The age is not a factor. As long as I can see the service has been kept up with, it will be fine. I find they are just as reliable as any car as long as the services are done properly and on time.

 

That is one of my favorite BMW made. I think they look mean as fuck from the rear. I liked that car when I first saw it at the Philadelphia Int'l auto show when I was 17 or 18.

 

that pic makes the rear look like a mini E46 M3, kinda like what a 1 series would be if it were here back then.

And I hope you've got some extra cash on the side for shipping costs. These things aren't exactly local.

 

What do you mean "shipping costs" and that these arent "local" ?

I never ship cars, I always at least fly up and check the car out in person, get it up on a lift, etc and drive it back.

I am usually able to get the seller to help me out on the price, if he's motivated enough to sell, to pay for an airline ticket wherever. Haven't had any trouble doing that in the past.

 

Guess that problem's taken care of then

 

They are awesome cars. If you have no need for the 5 then I say do it. A few things though.
1. The interiors are not that big at all, even with the "extra" area from the hatch back. Might be kinda tight for a dog that size on a road trip.
2. Maintnence will be more than a 540 by a bit. The S54 engine (in the 2001-2002 coupes) needs a valve adjustment every 30k miles which will set you back at least $250-300, on top of a regular Insepction I service.
3. Even though you're not a new driver, if you've never had experience on a race track or with high powered RWD cars (a 540 doesn't count) go to a driving school. Then take a car control clinic where you drive your own car. A 2001-2002 m coupe may not have insane horsepower numbers, the cars are light at 3000 lbs which makes them very fast. Their weight and suspension set-ups also makes them prone to lift off oversteer. Those cars can spin out very easily if pushed hard and you don't know what your doing.

 

I agree with your points but..

1. I'm single, and don't need much space at all, only thing I have on my frequent road trips is a duffel bag and my dog, (these are weekend trips back home or to visit relatives 100 miles away) so quick 1.5 hr trips. My husky is about 50 pounds, as of now he would fit, we'll have to see if that changes in the next few months and how much he grows. I would say as long as he's under 75 pounds he'll be fine.





2. Maintenance hasn't been an issue, many friends at the local BMW dealership, and good friend who is a Independent BMW/Mercedes mechanic. Not to mention I take care of some things by myself

3. I definitely will want to learn how to drive it to get the most out of it. Therefore, you are probably right, and I will consider a good driving school.

 

One more for good measure :

 

^

 

Too much "junk in that trunk"....

Heh.

 

Damn. Should have known what I was getting into on this forum posting a picture of a girl.

lulz

 

found another:

 

So have you made a decision yet? I think you should go for it!

 

Yes I'm definitely going for it.

But here's the thing, I'm going with a 99 or a 2000 because they come with the S52 engine (E36 M3 engine 240 hp etc) instead of a 2001-2002 with the S54 (E46 M3 engine 315 hp).

The S52's M coupes are cheaper, easier to work on, there are MANY more mods for it and FI is a simple route with that engine. Plus they're both about the same unless you plan on going over 100mph. Also, this is going to be my daily driver, and the S52 is more daily driver friendly.

 

I say go for it...the M coupes are pretty nice and quick, but get the V6 that puts out 315.

 

Aren't they all inline?

 

Both motors are I6's.

But OP does make a good point with FI on the S52. If I got an M coupe, I would keep it all motor though. The sound they make is gorgeous.

The M coupe is right up there with the 2002, E30 M3 and 850CSi in terms of my favorite BMWs.

 

Smart man.

 

HELL YES...only 01-02 with the e46 m3 engine not the american spec e36 one. If you want FI itll cost you an arm and a leg but the s54 has WAYWAY more potential.

 

Are the E36 engines any lighter than the E46 ones? I know the E46's iron block is pretty damn heavy

 

Probably marginally, perhaps owing it to the plastic intake manifold on the S52B32 plus a few other things here and there.

 

i saw one the other day, they are def very rare.

 

Z3 M Coupes are one of my favorite cars of all time, and they look sexy as hell IMO
and wow.... it's like i'm writing this thread
OP, this is the exact way i was thinking about a month or two ago
i decided aswell for maintenance sake and others that i'd get an s52, had two lined up that i really liked and was working deals on.
Then i finally got a hold of someone in my city so i could test drive one.
Since i wanted to make sure i was comfortable in it and all, since i am tallish (about 6'3).
well i fit, but barely, and since it's only a 2 seater, there's no room for the seats to recline, and i ended up driving it while looking through the top most part of all the windows, and my head was just into the moonroof area, so not much room to spare.
long story short, had to cancel on both buyers for the fact that i'd feel weird driving a car like that because of my stature
so i hope you're 6 feet or under...

oh and for searching for used ones... i assume you are already on bimmerforums?
then you should know about this site "listings(dot)mcoupebuyersguide(dot)com/"
obviously replace the "(dot)" with real "." i just do this because AZine blocks some links, and this can be a valuable website for your searching.
FWIW i was looking at the imola red one in AZ, seems like a not bad car, if you just want a driver's car, not a show car or collectible, and if it's still forsale, i'm sure he'd be willing to work on price, i had him down to just under 16, when he still had it listed at 18.
let me know if there is anything else i can help with, i've been researching them for a while, so i should know a lot of things about them.
like this quick tidbit: the sunroofs do only tilt, but there has been a tool made by one of the members so that you can remove the whole glass piece of the sunroof, thus you can have an open sunroof.
also a twinscrew supercharged s52 m coupe was my dream
what color are you going for?

 

Where did you pull this picture from? I recognized the sticker as a local MINI tuner shop...

 

No idea

 

Hah I'm only 5'10"

Yup, already on bimmerforums ( I own a 540i) and have already been glued to mcoupebuyersguide.com every Friday for updates. But I'm waiting for the right one to come along as this will be a gift to myself for graduating and I don't want any regrets.

I'll definitely let you know if I have any questions, it sounds like you're done some decent research on them.

I'm kinda bummed about how the sunroof doesn't open but oh well tilt is better than nothing at all I guess. Just a minor detail in such an amazing car IMO.

Definitely going to S/C it though. I'm going to need more power than the S52 puts out. But I'm still considering strapping a turbo to that thing as well.

Color isn't that much of a concern to me. I like all the exterior colors the m coupe came in. But if I really could choose I would pick black on an imola red interior. As long as the interior is tan I don't care.

 

I got this off of bimmerforums.com

 

Good choice! I love this car, however Z4M can be had for relatively cheap at the moment so you might want to consider that (though I agree with you that the z3 mcoupe styling is better).

Depends if you want to go for a shoe or a whale look really.