2005 330i red / black 6MT at St. Louis MO dealer (not mine, no affli) $11k

[dangdude]

FYI. I have no affiliation. VIN WBAEV53445KM08321

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/5719324034.html

This car was for sale on CL by private party a couple months ago for $9K. Owner obviously sold / traded it and this dealer picked it up. Priced high but dealers love to deal. Heated seats but not CWP.

[danewilson77]

Dang.... They didn't even put the ///M badge in the right spot! Lol.

S7 Edge, out

[dangdude]

Ah, memories.

I test-drove a cheap 2003 ZHP last year that was being sold by an interesting fellow. His ad said his car was a "prototype 4 door M3 show car, only one in country" yada yada. His sell story was he got it from a doctor who saw this prototype one-of-a-kind M3 4 door at a car show and just had to have it, and bought it off the show floor for twice the cost of a regular M3. etc. etc. It also had the typical M3 badge on the trunklid (and some tuning stickers) but of course was licensed as a 330i, so I think that's why he made the story up. He wasn't a bmw guy at all. The car itself was cosmetically beat up, drove horribly, and both the motor and clutch were very weak. I passed at $5k. I also told him doctors don't put tuning stickers on trunk lids, and if he wants to make up stories about doctors, to remove the tuning stickers first. Hey, I can't blame the guy for trying to make a living; I believed some parts of his story of taking care of his parents, etc.

The seller met me at Best Buy with the car because he lived an hour away, and invited another kid along who had never driven a stick but was "very interested in getting one." Awkward, two buyers and one seller. That kid didn't get a test drive, however, because he didn't have any money, and I got his email address and later that day sent him an email telling him what I thought was wrong with this seller and his car (needs suspension, engine light on, clutch weak, not a 'doctor car', etc).

The seller called me the next day to say that kid hit a deer out by his house while test driving, and I could now have it with dented hood and busted out headlight for $3500. I passed again.

The seller is still selling BMWs on Craigslist that I think he's getting at auction. I don't blame him for trying to make a living, but when shopping used cars, buyer beware.

[GotZHP]

Especially when shopping for used BMWs. BMWs are great cars and will last a very long time... If the maintenance was completed per BMW specifications. My ZHP was a great example when I first drove it off the lot. Cosmetically, could not have asked for better with a 12 year old car. Has been in Socal all its life, so no snow / salted roads. Ran pretty well, I noticed the stutter at 2,800 rpm, but other than that it was great. Well sure enough, few months down the road and things started to fall apart real quick, and it was quite apparent, once I started get my hands dirty, that the PO did not keep up with the maintenance. That said, I did get a good deal on the car, and saved the money I talked the dealer down to use for maintenance. I believe the dealer I got my car from, picked it up at an auction, did a few of the common problem repairs, turned the rotors, and threw cheap tires on the front, and flipped it.

[ELCID86]

Might be worth a look at that price. (Great story!).


---
"ZHP is a garbage option anyway- just some cosmetic upgrades with a different cam and diff to claw back some of the performance lost fitting those hideous and heavy wheels. Any 330 with a 3.46 diff will smoke a ZHP every time. The whole Mafia thing reeks of childish behavior." - anonymous

[dangdude]

Price drop--latest ad from dealer on CL is asking $9995. Yes, I think the PO took care of this car, judging from what I remember of his original CL ad.

re: maintenance--I really enjoy doing my own maintenance (and telling my wife all the money I "saved"), but the fact is my BMWs give me many more "opportunities" to perform maintenance than, say, a Japanese car. Of course, I buy high mileage cars. I try to seek out private sale cars with maintenance history, but after 100k there's always a bunch of stuff to fix.