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I think it’s safe to say that I don’t drive my car very much. We live in a city and walk most places, and even when I do drive it’s generally less than 15 miles away. Yet, despite my car sitting weeks at a time and the very short drives that I do take, I’ve managed to put about 3,500 miles a year onto the car since I’ve gotten it. To be honest, sometimes I can’t even figure out how I’ve even put that many miles on the car, but they sneak up on you. I really enjoy driving my Passat, too – so it’s not a case of “I hate driving this car” either. That’s why I find today’s M3 particularly puzzling – here’s a car I’d really, really love to drive and own, but it’s only accrued an average of 1,598 miles a year for ten years. How is that even possible?
It’s been a great week for rare-toned E46 M3s, and the Estoril Blue special order model that I wrote up last October is back up for sale. With the addition of only 330 miles since we last saw it and now for $1,000 less, the only drawback I see here is the SMG transmission and that the seller still doesn’t know the proper name for the color. For $16,500 this car certainly looks like a great deal for the right buyer!
The below post originally appeared on our site October 22, 2013:
If yesterday’s S54 swapped 328Ci just wasn’t enough M3 to satisfy your need, today might just help you satiate that need. The E46 M3 is a great car in just about every way – it lacks some of the space and usability of its S4 competitors but it certainly makes up for it in great looks and performance. A friend of mine several years ago sold his older E28 535is that he tracked and 84 911 cabriolet and bought an E46 M3 convertible with hardtop. Initially, I was a bit surprised, but his logic was sound – the E46 was a better convertible capable of carrying (in a pinch, anyway) 4 people, and it was quicker in every situation than his track-biased E28. Plus, complimenting the good looks of the E46 was the color my friend opted for – Laguna Seca Blue, certainly one of the most striking colors on an M car in recent memory. Today’s coupe doesn’t enjoy the same open-air fun of my friend’s car, but what it does have is very few miles:
I’ve recently been undergoing a bit of an exetential crisis about the status of my track car for the last 16 years – my Audi Coupe GT. True, it’s an impressive car on track – especially considering it shouldn’t be an impressive car on track. But the reality is that it’s now a 28 year old car that I’ve had to extensively modify to make it reasonable as a track car. When I was at the track, I jumped into a friend’s S2000; with only minor modifications, out of the box the way the car went through turns was so pleasing and fun, it made me wonder why I’m continuing to do things the hard way. Now, honestly as fun as the S2000 was, it’s not really my cup of tea and I don’t think I’d buy one. But, I could definitely be convinced that a BMW 3 series – a perennial track favorite – and today’s example is a pretty compelling package:
I’ve been on a bit of a tear recently regarding rarity. There seem to be far too many unusual color combinations that were seldom ordered and sellers pick that “1 of x” point as their badge of honor regarding the specialness of the car. Okay, so some of those combinations are pretty neat, and indeed some of the cars are quite rare – like last week’s Pre-Production Evergreen and Kayalami M Roadster. It was a car custom ordered to someone’s taste from the available options, and as a result it’s neat as an oddity but not the most attractive color combination. I understand the point – if I was going to go buy a brand new car from any manufacturer, I’d want to assure that my example of a mass produced car was just a bit different than what everyone else had. What better way than to custom-order a color out of specification, such as today’s 2004 E46 M3 finished in Dakar Yellow by BMW Individual: