RE: Question on Dinan Equipped M3

[dahermann@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

>1.  Does anyone know what these upgrades consist of?

no, but i would guess that the chip, intake, and some suspension work are part of the package since $6k is too little for a supercharger but way too much for pretty much anything else except suspension work.  the dealer should be able to tell you exactly what the upgrades are, though.

>2.  Should I consider them as a value-added feature for the price of the
>car (they are asking $36K), or conversely, subtract from the value of the
>car?  Is the price reasonable?

this is the big question.  my silver 96 M3 has clear corners, 18" BBS wheels, Kmac camber plates, H&R springs, Bilstein shocks, Schroth harnesses, brushed aluminum shift knob and e-brake handle, and a 12-disc Alpine CD changer.  the sad truth of the matter is that while those additions cost a lot of money, the resale value of my car is only mildly affected.  if i were to sell it, all the easily removable items would come off and the stock parts would go back on.  i could likely sell the harnesses, corners, wheels, cd changer, and shift knobs separately for well over $1k but there is no way they would add that much to the resale price of the car were they included.

the bottom line is what is it worth to you?  you made it sound like the color isn't your top choice.  personally, there were a number of colors that i did not want.  even for 15% less cost, i would not have bought a green M3, for instance.  with the dinan modifications in particular, you should definitely know what they are and be able to appreciate them if you're going to pay more for them.  also, you shouldn't expect to pay a $6k premium for those mods.  at worst, you should pay the difference between stock and dinan parts.  assuming it has a dinan suspension, the car still has to come with some sort of suspension and there's no reason why you should pay for the stock suspension (factored into book resale value of the car) plus the full premium for the dinan suspension.

i would suggest figuring out what exactly the dinan upgrades are and how much they're worth to you personally.  M3s are not that rare, so find what you want for a reasonable price.  i personally had "M3 fever" when i was searching for one and almost bit on what, in retrospect, were some pretty bad deals (i was looking at one M3 on which the owner had replaced the stock 17" wheels with 16" Koenig wheels because she said that 17" tires were too expensive!  it would have cost me $1500-2000 to put some real wheels back on that car).  fortunately, i ended up with a pretty good car from a guy that was desperate to sell, so i got it for a pretty reasonable price.

btw, i don't know where you're located, but it seems that prices in the south/texas are lower than those in the northeast or CA. 

>3.  Will these upgrades require extra maintenance costs in the future?

some dinan components cost considerably more than stock components, but i wouldn't expect you'd need to replace those.  i wouldn't expect much in the way of maintenance, either, but someone with those upgrades could probably give you a more definitive answer.

good luck,

dan
96 M3 (dinan-less but quite fun nonetheless)
88 325is

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