A few days ago when I posted about the 20-year-old who wanted to buy our 2002 BMW M3 I got quite a few comments.
Most of you said in no uncertain terms that it was too much car for someone that age. Others felt it was inappropriate for his family to fund this purchase. Still others were very negative about the outcome of putting a car like this in a young driver's hands.
But one commentor said something I really liked: "This kid's been in love with that model of M3 since he was 13. My guess is he'll be very careful with it. If anything, the worst that can happen is he'll damage the paint from over polishing it."
I'm not sure if this is true, but I'm going to keep this in mind. Because the kid bought the car.
Here's what happened.
When the kid came last Sunday, he asked a million questions about how the car had been driven and serviced. Looking back through records and blog posts I found it had been maintained better than I realized. I emailed him Monday morning with followup info but I didn't hear anything back all day long.
Fine, I thought, I really wanted to wholesale it anyway. And $16,000 (minus a $500 broker's fee) wasn't bad. In my Craigslist ad I had listed it for $18,000.
But then on my drive home my phone rang. It was the kid. We talked about the service records and I said I would be willing to deduct a certain amount for various issues. "I want to negotiate face-to-face," he told me. Okay.
An hour later my wife looked out the front window and said, "Here comes the committee." The kid came with his mother and uncle. Standing by the M3, we talked about maintenance and other issues. The uncle test drove the car. And then he said, "We want to make an offer."
This is always an interesting moment since you have no idea what will come next. But I was thinking that if I could get $17K it would be a $1,500 improvement over the wholesaler.
"We'd like to offer you $17,000," the uncle said.
Now, it would be a mistake to say, "Great! I'll take it." Instead, I winced and said, "I was hoping to get a bit more than that. But there are a few outstanding issues. And I know how much he wants the car. So, okay, I'll accept $17,000."
We drove to the bank where the mother got a cashier's check for the full amount. As we drove back the kid was really babying the car (which is hard to do). I couldn't help being like a dad either, and said, "You know, in a car like this it's easy to go way faster than you realize. And keep an eye out for cops."
He dropped me off at my house and I watched the black BMW disappear around the corner. I'm hoping he takes great care of it. And I hope the worst he does is damage the paint by overpolishing it. Good luck and safe driving.
Philip Reed, Edmunds Senior Consumer Advice Editor @73,900 miles
joefrompa says:
10:35 AM, 07/23/09
Hey Philip,
This post appeared out of nowhere back-dated one day.
Great blog post though about the transaction and holy crap at the parents taking out a cashier's check for $17k "just like that".....makes me worry about the kid appreciating the car since it was apparently so easy to obtain.
I pray he stays safe and enjoys his new car to the best of his ability within sanity.
drmillerM3 says:
11:17 AM, 07/23/09
Congrats to him. Much easier than the $30k+ cashiers check I cut for mine. (Too bad half of it was the banks money).I was also 3 years his senior though.
Congrats to you kid! I would assume you've probably read this thread if you are truly in love with the car.
Give it hell, but properly maintain it as well and it'll work out great!
Goodbye epic thread.
mercedesfan says:
11:40 AM, 07/23/09
It is a shame to see this car go. I think it was my favorite car in the entire fleet.
mlh says:
12:54 PM, 07/23/09
Great story. Are you guys going to replace it with another used long-term car? How about a used E55?
desmolicious says:
01:12 PM, 07/23/09
Cool. When I was selling my BMW M Coupe (based on the Z3 but with 315hp), a father and son (either 16 or 17) team came along.
The son did not ask any questions, just pointed out how 'hot' the car was. I let the Dad test drive it with me in the passenger seat. Half way through, he asked me if it was a good first car for his kid.
I said heck no. If I had that car when I was 17 I would have been toast. He thanked me, and left. I sold that car to a 30-something year old dood a week later. With clear conscience.
;)
m_thrizzle says:
01:17 PM, 07/23/09
Congrats to the kid. I still wonder if Edmunds did the valve adjustment required for Inspection II. The last post on it was that the mechanic didn't have the shim kit and they were supposed to take the car back later. Not sure if that ever happened.
I started visiting this longterm blog due to the 2002 M3 (I have an 01). It is sad to see it go but I will still continue to visit this blog and read up on the current fleet.
kissel1 says:
02:38 PM, 07/23/09
Would it be possible to do a long-term road test on this car?
Thanks!
srlracing says:
05:59 PM, 07/23/09
I do really hope he will take care of it. Somehow I think he will. He sounds like a true car guy and not one of these poseurs that drive M3's just because they are the big bad BMWs and end up wrapping them around trees. I think he truly has a passion for it.
roadburner says:
07:30 PM, 07/23/09
My Prediction- within one month the score will be:
ditch/light pole/tree-1
2002 M3-0
cw910 says:
10:37 PM, 07/23/09
roadburner is absolutely correct. talk to any trauma surgeon, cop, EMT, or insurance agent about 20 year olds driving cars like M3s.
billt9 says:
02:59 AM, 07/24/09
cw910,
But those peeps you list only see the cases that go wrong.
What you see in a hospital isn't what's out there. The hospital population is already preselected for those individuals who screw up. Keep in mind there's far more people out there who don't screw up. And only people who after the fact already got into an accident calls insurance agents.
It's like asking a physical therapist what percent of people he sees are crippled. Well, 100%. Ain't 100% of people out in the world crippled.
billt9 says:
03:14 AM, 07/24/09
Before a trauma surgeon sees any patient, there's many filters:
1. fender bender and everyone shrugs and drives away.
2. bad enough to call a cop and file a report, then drive away.
3. bad enough to be transported to a local hospital, seen by an ER doc and cleared.
