Vehicle Details
- Year: 1994
- Make: BMW
- Model: M3 Coupe
- VIN: WBSBF91020JC32406
- Mileage Shown: 80,500
- Transmission: Manual
- Title Status: Clean
- Color: Dakar Yellow
- Seller: ssouther9115
- Seller Type: Private Party
- Location: Amesbury, MA 01913
- Lot #: V-0017401
Up for auction is this 1994 BMW E36 M3 finished in Dakar Yellow over a grey M-Cloth interior. In 1992, BMW launched the second generation of its M3 high-performance 3-Series with a new body style, chassis, and 6-cylinder S50 engine which offered an increase of nearly 100 HP over the original M3. This example was produced in May of 1993 at the 3-Series production facility in Regensburg, Germany, and was delivered new in Greece where it remained before being imported into the United States in November of 2020. Factory optioned with a slicktop (sunroof delete) roof, this European-spec E36 M3 is now being offered for auction with approximately 80k kilometers (just over 50k miles) on the odometer by its seller out of Massachusetts.
This M3 was ordered in Dakar Yellow (267) with black Shadowline trim. Other equipment includes pop-out rear quarter windows, Euro-spec glass headlights, and front/rear foglamps. The M3 can be differentiated from a standard E36 3-Series by its aggressive lower air dam, sculpted rockers, rounded aero mirrors, and lower rear diffuser with dual exhaust tips. This M3 has also received an aftermarket front splitter, black kidney grilles, and black/silver BMW roundels. The original 17” BMW Style 22 DS1 wheels come dressed in Dunlop/Goodyear tires. The seller reports some minor road-going wear, a slight crack underneath the side skirt, a cracked fog light, and a scuff on the aftermarket front spoiler lip. Detailed images are provided in the gallery along with a clean CARFAX report.
The interior is upholstered in rare grey “M-Rain” fabric upholstery with manual Vader sport seats featuring cloth inserts and suede side bolsters. Other M3-specific details include a leather-wrapped M-Sport steering wheel with M tri-color stitching, M3-branded door sills, and an M-badged instrument cluster with a 280 KM/H speedometer and 8k-RPM tachometer. The driver is supplied with an onboard trip computer, power windows, central locking, cruise control, automatic climate control, and an aftermarket stereo head unit. The ashtrays do not latch shut and the seller notes discoloration on the driver’s outside bolstering, minor splitting of the door card fabric, a sagging glove box, low quality on the aftermarket head unit screen, screw holes in the shifter boot trim, and missing passenger side storage compartment (replacement included).
This Euro-spec M3 is powered by a 3.0L straight-six S50 engine which produces up to 286 HP and 236 lb.-ft of torque, driving the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual transmission. The 3.0L Euro S50 produces over 40 HP more than its U.S. counterpart thanks to individual throttle bodies, continuously-variable VANOS valve timing, heavy-duty valve springs, and higher compression ratios. The airbag warning light is present and an oil change has been recently completed.
This sale will include a clean title.
Auction Results
- Sold for: $35,000
- Auction End: Mar 25, 2022 07:34:19PM UTC
- Number of Bids: 26
Comments (89)
Sold for $35,000
Strong finish, well worth it! wish I was in the market.
Wow! Good end to this one. I hope you made some money
Bid in the amount of $35,000
Bid in the amount of $34,250
Bid in the amount of $34,000
Bid in the amount of $33,500
Bid in the amount of $33,000
Bid in the amount of $32,250
Bid in the amount of $32,000
Bid in the amount of $31,000
Bid in the amount of $30,000
Bid in the amount of $29,250
Bid in the amount of $29,000
Bid in the amount of $28,250
Bid in the amount of $28,000
Bid in the amount of $27,250
Bid in the amount of $27,000
Bid in the amount of $26,000
Bid in the amount of $25,100
Bid in the amount of $23,750
Bid in the amount of $23,500
Bid in the amount of $23,000
@Tom44 agreed, This is still an awesome buy.
Bid in the amount of $22,500
@ssouther9115 Don’t worry about it man. It could’ve been worse, you could’ve found out the car had a massive accident with major structural damage and 500k km on the clock.
