The $92k M Coupe

[Enchipotlado]

I know we are all Z4 people here but there was some Z3 news this week that some may find relevant/interesting. A couple days ago an ‘02 S54 Z3 M Coupe sold for $92,000 on Bring a Trailer. It was in excellent condition and had very few miles, but this was a drastic departure from previous Z3 M sales prices. Link to the sale and extensive commentary here:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2002-bmw-m-coupe-11/

For the speculators out there - this could be your Z4’s future in a few years.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Enchipotlado

I know we are all Z4 people here but there was some Z3 news this week that some may find relevant/interesting. A couple days ago an ‘02 S54 Z3 M Coupe sold for $92,000 on Bring a Trailer. It was in excellent condition and had very few miles, but this was a drastic departure from previous Z3 M sales prices. Link to the sale and extensive commentary here:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2002-bmw-m-coupe-11/

For the speculators out there - this could be your Z4’s future in a few years.

BaT tends to set markets at times, and this could be one of them. Before you get your hopes up too high however you might want to look at the recent Z4 M coupes sales on that site. Suggestion: be sitting down.

[KevinC]

Can't compare recent Z4M BaT sales to the $92k Z3M because NONE of the Z4M's have been remotely close in condition or mileage (4k) to that Z3M. Some of the Z4M's have been "nice cars" but completely in a different league.

That said - an equal mileage/condition Z4MC wouldn't approach $92k. $50k might be the ceiling, MAYBE $60k if the "right' buyer came along. IMHO.

[wdb]

And the right color combination.

[garz747]

I do hope youre right. These cars are seriously undervalued. Ive seen 4 cylinder Porsches that are basically glorified Beetles go for huge money at auction. At least our Ms are serious fun!

[Enchipotlado]

Note I said “in a few years”. Not expecting any overnight miracles I just felt this was a significant event for Z owners.

[Grumpy Old Man]

So the fact that the seller has only put 200 miles on it in 12 years actually causes me concern. I'm thinking the buyer of this car will do the same......I've always liked these cars but I'd like to drive it and sure wouldn't pay that kind of cash for it. That car probably won't hold that value if it gets miles put on it (my opinion), which is fine if you wan't to fill a garage full of cars that you won't drive because you want them to appreciate. I bought my 993 with some milage on it, I drive it and it's going up in value.

[Andyh1]

Agree with the OP... It could be another 5-10 years. I sold a pristine E36 M3 on BaT, the car got a lot of attention and sold very well. These well taken care, old school, fully mechanical cars will go up in value.

[Efthreeoh]

So if you are the buyer at $92K what do you do with it? Are you going to drive it? Any additional miles are going to drop the price, of which you artificially set for it by WAY over paying for it. My wife owns a 1997 Z3 roadster, we've had it since new. While it is an entertaining car to drive, an honest BMW aficionado will admit to you that the base E37 chassis is really not all that good. It basically has an E30 suspension, and adding the roof greatly increaes stiffness to a chassis that starts out pretty weak, while it does not improve the looks of the car. The interior build quality is terrible. While BMW improved the build quality of the interior over time, it is still not worthy of paying $92K for a clean low-mileage example.

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So if you are the buyer at $92K what do you do with it? Are you going to drive it?

Hard to say, because I'm not in that financial position, which would likely dictate what I would do with it.

But I'll speculate. While rare as hell, I don't think that thing was much of an investment at $92k. Hell, it wasn't much of an investment for the guy who sat on it for so long and just sold it. By the time you factor in inflation, he certainly didn't make a killing.

So, I'd drive it. Maybe 5k miles/year. And just keep it in immaculate condition.

As for Z4MC future values - I think at some point I think they'll take off. Super rare and low-mileage, unmolested examples are getting more scarce every day. 10 years from now they'll be VERY rare. And perhaps finally, greatly appreciated by more than a handful of people.

[wdb]

S54 Z3 M Coupes have gotten hot, no doubt about it. I think their prices will remain strong. Whether this person with the $92K car is ever going to see a profit is a good question, but in the meantime they'll have bragging rights to the best one of the bunch. Wish I had the kind of money that would allow me to do stuff like that!

As for the Z4 coupes: don't get me wrong, I love them and intend to keep mine for a long, long time. But I'm not expecting any dramatic price jumps any time soon. I've been hearing "5 or 10 years" for 3 or 4 years now.

And, having hung around the Subaru SVX folks for more than 5 or 10 years, I know that timeframe is something that can be hanging out in the future for a long, long time. Meanwhile I'm happy to be able to afford to buy, drive, and maintain such a fantastic machine.

[Eau_Rouge111]

I'm happy to see this...given the E30 M3 in conditions similar to this one and mileage has sold near $100k or above and they made multiple more times the E30 M3 than the Z3M...so it's great to see the market finally respect how rare a S54 Z3M in that condition is. Bodes well for the Z4M if the trend continues on hard to find BMWs.

[Flipckyz4m]

Saw this $60k IB Z4M coupe under 5k miles optioned just right. Could be the right car for someone looking investment grade example.

https://www.bmwcca.org/ads/204901

[KevinC]

^^ Holy carp, THE unicorn of all configurations: Interlagos, extended leather, carbon leather trim, premium pkg, and NON-nav - that last point being YUUUUGE. Yeah, that's "investor grade" in my eyes.