4. bad enough to be seen by the ER doc and worked up with imaging.
5. bad enough to be seen at the local hospital by the ER doc, who sees serious injuries, packs the patient up, sends the patient back out on ambulance to a major tertiary hospital that has a trauma surgeon.
Oh shit EVERYBODY has serious injuries!
canadaphant says:
09:20 AM, 07/24/09
kissel1-What?
As for this kid getting this car 'easily'-I bet it was nothing of the sort. Of course he's going to end up driving it hard, and he'll get some tickets-maybe even scratch it up a bit doing something stupid. But I bet this kid has been plotting this purchase for ever. His mom took out the cashier's check, but I am sure this kid has everything invested in this car, and good for him. Cool ride, hope he loves it.
kyolml says:
12:21 PM, 07/24/09
Still, for more than $13,000 a year in depreciation, it's pretty bad for a used car which already depreciated almost half the sticker price for 6-7 years old...
drmillerM3 says:
01:26 PM, 07/24/09
@kyolml
Where are these people coming from? What happened to intelligent posts?
This car has never depreciated $13k a year, and certainly not this past year.
My car is an '04 with 50k on it and it "depreciated" $7,500 in the last 12 months.
However, all luxury cars have depreciated unprecedented levels during this time frame due to the economy.
So $13k for an '02?? Lol, you better get your facts state before posting next time.
And for the rest of you, quit speculating about the kid. That's all it is, speculation. We are not privy to any facts, so just be happy for him; I am.
Jealousy can be a b*tch I guess.
cameronj says:
02:46 PM, 07/25/09
Congratulations!!! My first car was a beemer (a '71 3.0CS), and I absolutely loved it, and I'm so glad that this kid is getting his dream car.
roadburner says:
12:35 PM, 07/26/09
"My first car was a beemer..."
If that's the case, your first "car" had two wheels.
Repeat after me:
Bimmer= BMW Automobile
Beemer= BMW Motorcycle
blueguydotcom says:
10:38 AM, 07/27/09
Roadburner, thank you. A guy called my car a Beemer twice yesterday. My jaw set but I kept my mouth shut. On the second one my wife corrected the guy, knowing it's one of my pet peeves (this is just a irritant, like people who say they go to an unknown place called "Nordstrom's").
roadburner says:
02:53 PM, 07/27/09
Have you heard/seen the ridiculous Cadillac radio/TV ad where a female(I'm guessing here) CTS owner talks about how she used to have a "Beemer"?
Morons.
induscreed says:
06:21 AM, 07/31/09
Here's my guess. The kid's going to put a new set of wheels, detail ext/int, maybe modify the exhausts and use is it as a daily driver. He'll occassionally floor it from time to time (only in the back roads or secluded parts of the interstates..dont know how it is in Cali). Besides, the kid's 20...imagine the insurance rate on this vehicle at his age. My guess is, the car will be added under his dad/mom's insurance. This will be a garage car for him where he spends depressed days and sunny weekends going through the details with a fine toothcomb and memorizing the owners manual.
turbobrick says:
11:14 AM, 07/31/09
@induscreed I'm 23 and just bought a 2009 RX-8. That accurately describes how I am with my car (at least after the first month)
eleven_alpha says:
06:24 AM, 08/ 1/09
Where does it say you have to be 35 and bitter to be allowed to own a performance vehicle? The amount of pessimism and negativity on this board is astounding. A couple points:
1- Almost every single near miss that I have had while driving was not with some 20-year old hotshot, but with a 30- to 40-something putting their make up on while driving, or shouting into one of those Bluetooth headsets, or trying to drink their Starbucks crappaccino while merging at 80+ mph. While years and time do help, they don't make bad drivers good. If this kid is a bad driver at 20, he'll still be a bad driver at 40, regardless of experience. If this kid is a good driver at 20, then he'll still be a good driver at 40. Close-minded assumptions and bitterness just demonstrate one thing: that a person is close-minded.
2- Look at the amount of attention this kid has shown towards this process. He wants a detailed background on the maintenance and driving habits of the previous drivers. He brought his uncle to help test drive the vehicle to check the mechanicals. The level of devotion and love shown here is fantastic. This isn't some poser rolling up to the BMW dealership with daddy's Amex Black, buying a new M3 so he'll have the best car at school and make all his friends jealous. This is a young man who reads Inside Line, loves the E46 M3, and is buying it after a previous owner and the whole staff of Edmunds.com have driven/beaten it to hell.
3- Are people really so bitter and jealous that this person actually went out and got their dream car and made it happen that they just have to put the whole situation down? "Well, clearly since he's only 20 he won't appreciate the engineering and will definitely crash it." Grow up. This kid has crossed every "t" and dotted every "i" to work this deal out and get his dream car. So more power to him. I hope he polishes the paint until it's absolutely blinding in direct sunlight. I can't think of an owner that will appreciate the automobile more.
thedream21479 says:
07:09 PM, 08/ 1/09
Gosh It makes me sad to see this car go. I'm sure Sadlier feels the same way. I'm lucky enough to own one (an 04) and I love reading about your experiences with it. I hope he treats it well- he will definately treat it better than you guys did, of that I have no doubt.
Good luck kid, hope to see you on E46fanatics.com so you can show off your new baby!
mopho says:
10:30 AM, 08/ 4/09
Wonderful story, and good for him!
As eleven_alpha said, I, too, can't think of anyone who will appreciate the car more.
fuhteng says:
12:24 PM, 08/10/09
I wonder which is higher - his insurance or his car payment to Uncle Jim? In So. Cal. I think I already know the answer. Yikes.