How much is my car worth ?

[Tenderfoot]

320i 2 Door Auto 1987

I need to sell my car, and I see I can't put it the 'for sale' section and ask for offers, but I honestly have no idea how much the car is worth.

The car was bought new by my father, and after his death passed to me. It has had two owners from new (him and me) and lived in the same garage all it's life. Total mileage is approx 44,000. It's not in show room condition, but it's certainly far from tatty or rusty. I've highlighted the 'major' faults in the pictures, a tiny ding on drivers door, rust on passenger door, aluminium trim hazy, thin paint on one front wing. Other faults include the service indicator not working, along with the rev counter being very erratic.

The tyres though legal need to be replaced due to age, I'm pretty certain they are the tyres the car left the factory with.

The car just passed it's MOT with no work being carried out after standing for about 5 years not moving.

So over to you, ideas on value please.

[pacerpete]

Get it cleaned up and detailed and put it on ebay using the 10 day auction format covering two weekends (plenty of time for viewing) . Write a detailed ad with lots of pictures.
I would put a 99p start price and no reserve . Obviously you will have all sorts of shysters offering to help you out and take it away for £78.66 but just ignore them.
Assuming all the paperwork is up to scratch and it has no major issues, I reckon it could make 3k +.
Best of luck !

[daimlerman]

I reckon it could make 3k +.
Best of luck !

Cracked dash,auto 320i,keep fit windows.....assuming there is no structural rust the only thing going for the sorry turd is it's claimed low milage...

So the OP needs to refer to the zone wiki to learn a little more about the areas to highlight in an advert...

I bid an un-eaten chocy bar and a Mars bar with one nibble out.

[SilverShadow]

shysters offering to help you out and take it away for £78.66 but just ignore them.

[Blitz]

I reckon it could make 3k +.
Best of luck !

Cracked dash,auto 320i,keep fit windows.....assuming there is no structural rust the only thing going for the sorry turd is it's claimed low milage...

So the OP needs to refer to the zone wiki to learn a little more about the areas to highlight in an advert...

I bid an un-eaten chocy bar and a Mars bar with one nibble out.

Who cares about a cracked dash. It looks like a tidy low mileage 2 door pre-facelift. That's what matters. Any nice 2 door e30 has value.

[matt86]

I agree with the others, I've been watching 2 door e30's on ebay for the last few months and anything reasonably solid regardless of spec, colour, engine size and transmission seems to go for £2000+

Have a look around on Gumtree, pistonheads, ebay, classic car magazines etc and you won't find anything for under 2000 unless its rotten or needs some sort of work.

Personally if it wasn't for the fact that I now have 2 e30 project cars, I would give you somewhere between 2500-3000 for it if its a solid as it looks in bulkhead, inner/outer sills, arches wings etc.

Put it on car and classic, Gumtree and preloved websites. I would try to avoid using ebay as the type of clientele that normally use ebay will give you problems or silly offers, plus you have the horrendous fees they charge.

Good luck with the sale.

[darkchild]

I reckon it could make 3k +.
Best of luck !

Cracked dash,auto 320i,keep fit windows.....assuming there is no structural rust the only thing going for the sorry turd is it's claimed low milage...

So the OP needs to refer to the zone wiki to learn a little more about the areas to highlight in an advert...

I bid an un-eaten chocy bar and a Mars bar with one nibble out.

[Tenderfoot]

Thank you to all those who replied helpfully, at least I now have some idea of what the car is worth and I will certainly consider having the car smartened up before I sell it. To the one person who replied in a childish and unhelpful manner, is my car really a 'sorry turd'? The mileage is totally genuine, it had done 20,000 when my father died, and I have done 22,000 in the 20 years or so since, it being my second, or occasionally third car. Always garaged it has no rust at all except for the spot on the door as shown in the photo. I'd guess this car has more original factory parts than 99% of E30s out there, even down to the tyres. Logic then says that if my car is a sorry turd it came out of the factory that way and most other E30s are also sorry turds. Maybe that poster is in the wrong forum? From his comments I'd guess logic isn't really his strong point to be honest. Good luck on recruiting new members to the forum if this is how they are received by some.

Again, thank you to the people who took the time to reply in a helpful way.

