The 1998 E36 M3 Sedan is out

Sean said:

of the running. I called my insurance company (USAA) and there is too much of an increase in the premium between my 01 330Ci and the 98 M3. I would be a fool to sell my 330Ci that is almost two years old for a car that will be 5 years old at the end of this year and pay more money to insurance it than a newer car. USAA states the E36 M3 Sedan is a High Performance automobile even though it only has 15 more hp and 32lb ft. more torque. The Ci is a coupe which generally brings a higher premium than a sedan.

Also keep in mind. I'm 30, married, have a child and also get a mulit-car discount and low mileage discount.

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Hey, I'm 30, married with a child, multi-line discount (2 cars, home, life and jewelry rider all with same agent) and my insurance WENT DOWN when I traded the 330i for the M3/4.

Have you driven it yet? Once you do, the whole 5 year old argument becomes irrelevant. I went through that same argument more than once. The feel of the E36 M3 trumped logic.

Ask JST. I had multiple email exchanges with him on the subject. Sure, it makes no logical sense. But I still consider it the best car-related decision I've ever made.

Sean said:

I just can't justify what the new premium was as much as I'd like to and I'm almost 100% positive that the owner wouldn't have sold it to me for what I was willing to pay. He had stated that he didn't have to sell it and that was fine by him.

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My advice is to shop around on the car insurance front. I know USAA generally gives the best rates around, but different companies classify the M3 in different ways. When I bought mine, my original agent (Farmer's) quoted me a more than 100 percent increase in premium v. my 2000 323Ci. I called around, and ended up with Progressive, who not only gave me a quote slightly *cheaper* than the 323, they also cut my wife's insurance in half. My insurance bill thus went down substantially.

Don't be dissuaded. The real glut of M3/4s coming off-lease is over, but there are still a lot of garage queens out there. Moreover, a slightly higher mileage example wouldn't (and didn't) scare me away. I bought mine CPO with 43K on the clock, and (so far) haven't had any serious problems. It's a buyer's market to some extent, and you can surely find the right car for the right price.

I'm just kicking myself that I didn't do it sooner.

Sean said:

The problem is I've been insured with USAA since I was 16 and I've had my own policy since I was 20. They have always taken good care of me anytime I've had an problem/accident.

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Yeah, but do you really want to let an insurance company dictate what you can and can't drive? Good customer service is important (and shouldn't be underestimated), but there are a lot of good insurers out there. You have to live with the car every day; you should make the decision based on what you want to own/drive, and find an insurance company that can accomodate you, rather than compromising your preferences based on the arcane risk tables that your insurer decides to adopt.

330 vs. M3 (the debate continues)

I sold my e36 M3 coupe (which I dearly loved) 6 months ago, about 6 weeks after my 330 arrived. I considered keeping both but, similar to your situation, I was faced with a premium exactly 25% higher for the 6-yr. old M3 than for the new 330.

I just couldn't justify that.

That said, I still hunt for M3/4's and, just this week, I made an offer on one (the extremely rare Copper Metallic, only 17k mis!). Unfortunately, although the seller seems OK with my offer, he hopes to sell his Ferrari 328 so he can keep the M3. I can't say I blame him.

We shall see...

Mark

e30

Sean said:

Mark,
How about details on your E30 325is? Got any pics?

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No digital pics but I recently found a great location for shooting it along with the 330. I'll post the result but first I have some serious labor after last week's 1600-mile road trip to W. TX & Northern New Mexico in the 330.

The e30 was purchased new by my brother in Jan. '88. I bought it from him in Jan. '96. 109k miles, 5M, and in excellent condition. I have no plans to sell it. It's not an M3, so it's not worth much. Really fun to drive, however. It's just about old enough now (and still looks good enough) that people ask about it when I drive it around. Part of the appeal is the (no longer available) BBS RZ's that insurance bought after the original wheels were 'borrowed' in the middle of the night in 1994.

Euro M3/4

While we're on the subject...

A pretty sweet deal for <$16k (Black '98 M3/4, Euro-spec, 321 HP, 6 speed, ~29k miles):

http://www.autoscout24.de/search/detail.asp?id=10918981&language=eng

figure another $10-12k for conversion, shipping fees, & US customs tariff and you'll have a euro-spec car for the same price as the same car in US specs.

(Yes, conversion is an expensive PITA. No, you cannot just import it as-is & drive off into the sunset.)

Sean-

I still think you'd be VERY happy with the E36 M3/4. Call around on insurance. Like I told you, my demographics are VERY similar to yours and my rates went DOWN coming from a 330i (sedan!). You should be able to find insurance that, at worst, only rasies them slightly.

Having read your posts for years, I'm pretty sure that this is one of a few cars that would truly make you happy. At least make some phone calls before you concede this and decide on something else.

Re: Is this you?

DaveN323i said:

Sean, don't tell me you are also thinking of a Mini.

http://forums.roadfly.org/mini/cooper/forum.php?postid=351308&page=1

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That's the same Sean.