What you are looking at is what is one of the nicest 1999 BMW M-Coupes out there. If you're looking at this car, you know how rare these cars are….finding them with low miles is getting tougher and tougher. Finding them modified tastefully and geared towards performance is also difficult. This was car was built for one of my shop's customers….he drove it for about 7000 miles after we had modified it and downsized his collection….knowing the history of this car, the modifications my shop installed and the quality of this car, I quickly put an offer in on it and bought it for my personal collection. This is one of my favorites that we've built. I've always been drawn to these cars and having the opportunity to own this one was something I could not resist.
To start the build off, we installed a DINAN stage 4 suspension. My shop(www.c2dusa(dot)com) has been an authorized DINAN dealer for over 12 years. The DINAN stage 4 suspension consists of Koni shocks(valved to DINAN's specs), DINAN lowering springs, DINAN sway bars and a DINAN rear camber kit. While that work was being performed, the DINAN rear subframe reinforcement kit was installed thus taking care of the area that is prone to damage on these cars(we installed this kit on the car at approx. 18k miles….there was no damage present at that time). This suspension is no longer offered by DINAN….it bills out at about 30 hours of labor with $2000 in parts. Total install was $5500.
Next we moved on to brakes, installing a set of Brembo front and rear brakes….355mm(14")cross drilled fronts with 4 piston calipers, 328mm(12.9")cross drilled rears with 4 piston calipers. The customer did not want red Brembo logos so we had black logos installed. These were done properly to Brembo's specs by our trusted paint shop…..black logos under clear coat. This is a subtle detail but it represents how our customers build their cars. This upgrade retailed for $8000 installed.
Light weight wheels were a must for this car and it's intended purpose..….we also needed something that would clear the Brembos….we settled on Neez wheels. We special ordered a set straight from Japan…..19x8.5, 19x9.5 for the rears. If you've never seen a Neez wheel or been fortunate enough to pick one up, they are amazingly light and constructed with an exceptional amount of detail….Japanese wheel forging at its finest. We wrapped them with Michelin Pilot 2s front and rear, 235/35/19 fronts, 265/30/19s in the rear. The rear tires have 60% of their tread remaining(these have about 6k on them). The wheel and tire package was $9000.
With the foundation of the car completed, we moved on to the exterior. As a one owner car(purchased with approximately 17K miles on it in mid 2008), there wasn't much of anything we needed to do to the exterior as far as repair work. I recall the front bumper either had license plate holes in it or had a mediocre respray and needed a proper repaint done at our paint shop….it was removed, filled and repainted to the new owner's approval. As the car sits today there is only very, very minor wear and tear. There is a small scratch near the bottom of the gas filler door(this was present on the car when it was purchased) and there are a few rock chips on the hood….they are minor but they are there. They did not bother my customer enough as we would have had them painted when we originally started working on the car. You have to really be looking for them to see them. There are no dings or other blemishes.
We did some minor cosmetic upgrades to the car….the tail lights have been tinted slightly(these were done with paint, they can be sanded down and returned back to stock if need be), the tail pipe tips were thermal coated with high temp black thermal coating. The badges have been blacked out(both the ///M badge and the Roundels)….anything that was chrome(including the rear key/hatch release) was disassembled and painted satin black. The front marker lights were already clear when my customer purchased the car. $2000 in labor and paint to re-do these.
My customer likes a very dark interior/windows on his cars and this car has dark tint … including the windshield. Of course all of it can be removed. I never bothered removing it because I like how it looks.
We installed custom HID headlights for the customer….he wasn't fond of aftermarket units so we ran an HID projector setup inside the OEM housings. His lenses housings were PERFECT….they look like OEM, they fit like OEM, they just work 100% better than OEM. $1000 conversion(we did some other minor things that were included in this price).
Inside received some changes and upgrades as well. The customer wanted a rear view camera which required us to install a double-DIN head unit and that's what we did. He also wanted iPod integration and this setup allowed for that. The accessory gauges that came OEM were removed and the HVAC control was moved up in the center stack to allow the double DIN radio to fit…..it's pretty much as OEM as you can get. This isn't typical stereo shop work either(in and out the same day)….this is high-end one-off custom work. My clients don't settle for ''good enough'' or "that will work"….they request and receive work that is better than what they expected. We're not a stereo shop so we tackle things a bit differently. The rear view camera is mounted in the rear Roundel….probably one of the slickest camera installs you’ll ever see. Of all the things we did, this was the customers favorite part. We installed a sun shade on the sunroof….we made a perforated aluminum cover that simply hooked onto the OEM frame/weatherstrip. It's very functional and does a tremendous job in cutting down on sun coming into the car. We explored a lot of options and this was the best setup by far….it's sleek, seamless and doesn't interfere with headroom. $2000 in labor and materials(customer supplied stereo/camera).
This car is outfitted with a K40 Calibre radar system. This is the top-of-the-line system….front and rear radar WITH front and rear integrated laser defusers. Due to the space limitations of this car, the rear laser defuser was installed in the license plate frame holder that was color matched to the car. It's very discreet when done this way. Installed it's a $2500 system. www.k40(dot)com
We did nothing to the car mechanically other than fluids when it first arrived and at the 22.5K mark. There is nothing that this car needs mechanically. A new AGM battery was installed this month as the car has basically sat in my shop since I purchased it.
The car came with a open element air filter installed. The catalytic converter was removed from the car prior to my customer taking delivery of it. We do not know if performance software has been installed in the car …..it feels pretty strong so my guess would be that it was. There are no other mods listed other than what I have listed here. I have a set of books and only one key with the car....that's all that ever came with it. A new key from BMW is easy to purchase if the new owner wants one. I never had a use for one. There are rubber BMW floor mats that are included with the car. I never remember seeing OEM ones. All tools are present.
I would give the exterior condition of this car a 9.5…it's immaculate. Not sure a cleaner one exists although a couple of my customers have sub 10k mile cars that are pretty close to perfect. I'd be surprised if this car ever saw the rain….it appears to have always been garaged.
I would give the interior a 9.5….being a 14 year old BMW, there are some very slight indications of wear on the center console arm rest, outer bolster of the seat, door sill plates. It's black so any flaws are very visible. I don't see a need to address anything as it is very, very minor.
Performance-wise….it's a 10. This car is just a blast to drive…..it handles, stops, turns with purpose. The coupe chassis makes it very sure footed while delivering a driving experience like no other. Love or hate the exterior…this car gets it's business done.
By my calculations, there was about $30k invested in this car on upgrades. It's covered 23,954 miles. It drives as well as anything on the road. It's a great car and will be a collectible one day if it isn’t already..….I'll hate to see it go but it's time for it to have a new home.
Please don't hesitate to email with any questions.