Those $3k in repair bills are not too bad for an old car. A lot of those repairs are one time only or not needed for another 100k. He would also have needed those on an E46, so add $3k to the $12k for a realistic E46 M3. Every time I get a used car, I always expect to spend around $2k to $4k to get it where I want…

The mental image of this is amazing. Thank you for this.

Honestly, the new one would likely have much worse maintenance costs. It would have been better if BMW would rebuild the one that saved all those people and let it go back into service.

They do make upgraded rod bearings for this car that should ease some worry there.

I wish my house had a three car garage. Even if I didn’t have 3 cars, the added space would be nice for the kids stuff and more room to work on my car. Right now, the small two car garage is tight when I am working on one of the cars.

As a former Ranger owner, I always had a soft spot for these trucks. It is a lot of cash for it though.

Nice work! My wife loves these cars and is used to semi reliable European cars (she drives an 01 x5 3.0), so something like this is what I would love to find. Didn’t know the ones with fixable problems were so cheap on auction. Wish I had access to them. Maybe it is better I don’t...

Yep. However, the area in question is a bit bigger and it isn’t necessarily a speed trap. They do allow some leeway (whereas this area did not), a densely populated suburban area, and the speed limit is pretty constant (45 mph through Satellite and Indian Harbor, only down to 35 mph in Indiatlantic). They also…

It’s really only an issue on A1A in the towns (Satellite Beach, Indian Harbor Beach, Indiatlantic, and Melbourne Beach). Just be careful through there and it’s not that bad.

Depends where you live. Out on the east coast, the towns make their money to support their police with traffic fines. Anything above 7 mph over the speed limit will likely get you a ticket.

I did this in November of last year. Traded my 1997 BMW M3 Sedan that I converted to a manual transmission for a 2000 BMW 540iT Dinan State 2 with a lot of miles on it (2ook+). Everything you said is good advice. In Florida, the DMV can be very hit and miss. Fortunately, the one I go to tends to be pretty cool and…

I am looking forward to your articles on this. As fun as Doug’s can be with warranties, I am more concerned how us mechanically inclined people do with one of my favorite cars.

I have nothing against the four cylinder, but a coworker has the v8, and the sound is worth it.

With so much shared development on this car with BMW, I’m still surprised to hear them going with a turbo V6 instead of a turbo inline 6 (readily available from BMW). I know there are a lot of good reasons why they aren’t sharing powertrains here, but it seems weird to have a Supra without an inline six...

I guess I have just been lucky.

Thanks! I have owned a lot of older BMW’s (including an E39 M5) and this one is my favorite. It’s a Dinan Stage 2, with a lot of work done on it. I traded my E36 M3 sedan that I converted to a manual for it. While the wagon has a lot of miles, there are very few cars I would take over it for a daily.

I love that crazy wagon, sad to see him selling it!

This is a good recommendation.

If he is around 6' tall and around 240 lbs, the z3 coupe is not going to be fun to get in and out of and will be a tight fit. I am about that size and my roadster is very snug and not something I would want to daily. I drive a 540i wagon as a daily and it is perfect for the task. Roomy enough (could be a bit bigger,…

As long as you go in expecting to have to spend money on it to keep it running or get it to where it should be, this is a reasonable deal.