I believe it had 190k ish on the odometer. Drove the car, it drove pretty good, except for the loose shift knob. The VIN began with WBSBG93, which appears to be a real M3 VIN according to this website https://bimmertips.com/verify-decode...m3-vin-number/

Only downside is the paint is a bit rough, there was rust on both quarter panels, bubbles starting to form, right under the taillights. It’s probably a pass for me, he said he’d take 17k for it.

A question for the BMW guru's (The Producer, Westopher, etc)
What's the deal with this 1997 M3?
Any stories with the whole new leather interior?
Is $20,850 a decent deal?
Should that $16000 dec 11 years ago or the lack of a service history be a concern?
Any common problems/major maintenance expenses at this age/mileage (200k)

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...23843619431283


https://scontent.fyvr1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...32&oe=60FA449F

I was thinking at looking at that car as well, but the 16k claim isn’t attractive

Standard on these cars is cooling system... sucks if it has no history and you can't tell it's been done. Most likely the entire suspension is due for a refresh at this point.

Honestly wouldn't touch this one with that dec and the mileage/lack of history unless he dropped the price a LOT.

A 16k claim is huge. This car was worth 12k in 2010, so I don't understand how it retains a clean title. Also, if the fender and door were the repair only, with body work we aren't talking 16k. We're talking 3k back in 2010. That makes me think unibody damage, strut tower, pillars, etc. Maybe someone just got hosed by a shop, but there's more to the story regardless.
If there's no record of cooling system, suspension and bushings being done, it's 3k and a SHITLOAD of effort, or 5-6k to take it to a shop. The bushings might not be something you have to do right away, but you should. Cooling system is a first day you buy it kind of affair if its unknown milage.
The seat covers look like Lseat covers. Decent, but not as nice as properly taken care of OE stuff.
It's a lazy ad, messy car, no info, high price, huge hit. Someone looked at e36 prices and didn't bother to look into the quality of cars that are selling over 20k.
If you have been looking for a long time, you can try and go over the car with a fine tooth comb and hope it's better than it sounds, but I'd pay 25k for a good one way before I'd pay 21k for a mess.

Thanks for the insight on this one. I didn't have a good feeling about it to begin with, now I'm definitely not going to bother to look at it in person.

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rds...349180725.html

2002 Honda Acura RSX 187k - $2,500

https://images.craigslist.org/00A0A_...cc_600x450.jpg

maybe its a CG car. they like to frankenstein all varieties of bmws for resale. for example, ive seen a e36 m3 chassis with m3 vins but none of the suspension is m3. or e46 m3 that doesn't match the build sheet at all.

It’s funny. A few of us talked about CG cars the other day. I totally trust Chris’ work, and if the cost was right, and I was buying a car I’d keep forever I’d totally consider one of their put together cars. If I ever had to sell it though…. I can’t even begin to think of how I’d explain it and convince someone it was done by someone who’s work you can trust to someone that's not familiar with CG.

Speaking of M3s did anyone buy that red sedan for $15000?

I still see it available on Facebook, it’s a car I was considering, but the 300k km really kills it for me with rust.

it's really not much rust - and the pedigree on that car is excellent.

it's a CL good buy if it's still for sale (i don't see it anymore, but FB marketplace is :heckno:)

I'm on a roll with minty Nissan coupes no one cares about

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van...353728523.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00Z0Z_...0_1200x900.jpg

Good friend of mine's car. Mature owner, maintained the car with an open chequebook.

He purchased it from Chris at CG many years ago. He was told it was a European imported car and a show car. He told me CG changed the Euro motor for a NA S52 motor when the euro S50 'blew'. Over his 15+ years of ownership he basically drove it daily, maintained it well, and never gave him any issues. More recently he got a Cooper S and a Golf R so that was the daily and the m3 stayed in their heated parkade and came out in summer.

I can vouch for the seller and the car. However, I'm not sure what else CG has done with this specific vehicle prior to and early in my friends ownership.

Here it is next to my Avus on our recent cruise
https://i.imgur.com/ZL82glih.jpg

If that was you yesterday I drove by in my M2. My office is on that side of the hospital

Seeing your post above now with the VIN. Looks like its a US market car? Interesting. Again what I know is basically what he was told by CG

Man the e36 market is hot maybe I should list my rust free 95 :lol

dbl post

Hi! Yea, the car was in good shape mechanically from what I could tell during the test drive. Only con is the rust and history I guess. I'm sure it'll sell with no problem.

What is CG?

nevermind googled it: CG Motorsports BMW Specialists

Did you see the green one jacked his price up to $4,900???

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/nvn...353715643.html

Not sure if its a fake ad, but its an awfully good price for a collectable. Not my cup of tea, but its interesting for sure.

^ Not exactly comforting that they don’t know the correct displacement of the engine haha

CG Chris is a good businessman. It is exactly for that reason I wouldn't trust cg with any of my cars. Nor would I buy anything from them. Maybe I know too much, or perhaps not enough. Personally, I'd err of the side of caution and stay away. BMW are already big enough "gotcha" and "surprise mf" cars already, I wouldn't want to add another layer of drama on top of that.

The praise heaped on CG from supporters is as strong as the horror stories I've heard from there.

Caveat emptor.

Didn't we just talk about CG a couple weeks ago LOL

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

Maybe we need a CG Thread :derp:

This is a pretty good price ($9000) for a NB

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van...347256247.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00I0I_...M_1200x900.jpg

Or if you want a cheaper convertible...

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rds...350726393.html

https://images.craigslist.org/01717_...2_1200x900.jpg

1992 geo metro convertable - $1,450 (langley)