I'm just wondering if 75k miles on this car is making it a 'high mileage' car. It is a performance car, and was wondering if there were any issues to worry about. My research tells me these cars are like tanks, pretty much indestructible.

My good friend is putting up for sale his 04 M3 convertible, but it has 75k miles on it. He's offered to sell it to me for $35k which is within Kelley Blue Book. The car is in excellent condition, and I mean excellent, not even a door ding or scratch. He has very nice aftermarket wheels. A nasty divorce is cause for the sale.

I've seen used M3s of the same year with half the miles for only $5k more. Would that many miles (75k) on a car bother you? Anything to be worried about? All the work done on the car (routine maintenance) was done at the dealership.

For me its right on that line of being too many miles for that kind of money. This would be a weekend driver for me though, and I wouldn't be putting on more than 5-8k a year on the car.

Thanks in advance.

Its pricey for that many miles.... If u want one wait dont rush. I have seen some for 35k with less miles. 75k is nothing for a 2004 car and it will last and have no problems if it was taken care of but why if you can get one for the same price with less...

Or Try offering 30k that would be a great deal... althought convertibles do always cost more. Neg on the price offer 30 then both settle for the middle of 32,500.

Thanks, kind of my thoughts on it.

Why spend that kind of money with a car with that many miles? Well, the tempting thought is that I know the owner. He is absolutey fanatical about the care for the car and I know its in excellent condition. Its a beautiful grey with red leather interior, and he has beautiful wheels for it, and I know how much he paid for them, which is around 10k after all was said and done.

Kind of like the car below (wheels), but he had the polished lip chromed. He does have a performance chip for it also. Kelley Blue Book says 35k for private deal, and I know he has a lot more into the car, so I think its a fair price--just the high miles kind of scare me as you said.

I guess I"m not going to sell the car anytime soon, but you never know. Its definately not an investment, but I don't want the depreciation to be so fast that it hurts to watch, either.

Here is a photo I found of the rims (not the car I'm looking at).

http://members.cox.net/ziggo/My%20car%20and%20November%201%20meet/R5.JPG

cars must sure be a hell of a lot cheaper there...you cant touch an 04 for under 40k in dallas...an 03 with 18k miles was 38k and it was the only 03 with less then 30k miles for under $40k...let alone any 04's regardless of miles...my 02 with 33k miles cost $33k, course buying from a person is always cheaper then from a dealership

ive seen a lot of cheap cars that seem legimate on ebay and come from dealerships. i dont know.

i bought my audi off ebay w.o a problem, had a cousin and a friend local who saw and test drove it and got me a carfax though. its definitely a good way to save a few grand and get a good deal, better than say autotrader if you have someone in that area who can go see the car in person if you are not able to.

cars must sure be a hell of a lot cheaper there...you cant touch an 04 for under 40k in dallas...an 03 with 18k miles was 38k and it was the only 03 with less then 30k miles for under $40k...let alone any 04's regardless of miles...my 02 with 33k miles cost $33k, course buying from a person is always cheaper then from a dealership


No, they are all pretty much 40k and over, but the mileage isn't as high as my friends.

I'm just wondering if 75k miles on this car is making it a 'high mileage' car. It is a performance car, and was wondering if there were any issues to worry about. My research tells me these cars are like tanks, pretty much indestructible.

My good friend is putting up for sale his 04 M3 convertible, but it has 75k miles on it. He's offered to sell it to me for $35k which is within Kelley Blue Book. The car is in excellent condition, and I mean excellent, not even a door ding or scratch. He has very nice aftermarket wheels. A nasty divorce is cause for the sale.

I've seen used M3s of the same year with half the miles for only $5k more. Would that many miles (75k) on a car bother you? Anything to be worried about? All the work done on the car (routine maintenance) was done at the dealership.

For me its right on that line of being too many miles for that kind of money. This would be a weekend driver for me though, and I wouldn't be putting on more than 5-8k a year on the car.

Thanks in advance.


The mileage isn't high if you plan on driving the wheels off the car, but if you plan on selling it in 3-4 years the price you're paying now will definataly come back to haunt you. here's an example:

buy 2004 m3 w 38k miles for 40000, drive it 35k for three years, sell a 6 yr old car with 72k on it for 25,000 easy

Buy a 04 m3 with 78k miles for 35k, drive it 35,000 miles, and now sell a 6yr old car with 112k miles for ....??? My guess is you'd be lucky to get 17k for it.


The market for people willing to buy an 100,000+ mile car is still very small, usually limited to enthusiastic young people looking for a deal. Despite the fact that cars now last MUCH longer, especially BMW's, 100k is still a psychological barrier from the 70's-80's when cars fell apart in your hands after that magic mark. Get your friend down at least 3-5k less or the more expensive low mileage one is the better deal.

the engine itself can be good for like 300k

but at 100k you need to replace the timing belts, radiator, hoses, alternator, etc etc etc etc. thats why people will be less inclined to give you more money, because its psychologically already stapled in their heads that they have to do "work" to maintain a car. which is normally like 2-4k so even if you rplace all the shit yourself ur still gonna have a hard time snapping people out of their psychological state.

i just paid 32k with TTL for an 01 vert with 42k miles. by far the cheapest I have seen here locally

i just paid 32k with TTL for an 01 vert with 42k miles. by far the cheapest I have seen here locally


Now THAT is a good buy!!:eyecrazy Nice going dude!

buy 2004 m3 w 38k miles for 40000, drive it 35k for three years, sell a 6 yr old car with 72k on it for 25,000 easy

Buy a 04 m3 with 78k miles for 35k, drive it 35,000 miles, and now sell a 6yr old car with 112k miles for ....??? My guess is you'd be lucky to get 17k for it.


Thanks, thats a very well framed statement. I THINK that I would hold onto it, but my past history says I'd be selling it in 3-4 years or wanting something different. I found the same car, w/o the wheels for $40k at 28k miles. I can live without the wheels.

Appreciate the comments, thanks.

I think that buying a 04 M3 Conv. for 35g with 75k is a bad idea, if you can find one for 40g's with 35k, you will be soo much better off because you will get the Factory warranty. Also for 40'gs you will be looking at a coupe which is what i have, and love

Definitely pass on this one and wait for another deal, or just pay the extra five grand and get the lower-mileage, factory warranty-covered one. It's not a smart idea to lay down so much money for a car a) past its factory warranty point, and b) approaching 100,000 miles (despite the rock-solid nature of these cars), especially if you can get a much lower-mileage one that's still covered for only a few grand more.

Your friend doesn't seem to be offering you that great of a "deal." If you can get him down a few grand, you might want to consider it, especially since you know him and his fanaticism regarding maintenance and repairs.

yeah, that seems pretty pricey.
i got my 2003 M3 for $37,800.
it was used with only 26k miles.