Sellin' the 36?

[mflint1513]

Hey guys (and gals!). I just posted my e36 in the classifieds section. I'd like to get some honest feedback about what I've written and (most importantly) the price I'm asking. What do you all think? The post is copied here:

Well, I've only had this car for a short time but it's becoming evident that I need something else. Here's the scoop!

1993 325is
175K miles
Automatic
Black interior (issues: typical headliner falling and it's a bit worn. The leather seats were replaced with leather manual heated seats that were in better condition. Driver side rear panel needs replaced)
Black exterior. Needs a paint job. There's some flaking in the paint. The previous owner seems to have tried to do a paint job himself (although he denies it!) Anyway, it's an "uh oh, better get Maaco thing!
Mechanically, it's not BAD. I've driven it on long trips from southern Alabama to Ohio quite a few times and think it's great. I ran over a bit of road debris about two months ago and busted up the radiator. The insurance company covered it so I had that replaced.

Now that I've talked about all the bad stuff...here's what's good about it!
New parts include:
radiator
resevoir
Radiator Hoses
Fan and fan clutch
water pump
thermostat
thermostat housing
valve cover gasket
spark plugs
muffler
4 new Michalens (I know, I'm too lazy to spell right!)
Dinan Chip
front rotors and brake pads (I putBrembo rotors and autozone pads but have ceramic pads that will go with it)

I also have a set of M3 cams to go with it. Was going to do a swap but I'm not going to now.

When I bought the car, it was in pretty bad shape. I drained and replaced the rear diff fluid with Mobile 1 synthetic. Used only synth oil since I have had it (2 oil changes).

At this moment, the car is at a shop in Ohio being worked on. I've been having problems with an irradic idle, probably the ICV. The shop will be replacing the passenger side window regulator and the door latrch assembly on that side. The brakes are also being looked at. The pedal was a little spongy so the shop will be bleeding them and making sure there are no issues I'm unaware of.

The shop said it would run through it and I'll have whatever's wrong fixed.

It's a great car but still needs work. Fix the interior and throw a paint job on it and it'll be a great car! Kelley Blue Book for this car in "good" condition is about 3,500 (if I remember right). After putting tons of cash (about 2800 + 800 for the mechanic) and work into it I think i'd like to start the offer at 6500obo. That may be steep but I'm not so sure that it's unreasonable (especially after the mechanic gets done with it!).

email me with offers, questions, and any comments you may have:

mflint1513@yahoo.com

[hawk2100n]

Sounds kinda high to me, I would say that KBB is the killer on this one, and that 4000 would be lucky on your part. Sounds like you are going to have to suck it up on that one, or just keep running it and ammortize out the cost over 30,000 miles or more.

[Bimrpwr]

wow little over priced IMO. I bought my car 93 325i 145k with no mods for 3500k. needed some work but not very much. I would bet you get around the 4k if that for it. You cant count any money you put into like for maint and so on in your sale price. That is just wear and tear on a vehicle. If you get that amount for your car i think i better list mine for 8k or so since i only have about 156k on it and added allot of performance parts to it.

Good luck

[PJBIMMER]

The value of a car does not increase with mods by any logical amount

[v33_n0d3]

+1 on that. Mods will NOT make your car worth more. What they will do is put a big smile on your face, and that's worth it. :)

[Bimrpwr]

The value of a car does not increase with mods by any logical amount

+1 on that. Mods will NOT make your car worth more. What they will do is put a big smile on your face, and that's worth it. :)

Thats what i am saying. I know that mods dont really add value to a car but it does help sell it faster sometimes or replacing normal wear and tear parts.

[jarozila]

Unfortunately, money spend on doing mods does not really increase the values of the car - unless you find someone who wanted to do the same mods, realised their vlaue and then buys the car with that in mind.

Most buyers don't care about the mods and won't pay more.

[vull]

yes, doing mods might not increase the value, but what if you change the suspension, brakes etc..? then it should be better than any other same year bmw, shouldn't it? just because of the new, more reliable (bilstein suspension perhaps) parts. if the buyer wants more comfortable ride, then they need to replace(which will cost) the old suspension anyway...

[DominguesE30]

i dont know about the states but here in australia a modded car gets FAR FAR FAR less than a original one with hubcaps and all. Unless its a full 200,000 dollar show car then they get a tad more.
You will never get your money back on mods

[Pirate_copy]

Same in the UK, unless you find someone like jarozilla stated :(

[DominguesE30]

yeah, always lose money on cars

[Pirate_copy]

I am gonna lose loads on mine, but i dont care cos the enjoyment i get from it is worth every penny.

I buy a car to drive, not to sell in the future

[DominguesE30]

amen pete
When i trade mine in it will hopefully be when im settled in life and i can afford a e39 m5. If things go to plan and the 318is last's.

[Pirate_copy]

Fingers crossed

[Jim Spence]

I bought my car with two things in mind:

One, ownership of a BMW. The pride in that is invaluable.

Two, I have a four year old grandson. In twelve years, when he gets his driver's license, I plan on giving him a totally restored (albiet, high mileage) 1993 BMW for his first car ... and then buy myself another one.

There is a method to my madness.

[Pirate_copy]

Good mindset buddy!!

[DominguesE30]

when i get married and have a lil son (mini meee!) im gonna buy a beat down old e30. And with his help im gonna rebuild it all and restore it :)
Then when he turns 18 i will give it to him.
How ever that m20 engine is going and definetly dropping a m50 with s50 cams

[jasonf860]

I bought my car with two things in mind:

One, ownership of a BMW. The pride in that is invaluable.

Two, I have a four year old grandson. In twelve years, when he gets his driver's license, I plan on giving him a totally restored (albeit, high mileage) 1993 BMW for his first car ... and then buy myself another one.

There is a method to my madness.
My 7 year old asked me yesterday if she can have my BMW when she gets her license! At least we know good taste runs in the family!

[DominguesE30]

nicee!

[mflint1513]

Thanks for the feedback. I kinda figured that 6500 was way too much. However, I've found that when someone lists a vehicle for sale at a reasonable price, people tend to counter with offers that are ridiculous. Example: I was selling my bike for 6,000 and it was worth every bit of 7,000. People were hittin me up with offers of like 3,000 and less. I think it's better to list a bit high even though you can only expect to get a lesser amount.

I also understand that you won't get your money back by doing mods. I only replaced the majority of the "time change" components and other items that wear out. On cars like these, as long as you replace those components and don't mess with the engine too much, it seems to be the case that one can get considerable mileage out of them!