Thread: Worth buying this E46 M3?

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Reveals enough for me to buy a car or not. Run them at auction, if it shows an accident, I don't buy it. Also mileage discrepancies show, but most of those are mistakes in keying in. Good tool for me none the less.

Pre-purchase inspection is pretty worth it at auctions also. My father almost bought me my first car there, clean carfax, hidden frame damage..

Still carfax does help to a good extent

Also, it seems like my customers are trained to ask for Carfax.

wonder why.

You guys know that if police weren't called out to an accident or if wasn't reported to the DMV then it's not showing up on the carfax so you would never know

Originally Posted by Imola e39 @acuteperformance

You guys know that if police weren't called out to an accident or if wasn't reported to the DMV then it's not showing up on the carfax so you would never know

That is true. Any purchase you should walk around and look for body work or paint work. Look for overspray on rubber gaskets, orange peel on body panels that don't blend with other parts. Also look at body lines, if they don't fit even or don't flow smoothly, odds are it has has work done. Most people who don't call out police can afford to repair the damage themselves, or the damage was not severe enough to involve the law or insurance. That being said, it goes back to what I say, if you break an arm or leg or need stitches you get fixed. Same applies to a car, if you get keyed or dent a body panel, you fix it. Small paintwork hurts value, but not as much as a accident report. Just be smart enough to look at the car close for red flags.

Salvage title means it honestly has no value. The value is as much as the buyer is willing to pay. About 4 years ago I had the opportunity to buy a 2005 E46 M3 w/ 42k miles, black on black salvage title w/ rims, angel eyes etc... And I offered 9k and he said ok. But I backed out because I decided to keep the 9k. My friend also recently sold a 2004 E46 M3 w/ Dinan stage 2 kit on it salvage title for 12k at about 60k miles. So 20k for that? huge rip off.

Salvage relates to 50% of retail.

No way in hell you should be paying $20k for an '05 salvage title, no way. You can get one with a clean title for that. Stay away, please. And honestly, while an E46 M3 may still be one of the most enjoyable cars to drive ever, it's not an ideal first car. It can be expensive to fix, it's fast (which can get expensive with tickets!), the insurance is going to be high if you're young, etc. If you're dead set on an M3, get one that has a clean title and has been well cared for.

Originally Posted by Doctor Love

No way in hell you should be paying $20k for an '05 salvage title, no way. You can get one with a clean title for that.

I believe he has passed on that one. As far as being able to buy one with a clean title for that, send me a train load of them. Manheim comps with 80k miles are bringing $20k. So one with 50k and a clean title would do at-least $23500. And that's wholesale dealer cost, not retail.

Either way, after sending him the info requested, I believe he is running from it.