I always wondered why a convertible has never made its way into my stable. I’m the person you see around the neighborhood with the sunroof wide open on the Cooper S, windows down and heater on low when it dips below 50°F. For me, the cooler the weather the better, unless I’m near the ocean. Then I say, bring on the heat. But I digress. Maybe the idea of a convertible has been a bit unattractive due to the usual chassis flex and added weight. But what if you jam a performance engine under the hood and throw some go fast bits at a normal convertible? That’s what BMW did when they offered the E36 M3 in convertible trim, the first open-roofed M car to be marketed stateside. The purists still prefer the 2-door coupe and 4-door sedan, but maybe it’s time the convertible started getting its fair share of respect. If you ever wanted one of these, few come nicer than this low mileage, final year example for sale in North Carolina brought to our attention by our reader Ry.
Year: 1999
Model: M3 Convertible
Engine: 3.2 liter inline-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 35,600 mi
Price: Reserve auction
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 BMW M3 Convertible on eBay
1999 E36 M3 Convertible manual shift with 35,600 original miles and matching factory hard top. New house with one less garage space forces sale of my special car I patiently hunted for. All paperwork back to window sticker. Great color combination of Silver over dove grey leather. New Coco mats. New Michelin Pilot Sports (500 miles). Perfect original top with clear rear window. This has always been a fair weather toy. Garaged every day and night of it’s life. Never intentionally in the rain. Dealer installed (which has the blessing of BMW to maintain it’s factory warranty) Dinan bits when new to what I believe is called stage one which is just cold air intake, chip and a cat back exhaust. Seats show minimal wear to match low mileage. Never smoked in. Finding a manual shift, low mileage example in a desirable color combination is getting difficult. This is as nice as I have seen. Hard top comes with it’s original rolling storage cart and cover. Slides neatly to side of garage. Every option except Vadar seats as I understand they were not available with the heated power seat option. Updates done to water pump and thermostat housing. Current service done. Plenty of good high res photos available. I have owned and properly cared for this great car for a little over three years and put 6000 miles on it in that time. Fly and drive an easy option to Asheville, NC.
Since I can’t imagine buying a car over the internet without actually talking to the owner, please call with any questions but between 9am and 10pm EST please. 828-658-9331
Normally, the E36 M3 Convertible doesn’t get me too excited. However, if you look beyond the obvious weight disadvantage, you are dealing with a final year, manual transmission E36 M car. Considering the low mileage and a color combination that isn’t polarizing, I’d suspect a car like this may pull around the $15,000 mark. If you want to get into a 1990s M car and not break the bank, these E36 M3 convertibles are not a bad place to start looking.
-Paul
I had emailed this in to GCFSB the other day, I think the cool hidden gem in this listing (besides the mileage and lack of mods) is that it comes with the OE hardtop (w/ OE rolling stand & cover). I see maybe 1-2 hard tops sell (sans car or $1k or more) on Bimmerforums per year if even that many, and rarely in mint condition w/ the dolly & cover. I actually like the line of the hardtop’s C-pillar quite a lot.
FWIW the 1999 E36 M3 vert 5-speed weighs 264lb more than the coupe (per http://ebay.com/b/Cars-Trucks/6001?Make=Audi%7CBMW%7CMercedes%252DBenz%7CVolvo%7CVolkswagen%7CPorsche&Model%2520Year=2010%7C2009%7C2008%7C2007%7C2006%7C2005%7C2004%7C2003%7C2002%7C2001%7C2000%7C1999%7C1998%7C1997%7C1996%7C1995%7C1994%7C1993%7C1992%7C1991%7C1990%7C1989%7C1988%7C1987%7C1986%7C1985%7C1984%7C1983%7C1982%7C1981%7C1980%7C1979%7C1978%7C1977%7C1976%7C1975%7C1974%7C1973%7C1972%7C1971%7C1970%7C1969%7C1968%7C1967&Vehicle%2520Mileage=Less%2520than%2520100%252C000%2520miles&rt=nc&_dmd=1&_fsrp=0&_sacat=6001&_sop=16&_stpos=97330&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5336332035&toolid=20008&mkevt=1&MBDACmisc=1faQbGk) or around 220lb more than ’99 Sedan, which is around an 8% increase from coupe to vert (not including OE hardtop). I don’t know the rigidity measurement differences.
The twin of this car – complete with hardtop – lives only about a mile from me and one of the other contributors on the site. They do look nice with the hardtop, you’re correct. Were I going to get into one, I’d really prefer the Techno Violet one I wrote up a few months back (that remains for sale) as it was interestingly optioned but doesn’t have the hardtop.
In terms of rigidity, a friend of mine has an E46 M3 convertible, and despite the upgraded chassis versus the E36, the car is still pretty bendy and makes some odd noises when you hit bumps. I can only imagine the E36 to be worse.