overpriced e30s

[Alex]

is it me or do some people really over price e30s

here is a few examples some are good cars but seem very overpriced in my opinion

316i for nearly 3k would rather have that red timewarp 318i auto in the for sale section for 700 quid

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C53313

8k

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C55913

this was originally advertised for 1k

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/644814.htm

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-BMW-320-Red_ ... dZViewItem

its still a 316i

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1988-BMW-316-BLAC ... dZViewItem

[m3ben05]

IMO a lot of e30's are overpriced these days but then again people the fact that people are paying top money has to be good for us right

[Alex]

IMO a lot of e30's are overpriced these days but then again people the fact that people are paying top money has to be good for us right

but do people pay that sort of money and buy them

[m3ben05]

Iv been watching the market for the past few weeks as im thinking of selling mine soon and decent un molested e30s are going for good money (and geting sold quickly)

One thing i have noticed is the gap between the 'mint' ones and the 'good' ones is getting much larger price wise.

[gazm3]

Alex,

They just wont sell its as simple as that.
You will always get people over pricing there E30 scrap.
The early msport is a classic 8k. Not even close. 4k tops on a very,very good day.
You dont even get a Hardtop.

I see more and more 2nd hand car dealers going under around here in Manchester.

[Alex]

Iv been watching the market for the past few weeks as im thinking of selling mine soon and decent un molested e30s are going for good money (and geting sold quickly)

One thing i have noticed is the gap between the 'mint' ones and the 'good' ones is getting much larger price wise.

ive been watching them too since i will be after a new one shortly

there does seem to be a large gap like you said but does't seem to effect the 316s and 318s

[FlappySocks]

I looked at dozens of Cabs last year. They were either rotten, or silly money, and usually both. And no, they didn't sell. I ended up with a pre-facelift motorsport for sensible money after 8 months of looking.

[johnna]

Tell you what Alex, how about a decent price for a cab with a known history???

You know what I'm alluding to here...

[Alex]

Tell you what Alex, how about a decent price for a cab with a known history???

You know what I'm alluding to here...

sounds good

have you decided what colour to paint it

[DINGLEDONG]

The one on pistonheads seems reasonable to me, a cheap old 170 brake RWD driftin toy with MOT for rusty fiesta money, not IMO

[pnd]

I too watch the for sale ads and companies such as old colonel and wln seem to sell their cars easily enough at relatively high prices so presumably the market is there for good cars at a high price. i maintain that a getting a good e30 will cost at least a couple of grand either in purchase price or in fixing it up many it would seem choose the easier and often cheaper option of buying a good one in the first place. Add to this the difficulty of finding a good car these days and you can see why people pay for them, as long as the demand holds I would expect e30 prices to remain stable.

[Andyboy]

Old Colonel sell cars for good money because they are a dealer with a good website and decent reputation - and they need to offer a warranty of some kind - the old 'sold as seen' ruse doesn't work anymore. A dealer has to deal with all the dreamers/idiots, answer the phone, do test drives etc etc etc. They sold my white 320i for a grand more than they paid me - and once you've factored in the aggro of selling a car and paid tax on that £1000 profit, you really have earned every penny.

That 'timewarp' 318i Auto was clean but it wasn't THAT great - don't forget I was given it for free. It had loads of small dings all over, fag burn in the rear seat and no history. That's why it sold for £700 odd and not the £1500-2000 a genuine minter would fetch.

E30 prices have slumped for two reasons. Firstly car sales in general on on their arse and secondly many E30 owners/wopuld be owners have realised you can get a really nice 328i Coupe for £2500. Someone I know recently bought a really straight and bog standard P reg 323i Coupe with aircon etc for £1300. It looks good as standard E36 Coupes do, drives well, does 30+ mpg and is reliable. That's £100 more than I sold a chrome bumper 320i on B plate with green trim for.

[gooner1]

Agree with Andyboy %100. While a really good E30, of any engine type, is a really pleasing car both to the eye, and to drive, how many really nice one's are left. I mean ones that would need no work doing to them after purchase, excepting servicing etc?. Have just bought a kit for mine, knowing full well that i am going to have to lay out 2k upwards for a full respray, and that's without whatever i find lurking after it is all stripped down.
Begging to question my sanity when i see the prices that 328i cabs are going for now, even though i realize that maybe the driving experience would not be quite as pleasureable. Or would it?
Apologies for going ever so slightly OT.

[capri_rob]

E30 prices won't really start to rise until a lot of the rusty scrap thats still on the roads has been fragged and the numbers have really dropped ( like Mk1 / Mk2 Escorts, Mk1 Golf GTi's etc ).

Andyboy is dead right though. E36 prices are so low now that if you want a 3 series as a daily driver you'd be mad to choose a rusty E30 over a fully specced E36 for the same money.

I sold my 328i Coupe last year for just under £3k - by far the best car I have ever owned. With that in mind there's no way I could justify spending the same sort of initial cash outlay on an E30 - much as I like em.

My current E30 is a long term project - as I think most Zoners cars seem to be. Cost me under a grand to buy and already I've spent a few hundred on it. It needs rear arches, front wings and could do with a blow over respray. Then it needs all the suspension bushes doing, new struts and springs etc etc - thats at least a couple of grand - probably a lot more. I'll do it because I like the car, but it will probably take me Years.

At the end of the day people can advertise their cars for however much they want - but if its too much money the phone won't ring and people on the zone will just laugh at you.

[zaust]

Yet i'm trying to sell a nice nik 4 door for 475 ono and not even had a call.. Should I advertise it for 2500 and wait for the call's to flood in....

[capri_rob]

Thats really bargain basement money especially with a long MOT. Just had a look on autotrader at what you can get near me for less than £500 and its not much - typical small, old mass produced hatchbacks - certainly no BMW's.

