1998 BMW M3

Convertible

3.2L 245hp V6

Automatic

WBSBK033XWEC39216

Clear

Gasoline

Thanks for looking at my 1998 BMW M3 Convertible (E36 body style), with the coveted 3.2L 245hp V6 engine. It has a clear CA title, I have title in hand, and own it outright. Why a No Reserve Auction? I’ve bought and sold many things (including vehicles) via eBay over the last 12 years or so. There are a few things I’ve learned: No Reserve auctions generate a lot of interest, and an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. So there you have it, my beautiful M3 starting off at $1.00 and we’ll see where it goes, and to whom. I have 100% positive feedback for a reason (mostly as a seller). I describe my items absolutely as well and as truthfully as possible, and I’m very responsive to questions. I am the fourth owner of this M3 and have owned it for about a year. It was a second car for me, as I drive a truck for work five days a week. In the year I owned it, I put about 5,000 miles on it, and I took very good care of it, as I do all of my vehicles. Understand, I’m a 39 year old male that doesn’t drive hard at all. I never pushed this car hard or raced it. I just drove it leisurely in the Northern California sunshine, mostly on weekends. Why am I selling it? Well, I just bought a brand new GTI, and I certainly don’t need three vehicles. I loved the M3, as it was my first ever convertible and it was super fun to drive. I just decided to get a ride that I will grow in to (and that will be contusive to a future kid’s car seat). This is a ’98 with only 70k miles on it. I bought it with 65k miles. I searched high and low for almost two months before finding this M3. I wanted an E36 body style convertible with absolute minimum miles … this one fit the bill. Engine - This car is in very good mechanical condition in my opinion, though I must admit that I haven’t done much to it since owning it. The engine idles perfectly, doesn’t burn oil, performs perfectly at higher RPMs, and fires as it should. There are no squeaks or rattles coming from the engine at all. The only maintenance that I’ve done in the last year is: one full-synthetic oil/filter change; replaced the rotor-cap assembly and one of the plug wires. Regarding the latter … a few months into owning it, I lost the firing of the #6 cylinder. It was an easy fix. The firing point in the rotor cap seemed to have failed, so I had it replaced, along with the #6 spark plug wire for good measure. All in all, the engine is super-solid in my opinion … it has run beautifully for me. Transmission – the five speed automatic up-shifts and down-shifts perfectly. There are three push-button modes to the tranny, including sport and economy mode. I always drive it in the standard economy mode. I’ve driven in sport mode for a total of 5-6 miles. It’s pretty cool, but burns gas and revs the engine quite high, but it sure feels like a race car in this mode. Everything electronically works properly with only one exception. The passenger side front seat has an electric motor issue, only with the function of the seat base moving forward and backward. The tilt of the passenger seat back and the bottom both work as they should, it’s just the function of the entire seat sliding forwards and backwards that doesn’t work. ALL OTHER ELECTRONIC FUNCTIONS OF THE VEHICLE WORK PROPERLY. The interior leather is in fantastic condition for its age. There are absolutely no tears or loose threading. The leather all around looks like 5 years old, not 14. I have cleaned and conditioned all of the interior leather twice in the year I’ve owned the vehicle. The seat heaters even work perfectly in both front seats. The convertible top is in excellent condition and the open and close function works perfectly. The fabric is in fantastic condition and doesn’t leak. The rear window has a few stains and just needs a concerted cleaning. The stitching in the top is in great shape. Really the top is in amazing shape for the 14 years of age. The body is perfectly straight, except for two blemishes. One is a small (relatively standard) door ding on the rear corner panel on the driver’s side (not pictured, about the size of a quarter, and hardly noticeable. The other is a streaking dent on the passenger front quarter panel. It is about 12” long, a straight line, and is recessed about a centimeter. This was there when I bought the car. The paint is touched up very well, and surprisingly the dent is relatively difficult to notice at any distance, though it is certainly there. I consulted a body professional and they said it can’t be repaired without a filler-type process, which I wasn’t in to pursuing. It’s really not that bad and never bothered me. This dent is in my pictures. The paint is in good shape all around. There are what I’d determine as ‘less than normal’ amount of paint chips on the front end. The body was waxed and buffed about six months ago. I have the strong impression that the car was garaged for the majority of its life, up until my ownership … I don’t have a garage. The wheels are in very good condition. There is a very minor amount of curb-rub. The two rear tires were brand new when I bought the car a year ago. I’d say they have 80%+ tread left, if not more. The front tires are older, but still have decent tread. I’d say they have 40% of their tread remaining. I replaced the stereo system about six months ago with a high-end Alpine head unit. It has the Sirius/XM module installed and running, has Bluetooth capability, front Aux and USB inputs, Subwoofer control, etc. This head unit cost about $250 new. I also spent almost $700 replacing the original speakers. I replaced (10) total speakers (including the tweeters) and only left the original BMW subwoofer. These speakers were quite expensive because they are special sizing and Ohm ratings … there’s only a couple companies that make the speaker sets. The sound system now sounds crisp and clear, and a very good representation of what the original Harmon Kardon system sounded like, I imagine. I replaced the speakers because two of the tweeters were blown and one of the mid-ranges had a terrible vibration. The brakes work just fine, but the pedal-press seems to be a little soft. There is no vibration or pulsating, so I’m confident that the rotors are in good shape, I’m just guessing that the pads are nearing the end of their term. The steering is tight and the front end alignment is solid … it doesn’t pull in any direction. The car is located in Mill Valley, CA, just north of San Francisco. I’m about 35 miles from San Francisco international airport. If you fly in to pick up the car, I can pick you up from the airport and you can go from there. I have a clear CA title in hand for the M3, there are no liens. I have the original owners-manual and supporting documents, as well as a lot of service receipts, etc. I only have one key for this car. I will require $500 Paypal deposit within 48 hours of the auction end, via Paypal only. No exceptions. I will require that the car be picked up within two weeks from the auction end date, and that the balance be paid in cash only. Again, no exceptions. If the deposit is not paid within 48 hours of the auction win, I will eliminate the auction winner and default to the second highest bidder. I will be on vacation for the majority of time that this listing is active, returning the day before the auction end. I am normally very responsive to questions, and will continue to uphold that commitment while vacationing … just give me 24 hours to get back to you. Happy Bidding, and God Bless.