[darkchild]

Thank you to all those who replied helpfully, at least I now have some idea of what the car is worth and I will certainly consider having the car smartened up before I sell it. To the one person who replied in a childish and unhelpful manner, is my car really a 'sorry turd'? The mileage is totally genuine, it had done 20,000 when my father died, and I have done 22,000 in the 20 years or so since, it being my second, or occasionally third car. Always garaged it has no rust at all except for the spot on the door as shown in the photo. I'd guess this car has more original factory parts than 99% of E30s out there, even down to the tyres. Logic then says that if my car is a sorry turd it came out of the factory that way and most other E30s are also sorry turds. Maybe that poster is in the wrong forum? From his comments I'd guess logic isn't really his strong point to be honest. Good luck on recruiting new members to the forum if this is how they are received by some.

Again, thank you to the people who took the time to reply in a helpful way.

Well said. An original, unmolested car will always have a value and yours looks like it won't take much to make it special. As E30s get older and numbers diminish, condition is everything. 320i's get a rough press for some reason but they're perfectly decent chariots. A silky smooth engine that makes a lovely noise. Good luck with the sale, hope it goes to someone who cherishes it as it is.

[bab-91]

That's Malcolm told.


GLWS

[rh306]

Thank you to all those who replied helpfully, at least I now have some idea of what the car is worth and I will certainly consider having the car smartened up before I sell it. To the one person who replied in a childish and unhelpful manner, is my car really a 'sorry turd'? The mileage is totally genuine, it had done 20,000 when my father died, and I have done 22,000 in the 20 years or so since, it being my second, or occasionally third car. Always garaged it has no rust at all except for the spot on the door as shown in the photo. I'd guess this car has more original factory parts than 99% of E30s out there, even down to the tyres. Logic then says that if my car is a sorry turd it came out of the factory that way and most other E30s are also sorry turds. Maybe that poster is in the wrong forum? From his comments I'd guess logic isn't really his strong point to be honest. Good luck on recruiting new members to the forum if this is how they are received by some.

Again, thank you to the people who took the time to reply in a helpful way.

'Turd' is just the zone vernacular for car. So a Maserati Khamsin would be called a 'happening turd' etc. It does catch people off guard though.

Lovely looking E30 you have there by the way. A Hexagon car too I see, was it bought from their showroom on North Hill? I've actually got a framed photo from that year from the dealership which I found next to a bin on Southwood Lane, not far from where they used to be based

[daimlerman]

Thank you to all those who replied helpfully, at least I now have some idea of what the car is worth and I will certainly consider having the car smartened up before I sell it. To the one person who replied in a childish and unhelpful manner, is my car really a 'sorry turd'? The mileage is totally genuine, it had done 20,000 when my father died, and I have done 22,000 in the 20 years or so since, it being my second, or occasionally third car. Always garaged it has no rust at all except for the spot on the door as shown in the photo. I'd guess this car has more original factory parts than 99% of E30s out there, even down to the tyres. Logic then says that if my car is a sorry turd it came out of the factory that way and most other E30s are also sorry turds. Maybe that poster is in the wrong forum? From his comments I'd guess logic isn't really his strong point to be honest. Good luck on recruiting new members to the forum if this is how they are received by some.

Again, thank you to the people who took the time to reply in a helpful way.

Whilst not wishing to cause a dispute,it is common practice to refer to our cars as turds.
320's are generaly unloved,particularly with an autobox,as this tends to encourage one to drive at lower engine speeds where this short-stroke engine is not at it's best.

E30's rust in places that are difficult to detect to the casual owner/viewer,so photo's of the known rust hotspots are needed to properly value a car.These places include the scuttle,rear wheelarches and the forward end of the front footwells.Have you,for example,carefully examined the metal under the fusebox?
Low milage alone does not make a top price E30,and by your own admission the paintwork leaves a bit to be desired,so that makes me wonder just what else could be/is neglected...
You mention that the SI/rev counter is not working correctly,this is a reasonably simple fix that would take most of us less than an hour to sort out,if simple fixes like this are ignored,just what else is dodgy?

[87mtech27]

Now way is that worth 3k

Or am I missing something?

[darkchild]

'Turd' is just the zone vernacular for car. So a Maserati Khamsin would be called a 'happening turd' etc. It does catch people off guard though.

