At $17,999, Is This 2003 Topaz Over Cinnamon BMW M3 a Sweet Deal?

Today’s Nice Price or No Dice BMW E46 M3 comes in an interesting color combo with some mods to make it even more unique. Let’s see if its price gives it a universal appeal.

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There are a number of invasive species that wreak havoc over native species and, once established are nearly impossible to eradicate. Among the most insidious of these over-runners is the Bamboo plant, the Japanese Arrowroot, otherwise known as ‘Kudzu,’ and the compact crossover.

At one time, many model types were offered in the automotive market — among them sedans, coupes, convertibles, and vans both large and small. Choices today are far more limited outside of the ubiquitous tall wagons. The 2012 Ford Transit Connect we looked at yesterday was once just one of a number of small vans offered for sale. Now, they only exist in the used van market. At $12,950, most of you felt yesterday’s Ford should stay there. That price was just too grand for the little van to carry, taking away an 80 percent No Dice loss. And that was despite its coming with fully two sets of wheels and tires.

Speaking of wheels, I’d like to note that I think BMW has been on-point with its wheel designs for quite some time. That’s why I’m often perplexed when owners choose to go with something aftermarket for their Bavarian bombs.

This 2003 BMW M3 convertible is a case in point. This car probably left the factory with a handsome set of Style 164s or the like. Now, it wears fat Forgestars wrapped in contrastingly skinny Pirelli tires. That change does go along with the car’s lightly modded theme, which the seller describes as having been done to make the car “stand out even more.” According to the description in the ad, this car is:

…great whether you want to just go out for a nice drive to the beach with the top down, or head over to a car-meet with your friends. This car is modified in a way to do it all in style.

The mods include those wheels, lowering coilovers behind those, a CSL front bumper, and an aftermarket hood that addresses the stock M3 hood’s egregious louver deficit.

Now, those mods are obviously to one’s taste, but they aren’t all that wild, nor difficult to undo if the original parts are still available. Making that even more of a plus, the car underneath is pretty compelling too.

Per the ad, this M3 has just 83,920 miles on the clock. That’s appreciably low for its age. Making those happen is a drivetrain combo comprised of a 333 horsepower 3.2-liter S54 straight six, a six-speed SMGII auto/manual gearbox, and a limited-slip differential in the back shared copped from the bigger M5. All of that is supposed to work without issue or worrying dash lights.

Aesthetically, it all seems to be working too. The paintwork, in Topas-Blau, is clean and seemingly without noticeable flaws. That’s matched with a handsome cinnamon leather interior accented by brushed metal-appearance trim. Both driver’s seat and the sport steering wheel show a bit of patina, expected due to the car’s age. Other than that, and an aftermarket double DIN head unit, it’s all pretty much by the book inside. Topping it all off is a convertible top that the seller says works without complaint and which the ad shows in both open and closed positions as proof.

A clean title caps it all off, and the present owner says in the ad that the only reason for the sale is the purchase of a newer M3 making this modded machine redundant. They’ve set a selling price of $17,999 to eliminate that redundancy.

What do you think about this M3 and that $17,999 price tag? Is that low enough to forgive the non-factory pieces? Or, do the mods and the age make this M3 undesirable at that asking?

You decide!

Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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