@Btbossman I honestly feel so stupid for not googling the vin of the car. I got Carfax reports beforehand but didn't think of googling it for some reason
@ssouther9115 Wow!!!! That’s crazy!
@collectorcars @collectorcarschicago
Quite down now. You’ve said your piece
Thank you Respectfully
I maintain that regardless of the new information this car is still selling, and for more money than you might think.
@collectorcars @collectorcarschicago well you don't buy resprayed M cars so it's all good
@ssouther9115 get over yourself? Dude what the heck kind of auction is this Learn how to talk to your high bidder and in reality only bidder on the car.
Bid in the amount of $22,000
@Btbossman someone posted this link to an old for sale add of the car when it was in Greece
https://carhellas.blogspot.com/2020/01/bmw-m3-e36-pics.html
@Tom44 then he’s best off having the vehicle removed off the site and starting with a clean slate. This auction has so much misinformation what’s written in the description and what’s revealed are two different cars. That’s called misrepresentation of a vehicle. Whether he did intentionally or not the website hosting the site needs to take accountability of that.
@collectorcars @collectorcarschicago I’ve been as transparent as I possibly could about the car given the situation. In the end, you weren’t the one that got burned on the car, so you need to get over yourself
I’ve read through all the comments where did the 200k km thing come from? I’m just curious.
Thanks!
@collectorcars @collectorcarschicago
Hey man, I’m not justifying any error. I’m just replying to your comment. It’s a reserve auction, which is not met at $20k anyway so don’t worry about it. The seller didn’t have any intention of misleading anyone and you’re not on the hook to buy it.
@ssouther9115 I don’t buy resprayed M cars. Be transparent and have your vehicle inspected prior to listing it on a public auction site. If you don’t know what your selling don’t sell it. This auction is sickening
@PCARMARKET_MODERATOR remove this listing and withdraw the seller. Repost the vehicle with correct info not mid auction.
@Tom44 are you trying to justify this error? Because your not doing a good job I bid on a car with 80km not 200k. @pcarmarket @seller your trying to justify I won’t be able to tell doesn’t mean it isn’t repainted. You can’t sell a repainted M as an original paint car period. @pcarmarket how in the heck are you adjusting the mileage mid auction while there is an active bid on the car. You should have withdrew this listing from the site it makes no sense to me right now what the heck is going on. Changing an auction description mid auction is kinda shady and frowned upon with an active bid. Either relist the car fresh with no bids or remove the auction off your website.
@MAlvarez Look I get what you’re saying but my buddy has well over half a million in cars and some very successful businesses. He has absolutely no reason to s fee somone for a few thousand bucks. I don’t even know why he sold it. It’s such a pretty e36.
@collectorcars @collectorcarschicago Big deal is relative. This car with 50k miles or 150k miles was used, that isn’t a bad thing at all. If paint is fading or there’s damage in transport, what do you expect someone to do? If your plan is to get a concourse grade car you should be looking to spend $40 to $60k. Point is you’re not going to snag a euro spec Dakar E36 for $20k with 50k miles. That ship sailed a while ago.
@collectorcars @collectorcarschicago The respray really doesn't take away from the car aesthetically, you can be standing right next to it and won't notice any paint flaws, whoever resprayed it did a damn good job. Everyone has different taste when it comes to cars, and that’s ok.
As many have seen, the seller has discovered new information during the auction and as a result, we have changed the mileage status in the listing accordingly. Once again thank you to the community and please note that all comments regarding the condition stand on their own merit. The reserve price has also been adjusted accordingly.
@Btbossman With all due respect if you actually intend to get away with rolling back an odometer step 1 would be to not tell anybody, including personal friends. Now whether or not it was the importer, or the person who owned it in greece before him that rolled it back.. we will never know. Thats the whole problem, there is no chain of custody or real history with the car so it needs to be purchased at face value.
@ssouther9115 I obviously have no real idea about your transaction and what the terms were but I can say the damage sustained during shipping must have been fairly minor as it was sorted very quickly.
I know Peter very well and he would never intentionally screw anyone. I personally would have mentioned the minor paint work but again I can’t speak for him.
