Very Clean 1999 E36 M3 For Sale, Willing to Deal!

SOLD!

I've envisioned this car for the last 10 years or so and finally had a chance to build it as I had imagined. And now that I have, it mostly sits in my garage. I'm not as much into weekend cruising and have decided I'd rather spend my resources on cars that aren't as nice, so I don't feel bad thrashing on them.

This is a 1999 Diamond Schwarts M3 with 147,XXX miles. It has a lot of maintenance history and receipts including complete cooling system replacement, lots of suspension replacement, very recent brakes, accessory belts, alternator, and fan replacement. It drives like a dream and handles on rails. A/C is ice cold. Unlike most E36's, this car's interior is in amazing condition. All door panels are intact with no interior rattles. The headliner was replaced in the last month. The tan vaders are in very good shape with a couple of wear marks on the driver's seat. It appears that the car has been garaged it's entire life. Everything works as it should - No CEL's or other warning lights (except for the airbag light - the steering wheel has been replaced with a re-wrapped Mtech II wheel that does not have an airbag). The paint is in amazing shape with only a couple of small dings/nicks on the entire car. This is truly one of the nicest E36 cars I have ever seen.

Here are the modifications - all suspension mods have less than 2k miles:

-Bilstein Sport shocks

-H&R Race springs

-Camber plates

-UUC Swaybarbarian swaybars (rear mounts have the welded-in reinforcements)

-new swaybar end links

-front and rear strut braces

-Gold BBS Style 5 wheels

-235/40/17 Falken Azenis tires (less than 2k miles)

-AFE open element air filter

-UUC cat-back exhaust that produces one of the most beautiful exhaust tones I've ever heard!

-dyno tuned (with receipts from PO)

I'm looking for $11,000 obo. I'm located in Bradenton, FL.

Wow, I don't like black cars OR tan interiors, and I want that.

That's an interior color you don't see often. Nice M3!

Dont sell it, you'll regret it.

I wish I had unlimited garage space, I would pick this up in a heartbeat. Best year to me.

The only problem I find with this car, and it is an extremely easy fix, are the mirrors.

Check with dyintorace, he might like it and he is closer to you.

Yeah, it does have non-M mirrors. I did that on purpose because I hate the little M mirrors. Their rounded shape doesn't fit the car and you can't actually see anything behind you.

Where might this fine vehicle be located?

His profile says Sarasota, Fl.

If not black, I would definitely be interested.

I am in Sarasota/Bradenton, FL

bump it up. I'm willing to deal. I'd like some cash to put into my Ranger and Miata projects.

I love my 97'. It's been in my family since nearly new, and now has over 170K on it. As mentioned, plan on replacing the cooling system if it hasn't been addressed already. Bushings wear out (like they do in all cars). The subframe mounting points were reinforced from the factory, so the cracking is pretty rare. Its' still worth checking though.

Find the nicest one you can find, as they are older cars now, and many have fallen into bad owners. Very nice examples still exist, but are getting harder to find. Most people drove the wheels off of these, as they are truly one of the best driving cars ever made. (IMHO) The steering is fantastic, the brakes beefy, and the engine is way stronger than 240hp would lead you to believe. The chassis is supremely communicative and forgiving. These are still pretty quick, so don't let the low hp # fool you. I've turned a 14 sec flat 1/4 mile in mine at 100mph--- and that was before I chipped it, or did any engine mods.

Of course I also twisted my driveshaft in half due to a diff bolt coming loose. The rear diff is held onto the subframe by one bolt, make sure that bolt hasn't migrated out a bit--- it will cause a rattle-- especially over bumpy pavement. If you can't locate the rattle easily---- it's probably the diff bolt.

Not to fear--- fixes for all of their maladies exist, and the aftermarket is very supportive. They are also easy and logical to work on--- really a pleasure. (well....besides the subframe bushings!)

You can follow along and see many of the improvements / modifications I've made to mine here:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/1997-bmw-m3/

The rear subframe bushing replacement can be done by a DIY guy.....but you'll need a lift, a hydraulic press, and some know-how--- and at least one friend to help. Yes, it's time consuming and a massive PITA, but it can be done. We'll be posting the saga of changing the subframe and diff bushings in mine soon, as the story recently appeared in GRM.

I've driven all but the very latest M3 / M4 / M2 cars, and I still prefer the E36 to any of them. It's one of the last purely mechanical BMW's-- before they went to electric steering and numbed the feel. They also aren't overloaded with gimmicky electronic aids, so there's a good chance you'll be able to keep them running over the long term. 300K miles is not uncommon.

I'd be wary of highly modified cars, as the R&D folks at BMW really hit a good combination of ride vs. handling with these. Many folks add super stiff springs and ruin the dual-nature of the car. FWIW I'm still running the stock springs in mine. It rides beautifully on the road, and can still hold it's own on track. Buy a nearly stock one--- and modify to your taste. (that is unless you find one that has been modified to your taste)

In reply to Joe Gearin:

I think you meant to post in the other E36 thread, but thanks for the e36 love!

back to the top

Sorry about that....... too much E36 M3 in my brain. (not the car either!)

$9k for GRM!

This car would like to stretch its legs rather than hibernate in my garage!

As we all know, these cars are "the sh!t". Here's your chance to own a very nice one!

Man this is so tempting ...

Slippery wrote: Man this is so tempting ...

I could meet you half way to check it out!

Damn... I can sort of afford this right now. But like you, I should really put money into other projects and like you, it would spend most of its time sitting under a cover in storage instead of being driven - especially as we head into "salt-season" up here in the northeast.

Amusingly, I've considered a non-M mirror conversion as well. My ex- had a '97 M3 so I know what you mean about the mirrors.

Damn it... I know I'm going to regret not buying this.

In reply to Ian F: Well, I already did the very tedious mirror swap for ya! ;) buy this one!

Can you imagine how many cars we'd own if we had a little more money and bigger garages.

I'm ready to make room. Lets make a deal!

I tried to send you a PM but got a bounce message.