scottn2retro said:Questions:
1) What is the true value of the car?
2) Do the mods help / hurt the value?
3) How has sitting in a warehouse adversely affected the working parts of the vehicle
4) How hard would it be to get the engine back into original configuration?
I need to know as much as I can before somehow conning the wife into another M car!!!!!!!!!!!
nate328Ci said:I don't think that I would want the hassle of taking the supercharger off. You have to do other stuff to, like get the software overwritten as well. Dinan makes incredibly high quality equipment, the car is probably very reliable and the mods are extremely high quality :dunno:
If you want a stock M3 LTW, find one, don't remove the suprcharger, SSK, and BBS wheels (good wheels).
I remember seeing an online LTW registry once. Do a search. I'm sure you'll find the total originally imported rather quickly. As for still on the road, perhaps you'll turn that up too.scottn2retro said:If you want to send those to me via PM that would be great. How many do you think are still registered street legal in US?
TD said:A bottle of Techron couldn't hurt.
Alex Baumann said:
OFF-TOPIC:
Tom, you have mentioned Techron a few times lately. What is it ? (just curious)
Alex Baumann said:
OFF-TOPIC:
Tom, you have mentioned Techron a few times lately. What is it ? (just curious)
EDIT : Thanks atyclb
TD said:
That car never should have been modded. Whoever did it was an idiot. Like in_d_haus pointed out, this car is very rare and mods defintiely hurt the value. I'd undo (and sell) the mods too.
I've heard of low-mileage LTWs going for around $40K recently. The mods do HURT the value, but since you will be able to sell them, realistically, the net is break-even on the mods. But if you can use them to negotiate a price break, more power to you.
Lack of use is never good, but cetainly fixable. Look for dry rot on rubber parts (hoses, gaskets, etc). You may need to replace all of the above, inclusing engine gaskets, before you're back to "new", so factor that in. New fluids all around plus new plugs should round out the "inactivity" fix. Then rev it a bunch to clear out any deposits. A bottle of Techron couldn't hurt.
Personally, I'd jump on it if you appreciate what the car is and have the means to purchase it AND perform the necessary repairs/maintenance to get it back in good running condition.
Only 125 were sold in the US...many are/were snapped up by racers. We have something like 4 or 5 streetworthy in our club (Very Cool) They do track them though.scottn2retro said:If you want to send those to me via PM that would be great. How many do you think are still registered street legal in US?
nate328Ci said:I don't see anyharm in modifying an M3 LTW. Who knows what the owner's intentions were. Maybe he was going to race it or use it as a track car. Dinan makes high quality stuff, a full Dinan car is EXPENSIVE and could acutally increase the value. Go look at prices, official Dinan cars have high values. I don't know if this translates to LTW cars, but there are people who want S/C lightweights
Alex Baumann said:
I'm with Tom here. I think his wasn't saying that mods would harm it but rather pointing out to keep the originality of a car which was produced/imported only a few hundred units.
If I ever have the chance to find an E30 EVOIII or something similar (limited edition) I would keep it as nearly stock as possible (as if it left the production line today)
TD said:
Um, the vast majority of LTWs are stock. No mods beyond rims/tires and upgraded fluids/brake pads/other wear items.
That is strange. Does it have a Dinan suspension too?scottn2retro said:I think everyone is making some good points. I would prefer stock myself, but since this car has 3300 miles on it, I thought I'd look into it.
Strange, start modifying a car for the track and then don't take it to the track and put it away like a stock collector's item. Seems like opposing purposes.