A buddy of mine is debating a 1998 M3 Sedan, Auto, graphite blue (or whatever color that is), and I don't know the other details other than the dealer wants around $11,000 for it. I think it's got around 80k on the odo.
What kind of things should he be looking at? Fair price? Anything better in that price range (under 12)?
A fantastic car (in general). I've owned two e36 M3's and searched high and low for a manual transmission sedan. They're hard to come by.
Sounds like a decent price, but not a screaming deal. The automatic cars command quite a bit less than the manual versions.
He's looking for an Auto simply because it'll be a 1+ hr commute daily.
I'm such a dumasse I didn't even know M3's could be had in automatics.
As Gordon Ramsay says "what a shame". 
Found it
If you want, here is a lead to a black M3,4,5, tin top in Detroit. No affiliation, yadda, yadda. He is asking $13.9k but you can also see that he has been trying to get that since June. Almost 6 months. http://www.xceedspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104013
as a DD why not? I love throwing through gears In my beetle(1970 yes a real one) but it gets little old always shifting, I do alot of city driving. So needless to say my next will be an atuotragic(P71).
I am the said friend... ha ha
I have a 5-speed car thats soon to be turbo- thats my toy.
This would just be my DD to commute in style and pick up chicks in. ha
It looks JUST like the blue one in the pic above... just different wheels. I just got back driving it tonight... even in auto, it's a fun little car.
I did not mean to imply that the automatics are bad cars! Simply that you should negotiate hard on it, because they go for less $$$ than the manual cars.
Regardless, the e36 M3 is one of the greatest cars ever in my opinion. It does everything well. If you want a great sound, I hihgly recommend the Active Autowerke Gen III exhaust.
And Estoril blue (the blue shown above) is a beautiful color! The only sad part is that it was almost always paired with "Dove Grey" leather (as it is in the picture above), and that's hard to keep clean.
If the car you drove had different rims, I'm guessing it is not a "luxury" model, meaning no wood trim and the Vader seats.
I don't think it was the luxury trim- it did not have the wood trim (which I don't like anyways) and not the Vader seats.. which are pretty cool.
If I can work them down a bit- maybe drop the little warrenty they have on it then perhaps I can pick it up.
I want to take it to a certified BMW dealer first for a quick look over.
FWIW - My wife says that if we ever have to replace her 530i, this is exactly the car she wants.
I didn't know the 5-speeds were rare in the 4-door sedan. There's one locally for $6,500 but it has 232,000 miles on it! Sure doesn't look like it though. Tempting!
A friend had the auto. M3 sedan and liked it very much! He delt with Chicago traffice on a daily basis.
Here's another example. The 6-speed comment is most likely a misprint though.
As Tim said in the M3 review issue, the E36 M3 has hit the bottom of the depreciation curve. Yesterday I picked up a 98 M3 sedan for under $6k. Techo Violet 5 speed with M- contour wheels. Leather good, everything seems to work.
PO traded it in on a new Chysler minivan. Looks like he was in the process of replacing just about everything as it has new belts, idlers, control arms, clutch, water pump, tires, brakes, Bilstein HD shocks... when I'm guessing the allure of an almost free minivan made him trade it in. (young kids and a non-understanding spouse will do that - good for me though.)
No mods planned for me but I do look forward to the challenge of maintaining a 10 year old daily driver.
The M3 with an auto is underwhelming - takes a full second off the acceleration times, sucks away the crispness of powering out of a corner and ruins the fuel economy too. Tell him a 328i is much cheaper and not to waste the premium to get an M3 unless he is willing to work a proper gearbox.
I completely agree with Walter's statement. If the car is for commuting you might consider going with an entry level e46 or e39 auto.
The later e39's and all e46's came equipped with excellent auto's which are leaps and bounds better than the clunky turd available in the e36 M3.
