bargain for what you get" ($125k price tag). Go to the US and look at the same speced M3 and you will find it over there for about $60k tops. Such a joke.

We have much higher average personal income though. It does actually go a long way to clawing a lot of that back. But of course, little can overcome the fact we're a tiny, remote market and expensive to ship to / manage dealer networks in. And yet we have one of the highest per-capita BMW ownership figures in the world!


Back to that car, it doesn't look too bad from the pics, but up close could be a completely different story. Hard to tell about rear bootlid as it looks dirty to me.

Surely not many people with M3 verts would track em?

I suppose it's worth it, if the repairs have been done properly and it is in good condition (albeit an import).

Originally Posted by God_speed

Good to know.

When looking at cheap E46 Ms I noticed a black coupe in the high $30Ks, the interior had, from memory, the dark silver M trim across the dash, wood trim on the door cards, and bright titanium trim on the gear lever surround with convertible switches (3 switches on driver's side bank)

Needless to say I didn't enquire

Haha! I remember that one. A mate was looking at it.

So many dodgy cheap M3s out there. It's amazing what you can find...IMO worth paying more for a great example (aka piece of mind)

Did your mate report back with anything interesting on it?

Other than what Declan found out too.

Originally Posted by God_speed

Did your mate report back with anything interesting on it?

Other than what Declan found out too.

Funny thing is, he sent me the link and asked what I thought. I picked out the exact same things as you guys did from the pictures. Very suspicious car it was...I think it was $32k or something from memory?


Ps - your NUR is stunning. I want it.

Originally Posted by M3 CS

Funny thing is, he sent me the link and asked what I thought. I picked out the exact same things as you guys did from the pictures. Very suspicious car it was...I think it was $32k or something from memory?


Ps - your NUR is stunning. I want it.

Yeah, very low 30's

Originally Posted by M3 CS

Funny thing is, he sent me the link and asked what I thought. I picked out the exact same things as you guys did from the pictures. Very suspicious car it was...I think it was $32k or something from memory?


Ps - your NUR is stunning. I want it.

Thanks mate!

I couldn't believe the price, as there were / are examples of 330Ci on CS priced at almost $40K for an '05-'06 with low km, but not really lower than what that M3 had

Originally Posted by God_speed

We have much higher average personal income though. It does actually go a long way to clawing a lot of that back. But of course, little can overcome the fact we're a tiny, remote market and expensive to ship to / manage dealer networks in. And yet we have one of the highest per-capita BMW ownership figures in the world!

First time I've heard someone not be nonsensical about the 'why cars are so expensive in Australia' debate. Every whinger seems to be an expert economist!

Originally Posted by M3_DU

First time I've heard someone not be nonsensical about the 'why cars are so expensive in Australia' debate. Every whinger seems to be an expert economist!

I myself whinge from time to time about it all but I don't think I'm an expert economist, I just don't see why there has to be sure a price increase on so many new cars. Look at Infiniti they have come in Australia pricing their cars as a luxury brand along the lines of BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. They have stated that sales are no where near what they forecasted when they entered the market. What would be the reason for that? Probably in the consumers mind because they have come over with speced up $30k cars from the US and try to sell them for $80-90k.

A whinging person is actually sometimes important to listen to because that person is a consumer...look at why companies like Hyundai, Toyota, and Kia are doing better then ever before in the Australian market? There are reasons behind these facts and figures.