As the title says, I have been looking for an e36 for a long time now and it seems like alot of the get traded in and then go to auction well I am wondering if anyone on here has a dealers licence to go to these auctions. my email is pnbdc10@aol.com

I do not have a dealer's license, but I got my E36 at the Greenville dealer's auto auction. I paid $7500 for a 328i convertible in great condition. All they asked for was a $500 refundable deposit. Most auctions I would give them the cash, look arround for 20 minutes, then ask for the money back. The Richmond auction is the same. I have not been to the Raliegh auction.

ok how far is greenville from Raleigh? did you seem to find good prices on cars?

Greenville is about 70 miles east of Raliegh. Call 252-355-4111 for information on the auctions. You can generally buy a car for about the trade in blue book value or less. It is good for people who can do their own car repairs and maintenance and have the cash to pay for the car. There is a risk. You should be prepared for a $1000 repair. I bought 3 cars over the past few years and I think I got a good deal on each. 1998 Mazda Protoge for $2500, 2002 Honda Accord for $8000, 1997 328ic for $7500. I've seen prices range from $200 to $45,000. Like I said, most of the time I see nothing of interest.

Auto auctions are NOT the holy grail of used cars. More often than not the cars that are sold at these "dealer" auctions are the crap that other dealers have gotten on trade that they can't or don't want to sell on their lot.

Sure, you might be able to score a great deal, but you can't test drive the cars, so you're taking a pretty big risk when it comes to the cars overall running condition.

I honestly think you'd have better luck finding a deal on an E36 from a private seller- keep at it, you'll find what you're looking for.

What car are you looking for in particular???


Bret

well I am looking for a crappy e36 so if I mess it up I dont have to be like " o no what did I do?" I had my M3 before and i was scared to do anything in it, I just want an e36 where i dont have to worry about how much its worth.