Or not...that is the question!?

What kind of things typically go wrong with these cars in the first 50, 60K that would be covered under the factory warranty or a CPO warranty?

Is it worth paying more for this added protection?

:eyecrazy

Keep hunting, you'll find one that has a premium that's not too bad. I got in an 02 with 27Kmiles for 37k....CPO'd through 3/08.

i just saw, looks sweet, congrats...nice price!!!

chris,

shoot me a PM with what you are lookin for and i will get you one hell of a deal. theres no real point for CPO or for buying a car from a bmw dealreship and paying stupid money.

Or not...that is the question!?

What kind of things typically go wrong with these cars in the first 50, 60K that would be covered under the factory warranty or a CPO warranty?

Is it worth paying more for this added protection?

:eyecrazy

Buy a car you really want. When you are shelling out $35-40k, a thousand or two is worth spending for a car you are looking for (screw the screaming deal if isn't what you want). CPO is nice and gives alot of people peace of mind. Honestly, my advice would be to find a nice one-owner with the equipment you are looking for. Dealers will have alot more of selection as cars are coming off-lease all the time now, so that would be my second route. Inspect and drive the car personally, when you find the "one" you will know it....that is when you will pay the money for it and you won't look back.

Btw, I am still going to get you the info you PMed me.

Or not...that is the question!?

What kind of things typically go wrong with these cars in the first 50, 60K that would be covered under the factory warranty or a CPO warranty?

Is it worth paying more for this added protection?

:eyecrazy

I'll list some of the things that were fixed under cpo for me. (This is from memory.)

'95 325is - Can't remember

'99 328i - Window regulator

'99 m3 cab - Rear shock mounts and passenger airbag sensor (note that conv top parts aren't covered).

'01 330 - Mass air flow meter and a bunch of sensors. This would have been expensive. The car is back in the shop today since the issue still isn't resolved.

So, with the exception of the 330, I don't think that the premium you would pay for the cpo would justify the additional cost. I did have "piece of mind" though. But note that when the dealer certifies the car cpo they have to ensure that things such as brakes and tires are up to spec. So you will usually find them with fresh brake jobs and new tires - at least that was my experience at the better dealers.

I did manage to buy my current M car and the '99 m3 (both cpo) from other sources than a bmw dealer so I feel that I didn't pay a premium for the cpo. (Both cars were bought cpo by the prior owner). But if you don't have another source of financing than the dealer's bmwfs rates are usually attractive.

thanks hoog.

Does anyone know exactly what a CPO will cover on an e46 M3? I was told today that the coverage is pretty limited actually.

CPO on the e46 m3 is overrated... the 100k warranty on the engine and the drivetrain covers what's really important. i looked at the presale list for tmrw at manheim chris and there runnin about 10 e46 m3 coupes cause its the highline including 2 that fit your criteria , 1 is an 03 alpine white and i think the other was an 02 i cant remember what color but we didnt have enough time this time around and im gonna be at west palm auction tmrw so alas i cant be in two places (at the computer simulcasting and at auction) at once.

thanks hoog.

Does anyone know exactly what a CPO will cover on an e46 M3? I was told today that the coverage is pretty limited actually.

CPO extends where the new car warranty expires. Normal wear items are not covered, there is a 50 dollar deductible on warranty items. Best thing about buying CPO from dealer is you can the extended maintenance to mirror the CPO for roughly $1400...christ, you will pay more for that for inspection II.

I am not trying to sway you to get CPO, but it is more than just warranty. I do know I can pull out every single dealership visit a cpo car had and tell you exactly to the mile what has/has not been done to the car. CPO cost the dealer money, usually they aren't going to invest any more money into a car that isn't worthy of it (note I said usually here).

well, geez zubin...that doesnt do me much good now does it? ;)

Thanks snafu....how the hell much does inspection II cost?

Depends on the dealer I guess...I have heard one member here paid $1800 for inspection II and valve adjust! I think most of the time it is around $1200-1400.

*edit* "NoSoup" (knows what he is talking about) stated from an earlier post they are around 1700.

Are you having any luck with private-party cars? I have sold many new M3s to people who buy them like I buy a pair of shoes (no test drive, write out the check, etc.)...beauty of it is when they get tired of it they usually just dump it. There are deals to be made out there. Btw, prices may go up for a while on all M3s, they may quit making them at the end of July (no joke).

///M3ryder NY - a good point was brought up regarding maint....on a CPO'd car, if it's within a certain mile range of a major inspection, they have to do it. On mine the mileage was at 27k and that required that they perform inspection 2 to CPO the car. Certainly a portion of the 'cost' is figured into the price of the car, but surely it's not the full cost of inspection 2.

