What is an M Coupe and why is it so special?
Ugly? Beautiful? A howling demon? A refined gentleman’s car? A daily driver? A garage queen? Your best friend on a road trip? The “most interesting car BMW has developed in the last few decades?” You decide!

Considered one of BMW’s last analog sports cars, the M Coupe is a pleasure to drive. It has a nice balance front to rear and is very stable and crisp in the turns. Like all 1999 and 2000 models, it’s powered by BMW’s peppy 3.2L S52 engine. Built for fun, it has a manual, 5-speed transmission and is a joy to row through the gears on the way to the speed limit.

The styling isn’t for everyone, but it is certainly unique. Even at Cars & Coffee events in the car mecca of Southern California, I don’t often see another Coupe. I love washing this car, especially the long sloping nose and wide rear arches.

So why am I selling it? I’ve found a new fun daily driver; an S50-swapped 325i from 1989 that thinks it’s a race car. I’m allowed to have any car I want as my daily driver as long as I can pay cash for the car, and as long as I only have one car at any given time. In this case, we’ve stretched the rules and I have two fun cars in my garage, but it’s time for the M Coupe to find a new home. Perhaps in your garage?

Meet my Coupe:
My 2000 BMW Z3M Coupe is finished in Titanium Silver Metallic with Dark Gray & Black Nappa interior. The car has 107k miles and is in good shape. I bought the Coupe in April 2016 and have put around 25k miles on the car in that time, both in my daily driving and on some epic road trips all around Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.  

During my ownership, the car has been maintained at Solely Bimmer in Mission Viejo, CA. Travis and Matt have done a great job taking care of the car, and have helped guide me both in preventative maintenance as well as correcting the imperfections that bothered me. 

The car has a clean California title in my name and there are no liens or ownership issues.

This Coupe’s history:
My Coupe was originally sold in San Jose and spent some of its life in San Diego before being purchased by the previous owner, who brought it home to Tucson, Arizona. He had used the car as a daily driver from 2005 to 2016 and put around 50k miles on the car during his ownership. He gave me a binder with all the receipts/documents relating to the service he performed on the car while he owned it.

I found the car in April of 2016 on Jon Martin’s excellent web resource, M Coupe Buyers Guide (check out the listing here), and was able to connect with a local BMW enthusiast who performed a test drive and a visual check of the car. After going back and forth with the owner for a few weeks, we agreed on a price and I drove out to Tucson with a buddy to pick up the Coupe. We had a long, but enjoyable road trip out and back in one day and I was the proud owner of a car I’d envied since its introduction when I was in high school. 
When I got it home and went over everything, I made a list of the things I wanted to fix/change from a visual perspective and had my mechanics at Solely Bimmer do a full evaluation. The car has been brought up to my standards and has been a wonderful daily driver and road trip companion for the past three years.

Out of state? No problem!
I’m happy to work with out-of-state buyers and sold my previous car, a 1993 Toyota MR2 to an enthusiast from Florida on Bring A Trailer shortly after I bought the Coupe so I’m familiar with the process of selling a vehicle to an out-of-state buyer.

I’ve tried to document the car completely in the photo gallery below, but let me know if you’d like to do a FaceTime or Google Hangout to virtually walk-around the car, or want more photos of a particular area of the car. I can also get the car to a shop of your choice if you’d like to pay for a PPI. 

Maintenance during my ownership
I’ve completed regular oil changes and service at the BMW suggested interval. In addition, my mechanics check the subframe mounts at each service and haven’t found any signs of the dreaded rear trunk floor isssues.

Until January, the car was daily driven; it is mechanically sound condition and all recommended work has been done.

When it’s at home, it lives in my garage. When I’m at work, I keep it covered with a custom-fitted Cover Craft car cover (included in the sale).

Here’s the work I’ve had done on the car: 

• 5/3/16 – Rear view mirror refurbished by Sybesma’s Electronics in Hollands, MI; now fully functional
• 5/19/16 – Replaced broken sunroof kinematics, installed new passenger-side seat bushings (driver’s side had been replaced by PO), installed glovebox reinforcement, installed new M logo on the rear hatch, installed sport antenna, installed various missing interior trim pieces, replaced rubber panels in hatch area, replaced kidney grills, installed magnetic rock guards
• 8/30/16 – Replaced loose eccentric bolt, washer and nut on rear suspension
• 5/17/17 – Replaced fan clutch and water pump
• 9/7/16 – Machined front brake rotors
• 9/16/17 – New tires: Michelin Pilot Super Sports (225/45R17 front and 245/40R17 rear)
• 12/20/17 – Fixed malfunctioning switch for rear hatch release, Installed correct painted license plate mount
• 3/16/18 – Replaced vacuum line for secondary air system, replaced air hose
• 4/10/18 – 100k service (fuel filter, spark plugs, air filter, transmission flush), replaced Flex disc, replaced A/C belt, brake flush, replaced missing undertray, replaced passenger door latch, new roundel for the hood, replaced door handle bezel
• 2/26/19 – Replaced fan clutch
• 3/26/19 – Replaced idler pulley and belt roller on hydraulic tensioner, installed a new valve cover gasket, replaced right and left sway bar links

Imperfections you should know about
Every car I’ve ever bought has things wrong with it that weren’t mentioned in the listing, that I didn’t catch on the test drive/inspection but discovered over the next few weeks and months of ownership. I’m a big fan of clarity and full disclosure, so here’s a list of all the things that I know aren’t perfect with the car so you can make an informed purchase. If you have a question about any of these or would like further clarification or specific photographs, just ask!

Interior

• Wear on the driver’s seat bolster
• Scratch on the upper passenger’s seat leather
• One of the dashboard illumination lights is out behind the speedometer; it doesn’t affect visibility while driving in the dark as there are a number of lights behind the speedometer, but it looks a little dimmer in the 60-80 km/h section
• The interior dimmer rheostat is either full on or full off; it doesn’t dim
• The volt meter works, but will sometimes swing to a very high or very low reading before returning to normal
• The analog clock doesn’t work properly
• The original owner replaced the stock audio system with a custom system. At the time, he removed the stock subwoofer, stereo, CD changer and panels that cover them. When he sold the car, he removed the custom system. The previous owner installed the current Sony bluetooth stereo head unit and Infinity subwoofer. The current subwoofer is attached firmly to the floor of the hatch area.
• A/C button is worn and the button is slightly cracked; still functions properly
• The covering on the passenger arm rest has slightly separated from the arm rest
• The window tinting is scratched on the back hatch, and there’s a small triangle section of tinting on the driver’s door that was removed
• The airbag sensor light is on and when checked using a diagnostic tool shows the following three codes:
• 16 MRS: Sensor for the side airbag, left
• 14 MRS: Seat belt buckle, driver
• 2 MRS: Belt tensioner, driver

Exterior

• There are a number of rock chips on the front bumper/hood, specifically around the kidney grills
• The bumpers had black rubber bumper protectors installed by the previous owner. When I removed them, some paint on the passenger side, rear bumper came off as well.
• There was a bump on the rear bumper that left four small chips in the paint
• Flashing on the driver-side side gill vents with the M logo is slightly raised
• Passenger-side brake duct in bumper has broken plastic tabs
• The paint/finish on the wheels has bubbled on several of the wheels and is starting to flake off