The CarMax search engine continues to flummox me, almost eight years after I started this blog and 12 years since I bought Guenther, my first CarMax unicorn. Last night, I did a search that surfaced the 2013 BMW M3 convertible below, similar to, but better than, my own, and I downloaded and drafted some photos into this blog post. Today, on a whim, I wondered how many European cars remain in the CarMax inventory, given they tend to limit holdings to 11 years, as opposed to 12 for everything else. A long time ago, CarMax told me the guidelines were 10 for Euros and 12 for the rest, and yet I’ve found that to be squishy. At the moment, CarMax has 1,708 2013 models of all kinds, of which only 25 are European makes (all BMW’s and VW’s). Clearly, they are being phased out. Oddly, this 2013 M3 does not show up when I search for all 2013 European cars. But it’s here.
I’ve always been intrigued by what unique cars will no longer be available from CarMax once the 11, 12, or 13-year sunset timeline hits. As noted last time I found one of these BMW’s, 2013 was the final year for V-8’s in the M3. Soon, you won’t be able to snatch one and protect it with MaxCare. Here’s one more chance; this car is a great deal.
BMW stuffed a V-8 into the M3 from 2008 to 2013, in the E90 (sedan), E92 (coupe), and E93 (convertible). It’s the only generation of M3’s to sport a V-8 engine, making the E93 the only V-8 convertible combination. That said, BMW made maybe 30,000 of these, so it ain’t all that rare. This one, with less than 18,000 miles after 12 years, is a bit unusual.
For me, I love having a V-8 M3, and I love having a convertible, and I love that the hard top convertible gives me the best of all worlds – a beautiful convertible when it’s sunny, and far quieter with the roof up than in a soft top. And unlike most soft tops, it looks darned good with the roof up. I know modern M3’s with a twin-turbo inline six is faster and I don’t care. A V-8 with an 8,400 rpm red line is pure joy.
Inside, the M3 cabin is sports coupe efficient. Note the seat extensions, perfect for holding Pop-Tarts during commutes. The interior looks brand new. The features are few – no rear view camera (parking sensors only). There are rain-sensing wipers, Bluetooth, and navigation. I stumbled on a fascinating audio feature, however, that allows me to rip CD’s to an internal 12gb hard drive. I absolutely love it, since I have hundreds of CD’s from the old days. Wish I had this in all my cars!
The heart and soul of the E93 is the 4.0-liter, naturally aspirated V-8, pushing 414 horsepower to the rear wheels. The dual-clutch, seven-speed transmission nudges the M3 to 4.4-second 0-60 mph sprints. And it sounds awesome doing so. There’s an “M” button on the steering wheel that allows for tailoring the engine, transmission, and suspension to a number of customizable configurations. I set my “M” button to be the max for all. I really got a kick out of letting my friend “Jerry” drive the M3 in “M” mode when I first got it, and for a bit, we were wondering why the dash was dinging audibly as he screamed up a deserted road. It turns out my configuration turned off rev limiting, and he was zooming past 9,000 rpm! (Redline is 8,400.) We laughed all the way to the bar. The M3 is also extraordinarily balanced in handling and braking. It’s quite the all-around driver’s car.
Above, we have an example of CarMax publishing photos of cosmetic imperfections on select cars. They include this shot of the driver’s door, and yet in all the other photos, I can’t see a problem. The car is a two-owner, accident-free model that’s been in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Henderson, Kentucky, from the start. It’s here in Bakersfield, California. When new, it sold for perhaps $80,000 and is quite reasonably priced at $34k. I don’t know of anything new that’s this much visceral fun for that amount. Of course, I love MaxCare, although like the Porsche 911 I once owned, my M3 has only this year broken enough to recover what I spent on MaxCare (most of that was a $2,000 audio amplifier failure!). And still, CarMax is no longer sharing on the web what the MaxCare terms are – used to be five years and 125,000-mile cap on European cars. I need to call them and ask why the change.
It would be tempting to sell my 50,000-mile 2013 M3 and replace it with this 18,000-mile M3 and reset the clock. It really is a blast to drive, especially topless, and I love it. But I still have dreams of replacing mine with a 911 next year, when I’m down to one year (but maybe 60,000 miles) of Maxcare. Make me an offer? This M3 is currently reserved here at LAX, California. This may be the only airport CarMax I’ve ever heard of.
Stock No: 27114919 VIN: WBSDX9C56DE785473
CarMax carries BMW M3’s regularly, and even has six today in my 
