Word. Don't get ahead of yourself, you'll get yours.

I agree with Josh, an S2000 is a great option, and will be substantially less costly to maintain and fix.

Oh, and Imola Red is one of the greatest BMW colors I've ever seen. Imola/Black E46 M3 . . . pretty sweet setup.

 

For a long time the E46 M3 in Imola Red / Black was my dream car & color combo.

 

I definitely won't be putting any offers in for an M3 until AFTER I have a job locked down. As for the money, my parents want me to have a more reliable car and something that isn't as beat up as my truck currently is so as a graduation present, they're giving me a little help towards getting a car I really want. I don't have any debt or student loans to worry about paying off but I doubt I'll be able to get a loan for a car without having a job locked down anyway.

Imola is a great color for sure, but I had a few speeding tickets in the past so I'd like to avoid as much unwanted attention as possible. Actually, I saw a really nice 04 M3 for sale not too long ago that was Oxford Green over Saddle. It looked INCREDIBLE! That'd be another cool choice if I could find one again.

 

I graduate on May 9th and hope to pick up a car within a week or two of that. If you're willing to meet me somewhere in the US, you're welcome to squeeze in the back seat (I've got one of my other buddies coming along as well).

 

Hey Bro, good luck on finding one, theere are some really nice ones out there. Check autotrader and ebay and also m3forum.net

 

e46 M3 is a positive STEAL in the used car market now. For all of the engineering, and timeless styling for less than a cut rate Honda Accord! lol

I had a 745li, and I put about 20k miles on it, never had a issue. (did this in less than 18months).

I would not stall on a deal because of NAVI either. As someone else said, either a handheld, or spend a little coin and get on of the nice Pioneer units with NAV. The 6year old oem nav will be archaic by now!!

 

I would focus on the condition & miles and skip the nav. You can add it in (OEM) or go cheap and spend $150 on a portable unit. I have nav in all my cars except one and I only use it maybe once a week if that. It's kind of neat but unless you're delivering pizzas, you probably won't use it that often.

 

Yes, but there is something to be said about not having to muck around with your cell and having an easy display in you car. Having said that if the car is pre-2003, than Nav is probably not that important because it will seem so outdated.

 

Alex,

I haven't read your entire thread but thought my experience with my own purchase might put you at ease. I went out and looked for a low miles car and found an 05 with low miles and Dinan-S2 package and HRE wheels. I had the car PPI'd and flew up to New Jersey and drove it back home to Houston. Barrett Jackson and all of the auctions were going on on the other side of the country so transport would have been a three week wait. I couldn't handle that so I made the road trip. It was awesome. I saw some great scenery and drove on some very very quiet roads. My drive was approximately 1500 miles and I stopped once. It was pretty memorable for me as it was the first car I was able to purchase that I had really really wanted.

The maintenance aspect isn't too bad really. Brakes jobs are relatively easy. Oil changes aren't difficult at all. As for mileage the engine is one of the best ever made. If you are buying an earlier year make sure that the bearing recall was done and other than that with regular oil changes and necessesary maintenance you should have no problems. Find the right car drive the hell out of it and enjoy it. I miss my M dearly and when prices drop further i see myself adding one to the stable again.

Ben

 

I saw that car and loved it. In fact I almost went as far as trying to buy it. Classy combo.