The seller or today’s Good Buy or Goodbye Z3 describes it as “Show room CONDITION !!” and claims it’s a “COLLECTIBLE CAR!” The pics in the ad seem to support that exaltation, but will its price prove equally praiseworthy?
Pulsars are incredibly dense stars that have their light emissions narrowly focused across their gravitational axis. When combined with their rotation, that turns the pulsar into a sort of deep space lighthouse. The first such star was discovered in 1967. Little more than a decade after that, Nissan introduced the first Pulsar car.
We looked at a later Pulsar yesterday, a 1987 Pulsar NX Twin-Cam that featured both its innovative hatch covers and some cool T-top roof action. It was fairly tidy and without major issues other than some dashboard shenanigans and non-working A/C. That, however, wasn’t seen as an equitable balance to the car’s $7,650 asking price. You all voted it down in a 58% Goodbye loss, much to the chagrin of all the Radwood devotees out there.
Hey, remember that really dirty Porsche we looked at last week? That poor little Boxster appeared bedraggled and likely hid a multitude of mechanical problems to boot. Most of you advocated not walking but running away from it even at the aggressive price set by its hopeful seller.
The 2000 BMW Z3 M-sport roadster we’re looking at today is somewhat in the same class as that Porsche. The Bimmer, however, looks so clean you could eat off of it. Just make sure to maintain proper distancing from other car-as-plate fetish weirdos should you choose to do so. We’re in a pandemic after all.
This Z3 is a bit of a mama-bear of the model line. It has the 184 horsepower M54 six-cylinder and the M-Sport accouterments which puts it well above the performance of the four-pot cars but below that of the S54-powered M-Roadster. Behind the mid-range six sits a five-speed Getrag 250 which should make the car feel like it’s worthy of all those M-badged bits.
The ad notes that the car has been given an ECU re-mapping and what the seller describes as a “Custom Exhaust,” and an “Open Box AirFilter.” Those are updates that, like the subwoofer also noted in the ad, might be easily rolled back. You might choose to do the same thing to all the window stickers.
The ad is otherwise light on details but does offer a plethora of pictures and those tell us a compelling story. First off, it’s pretty nice. The Topaz Blue Metallic paint presents well across most of the car although it does look to exhibit some peppering on the nose.
M-sport dual parallels—extra-wide in the rear—fill the wheel arches admirably. The meats on those look like they could stand replacement, but that would warrant a closer look.
The three-layer top looks decent albeit with some wear at the rib-line evident, as well as some fading in the stitching. A clear plastic backlight does serve to balance out those demerits.
The interior beneath that top is a highlight. I mean, just check out all that blue leather trim. That’s complemented by some fake woodgrain on the console and an M-badged sport wheel and shift knob.
This car was built after the Z3’s mid-cycle refresh so you get an analog clock in the dash as well as a few trim updates outside. The boot-located tool kit and an ostentatious branded rear-window blanket are included in the sale. Sadly, there’s no indication that a folder full of maintenance records joins them.
There’s a mere 83,000 miles on the clock and the car does come with a clean title and, according to the seller, a Carfax full of good news.
We now need to find out if the dealer-set price of $11,999 will be good news to any and all prospective buyers. What do you think, is this Z3 M-Sport worth that kind of cash? Or, for that much would you expect more M for your money?
You decide!
Houston, TX Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Jim B. for the hookup!
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Note from Rob: Just a reminder; we are re-branding NPOCP as Good Buy or Goodbye. It’s all still the same under the hood!