30i Prices

B

Big Bad Boris

Senior member
 Braintree
I am extracting this from my recent “mixing RFTs and normal tyres thread“ so as not to hi jack my own thread.

I mentioned in that thread that, very frustratingly, I have missed out on several seemingly new to the market good cars at “proper” prices as they were snapped up by dealers and then back up for sale almost immediately at vastly increased cost. I have missed out on 4-5 cars in this way in the last 2-3 weeks alone.

Below is the latest example. Anyone in the market will know this one has been on AT for some time with a few price reductions.Appears the owner decided he finally needed to shift it and dropped it to £9k at the weekend. This one hadn’t floated my boat previously (and as always it was a thousand miles away) but at the mileage and price I thought it might be worth a look. I emailed the seller to find out a little more, he was kind enough to reply and let me know he just sold it. As you will see from the link a car that made its way down to £9k before it sold is now a £12k car. So Sunday afternoon it’s a £9k car Tuesday morning it’s a £12k car, go figure.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202007111135246?postcode=cm75ns&model=Z4&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1500&price-to=12000&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&sort=datedesc&colour=Silver&make=BMW&page=1&modal=photos

Obviously this is how the car market works (I’m not an idiot,..I heard that !) but there seems to be a concerted effort by dealers to push up the price of these cars. I for one am not playing that game. Joe public in the main seems to be a little more realistic about the value of these cars. Hence I have seen some value in the last couple of weeks from private sellers, however as I mentioned these value cars are going straight on to dealers forecourts at inflated prices.

I started this search for 30i a long while ago (a very long process thanks to COVID) and thanks to those that have suffered my endless questions along the way, with a budget of £10k possibly stretching to £12k for something exceptional at a dealer. I know I can buy a well specced, decent mileage 30i for under £10k, the 09 plate 33k miler referenced in my tyre post was actually sub £9k as a private sale.

Most of the dealer prices are speculative in my opinion, hence I have made the decision not to buy from a dealer so as not to perpetuate their attempt to push up the prices. I was happy to push my budget to £12k for something exceptional, however it’s clearly demonstrated by the car above and othersI have seen very recently that most of the dealer cars are not exceptional they are just average cars, carrying a hefty premium, some better photos and a well, written description.

So I have made an executive decision not to buy from a dealer, as there is almost nothing out there that is value for money from a dealer angle (my opinion of course). So if I am going to get a 30i it’s going to be down to luck, one needs to come up, ticking the right boxes from a private seller pretty close to home, so that I can beat a dealer to it for a change. Other than that I may go buy something else. From my perspective if the dealers think they are creating a market for these cars with their current pricing they are doing the opposite, if I am thinking of looking elsewhere others may be as well.
 
Good observations. I've been having similar thoughts about E89 prices generally, as I've seen a steady increase in the past couple of months. I put it down to the usual summer variation of prices and possibly the lockdown easing.

Back over the winter there were several very attractive 30i's between £8k and £9k, and I was toying with a 69k fully optioned 35i for £8300 last October, which seems like a ridiculous bargain now based on recent prices.

I do get very frustrated when searching for a very specific model of car (engine/colour/options etc) especially when they're not in plentiful supply. You need to be prepared to drop everything and view as soon as they come to market - or depending on how desperate you are (or how honest/genuine you think the seller may be, ideally after a good old chat) get a speculative deposit paid. My E85 I sold blind, after a phonecall.
 
I think your fairly spot on in your assertions..all you can do is keep the alerts on, Thunderbird 1 fuelled and ready to launch and cash in the bag/instant transfer and patiently wait n monitor...

I know when I sold my mint low miles Audi A7 Quattro it was on AT for around 3 hours..the dealer came across, very very carefully inspected It, knocked a small amount off for a curbed wheel and slight pushed bracket on the front bumper and then paid cash via transfer there n then ..drove off..5 days later on AT for £5.7k more..he clearly knew what he was doing..
 
Dealers have costs that a private seller doesn’t. A showroom, staff and they probably give some sort of a warranty.

It’s your decision to make if you won’t consider buying from a dealer but a lot of people prefer this type of purchase as it gives them a certain amount of security. The prices they quote may be in your view speculative but if they are unrealistic then they won’t sell them. I bought from a dealer because they had the car in the specification and condition I wanted and I was prepared to pay a premium to get it. The advantage was that I got my car within a week and you’re still trying to buy one! 😉. You pays your money . . . . . .
 
As others have said if you want to bag one at a great price you need to be ultra quick and be prepared to travel with cash in hand.

I bought mine from auction and prior to buying mine I kept a record of how much they were going for at auction and all the ones which were low mileage with good spec / condition were going above book (Cap Clean / Glass's) usually 500 to 1000 GBP over book price, clearly with those numbers it tells me that there is a healthy demand for these cars. It can't be speculative if almost every car is making that kind of money.

Eventually when mine came up I thought right I'll pay up to a grand over book and was very confident that I would get it but when car came up to the rostrum I ended up paying nearly 2 grand over book. If I was buying it to sell on I would have left it but seeing that I travelled all the way from Spain I couldn't let it go so I bought it. Even though it was expensive for an auction purchase it was still at that time some 3K less than what I would have paid to BMW for the same car. it seems like demand for this model has remained pretty constant, don't forget also we are in summer typically the time when prices for convertibles are at their highest.

When I was in the trade and I needed stock and saw something worthwhile as a private sale in the papers, I would make a quick call ask a couple of question and get down there that same day / afternoon with cash in hand.
 
