I'm looking for a car for about 11k

you'll ALWAYS, be staring looking for the next upgrade....

Not a bad thing just a fact of life....

-David

 

I'm going to be in the market for an E36 M3 soon and was planning on spending around $16k. Being 16 and having an E36 M3 is a bad idea. Go to your insurance agency and get a quote. I think you'll change your mind fairly quick. Someone on here said an E36 M3 was more costly to insure than his Ferrari 355.

Its much better to stick with a lower mileage M3 than a higher mileage M3. ANY M3 under $10k is going to have problems. I see cars for $12k and wonder whats wrong with them. If you spend <10k on an M3, prepare to have some big bills soon. I've done the research. Head over to bimmerforums and do some research. Most M3's with more than 100k miles have either had engine rebuilds (around $4000-5000) or engine swaps. Yes, the engines are very strong but things start going wrong after about 140k. You can make it last but you will be paying big money for repairs if things go wrong, especially if you don't work on it yourself. I would touch any of those cars you posted in those craigslist ads btw. If you really want a bimmer, you can get a really nice E36 328is or 325is for 10k. I think this would be the way to go if you have your heart set on a BMW



Not to mention the fact they are fast as hell and not a good car to start on at 16 years old but i'm not here to lecture you...



I'm e30evo on bimmerforums if you do head over there



Let us know what you do decide on

 

2 grand won't get you much in the way of parts and labour.

 

You can get into or make a stage 4/5 Saab 9-3 or 9-5 with 300-400 BHP at that price and it'll be faster than the M3. Before you laugh it off I think you would be surprised at the performance. Rollling acceleration times comparable to a Porsche Turbo. You just have to get over the FWD thing.

 

That's gotta be some wicked torque steer with 300-400 FWHP.

 

+1

Tuned Saabs are NUTS

 

* 99+ Mustang GT/Cobra
* 98+ Ls1 z28/SS/formula

Fun cars. They're a bit on the rough side, but the performance & bang for your buck is unmatched imo. Fairy reliable, & maintenance and parts for them are cheap. They're easy to mod as well & have a ton of parts out for them. The 6spd Ls1 cars will get 28mpg highway.

 

LMAO!

They where selling those here on avarage for bout 22k used. Iv'e never seen one sell for less than that.

 

They are pretty good cars but if you can find on in good condition is the problem.

How about a C4 vette? you can find those for around 8k with the LT1, great car with great performance and huge tuning capablites.

Can't count out a Buick Grand National either. you can pick one of those up for around 8k.

 

Strongly disagree, we have had our 2005 for 3 years and it still is a ton of fun. Went on the Spring Fling run with the Rocky Mountain Ferrari Club (the F355 is having its major done) this weekend and had no problems keeping up with all but the newest cars and pulled away from the 308s and Mondials with no problem. Yes, you have to rev the engine to get it to move fast, but that is half the fun, I have not driven many other cars that corner as well and are as much fun. I would not take it across country, but I feel that way about most sports cars, I like fun and handling, for comfort there are other cars. Car is bullet proof and we run it hard, no maintenance other than oil and gas. Find one that anyone would want to own for $14-16K, highly unlikely.

As an aside, the Audi B5 S4 does seem to fit the bill for $11,000. Relatively cheap to modify and still fun to drive. I had one for 5 years and put nearly 100,000 miles on it and had it MTM stage 1 modified and it was reliable and fun.

My 2 cents worth, YMMV.

 

Can't you people check autotrader?

$16 grand will buy you a very good example of an S2000. And for about ten grand less than 22k you can have yourself an RX8.

 

While an E36 M3 would be awesome, do your research first. BMW's are quite reliable if treated well (my old man has a E38 740i), but if you aren't able to work on it yourself, or you don't have any good mates who're handy with a spanner, they can get quite pricey to maintain.
And, like it's been mentioned many times before, can you even insure it? I'm not sure how it works where you are, but here in New Zealand they'd laugh at 16 year olds trying to insure M3's.

That said, getting your own legitimately fast car is an awesome feeling. Instead of going for rides in other peoples cars, you get to be the one taking people out for quick fangs around the hills. It pretty sweet. A lot of the older people around me questioned me buying my Evo 6, but at the end of the day, I love it, and wouldn't change it for anything (that I could afford). I figure it would likely be the same for you.

So yeah, don't get a car just because you can afford to buy it. Do your homework. Figure out how much you'd reasonably expect to pay to keep it running. Get the best car you can within your means. No point having a giant paperweight sitting in the garage.

 

A good question is "What is this kid's income?" Because Camry ownership is like owning an anvil, owning a performance car is a whole other type of animal...
You will need some constant stream of disposable income for a 10+ year old performance car that may come up on maintenance cycles on your watch.

 

+1

 

+2

 

You'll find cars with about 70k miles for about $14k-16k depending on condition. $18k will buy you a good car with about 50k-60k miles.


Again, i would really really suggest calling your insurance agent up before you do this

 

Does not matter. Call them up and tell them you want a quote for you on a 1999 E36 M3. This will help establish a ballpark quote. What happens when they say they will insure you for $3300/6 months ? You'll look into other cars. Time to get a ballpark estimate.

Regarding the fix-it costs, it isn't so much with fix-it stuff, which will happen, it is also about tires. You'll probably try and cheap out on them because for 200 bucks less you can get a cheaper tire - which will hurt you in every way. So, don't cheap out on tires! Yes, they don't last long. Yes, they are expensive.

If something goes wrong with the E36, look up online for resources. Not everything needs to be taken to a BMW dealership or specialty shop for repairs, but it is nice to know how to do some things on your own. You'll also want to talk with a local shop or find one that can do a PPI on it. This is advisable on a car that will be 8-11 years old.

 

NO. You call the insurance people first. Tell them all the cars you're interested in and then see how much it is for each one

 

Just curious, but more than what? And how often? Is that 400 more every six months? 400 more a year? 400 more a month?