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1988 BMW M3

Sale price: $35,100.00 make an offer

Car location: Huntington Beach, California, United States

Sale type: Fixed price listing

Technical specifications, photos and description:

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1988 BMW M3 for sale

Current customer rating: current rating for this car(2) based on 73 votes
Exterior:When I received the car(2009),it was a little rough around the edges. It also sustained a small dent on the hood while in my shop (grrr). After getting the car 100% mechanically sound and the interior perfect, I sent it to the paint shop with both bumpers and rockers removed and had any repairs made and new paint on the hood, right fender, right quarter panel, front and rear bumper covers and rockers, small cracks repaired and repainted. The mirrors and rear wing were also repainted. I put many new items on it including emblems, front turn lights, fog lights, side and taillights, and horns. It then received a complete paint correction and detail, and this is how it looks today. I washed the undercarriage and verified there is no rust.  Interior:Newly rebuilt and reupholstered front seats, including seat struts. I installed new BMW carpet, floor mats, new shifter and boot, brake boot, steering wheel, consoles (original had holes for a phone install), front & rear ash trays, odometer gears, instrument bulbs, SI (service inspection) board, window switches, door seals, outer felts, rear window seals, sunroof seal, door brakes, and new complete lock set with new keys. I also installed new window tint, rebuilt window regulators, locks and latches. I removed the aftermarket radio and alarm and restored the original cassette but had RadioMan tune it up with updated tuner, lights and added an AUX input in order to listen to music from my phone. There are no cracks on the dash, no tears in the original headliner, and the rear seats are in very good condition.Engine:Recent inspection 2 service with new spark plugs, air and fuel filters, valve adjustment, belts and hoses, thermostat, breather hoses and boots. The throttle blocks replaced, injectors were cleaned and flow tested. While doing the repairs, I had the valve cover and plenum black wrinkle finish redone. Alternator and starter are rebuilt, and the oil pan gasket and motor mounts replaced.  Mechanical other:The a/c compressor, dryer and expansion valve are new; the system is now R134a and blows very cold. The trans and diff fluids have been serviced. The brakes are A/M cross drilled but work well and don't squeak. The brake hoses are new braided, the brake, power steering fluids flushed, thermostat replaced and coolant flushed. The muffler is A/M but looks good and sounds nice. I replaced all locks and ignition cylinder with new BMW and have a complete set of keys.Suspension:I replaced front struts & rear shocks (Boge), mounts and bump stops, spring pads, and differential mount. The wire shielding tends to deteriorate on the ABS wheel speed sensors and the brake pad sensor harness, so I replaced all of them. The steering rack is a ZF remanufactured, and the vehicle was aligned. The sway bars are A/M, larger with poly bushings, the rear control arms have been properly reinforced for larger sway bar, and the springs are H&R 1” lower.   The good:There were only 181 M3s produced with Henna Red exterior (only available in 1987-88) and black interior! It looks and drives fantastic! I have invested many thousands into the car and carefully restored it to as close to original condition as possible. The non original parts a nice improvements in driving characteristics. The vehicle is great to take to shows, weekend fun drives, club driving or simply daily drivable. The interior is like new, there are no squeaks or rattles, It looks amazing, clear title, runs excellent, drives and handles as it should, no rust, all functions work well including the A/C, the vehicle can be driven from CA to Florida tomorrow. It turns heads everywhere it goes.  The bad:The car's catalytic converter is original old and has leaks from small holes. It needs a new converter in order to pass CA emissions. Currently the catalytic converter and rear muffler are not in stock at BMW but have not gone “NLA”(Was told they would be available in 1-2 years). The full width front engine under tray (PN 51711961894) is missing (no longer available from BMW). The old a/m alarm system had small LEDs installed next to the lock knobs at the top of the door panels. I removed them and covered the holes with small black plastic rivets (see pics). Generally it looks great but a very close inspection will find there are some chips, overspray and imperfections in the paint. Prior to my purchase, the left fender was replaced with BMW new replacement (2005 Dan's paint & body AZ), but looks to have been done well. Also, the right quarter was damaged and repaired (this wasn't done very well and I have since had it re-repaired). The undercarriage is a little beat up from improperly lifting the vehicle (common for this vehicle). Title and history:I purchased the vehicle in 2009 from Gary Ray in AZ. Gary purchased the car in 2002 from Mike Hornisher also in AZ, From the docs I have it looks like Mike had the car for only a 2-3 years but did a lot of work to it. Prior to that I can only use the Carfax info. From 2009-2020 It sat in my shop un-driven and went through restoration. I did not title and register it until it was finished as the car was not fully put together. Once completed it failed smog inspection due to the catalytic converter(I figured). I temporarily installed a low mileage complete exhaust system (thanks to a great customer) in order to smog the car and register it. The CA DMV verified the VIN, I received a title, and all was great, until I decided to sell it and ran a Carfax. Yes, I had run a Carfax when I purchased it, but back in 2009 the report was very limited and it only showed the mileage discrepancy. So it appears there are 2 items of concern. First is the mileage. I have personally inspected the odometer when I replaced the plastic gears. I did not see any signs of tampering but the mileage was changed by what appears to be about 60k. I assume the cluster was replaced with used sometime late in 1999. Second, there was a salvage title issued in California back in 1995. It looks to me the car had over 100k miles on it at the time and the damage to the right rear quarter was probably the reason. Back then these cars were not worth much and if the repairs were more than $4-5k they were deemed totaled by the insurance companies. If this is what happened it was fixed and driven in CA for 5 more years and accumulated 45-50k more miles before it was eventually moved to AZ. It is currently titled and registered in CA with a clear California title. 

Cold Start Video

 

https://youtu.be/UWbwrZzwwVo

 

 

Driving Video

 

https://youtu.be/yfZr8kw8RLA

 

 

Walk Around Video

 

https://youtu.be/GG6AIjsoccI  

On Dec-08-21 at 17:06:54 PST, seller added the following information:

Much more hi res pics are in Google Photos linked in the YouTube videos:

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