Hey, /o/, I'm thinking of buying pic related, a 1997 BMW

>>14198546
Is this your first car?

>>14198546
That's a lot of miles. I wouldn't dare touch a car with that mileage.

>>14198558
No, it'd be my third, and I still have my Yukon as a daily.

>>14198563
Heh, well both of my other cars had a lot more than that, so I wasn't really sure.

Ignore posters about milage. These cars can last well over 350k with proper care.

Even then, if the motor shits out, you can always swap in something a little more exotic.

For the most part these were the last M3s to be fairly reliable. The engines are strong, parts are easy to get, and there's more than enough information out on the web to do work on it.

Your main focus now, is whether or not it has a good service history, and whether or not it's had any major issues.

They're ugly, but oh-so 90s and it sends you back to a time, where, things were pretty ok.

>>14198627
The dealer said that the engine was taken care of oil changes-wise, but I didn't know about valve shimming until after that, so I'll probably take a look at the camshaft and see how nice it is, if I get it, and have someone smarter than me shim the valves. Would you say it'd be safe to add a supercharger, or something like that?

File: 32a54a4d.jpg (83KB, 1024x683px) Image search: [Google]

83KB, 1024x683px

>>14198704

I've seen it done- In fact, in Phoenix (my city) there's a Dinan supercharged M3 sitting in some dealer lot. It's 10k, and I've debated buying it, but I have no money.

So, if you wanted to, you could do it, I'm just not sure on the specifics of reinforcing the engine. BMW motors are usually pretty solid, so you'd have to do some research to see if you need more than a MLS headgasket and some head studs. I know the E30 M20 can handle boost like a champ.

thats alot of miles for that price.

you better hope the electrical and runninggear and suspention are well taken care of

>>14198567
So long as you mechanically able and can manage most repairs on your own then I'd suggest getting it.

>>14198546
>97 M3
>205k miles
>White

I wouldnt pay more than 3-3.5k honestly, that is a ton of miles

>>14199079
I fully agree... I spend 5000 on one with 120 k miles a year ago and I feel like it was still too much

>>14199079
I do really wish that it was black... Well I haven't committed to anything yet.

>>14199059
I can handle 90% of repairs, just with the exception of weird BMW specific shit like valve shimming

Miles only tell half a story. Something well-maintained with 200k is going to be more reliable than a 50k mile shitter.

>>14199110
Do it OP!

Give it a test drive and listen to how it sounds and look around to how it looks

>>14199363
Yes, I'd never buy a car that I haven't driven, lol

File: IMG_20150211_164316976.jpg (298KB, 1579x889px) Image search: [Google]

298KB, 1579x889px

Mine has 218k. Runs beautifully, honestly it has never let me down. And I don't baby it. The only bad thing about it is the paint and interior have not held up well. I still love it though.

Just make sure the car has records. Mine has records that go all the way back to the original window sticker. Don't buy one without records.

>>14199774
I'm mostly interested because of the handling, is it as good as people say? I've seen it compared to the big boys, like carrera

>>14199984
It's known to be one of the best handling cars of its time, if not the best.