At $31,777, Could This 2017 BMW M2 Put You In The Pink?

The seller of today's Nice Price or No Dice M2 jokingly warns in the ad that "ALL LOW BALLERS will be prosecuted!" Let's see if the price they've set means we may need to take that threat seriously.

When he burst onto the scene in the 1970s, musician and record producer Elvis Costello did what quite a few celebrities choose to do: he hid his given name—Declan Patrick MacManus—behind a pseudonym and stage persona. It happens in Hollywood, too. The American actor John Wayne, whose distinctive drawl and penchant for tough-guy westerns, was born Marion Morrison, a name that might not have been seen as all that tough on celluloid's dusty trail.

Being someone you're not, or at least morphing into a different, more popular persona, can prove to be a successful strategy in life. Or at least can stave off the bill collectors for a while.

The 1987 Pontiac Fiero Mera that we looked at last Friday is a case in point. It leveraged the Fiero's chameleon-like ability to change its appearance to approximate the look of a Ferrari 308. It was a close enough approximation back in the day that Ferrari's lawyers got involved, resulting in only 247 cars being converted. At a $25,499 asking price, many of you considered the Mera's imitation to be an insincere form of flattery. Ultimately, that resulted in an 86% "No Dice" loss.

Today's 2017 BMW M2 isn't trying to be anything other than what its Bavarian builders intended: a competent and aggressive small coupe that's like Krypto to the larger M3/M4's Superman. We should address the fact that the M2 and the 2 Series in general aren't really all that small of cars. It's just that, over time, everything in the automotive world seems to get bigger. At 106 inches, the F22 2 Series' wheelbase is longer than that of the vaunted E30 3 Series, and is almost the same as the larger E36 that followed. Its turbocharged six-cylinder engine also makes more power than either of those generations ever even dreamed of.

This being an M2, it is the cream of the F2 Series crop, powered by a 2979cc N55 DOHC straight six, that, with its turbocharger and intercooler, makes a stonking 365 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. Later models made even more, but in a car of the M2's size and comportment, that makes for lively performance.  This one has the added benefit of an aftermarket cold-air intake. Packing the engine's punch is a seven-speed M-DCT automatic, which feeds a limited-slip differential in the back, and then the fat rear tires.

According to the seller, and confirmed by a peek at the door jams, this M2 left the factory wearing Alpine White. That's been wrapped in vinyl, the hue of which makes one think the owner was the top seller of a certain cosmetics brand or perhaps a strong advocate of the antacid, Pepto-Bismol. The ad assures that the paint and bodywork beneath the pink panther outerwear are in "flawless" condition. 

The wrap doesn't look all that bad, either. The finish is shiny rather than matte, and, based on the pictures, it appears to have been professionally installed as well. The pinkiness doesn't extend to the roof, which is black, or perhaps wrapped in faux carbon fiber. The rear spoiler and mirror caps are likewise outliers amid the sea of pink. All of the factory badging is intact, and while the car is just shy of a decade in age and sports a very reasonable 98,700 miles on the ticker, there's no evidence of clouding in the headlamp lenses or significant grime under the hood.

We could be fooled by the ad's title, which calls the car an M2 "Competition," but that descriptor only extends to the alloy wheels holding the car up. The Competition edition of the M2 didn't arrive until a year after this car's build, so this is a standard M2. That's not a bad thing, as the standard M2 is no slouch.

It also should prove fairly comfortable, save for the performance suspension's somewhat punishing ride. Accounting for that to an extent are thickly bolstered sport seats and an Alcantara-wrapped, appreciably fat steering wheel for good grip. Everything in the cabin looks to be in great condition. The carpet in the front footwells has even been protected with plastic film to keep it clean. One would have to ask the current owner if that's an add-on for the sale or standard running gear. The car being reasonably modern and a high-end edition means it's well-kitted, too, featuring all the bells and whistles one might expect, and BMW's pain-in-the-neck iDrive infotainment and navigation system.

Our M2 comes with a clean title and, despite its middle-of-the-suburbs photo shoot for the ad, is offered by a dealer, not a private party. That means things like transferring that title and the required smog test for doing so will be on them. We now need to decide if the car's $31,777 asking price is fair enough to make even that minor effort feel worthwhile. Keep in mind the add-ons of that wrap, which probably cost a penny or two, and the later Competition wheels, which likely also weren't a cheap addition.

What do you say? Is $31,777 a good price for an M2 in such nice shape and a unique color? Or does that price tag on this pink car have you seeing red?

You decide!

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

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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