Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Last week we featured a string of E36 M3s, culminating in a very low mileage but high priced, lightly modified Dakar Yellow priced at $26,000. To me, it was a strong as considering there are many other very good E36 deals in the teens that would be equally striking and potential investments down the road. So, today I’m taking a look at two other E36 models, both priced about $10,000 less than the low mileage example, that I’d jump into first:
Race cars are a fickle friend; countless smiles on the track come from often well counted currency leaving the pocket of the driver off-track, as the sometimes referenced 10:1 ratio of time spent preparing for the track versus time on track ultimately results in huge bills. So, what costs separate a $5,000 M3 from a $25,000 M3 – certainly, with that huge chunk of change it would seem certain that one could build a reliable racer rather than forking over what would seem to be an unbelievable amount to purchase a non-street worthy, home-brewed racer, right?
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the last day was the “24 Hours of E36 M3” here at GCFSB. But, as both Andrew and Paul have pointed out, it’s a great package that offers competent performance, a budding aftermarket support for parts, modifications and maintenance, and still can be run as a daily driver. They are, perhaps, almost a bit cliche; the E36 M3 became the go-to, market defining package and continues to this day to set the bar. It seems there’s one on our page weekly, yet the brace of examples that precede this post offer us the opportunity to compare values. This particular M3 Coupe is offered in retina-burning Dakar Yellow with the blackest of black interiors:
There’s been a lot of interesting BMWs over the last two decades that have captured my attention, but one car that always sticks out in my mind is the E36 M3 sedan. Sold in the US for two years only, this was a tidy looking four-door. While it was down on power from its Euro market counterpart, 240 horsepower from the S52 inline-6 was nothing to sneeze at, at the time. The first time I got behind the wheel of one of these sports sedans, it left such an indelible mark that over 15 years later, I still remember it as one of the tightest, well-balanced sports cars I’ve had the pleasure of driving. This M3 Sedan for sale in New Jersey has under 50,000 miles on the clock and is equipped with the preferred 5-speed manual gearbox, to make the most of what this 4-door has to offer.
If you’re a regular reader of this site you’ll know that I’m a big fan of the E36 M3 and have absolutely no problem saying so. Where haters see the blandest, most under powered M3 in the history of the nameplate, I see a perfectly proportioned bridge between the go kart E30 and the upscale E46. I came of age during the E36 years and though they were few and far between in my neck of the woods, I was well aware that they were something special. Of the two body styles offered during the ’95-’98 production run I prefer the sedan, mainly for the increased sleeper look but also for the daily drive practicality. However I am fond of the coupe as well, especially a well kempt car that hasn’t been stanced, tracked, thrashed or otherwise tampered with. This ’98 coupe in Estoril Blue Metallic over Dove Grey leather is an excellent example of an unmolested car and with just 119,000k on the clock I think this E36 represents the reasonable end of the M3 spectrum.
