2002 BMW M3

Something I didn’t mention in my IROC post was that between finding the car on Craigslist and buying it Charlotte and I got married! We went to look at and ultimately buy the IROC exactly one week after our wedding. As Charlotte put it we went and got my “dream car” and now it was her turn!

Charlotte has been in love with E46 M3s ever since she laid her eyes on them. If I am honest I was shopping them (along with C6 Corvettes) before I picked up my FRC. They were both just out of my price range at the time. As anybody into cars knows it can be quite difficult when shopping used cars trying to find one with the right options you want. It had to be a factory 6-speed coupe. No SMG, no convertible.

There was a black coupe locally but it looked rough even in pictures. Another prospect in Milwaukee but it was overpriced in our minds. A 2002 TIAG on black 6-speed coupe popped up in Chicgoland fresh from down south. Despite my multiple poor experiences buying vehicles in Chicagoland we went for it. True to form the “dealer” had us on a wild goose chase all over town with ~$750 in “surprise” dealer fees at the end. Despite this Charlotte ended up with a very clean southern (Georgia/Florida) M3 that checked all the boxes!

Despite BMW reputation especially E46 M3s after 3 full summers it has been a pretty reliable car overall. I’ve done required maintenance and Charlotte has fixed it up cosmetically.