Newsflash
CAR DEALER ADVERTISES CAR FOR MORE THAN THEY PAID

:o whaaaaaat :P

Good luck with your quest Boris , if you want possibly the best (not cheapest) 30i currently available take a peek in the forum classifieds at "pink pineapples".
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=119561
 
mr wilks said:
Newsflash
CAR DEALER ADVERTISES CAR FOR MORE THAN THEY PAID

:o whaaaaaat :P

Good luck with your quest Boris , if you want possibly the best (not cheapest) 30i currently available take a peek in the forum classifieds at "pink pineapples".
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=119561
Click to expand...

Sounds as though Boris isn’t prepared to travel as he says a car needs to be “close to home”
That’s going to reduce the potential pool of cars considerably :?
Rob
 
I travelled 250 miles for my E89, agreed the deal (subject to seeing the car) on the phone and sent a holding deposit. Did all my checks, loaded up my rucksack with cash and picked it up.
 
Zed Baron said:
I travelled 250 miles for my E89, agreed the deal (subject to seeing the car) on the phone and sent a holding deposit. Did all my checks, loaded up my rucksack with cash and picked it up.
Click to expand...

Lightweight :poke: I was 650 ish for mine - Argyll to Devon. The lengths us Scottish members go to get our Zeds :rofl:

Re the OP, I think it’s not that Boris isn’t prepared to travel, just if it was closer to home he’d have much more chance of jumping in the car/on the train to view a local car and sealing a deal before a dealer beat him to it.
 
I paid the asking price from a Forum member for my 3.5is with a low mileage and an extended BMW warranty. I had to compromise a bit on the spec but colour etc was exactly what I wanted. I made a commitment to buy over the phone if the car was as described in the for sale ad. It was and we did a money transfer In a local branch of the Halifax after I had looked round the car and driven it. I viewed the 400 mile round trip as a day out and a great opportunity to get to know my new car on the drive back home. If you really want to find the ‘right’ car for you then be prepared to make that extra effort and travel if necessary. I have never regretted my decision. Good luck with your search. :thumbsup:
 
Honestly I have never understood this "won't travel for a car" mentality. Especially when your looking for rare models that are even rarer in good spec etc. Surely it's worth the time/effort. Most dealers and private sellers will take a refundable dipper to secure a car for a few days if work prevents travelling when you initially see it. Yes I appreciate you can/do have your time wasted sometimes but when you land what you were looking for it makes it worthwhile.
 
Argyll Andy said:
Zed Baron said:
I travelled 250 miles for my E89, agreed the deal (subject to seeing the car) on the phone and sent a holding deposit. Did all my checks, loaded up my rucksack with cash and picked it up.
Click to expand...

Lightweight :poke: I was 650 ish for mine - Argyll to Devon. The lengths us Scottish members go to get our Zeds :rofl:

Re the OP, I think it’s not that Boris isn’t prepared to travel, just if it was closer to home he’d have much more chance of jumping in the car/on the train to view a local car and sealing a deal before a dealer beat him to it.
Click to expand...
A 500 mile round trip for us for our Z4 and 650 mile round trip for the X6. We have now had the Z for 7 years and the X for 4 years.
I have found that living in Scotland you have to travel south to get better choice and better quality cars.
Cars locally (within 100 miles) always seem to be higher miles, lesser spec, require a lot of detailing to fix bodywork and generally beaten up more. When looking for both cars the ones we looked at didnt even warrant asking any questions about them as the tatty unloved look of them put you off straight away.
 
Nictrix said:
Argyll Andy said:
Zed Baron said:
I travelled 250 miles for my E89, agreed the deal (subject to seeing the car) on the phone and sent a holding deposit. Did all my checks, loaded up my rucksack with cash and picked it up.
Click to expand...

Lightweight :poke: I was 650 ish for mine - Argyll to Devon. The lengths us Scottish members go to get our Zeds :rofl:

Re the OP, I think it’s not that Boris isn’t prepared to travel, just if it was closer to home he’d have much more chance of jumping in the car/on the train to view a local car and sealing a deal before a dealer beat him to it.
Click to expand...
A 500 mile round trip for us for our Z4 and 650 mile round trip for the X6. We have now had the Z for 7 years and the X for 4 years.
I have found that living in Scotland you have to travel south to get better choice and better quality cars.
Cars locally (within 100 miles) always seem to be higher miles, lesser spec, require a lot of detailing to fix bodywork and generally beaten up more. When looking for both cars the ones we looked at didnt even warrant asking any questions about them as the tatty unloved look of them put you off straight away.
Click to expand...

Totally agree, much better standard and normally much lower mileage than locally.

I’ve flown down south for my last 8 cars. Closest was Nottingham area, last two from St Austell’s and Devon :lol: .

Just to add again, my reading of the OP’s post is not that he won’t travel but hopes by it being local he’ll be quick enough to beat a dealer and get a deal done :thumbsup:
 
Bought mine in November from a dealer in the highlands without seeing or hearing it and got him to include transporting it to me on a huge car transporter delivering locally. Met the transporter 5 miles from home drove it home and it sat in the garage over winter. He put 6 month's warranty on cause I told him it wasn't coming out till the weather was fit then blo$%y covid came along so it stayed in the garage even longer.
It's out and about now with fresh Michelins on and a 2020 map update. :D
 
Just to add to the list of how far some of us nutters will travel for the right car:

Drove from Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne to Bergerac
Flight from Bergerac to Southampton
Hire car from Southampton to Christchurch
Purchased the car
Journey back to Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne by the same route

Mad or what! 🙄
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom