Discussion
Found a very tidy 95 M3. Ticks all the boxes as far as everything i have been looking for, only thing i am concerned about, seller says it was a Cat D write off. Does this affect residual value very much? Repair has been carried out to high standard and for 4K is it worth worrying about?
Hang on. It depends what you want it for. My Evo is a Cat D and I bought it for the track so I'm not so worried about selling. Cat D is pretty low on the Cat register so it really depends on its current condition and what it was given a Cat for. Mine was for flood damage so there were few structural worries and it all checked out fine. Just have your eyes open and be aware.
I bought a cat D Boxster a couple of years ago because it was pretty cheap.
The car was fine but I was completely unable to sell it - I couldn't even sell it through an auction; they wouldn't take it.
I ended up virtually giving it away. It was ridiculous because it was a seriously cheap car, people just didn't want to know.
The car was fine but I was completely unable to sell it - I couldn't even sell it through an auction; they wouldn't take it.
I ended up virtually giving it away. It was ridiculous because it was a seriously cheap car, people just didn't want to know.
No worries. Honestly. Is it an Evo or 3.0 though as 95 can cover both models.
If it's a 3.0 and Cat D I'd say it's slightly over priced - try and get £500 off and you're on a winnner. Run it for a while and have some (very) cheap fun; as long as the repair is good and the chassis is straight.
When you're wanting to sell it on try and sell it complete; if that's a non-starter then break it and get:
£4-500 for the interior if it's Alcantra/suede, £6-700 it's leather.
£1500 for the engine.
£350/400 for gearbox
£200 for the front bumper
£200 for the rear
£100 for the M3 mirrors
£400 for the wheels
and so on.....
If it's a 3.0 and Cat D I'd say it's slightly over priced - try and get £500 off and you're on a winnner. Run it for a while and have some (very) cheap fun; as long as the repair is good and the chassis is straight.
When you're wanting to sell it on try and sell it complete; if that's a non-starter then break it and get:
£4-500 for the interior if it's Alcantra/suede, £6-700 it's leather.
£1500 for the engine.
£350/400 for gearbox
£200 for the front bumper
£200 for the rear
£100 for the M3 mirrors
£400 for the wheels
and so on.....
Edited by naetype on Wednesday 9th April 00:27
If you feel you'll be keeping the car for quite a while it could be a real bargain , have a AA check & if its all Ok then use it as more leverage as there is a glut of M3's at the moment. All the M3's are taking a bashing right now ,just look on here in the ads , it will have to be very cheap there are some really cheap one's knocking around but that may not be the best way as you will end up paying for the present owners fun.
I have seen a few cars M5's & M3's that were Cat D & they were just as good as the so say straight cars, some better , so dont be put off by it just take your time & really work hard on the price,every m3 is hard to sell at the moment so go for the throat if the AA checks out.
Which is it a 36 or a 46 ?, try to find out exactly what the actual damage was,is the person now selling the car the owner when it was damaged if so then does he have any photo's of the damage ?
Or can you be get the p.o. details & talk with them about the damage etc, as I say it could well be a bargain as long as you want to hang onto it & have fun & use it,instead of it being a garage queen to ponce over & waffle on how special it is etc ,etc yawn. Buy it & drive it
I have seen a few cars M5's & M3's that were Cat D & they were just as good as the so say straight cars, some better , so dont be put off by it just take your time & really work hard on the price,every m3 is hard to sell at the moment so go for the throat if the AA checks out.
Which is it a 36 or a 46 ?, try to find out exactly what the actual damage was,is the person now selling the car the owner when it was damaged if so then does he have any photo's of the damage ?
Or can you be get the p.o. details & talk with them about the damage etc, as I say it could well be a bargain as long as you want to hang onto it & have fun & use it,instead of it being a garage queen to ponce over & waffle on how special it is etc ,etc yawn. Buy it & drive it
If the M3 was a cat d in the last couple of years it wouldn't bother me really as a VERY minor knock could do this, the same damage on a newer car would not have been recorded.
I bought an E36 M3 evo which was cat D due to a minor knock which damaged the SMG pump. I also looked at 2 other cars one of which had at somepoint had a much heavier impact as one chassis legs had been replaced but wasn't recorded.
cat D is all about money so if the car had an impact early in its life when it was still worth 25K it would have been worth replacing a chassis leg, at the moment say you had a small knock which required a bumper, bonnet, headlight and wing you could right off a E36 M3 if you were using bmw parts, all of which is superficial panel damage.
I bought an E36 M3 evo which was cat D due to a minor knock which damaged the SMG pump. I also looked at 2 other cars one of which had at somepoint had a much heavier impact as one chassis legs had been replaced but wasn't recorded.
cat D is all about money so if the car had an impact early in its life when it was still worth 25K it would have been worth replacing a chassis leg, at the moment say you had a small knock which required a bumper, bonnet, headlight and wing you could right off a E36 M3 if you were using bmw parts, all of which is superficial panel damage.
Thanks Guys. I have even more reason to doubt this chap now. He reckons that he is away " on business" till next thursday, so the car isnt available for Inspection till the day the auction closes. My guess is that he is hoping for someone to place a bid on it without seeing it, crazy i know, but people do it. If it were half the price i might go for it, but as someone has already said there are plenty of good ones out there at the moment, so why bother ! with a possible problem car.
alireza said:
what is a cat d?
http://www.whatcar.com/news-special-report.aspx?NA=217016&EL=3140508 
Edited by obes on Friday 11th April 15:27
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