What price range are you looking at? I told dealers/brokers that I was looking for an '02/'03, under 30k miles, under $40k, and had to be to near perfect condition. Most kind of blew me off saying '02's were still fetching well over $40....which some certainly are, but there are good ones out there. If you like carbon black, there's a Nissan dealership in Colorado that has an '02 with only 9k miles, and it's got some aftermarket goodies including SSR-GT3's. I low balled an offer at 38.5, which they refused, but countered at 41.5, which is still a really good deal for that car, even though it's not CPO'd. It didn't fit my strict criteria, so I let it pass, but I can get you the info on the car.

I also know that you've talked to brokers, which can be tricky if they wind up buying you a car that you don't wind up liking. I also spoke with a great guy in Orlando that only sells high line cars on a very small lot and he kind of has a 'thing' for M3's. He told me he would take my criteria and find me the right car. When I quizzed him about what he would do if I wound up not liking what he bought, he stated it didn't matter, he would sell it on his lot. And he would NEVER buy anything that he wouldn't sell himself. I drove to see him on an '02 Silver with ~30k miles and he was asking $38. He had already sold it, but judging by the other cars he had, it likely would have been in pristine condition. Again, I can get you his information as well.

I also have a connection to a broker that will charge you a fee for buying an auction car (~$800). He is also a BMW freak and would not buy anything except the best.

I started creating all these resources so I could find the perfect car, and wound up finding it on BMW's CPO site, the last place I thought I would find it. In my case, the car showed up on the BMW site before the dealers site. When I called and inquired about the grey M3, the salesman said he didn't have a grey one, but did have a silver one that had already been sold. I told him the CPO site listed it as grey, gave him the stock number and the car was still in the service department being certified and prepped. Lucky me, cause if it had hit the lot it would have been gone quick as they listed it at $39k.

I invested a TON of time getting ready for my search, so I hope some of info can help you. Get settled in and wait for the right car, she's out there....and don't settle for anything you don't want. I still can't believe my car is 'real', it's everything I wanted, plus some. You should feel the same way, so be patient.

Good luck!

nvr, snafu,

Thanks for the posts guys, all great information. NVR, i definitely may take you up on grabbing some of that info from you in a few days, but I'll wait to see first how my current situation plays out. I've had my eye on a dealer car for a while now, it's a non-BMW dealer... They were asking WAY too much, and I knew it... So i've been gnawing at them all the while, working them down... It's worked, and we're now at a very attractive price point, in my opinion. I now have a buyer for my car too... :)

As my luck would have it though, my buyer is out of the country until this sunday, so i cant finalize a deal at the dealer till I'm sure my car is going to sell. They wouldn't even allow me to make a deposit that would be refundable, which i thought was lousy. :( I had the dealer car inspected yesterday and it checked out well. :alright

I would be compromising on interior color a little bit, but overall, not that much. Options wise, its the car I wanted...save for 19s, which can certainly be fixed. It has two little extras which is nice...and it's a CPO (which the dealership doesnt even know) so I'm definitely not paying a premium for it... :D

Anyways, thanks again all...wish me luck. If this car sells out from under me...then i guess it wasnt meant to be and I move on to the next.

CPO was a must for me. I do not have the time to work on my car myself due to time constraints of med school, so I like the idea that in a couple of years when my original warrranty runs out, I will still be taken care of with the big stuff. AC dies? No problem, take it into the dealer, and no $1000 bill to fix it. Diff goes boom? Again, simple...take to the dealer, dealer gives me a new diff, and back th school I go, with the same amount of change in my pocket.

ryder-
how did you find out that the car was cpo'd while the dealer didn't?

It's not a BMW dealer... on their specs they list it as "remainder of factory warranty"... I simply called BMWNA and had a friend at a dealership run the vin...both confirmed that it was a CPO. :D Bonus!

Btw, prices may go up for a while on all M3s, they may quit making them at the end of July (no joke).

This is true. But it will in no way keep values afloat. The E46 will be a steep decline over the next 2 years.

If I were you, i'd get the best/cheapest deal around...you'll get mad when after 6mos you'll see the same car cheaper.

cars are depreciating assets...its part of the game that everyone has to understand. I'm not looking for it to hold it's value over a number of years...I expect it to decline obviously.

New models are not going to drive the prices down at a much higher rate. This is an M model, so its value will always be pretty high relative to other 3 series cars.