Theres just not much cash about at the moment.

[lukescott]

The other side of the coin......................

My 1993 318i lux convertible has just 26,500 miles on it. I bought it off a UK dealer just two years ago for top UK prices. I'd say the dealer could not believe his luck (middle of winter & raining). I brought it back to Dublin and it has never been out in the rain since. It is as clean as the day it rolled off thje assembly line. The electric roof works perfect & the leather is unmarked and unused. Now for the good bit........ last week i was offered €9,000 for it. I thought long & hard but turned down the offer. Since that several E30 owners in Ireland have told me that its worth more than €9k. So really mint garage queen models like mine & WLN's are still making top dollar. And since the roads everywhere are grid locked with traffic the size of your engine is no longer a selling point. A lot of zoners that pm'd me while mine was for sale belittled my 318 motor ! But what use is a 325 when your in traffic & dont want to go drifting ?

[capri_rob]

Luke when you say you were offered 9k for it did the guy actually show you the cash ?

I've been "offered" money for cars in the past until it actually comes to doing the deal - when they either back out or are "a few quid short".

Yours sounds like a lovely car but until you see all the cash on the table he might as well have offered you £100k

[Jon_Bmw]

The 9K thing sounds all to fishy too me.

Its swings and rounderabouts really. This looks quite good value. Obviously it needs money spent in a few areas.

But it seems genuiene low mileage and owners:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-325i-Sport-E3 ... 286.c0.m14

[capri_rob]

The 9K thing sounds all to fishy too me.

Its swings and rounderabouts really. This looks quite good value. Obviously it needs money spent in a few areas.

But it seems genuiene low mileage and owners:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-325i-Sport-E3 ... 286.c0.m14

That sport doesn't look too bad at all. Assuming there's no horrors with the bodywork a few hundred quid to sort the drivers seat and bits of paintwork would make that into a really nice car.

I would lose those so-called Alpina wheels though.

[Gwynleym10]

It is 9k Euro's so thats just over £7k - sounds about right to me (Irish prices)

I don't understand why e30 owners complain that there cars are worth more than what they think!

[capri_rob]

£7k is still minty mint optioned up lowish mileage 325i sport money though.

I didn't think anyone was complaining that their car was worth more than they think ?

99.9% of the time cars are worth less than people think which was the whole point of the thread !

[Rosc0PColtrane]

It is 9k Euro's so thats just over £7k - sounds about right to me (Irish prices)

I don't understand why e30 owners complain that there cars are worth more than what they think!

Not for a 4 pot cab, regardless of condition! That's close to Motorsport money!

I would have taken it (the money).

[ShakeyC]

Supply and demand in true fashion, although i can't make heads nor tales of E30 prices vs condition its on that edge of 2nd hand bargin to proper classic car. Yes im hopeless with old cars

[fuzzy]

but how often do cars actually go for the prices quoted in the adds? and theres the guys who think adding up the money theyve spent on mods increases the cars value by that amount. if thats the case my touring should be worth about £9000+ but the reality is about a third of that would be realistic. in fact most e30's are worth more broken for parts.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Perhaps we need to factor in the short armed-deep pocketed nature of some zoners too!

[e30bmlover]

at the end of the day it comes down to choice.. i remember the day i looked at that high milage dirty six m3... im glad i didnt buy it now. i would have a e30 anyday over a dirty six... regardless of condition, we have gotta spend our money on somethng!! i must admit. i wish i had seeen the zone before i bought my 320... but the only problem left is the rear arches and a little bit of scab on the passinger door.. gonna cost me about a grand.. whoopi doo! and when shes complete and in fine fettle with all the goodies on... i wont be accepting less than 3.5k(will include schnitzer items) for it... i couldnt give a @uck what anyone says(the figure was thought up between me and ant) you could spend 3k on a @ucked sport or you could spend that money on a e30 that has had nearly everything replaced.... liturally. But i cant see myself letting the car go... i would be a broken man.

[ShakeyC]

Perhaps we need to factor in the short armed-deep pocketed nature of some zoners too!

Admittidly avoided cars advertised online, few that i have seen were through private or local ads the prices seems far more consistent regardless of spec or rarity majority of the cars are based on the cars mechanical and body condition with documents.

[lukescott]

Luke when you say you were offered 9k for it did the guy actually show you the cash ?

I've been "offered" money for cars in the past until it actually comes to doing the deal - when they either back out or are "a few quid short".

Yours sounds like a lovely car but until you see all the cash on the table he might as well have offered you £100k

Yup..... the money was on the table . He was referred to me by a fellow e30 fanatic here in Dublin. He is marketing manager for a large financial institution and before even talking about the car the price was discussed as "Firm". Lets look at this from a practical side.

When we import a car into Ireland we have to pay tax. It can be from €450 to €2,000 depending on what model E30 & age etc. Also we have the sterling euro difference to factor in. So as a result our cars will always sell for more after the tax is paid. The buyer was like me and had no interest in a big engine. All he wants is a garage queen to enjoy. He is still in the market for a mint convertible & is quite dissapointed with my withdrawl from the sale.

[grantfk10]

Lets look at this from a practical side.

When we import a car into Ireland we have to pay tax. It can be from €450 to €2,000 depending on what model E30 & age etc. Also we have the sterling euro difference to factor in. So as a result our cars will always sell for more after the tax is paid. The buyer was like me and had no interest in a big engine. All he wants is a garage queen to enjoy. He is still in the market for a mint convertible & is quite dissapointed with my withdrawl from the sale.

Hmmm..........

[lukescott]

Hmmm..........

Only if its a mint low mileage model. Seriously low.

[grantfk10]

......sadly not as low as yours..............