I can say I’ve driven this car. And it does not drive like a 200k km car, and it is in awesome shape.
In the end it is a great car, unfortunately, stuff from Europe cannot easily be verified sometimes which is why I would never have imported this car only to export a c7 stingray. I’m sure he’s not too happy about that decision right now with gas prices as they are. ?
@e36kev @e21kev perfect spec in my opinion! the car is stunning in person
@collectorcarschicago are you still keeping your bid at 20k?
@Cgeld judging by the overspray, it looks like the entire car was repainted. After learning more about the past of the car I’ve done a few other vin searches that pertain to this car and didn't find anything about an accident. The paint on the car is VERY NICE and there are no imperfections such as paint drips, swirl marks, or orange peel. The car really does present itself awfully well, I’ve gotten multiple comments about how clean the car looks from random people
@Tom44 I love how you’re saying a full respray isn’t a big deal on an M car. People dont even touch an M with a repainted panel.
@Btbossman I think it's pretty obvious that I was lied too by the previous owner, and the fact that you said that proves my point because I initially asked if the car was in an accident and they said no. He was the one that imported the car so he would be the only one that would have a direct incentive to swap the cluster, especially considering the Greek title does not show the miles of the car so it would be pretty easy to get away with. Regardless of the situation, it's still a very nice car and you can tell it's been well kept for its entire life.
To settle any doubts and hypothesizing about the cars hx, And of course if it doesn’t meet seller reserve, the seller should spend $100 to $200 on a PPI from a reputable shop, fix whatever needs fixing so car is 100% mechanically sound, perform any prophylactic servicing, redo the bolster if possible, and get a body shop to verify in writing that there are no signs of an accident, structural repairs performed. I’d even reach out to prior seller for pics of the damage. 200k km isn’t a big deal if the car is fully sorted. Respray also isn’t a big deal since the Dakar 1 paint is prone to fading. This engine plus the Dakar color carry a premium over other E36s.
Beautiful E36, A favorite of mine. Jealous of the person who takes this home.
@ssouther9115 Hi, was reading through replies about paint, the entire car has been painted?
Have you had the car checked for any accident damage, such as panel, bumper or bondo.
Thank you.
@Tom44 Don’t know exactly but I know he was pissed when it came in. I think it was driver side the car slid into something
@Btbossman what was the extent of the damage?
Yay
I know the last Owner Peter personally, and know the lengths he took to get this car to the US.
There was some damage due to shipping when it arrived which is why some paint work was needed.
Peter is indeed in Greece right now, but you must understand Greece is not like here where you can just get records Willy nilly. If the odometer was tampered with, he definitely didn’t know anything about it. This car cost him over 30k all said and done to buy and import.
Hats off to the seller for being on top of this, with what is known about the car now I believe it still holds a strong value. Honestly, Impeccable condition despite the higher mileage and a car meant to be driven.
@seller @pcarmarket so this car has 200k km and I bid when it was listed with lower what’s the game plan with this auction?
As all of you know, there is less than 24 hours to throw a bid on this Euro spec E36 M3 that is up for auction. Earlier in the week it was discovered that this car may have a milage discrepancy and has probably been repainted at some point. Throughout the week I’ve worked diligently to try and verify the milage on the current cluster and was unsuccessful. I tried bringing the car to a couple of shops, along with making multiple posts on various E36 Facebook groups and have concluded that it’s likely the cluster has been swapped on this car. I was not able to get a paint reading on the car because no one around me offered that service. I will note, one of the mechanics that was helping me diagnose the cluster issue seems to believe the car has been resprayed at one point.
To everyone that has been following this auction, I just want to let you know that I was not aware of this whatsoever. This news really does break my heart, and the reality of the situation is that there is no one to blame but myself. I paid a very pretty penny for this car and if I had known the cluster was swapped, I would have wanted to pay substantially less for the car. Even though it looks like the car is TMU, it is still a very nice car that is in overall VERY GOOD condition with very few blemishes on the body. The car drives very tight and the euro s50b30 really packs a punch and runs super strong. I think that Dakar Yellow over Grey “M-Rain” is arguably one of the best specs that these cars came in.
