Well now its down to the nitty gritty because I made an offer to a gentleman for a trade in vehicles, without actually thinking he’d accept, and he actually has. So I have to make my decision asap.
The cars in question are my 2005 Mercedes E55 AMG for a 1989 BMW E30 M3. A few pictures are below. There is also a huge list of mods done to the M3 but some basics are as follows:
1989 BMW M3
Imola I Red (custom mix)
Freshly painted as of April 2012 with almost zero miles put on it since then. It is perfect! Jambs were done as well. Car was completely taken apart to do paint job.
No rust
131,400 miles currently(goes up as I tool around town)
Engine:
-S52 3.2l I6 swap out of a 99 BMW M3. OBD-I converted w/ S50 head and M50 manifold. Engine has roughly 60K miles and runs like a top. Have paperwork for swap
-Long-tube stainless steel headers to a custom 3" strait-pipe exhaust. Vibrant 3" in --> dual 2.5" out strait through muffler (no cat).
-e34 oil pan and baffle
-BMP aluminum e36 radiator
-Short ram air intake
-New battery on 2/1/2012
(could use a $250 chip tune because it has an intake and open exhaust. I could have this done)
Car will come with an extra 2.93 LSD incase you want longer gears
Stoppers:
Front
Zimmerman drilled rotors and Carbotech bobcat pads
Rear
Zimmerman drilled rotors with Carbotech bobcat pads
-Stainless steel brake lines all around.
-Treehouse racing modified e21 booster
Suspension:
Ground Control 550F 650R coilover set up w/ custom modified front strut tube
Koni “race” 11.5” front struts
Koni yellow single adjustabe struts in the rear
Ground Control camberplates
Rear strut mount reinforcement plates
Treehouse Urethane Trailing Arms bushings, urethane sub frame bushings (green) street, Urethane RSM (street), and LCA bushings
OEM 22mm front and 19mm rear sways
-Vorshlag 90mm stud kit with Muteki SR35 black lug nuts
So now the question, do I really go through with this? I am getting to the point in my life where I want a “sports” car for the summer/garage queen and a nice suv for everything else. I need to get a new winter car anyways even if I keep the Benz so that doesnt matter.
I see prices in the AMG also dropping extremely fast and I havent been actively trying to sell it however the best offer I have gotten as of late is $22,500.
With all this being said, is it worth it to go through with this? Even if I stay like my usual self and only have it for a few months or whatever? Any advice and comments are welcome because I am totally stuck in the middle. Thanks
with how you flip cars i would stay away from anything like this, it takes a particular buyer for an e30 and that means it takes awhile to sell a car like that
oh i know and i figured that. however that doesnt really bother me because itd actually force me to keep it for a while haha. but in all seriousness time frame doesnt bother me. this isnt a situation where id be looking to flip it quick for something else
Seems like a clean car and probably worth the asking price. If it was me though and I was dropping that sort of coin for the e30 m3 experience I’d want it to come with a solidly running s14. If I wanted an s50/52 car I’d look for a regular e30 and swap that. But thats just me.
thats honestly my only main concern, the swap and the re spray. he sent me pictures receipts etc and its all done exceptionally well and legit however from a collectors stand point i know it kills it
well i have always wanted an e30 m3, ever since i knew they existed so thats hanging over my head. but again i agree, if i were to do this, this winter i would without a doubt do a s54 swap. something ive always wanted to complete
IMO, that car is only worth 14-19k. Is he including the BBS LM’s? (I preferred it when it was on the SSR’s personally). One of my friends bought an original schwartz e30 m3 with 10/10 pristine paint and an 8/10 interior without a motor for ~$7k. If you’re telling me you don’t care about the S52 and you want to swap it, I’d tell you to buy another e30 M3 and swap that. Also, S54 swaps are a waste of money, S62 swaps are a bolt in affair with a set of mounts (WHICH I HAVE), and it costs you an extremely similar amount, with more power, and less headaches. The only way I’d do this deal is if he’s throwing a bunch of money on top of the M3 and the LM’s are included.
hmmm. there is no money on top, it would be a straight trade. the bbs lms are included as well as the ssr’s but they need to be taken apart and cleaned up. its not that i dont care about the s52, i think its cool, but id want to go for more power if the car was sticking around. if we say the car is worth on the top end of $19k, its crazy that hes asking almost $29k…
I’m curious why he had it ripped apart, re-sprayed and is already wanting to trade/sell it without even enjoying the work? Just seems odd to me, beyond that the car l looks pretty sweet.
from what im told and talking to him, it was resprayed due to fixing a few dings and scratches. he was planning to turbo it to make it a show car and felt that i wouldnt hurt to do so, also being low and such he handled all the fender work prior to paint so its all set. and reason for sale is due to a kid and needing either a family car or truck for work. he seems like a very straight forward and honest guy and has a great rep on the forums ive seen him on
I dont know that there is any profit to be had on this car in the future thats all. You should go on S14.net and see what other S52 cars have sold for previously.
If you like it, do it, who cares about the dollars. You trade cars so often, with the tax implications on most of your purchases, a couple grand is lost every time anyway.
On that note, I hope you have another DD, or I wouln’t do it. This car seems far from a daily driver.
