Where are private party used cars advertised?

Where on the Internet are most private-party E39s being advertised these days? I may be interested in purchasing a 2003 541i/6 and I'd like to see what's out there.

Originally Posted by Robert A

Where on the Internet are most private-party E39s being advertised these days? I may be interested in purchasing a 2003 541i/6 and I'd like to see what's out there.

autotrader.com, cars.com, or you can go to the CPO section of bmwna.com for a list of all CPO BMW's available at dealerships. http://www.bmwusa.com/cpo/

Good luck!

95% of the ads on these sites are dealer ads. Is there anything that'd be mainly private party? FWIW, I don't care about CPO.

Originally Posted by 1Dreamer

autotrader.com, cars.com, or you can go to the CPO section of bmwna.com for a list of all CPO BMW's available at dealerships. http://www.bmwusa.com/cpo/

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Robert A

95% of the ads on these sites are dealer ads. Is there anything that'd be mainly private party? FWIW, I don't care about CPO.

As far as I know, AutoTrader is still your best shot, but you have to scroll past the "Premium Listings" which are virtually all dealer cars. Premium listings cost more so they can be listed first. Keep scrolling until you see "Featured Listings" and you'll notice a LOT more private party sellers. There are also "Standard Listings" (the least expensive ads to run and therefore listed last) on the last page or two. Not many cars listed under Standard, but they're usually all private parties and many people don't know they are even there because they never scroll to the end thinking the end only lists bottom of the barrel cars.

Thank you. I'll dig deeper into the site.

Originally Posted by Robert A

Where on the Internet are most private-party E39s being advertised these days? I may be interested in purchasing a 2003 541i/6 and I'd like to see what's out there.

eBay also has many privately owned bmws for sale

I wonder which is more prone to a realistic selling price. A private person selling a car (BMW in particular) may be snake bit buy his trade in value considering what he paid. If you bought a BMW new (checkbook horror) and then wanted to trade it in later, you'd probably be shocked at what they want to give you. However, that trade in price is probably realistic from a dealers standpoint in refurbishing and marketing. So now you've a seller who's heart tells him/her their car is worth much more. It really isn't but...

If you want to find a private party sale your choices for the right car get limited. Plus you have to get the seller down to earth with their price, not always easy. And, unless the car is still under warrenty your buying from someone with no resourses to really make sure the car is right and stand behind it.

I prefer a dealer myself. They can't sell a car for more then its worth - it won't sell, so if the dealer is reputable their price should be resonable too. There are so many good dealers who specialize in late model luxury cars like BMW's that they get first choice on whats available. Many use their connections in the industry to get first crack at a new car dealers great trade-ins. So many new car dealers won't keep a car they can't Certify anymore. An Acura dealer (for instance) won't keep that 6 year old cream puff 740i as he can't finance it plus his customers won't be looking for such a car at his lot. So a dealer who specializes in certain used cars is much more apt to have a good selection of great cars.

My last couple of cars came from just such dealers and I've been very satisfied. The prices have been right, the cars in terrific shape and both were bought over the phone.

I know there are exceptions, Every now and then, someone you know may be selling the right car. But having just gone through that again I'm convinced blindly looking for just a private party selling a car is much harder to do and I'm not sure there is any upside to it at all. If a private seller doesn't disclose something, too bad. If a dealer does the same thing it could mean lots of lost business for them which is how they make their living.

Just a few thoughts

I can't fault the logic above, but my experience is a bit different. I looked for about 6 months before I bought, and the dealer was consistantly 10% higher than solid private party cars I found. I think the geographical market plays significant role. In Houston, there are a lot of BMW's, and it seems like people are constantly trying to upgrade (and this next part is my opinion) live above their means. Thus, my perception is that the used market for luxury automobiles is inflated, especially at the dealer. A large percentage of BMW owners seem to trade in at the dealer, giving them the largest selection, and thus dealers are the easiest place to look.

Granted, I was in the position to look for a long time an be patient, but I eventually bought my car off eBay. As it turns out, I wasn't even looking at ebay to find a car, I was just looking to get an idea of prices. I happened to find a car that met all of my criteria, including a good price.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

I second looking at used car lots that specialize in late model luxury cars. Here in connecticut, there are two that I know of (for example, of course), so you can see the type of lot i'm trying to suggest:

www.tuozzolibros.com
and
http://www.markmotorsonline.com/

Take a look at this website. www.onlybmws.com

they are a no haggle independent bmw place in virginia and they just opened a shop outside phoenix. They should give you a pretty close idea of prices too.

I have purchased two cars from them in virginia and were a pleasure to deal with.

Originally Posted by Robert A

Where on the Internet are most private-party E39s being advertised these days? I may be interested in purchasing a 2003 541i/6 and I'd like to see what's out there.

The other posters have made some good points, but to answer your specific question...
Bimmerfest has a classified section..check it out
Also try http://www.roadfly.com/bmw/classifie...ds.php?cat=213
And, as others have said, try ebay.

I've had excellent luck through ebay, plus ebay offers you a protection as well.

I've always preferred to buy cars from Private parties rather than dealers. Not just because of the lower price, but because they can give you a better history of the car with regards to maintanence and parts that have been replaced. They're also easier to haggle with in my opinion.

Totally agree. I want to meet the previous owner face-to-face and see how much he/she cared for the car.

Originally Posted by rph74

I've always preferred to buy cars from Private parties rather than dealers. Not just because of the lower price, but because they can give you a better history of the car with regards to maintanence and parts that have been replaced. They're also easier to haggle with in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Robert A

Where on the Internet are most private-party E39s being advertised these days? I may be interested in purchasing a 2003 541i/6 and I'd like to see what's out there.

Robert -
I've sold all three of my leased BMWs using Yahoo Classifieds. I had some good interest from advertising at the "other" board, but no sales. Yahoo has always been the closer.

www.craigslist.com is another good option. And it is really FREE