Earlier this month I came close to buying a BMW on BaT, the Bring a Trailer auction site. I enjoy my two M cars and until this month hadn’t seen a car I wanted badly enough to bid. After watching the auctions and sharing comments on BMWs since 2016 it finally happened.
The car I bid on was the same model and color as my current Competition Package E46 M3. I was interested because it had a number of things I would have liked on my car. From the factory it had a Cinnamon interior (orangish brown), a less common color that looks fantastic against the Interlagos Blue exterior. The car also had some high-quality modifications, including a Karbonius air intake, Koni shocks and lightweight BBS wheels. It also had some expensive preventative work done that most E46 M3s eventually require, the VANOS update and a subframe reinforcement.
The biggest modification the car had received was a conversion from its original SMG transmission to manual. Manuals bring more money in the enthusiast market and this procedure has become relatively common. Usually a converted car isn’t as valuable as a car that originally had a manual transmission. I was counting on that fact to keep the price for this car within my reach.
I’m not unhappy with my current M3 at all. But this car gave me visions of mixing and matching the two to my liking and then selling the other. Using this car as the base, I’d transfer over my current wheels and exhaust, plus some smaller things like bulbs and the replacement shifter. The mileage of the two cars was almost identical, and if purchased at the right price this all could be done without a big outlay of cash.
Critical to my taking the online auction leap was the fact that the seller was a well-known BMW enthusiast. Both he and his brother were regulars in the online community NAM3Forum.com. That gave me confidence that the transmission swap was done well and everything was being represented accurately. There are only a few sellers on BaT that I’d trust to buy a BMW sight unseen.
The fact that I was a newbie bidder did not go unnoticed among my peers:
The bidding increased and eventually it was mano a mano between me and sf_motor. As the bidding increased I was feeling ambivalent. I wanted the car and didn’t doubt anything about it. I did start to wonder about a vector growing between the purchase price (plus BaT 5 percent commission) and what I could get for my M3. There were also logistical considerations.
This was occurring during the Labor Day holiday weekend. If I won the car we’d have to drive up to the Philadelphia suburbs to pick it up and drive it home. We were also leaving the following week on vacation. I was (happily) quite busy with work. Storing three cars, making the transfers I wanted, preparing my car for sale – the list was growing in my head.
So I was disappointed but not crushed when sf_motor won the bidding. It’s a strange feeling bidding online for a car you’ve never seen up close. I’m glad I experienced it, but a lot of things will have to fall into place before I do it again. If I ever make a purchase maybe I’ll find out what it’s like to sell a car on BaT. Or maybe not – here’s Rob Seigel’s humorous take on his experience. Happy fall!