True, but referring to the OP's car as a "sorry turd" that is worth less than two whole chocolate bars is ever so slightly insulting. I can only imagine its the OE paint and lack of a full Dulux resto that Malcolm disapproves of.

[darkchild]

Now way is that worth 3k

Or am I missing something?

IF its solid, combined with sorting out the problems mentioned, it will make that. Rot free, low mileage, OE spec 2 doors are a scarce commodity nowadays, regardless of engine/gearbox combo.

[pacerpete]

More importantly it has one family ownership and a VERIFIED 44000 miles !!!! That is what gets the paedoes wet and gets their wallets open !

It does not matter how much you spend on a 13 owner 178,666 mile turd,it is still a leggy patched up turd and the serious players , I;E victims with MONEY are not interested
£1000 spent on the car in question 'snagging' it will be rewarded by adding to its value , where as £1000 thrown at the average leggy E30 will not.

[87mtech27]

The only things going for it IMO are its low mileage, pre facelift and 2 doors.

I think it would need a respray (regardless of mileage, Weather and age will take there toll) along with spec'ing up. It may be rare in that combo but who wants a 320i povvo spec when for only 2k more one can get a 325i Sport

It's a nice base nonetheless!!!

[87mtech27]

One could chuck as much money on it but it will always be a 320i

3k is getting into Sport territory which will always be worth something as opposed to a bog standard 320i.

[pacerpete]

How much would a minty 44k one family owned Sport make ? 20 bags ? . Now you can see why there is a place in the market for a car like this.
If a tidy chrome bumper 2 door with no major issues (but loads of 'minor' ones !) is 2k all day long, which I think we can all agree is where the market now is , surely at 3k this would be a deal !

[Nobby_N]

3K sports will be shit! this could end up being a very nice sort after car that will increase in value rather than rot away like any 3k sport! All depends on if its rotten!

[singlezero]

Thank you to all those who replied helpfully, at least I now have some idea of what the car is worth and I will certainly consider having the car smartened up before I sell it. To the one person who replied in a childish and unhelpful manner, is my car really a 'sorry turd'? The mileage is totally genuine, it had done 20,000 when my father died, and I have done 22,000 in the 20 years or so since, it being my second, or occasionally third car. Always garaged it has no rust at all except for the spot on the door as shown in the photo. I'd guess this car has more original factory parts than 99% of E30s out there, even down to the tyres. Logic then says that if my car is a sorry turd it came out of the factory that way and most other E30s are also sorry turds. Maybe that poster is in the wrong forum? From his comments I'd guess logic isn't really his strong point to be honest. Good luck on recruiting new members to the forum if this is how they are received by some.

Again, thank you to the people who took the time to reply in a helpful way.

I like your car, I love standard E30's.

I'd go along with much of the advice the guys have given you on here already, but it would worry me to buy a car that hadn't had its tyres changed in 20+years. It'd only make me think what else they haven't done in that time. If you have provenance, then this should go for decent money with a detail, service, fluid change and tyres.

If at all possible, I'd keep it and spend a few quid on it if it has always been in the family.

[rh306]

One could chuck as much money on it but it will always be a 320i

3k is getting into Sport territory which will always be worth something as opposed to a bog standard 320i.

Not everyone wants a sport Money-no-object, I'd rather have something like this to coast around it, autobox is the only way to go in London and as I don't get to go above 30mph very often, a nice engine note is much more important than performance/ on-the-limit handling

[spook]

3 grand seems a fair enough price to me mate.

[Rav335uk]

I'm biased,, It looks ok for £3k

[bab-91]

One could chuck as much money on it but it will always be a 320i

3k is getting into Sport territory which will always be worth something as opposed to a bog standard 320i.

That bagged chromie 320i I posted was sold for 4 bags before it was molested.

[bmandy68]

That car worth 3k all day with that mileage and owners. A bit of a refurb to bring it up to tip top it could be a really nice car which u would never lose you any money, good chance it will increase. As regards 3k sports most are piles of rust high miles and loads of owners which will always be worth fook all

[87mtech27]

3k sports are cheap. The sum of there parts are worth 3k + alone so you'd never lose any shekels if it had to been broken up for parts.