The more research I did, the more I feel like the previous seller ripped me off and it’s not a good feeling. I just want everyone that has followed this to know that I tried my absolute best to be as transparent as possible about the condition of the car and I hope you all can see that. For anyone that is interested in bidding on this car PLEASE check out my super thorough video where I give a super in-depth tour of the car inside and out. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask
@Westopher Couldnt agree more. Ironically enough a well taken care of 200k km car is much more appealing than a conditional 80k km car.
I just wanted to chime in with my interactions over on FB with this seller. He’s been super transparent and diligently trying to get this worked out to find the information he can about this car. I think he deserves credit for not trying to sweep anything under the rug, or dismiss the claims shown here. Numbers on the dash be damned, it’s still a beautiful car that’s being sold here, 200ish KMs is still a sub 150k mile car that’s reasonably low for this year, and if it looks good, and drives well then it’s still going to provide a great driving and ownership experience for the new owner. People should be buying these cars to drive them anyways.
The fact that you list all SRS light on on the dash is a good indicator that the cluster has been changed. There is no tramper light on a pre 1996 cluster so that won't alert you. When a post 1996 e36 cluster is installed in a pre 1996 models the airbag light will go on. BMW makes a special cable to prevent this but it seems your seller want aware of that. The biggest issue is that you really don't know how many miles are on that car. If you see the last reported milage in the Greek post you'd then need to know how many miles/km were on the replacement cluster when it was installed. While this is definately not a 50000 mile car it is still valuable. Id list it as 200,000 km (TMU) if it were mine. In reality that won't retract from the value as much as listing with the wrong milage would. GLWS
@Tom44 I agree. I honestly wasn't expecting to run into this sort of issue mid auction. It's a hard problem to solve with such a short window of time and a full-time work schedule. I should be able to get paint metering today and possibly get the odometer tested to find some answers. I will update everyone tonight or Friday with pictures and a general conclusion
@MAlvarez Yeah buyers should know exactly what they’re getting. I’m glad the seller is trying his best to sort out the mileage discrepancy, paint meter, etc.; it instills more confidence in the sale. Hopefully we’ll get more info soon. Still relatively early in the auction.
@Tom44 The car has likely been totally resprayed given that there's overspray on the exhaust tip on photo 138, the fuel door gasket on photo 152 and door latch on photo 57/66.
There were 2 versions of Dakar yellow used on e36 m3s, the earlier "Dakar I" came from factory with no clear coat and as a result is super prone to fading/sun damage.. so i can see why a full respray would have been done. Its not really possible to match panel per panel otherwise.
There are a lot of indications here that the car is probably not an 80k km car but im really hoping i get proven wrong.
@Tom44 I think I should be able to within the next day or so. I will do my best to get that taken care of along with getting the mileage verified
Will you be taking paint meter readings?
@MAlvarez It's a SUPER NICE ride and whoever buys it won't be disappointed. I feel kind of stupid for not googling the vin before I bought the car. I saw the car for sale, and I had to jump on it before someone else did. I was very impressed with the condition of the car when I bought it, so I didn’t even question the mileage because the E36's I’m used to seeing, are rust box Massachusetts cars
@Jdubbsvt85 As of right now I’m urgently trying to get the mileage verified. Yesterday I brought the car to Schneller Performance BMW, and they were having trouble plugging into the car, something along the lines of technical issues pertaining to the software/device they were using to read the computer. They mentioned that they know someone local that may have the correct device to read the computer. I also got in contact with the previous owner who is conveniently in Greece right now. I told him about the situation, and he is going to try and get some sort of paperwork (vehicle history report) to try and prove the authenticity of the car. He also mentioned that he can still get in contact with the previous owner before him to try and get more information. The previous owner seems to believe that the car is authentic, I told him that this was time sensitive, and he said he's going to do his best to try and get me something promptly
Would love to know more about the mileage. The underside seems to present itself more like a 200k km car than am 80k km car with the holes in the muffler and midpipe. There is definitely something going on with that driver seat as well. Seems odd to reupholster only part of the seat. The color mismatch doesn't look just like wear.
