About this Site
After 5+ years of searching for the perfect BMW M Coupe, I had not found it, but I had learned a lot about them and about the market. While waiting for my perfect coupe to show, I thought I would share some of my insight with other potential M Coupe buyers. This site will contain some basic information about what to look for in an M Coupe as well as links to current sale ads and my thoughts on them. Feel free to leave comments as I am not an expert and am always happy to learn more about the car I love.
Now that I have finally found my coupe, I will be posting more articles on upgrades and modifications as I research and install them. It has also motivated me even more to help others like me find their perfect coupe. Enjoy!
Saw this on craigslist.
http://tulsa.craigslist.org/cto/2585221940.html
Great find Leslie! Thanks!
Hi, i follow your page for several years looking for my perfect M coupe (just like you) i live in Mexico and the problem is i only can import a car which Vin Number starts with number (4 or 5) and i my research i only look 2002 cars with this vin number, all other cars starts with W (like then were made in West Germany) do you know something about it??? if not i will consider buy a 2002 (but this car is the most expensive M)….
Regards
Yeah, unfortunately all the 1999s, 2000s, and 2001s have a German VIN number even though they were built in South Carolina. Only the 2002s start with “5″. The only exception is the handful of pre-production 1998 M Coupes whose VINs start with “4″. I know there are at least a couple of them out there, but have never seen one come up for sale.
I used to park next to an mcoupe 7 years ago and wanted one ever since. Im so glad this site exists since it keeps me in touch.
Will get one eventually….thanks for all the great info
Finally drove my first M coupe a few weeks ago, and now follow this website nearly every morning and night looking for the perfect M coupe. This is is a friggin gold mine, thanks for taking the time to put it together. The only thing that gives me pause is the maintenance. I used to own an 88 535i that spent quite a bit of time in the shop. Will the M coupe have a similar experience?
If the coupe you buy has been well maintained prior to your purchase, it should be relatively easy to maintain. You can see my list of things to look out for at: http://www.mcoupebuyersguide.com/index.php/2010/06/buyers-checklist/
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/2711738183.html
I received pictures of the subframe of this car and its starting to pull spot welds and has minor cracks. Both drivers and passenger sides have missing pulled welds
Thanks for the heads up Leslie. Please forward me those photos.
My M Coupe is on craigslist this morning.
Family emergency forces sale fast, hence the price. $13999
I had it for sale a few months ago, but pulled it off market
because I love driving it. It’s a nice one!
1999, 97XXX miles, Imola Red, very good to excellent cond.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/2728995735.html
This is a fantastic resource. You have more info on our car than we do.
We own this one: LC61706 | 2000 | Cosmos Black Metallic | Dark Beige Oregon | S52 | Sunroof.
We purchased in ’03 for $35.5K w/ ~15.5K mi. Now has 44.5K. Guys at M Service in Walnut Creek, CA take care of it for us. Nothing of note wrong with the car (couple of minor door dings, scratches).
Sadly, we really should sell it (daughter in college, she needs a car, it’s sitting and taking up space in the garage, etc.). More than any of that, my wife and I aren’t enthusiasts. It needs a real home. My wife loves the car, but she drives it to tennis on Saturdays. I like it too, but I’m 6’4 and too big to “safely” drive it… it’s like a circus show just getting in and out.. we’ll be sad to see it go
To that end, what do you believe is a good asking price? (don’t have pics yet, but will in a day or so).
Thanks in advance.
Emailed you Brent.
My 1999 M coupe has a vibration from front end at 60+ (not always but often). Have straightened front driver side wheel, replaced both inner and outer front tie rods, control arm bushings, rear shocks but car still shakes.
My garage conclluded that front shocks should be replaced but they admit they are not terribly worn. Front DS tire is very slightly off round. Front pass side wheel is dragging due to probable caliper stick.
Any ideas? Thanks, james
Sorry James. If it’s not something I’ve specifically heard of before, I’m not much help. Unfortunately this is one of those things. I’m just not sure about this one.
– SOLD —, Palo Alto Imola Red 1999 BMW M Coupe – $13,995.00
Congrats Paul! Hope it went to a good home.
I bought the San Jose Black 1999 Coupe with the Kinesis wheels. It really was immaculate looking beyond the the very minor splitter/bolster wear you mentioned. I drove it back to Portland, Oregon up 101 on a nice day, what a blast!
Thanks, Jon, for running this site, it was a huge help to me this year looking for a car.
Congrats on the new coupe Lee! I’m glad it was as nice as it looked. Let me know if you ever get tired of your wheels
.
Hi,
I am interested in selling my low mileage silver ’02 M Coupe. How do I go about posting my car to this great site?
Milo
Emailed you Milo.
I have started looking at M Coupe’s to purchase and have some interest in the following coupes.
Should I be concerned about the M50 intake conversion.
http://listings.mcoupebuyersguide.com/listing.aspx?ListingID=510
How difficult is it to import a car from Canada back into the US?
http://listings.mcoupebuyersguide.com/listing.aspx?ListingID=495
No, the M50 manifold conversion is a popular upgrade and big plus on S52 coupes. It gives you a little more power on the high end of the rev range.
