[sirhodjibob]

I own a 99 M3 with ~78k miles. I purchased mine back in April. That one in particular looks really clean, especially the interior. Those pictures aren't telling the whole story though- any car of that age and miles will have defects. I'd wants close ups of the exterior trim and make sure all VIN tags are present. I would definitely want to see the undercarriage to check for any rust. I spy some rusty bolt heads in the engine bay which may or may not indicate more.

The S52 is a great motor and pretty low maintenance as far as BMWs go. The problem here is age. If you want it to drive and look like new you're going to spend a lot of money restoring it. At 82k miles a lot of big maintenance is due so any records here would help or be prepared to put a lot of money into it if you care how it drives at all. Bushings, power steering lines, cooling system, brakes etc. Looks like those are old Michelin Pilot sports so I would check the date codes on those tires. I'm probably at around $12k in parts alone on mine and it was a clean 1 owner example. The cars are easy to DIY if you're so inclined.

'96 is a pretty desirable year since it's pre-facelift nose with no side airbags but has the superior S52. All said I love the car- once you get caught up on maintenance they are reliable and make a great daily driver. The S52 has good torque and is super smooth. I installed a ZHP steering rack in mine and it really transformed the car along with replacing all the shifter components.