Really cool and clean car. Considering the uniform mismatch of the suede it looks like the driver upper/lower seat bolsters have been reupholstered, not just discolored as the video mentioned. The cushion wear is a good indication as to the seats use and a cloth side bolster would definitely take the brunt of the wear.
As far as the mileage goes, im not sure its possible to read the engine hours or verify any mileage past what is shown on the cluster, there is a supposed tamper light on the cluster in case its been messed with, but if you swap out clusters entirely you'd circumvent that indication.
200k km is still fairly low nowadays, and while there are plenty of redeeming qualities about this car that could belong to an 80k km car, there are also several others that could point to otherwise. Its just an unfortunate truth when it comes to imported vehicles, the JDM car space is littered with the same issue.
I really love this car, and im sure the buyer will too. Even if the mileage is incorrect im sure it will bring good money, but its important both the buyer and seller are clear about the cars history or lack thereof.
Bid in the amount of $20,000
@Tom44 I'm going to be completely honest; this is news to me. I originally bought the car off of Facebook Marketplace in Vienna VA. I bought the car consignment off of an individual that was representing the seller, I believe he worked at Motorcars Washington in Loudoun County, it was on his personal Facebook and was not a part of the dealer’s inventory. I'm not sure if that’s some sort of typo because the car really does present itself as an original 50k mile E36, especially considering how clean the body, interior, and engine bay is. None of the paperwork that I have clearly indicates the miles on the car before it was imported. What I’m going to do to try and solve this problem is bring it to a certified BMW tech and see if we can get verified milage or hours on the car by plugging into the computer.
https://carhellas.blogspot.com/2020/01/bmw-m3-e36-pics.html?m=1
Looks to be same vin and using Google translate, mileage in listing is 207,000km.
Not sure what the discrepancy is between the listed mileage in this auction and the mileage in the above link. Ssouther9115 any thoughts?
@signalMTB I agree!
Realize they aren’t to spec for this one, but the staggered DSII’s look so much better imo.
Bid in the amount of $16,500
Hey everyone! I just uploaded a super detailed, up-close walkaround video of the car. The video is VERY THOROUGH, and I urge anyone that is interested in the car to give it a watch. I just uploaded it and it's a pretty long video so the full HD version should be processed in the next few hours.
The video contains:
1. up close walkaround of the outside
2. Tour inside the car
3 Inside the engine bay & trunk
4. Cold start & driving videos
5. walkaround of the underside
*Video can be found in the listing above*
@Jdubbsvt85 I'm unsure where they ended up. I bought the car exactly the way it sits so my guess is they were sold a while back
@collectorcars @collectorcarschicago I believe that I’m the 4th owner. The previous owner was the one that imported the car, I guess he's originally from Greece and spends a few months there every year. I do not have any previous service records and am unsure if the Vanos has been serviced. I will also note, To the best of my knowledge the cooling system is original and is in good working order. None of the plastic is cracked or brittle and the hoses are in good shape
Wheels on the car ate ds2s
Do you know what happened to the original ds1 wheels? Guessing they were sold?
@seller
Hi do you know how many owners and do you have service records? Has the Vanos solienoid been replaced?
Bid in the amount of $15,000
Bid in the amount of $8,000
Hey everyone! my name is Sage, and this is my 1994 Euro Spec E36 M3 that is finished in infamous Dakar Yellow. This is an exceptional example with just over 80,000KM (under 50k miles) and you can really tell that this car has been well cared for its whole life. The car is extremely mechanically sound and drives unbelievably good for a 28-year-old BMW and is an ABSOLUTE BLAST to drive. I'm a very picky person and I’m proud to say that the body on this car is near perfect. There is no dings, dents, or significant scratches on the car and the paint is remarkably good and contrasts perfectly with the super rare grey “M-Rain” interior.
1. This car is mostly original and is largely unmodified
2. ALWAYS stored in a climate-controlled garage
3. Only has a handful of rock chips and a little bit of wear and tear on the interior (see pictures)
I really do love this car to death. It really has so much style and gets complemented almost every time it gets driven and has to be seen in person to appreciate how clean this thing really is. For anyone that has any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I will attach a 45 minute detailed walk around video that includes a cold start, and driving the car.