I don’t believe you need to do anything to bring a coupe back to the states. About the only difference is that Canada requires day time running lights.
Hi, I would like to point out the price and mileages on the following page are wrong compare to the original ad.
http://listings.mcoupebuyersguide.com/listing.aspx?ListingID=556
Yep, I had the price and mileage switched
. It’s fixed now. Thanks!
I’ve got a 2002 Coupe with Dinan Stage 4 software, throttle body, and cold air intake, and exhaust. I’ve had problems with the clultch starting to slip, and would like to replace the clutch with something more heavy duty and performance oriented. Who makes a good performance clutch for this purpose?
Unless you’re planning on adding forced induction with significantly more power, I’d recommend sticking with a stock replacement. Most people who have done heavy duty clutches later complain about the feel and smoothness. Sachs made the clutches originally for BMW, so buying a Sachs clutch aftermarket will get you the same thing for a lot less than at a dealer. Most people that do go with a heavy duty clutch purchase one of the options from UUC. They have a good article on the different options at: http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/clutch/.
hey got my m coupe posted on kijiji. if you could help by posting it here that would be great.
Absolutely, I’ll get it added shortly.
Hi! First want to say I LOVE your site! I had a ’99 M-Coupe from 2000 thru 2005 and unfortunately had to part with it…but I hope to be back in one soon (next year hopefully!). I did have a question though, I was trying to use the search feature to look for Coupes for sale in California…but when I put in “CA” on the search page it just returns all the results instead of narrowing it by state. I tried putting in other states as well with no success. Is this something you could fix? Or am I just not doing something correctly?
Thanks and keep up the great work here!
You’re right, it’s definitely not working. I’ll get it fixed soon. In the mean time, you can use this link for that query: http://listings.mcoupebuyersguide.com/default.aspx?ForSale=true&State=CA.
Jon,
Here is another CL ad for an MCoupe for your site.
http://winstonsalem.craigslist.org/cto/2839848590.html
Thanks for a great site!
Thanks Brian!
Hello Jon,
Any possibility in the future of posting regular ol’ Z3 Coupe listings along with the M-Coupe?
Even a 2.8l coupe is very desirable, as they are such a rare car, and at the much cheaper cost than MCoupes, its a viable option!
It’s in the plans eventually, but I’ve been short on time lately. Not sure when it will happen, but I agree, Z3 coupes deserve their own website.
Hi Jon,
Just a quick question. Do you know of a phone number for the Sun Lakes M Coupe? Also, I thought that about three months ago it was sold and someone sent it out for a mechanical inspection prior to purchase…. Do you know anything about this. I am interested and would like to contact the owner in Sun Lakes, AZ
Thanks so much,
Tom
Emailed you Tom.
@Jon Martin
Hey Jon,
Looking forward to it… Out of curiosity, what kind of production numbers did Z3 Coupe’s receive? Are they as rare as MCoupes?
I’ve never seen an MCoupe or a Z3 coupe for sale “in the wild”, so to speak, only the M-Coupe’s on your website, which gives the illusion that the Z3 Coupe’s are even rarer, as your site makes it relatively easy to find MCoupe’s.
There’s no hard numbers for Z3 Coupe production. Most think there’s roughly the same number of Z3 Coupes as M Coupes in North America. From what I’ve heard, I think they are a little more common overseas.
@:ee Matthew
Let alone the 3.0 that was only 15HP lower than the S52 and rarer.
Great site I owned 2 m-coupe’s The first was a 1999 imola red and the second I bought new from MY BMW in Monterey CA. it was a 2002 m-coupe Laguna Seca blue interior was black with blue highlights and no sunroof i sold it to a private car dealer in 2004 for 27k he flipped it to a buyer in Orange County. The car was perfect I sold it with around 23k miles and was mint other than repainting the rear bumper Looking to buy another 2002 m-coupe. Should have kept the one I had.
Yeah, you should have kept the one you had
. There are only 3 LSB over LSB without sunroofs. I know one of them is now on the East coast having come from California a few years ago with ~70,000 miles. The only other LSB sunroof-delete I’ve seen is this one: http://listings.mcoupebuyersguide.com/listing.aspx?ListingID=467. It came and went in about a day and no one knows what happened to it or what interior color it had for sure.
Can anyone comment on the quality of cars sold by Enthusiast Auto?
Not the prices, they are all sky high we can agree on that but do I need to worry about
getting a crashed lemon from them?
Enthusiast Auto always has some of the nicest coupes and are very picky in the ones they buy about having a documented history. As you know, you pay for it, but I haven’t really talked to any of their buyers that have been disappointed with what they got.
Thank you for this site.
I have the worlds best husband who gives so much.
Over the years he asks for little but his secret dream is to own an M coupe.
My goal is to give him those keys in the next year.
The info on your site is most helpful to both of us.
Thanks to you Johm and all those who contribute.
I’m glad it’s been helpful. Send me an email to jon@mcoupebuyersguide.com with what he’s looking for, and I’ll be happy to keep an eye out.