Today’s Nice Price or No Dice M3 has added performance by way of a bunch of Dinan upgrades plus a factory hard top to keep it all under wraps. Let’s see if the specs and the price have you all flipping your lids.
Admonitions abounded in the comments on yesterday’s 1991 Jaguar XJ-S that it would prove a boon, not for its buyer, but for that buyer’s British car mechanic. In spite of such doom-saying, the car’s presentation and its $8,500 asking price proved a siren’s song for the majority. At the end of the day, that came up a winner with an 85 percent Nice Price vote.
Have you noticed that the E36 edition of the M3 has become something of the Jan Brady of BMW’s early hot compact line? I mean, it doesn’t engender the reverence of the DTM homologation original, nor does it cause fever dreams among fans the way the E46 edition seems to do. Add to that the fact that all ensuing models are burdened with complications, and that leaves this trio—the E30, E36, and E46—as the Brady-esque primarily analog M3s.
However, just like Jan trying out for the Pom Pom Team in an attempt to step out of her sister Marcia’s shadow, today’s 1998 BMW M3 convertible goes the Dinan route to give it performance and a badge that might finally make M3-o-philes take notice.
The Dinan bits go well beyond the badge on the butt. According to the ad, the car has a Stage 3 tune, cold air intake (carbon fiber and CARB-certified, no less), and Dinan-massaged throttle bodies and exhaust.
Stock, the M3’s S52 3.2-liter straight six makes 240 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. With all those Dinan goodies bolted in place, this one likely pushes those numbers higher. A new clutch, radiator, and a slew of maintenance work are noted in the ad, as well as fluid flushes and a number of oil changes to make what the seller claims is a “great running car.”
Aesthetically, the car presents laudably well. The Alpine White paint is not the best color for the car, but, as they say in the Hamptons, it goes with everything. Accenting that pale paint are checkered flag decals on contrasting corners, replicating the look of the E36 Lightweight. This being a convertible with a hard top, it’s not lightweight. Factory Style 23 alloys underpin and look perfectly sized for the car.
The cabin is where this M3 really steps out. The M-Tech cloth and Alcantara-upholstery look extremely well-kept and exceptionally inviting. Branded floor mats complete the picture. Unfortunately, no word is given on the condition of the convertible top or its mechanism, nor do we see the car without its hard top in place.
On the plus side, the title is clean and the car rocks a very minimal 74,000 miles on the odometer. What might such a car minimally be worth?
This car’s seller seems to think $22,900 is the right price for all that Dinan goodness. Do you agree with that assertion? Or is that price too much for a modded car no matter whose name is on the boot?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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