[bimmersfreak]

Up for sale a 1997 E36 M3 Coupe with luxury package on Dakar Yellow II exterior and Mulberry interior color.

In 2014 – 2022, it is mostly driven in California for a short drive to/from work every other Fridays occasionally. I almost never driven the car in the rain. Hence, the undercarriage is very clean. This is my second car and I have other car as the daily transport. Originally planned to keep the car for my retirement years and enjoy to drive a simple classic car (light weight, compact size, no complicated electronics & sensors or interruptions from driving assistance features, and very simple to maintain with less parts that can possibly go wrong), however, my life situation has recently changed and now need to prepare for a transfer to overseas station.

I have owned and maintained several E36 M3s since 2008 until purchased this beauty in mid 2014 with about 88k miles from the 1st owner, a mature senior family man of heart surgeon doctor and a pilot. He purchased the car under BMW European delivery program back in 1997.


I am the second owner of a low population 1997 BMW M3, 5-speed manual with 99899 miles (may go up a little) on Dakar Yellow II over Mulberry Leather (1 of 3 in this exterior/interior color combination out of 516 Dakar Yellow II). This is one of the reason I kept it stock (usually a coilover, brace, and intake is a must to drive items on my previous E36s). Vin numbers on panels matches, no accident other than a very minor parking lot fender bender in a gated parking lot at my work place while the car is parked (I have pictures of the damage), which left a quarter size dent on the driver side rear quarter panel and scuff and chip paint on driver side rear view mirror and door. During the repair, I decided to replace all the rubber/plastic seals/trims as well. It costs around $2000 in genuine BMW parts alone back in 2018 or at least now doubled in price of those parts today. I planned to replace the door sill cover, however, it just never happened.

It has a clean California title and has been garaged for most of its lifetime during my ownership and previous owner. Car is very clean for its age and has been very well taken care of throughout its life.

No modifications other than the BBS RC wheels I luckily came across right after obtaining the car. I still have the original BMW contour wheels. OEM Contour wheels are in slightly rough shape but could definitely be restored. Originally a California car until Nov 2022 when I had to transferred to Texas.

Maintenance History:
Engine: No issues, no modification, stock.
Always replaced engine oil with liqui moly Top Tec 5w-30 fully synthetic motor oil on every oil change 5000 miles or 6 months along with OEM / OEM brand engine oil filter.
Feb 2026: New air filter and Battery
2015: replaced belts and tensioners, valve cover gasket and grommets, spark plugs, and fuel filter.

Front Suspension:
Sept 2015: replaced with OEM front control arm, control arm bushings, inner and outer tie rods, boots, sway-bar bushings and end links.

Rear Suspension:
2015: replaced rear trail arm bushings

Drivetrain: Manual 5-speed transmission. Rear differential oil replaced in 2015 and last replaced in 2022

Interior: Comes with Premium package and Sport package options.
Pros: It has front heated seats, sport seats with thigh support, HK audio system, multi CD magazine in the trunk, mulberry leather interior (extremely rare) and wood panels. There are only 2 dakar yellow II /mulberry leather interior E36 M3 with sport seats and 1 dakar yellow II /mulberry leather interior E36 M3 with vader seats produced out of the BMW factory.
Cons: Headliner will need to be repaired / re-upholstered due to its age
Wood trim on center consol is missing (this is the condition when I purchased from 1st owner)
Normal wear and tear on driver side upper seat rest bolster
Glovebox cover may need to be re-glued but not necessary. Normal with its age
Radio is working fine, however, screen pixels is not working and needs to be repaired (common issue with BMWs in the 90s).

Exterior: Most of the aging weather seals/strips rubber/plastic parts had been replaced in May of 2018. Items replaced were: front windshield cowl, front and rear windshield weather seal, moonroof weather seal, driver & passenger doors weather strips, rear quarter panel weather seals/strips, genuine BMW moldings kit, and rear bumper diffuser.

Brakes: no modification.

Exhaust: no modification

Wheels/Tires: Originally came with 17” OEM contour wheels. Shortly after ownership, replaced with 18” x 8.5” BBS RC ET 38 fresh powder coat painted in 2015, front tires 235/18 and rear 255/18. Tires are now old, will recommend to replace it with new set of tires.
Note:
1. One of the wheel had a hairline crack (hardly visible) caused it to lose lots of air weekly. This turns out a common issue with old BBS cast wheels. Had the wheel repaired (welded) at the wheel shop and powder coated. No issue ever since.
2. One wheel has a small curb rash


Always received compliments everywhere its driven.
Current location: Houston, TX

Serious buyer only, feel free to contact me
Asking $35,000

[bimmersfreak]

Taking reasonable offer!

[The Guvna]

Just a bit of advice, turn those pictures around instead of them being upside down and sideways!

GLWS!

[bimmersfreak]

Originally Posted by The Guvna

Just a bit of advice, turn those pictures around instead of them being upside down and sideways!

GLWS!

Thank you for the advice. It didn't show upside down and sideways on my photo album, but when I uploaded to this website it came up wicked. I will uploaded more pictures. It's been rainy and gloomy lately.
Feel free to PM me if you need more pictures or videos. I can text it over to you asap.

[slilley]

No offense, but there's no way this should be a $35K car based on the condition I see in the pictures. Those seat covers are absolutely a turn-off, and then there's the sagging headliner. But I'm on the east coast, so maybe the market is different here. <shrug>

Maybe look at BaT, and find some comps for your color and mileage. BaT will almost always be at the high end of the pricing spectrum, so subtract 10% to get into a more reasonable ballpark for private sale.

[Elderado82]

GLWS, man! Hopefully, it goes to someone who can give it the same TLC you have. As far as the price goes, I think you're right on the mark. Dakar Yellow is rare and sought after. Have you thought about trying one of the auction sites, such as Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids, or Hagerty?

[fiveightandten]

+1

Those seat covers are killing you. It’s like listing a house for sale with a tarp over the roof in the listing photos.

You may also consider reformatting your information. That’s a pretty long block of text without much prioritization of info (Eg. The mileage is buried 4 paragraphs in).

[DubaiRich]

Along with the others have mentioned, I would've given it a bath and cleaned the rims. Remember, curb appeal brings them in for a closer look. GLWS