E86 price trends...

[corsair]

Once other life stuff is sorted I've sort of sold myself on a Coupe as a more practical, less-depreciation-prone, hopefully more refined(?) alternative to the roadster.

I've only been looking at them for the past few months so have no idea about long-term price trends. It seems that they seem to bottom out at about £4.5-5k for tatty high-milers on ebay, better looking circa-£100k examples on Autotrader are around £7-8k with 60-80k cars at maybe £10-12k.

I've been watching autotrader for a couple of weeks and so far nothing appears to have sold - appreciate that this could be because they're a niche car as much as it might be a sign that people aren't buying at the advertised prices.

I'm interested to hear any thoughts on pricing from anyone who's been paying attention to the market for longer than I have - cheers

 

[Fred Smith]

Once other life stuff is sorted I've sort of sold myself on a Coupe as a more practical, less-depreciation-prone, hopefully more refined(?) alternative to the roadster.

I've only been looking at them for the past few months so have no idea about long-term price trends. It seems that they seem to bottom out at about £4.5-5k for tatty high-milers on ebay, better looking circa-£100k examples on Autotrader are around £7-8k with 60-80k cars at maybe £10-12k.

I've been watching autotrader for a couple of weeks and so far nothing appears to have sold - appreciate that this could be because they're a niche car as much as it might be a sign that people aren't buying at the advertised prices.

I'm interested to hear any thoughts on pricing from anyone who's been paying attention to the market for longer than I have - cheers

I think you are pretty much spot on.

I bought a Coupe a few months back after a month or two of looking. I have had people say I got a bargain but I don't think I did. I paid under £4k for a high miler with 5 months MOT and a few small bodywork defects and in need of £1,000 of immediate repairs (and numerous little things). I don't think it's worth more than £5k tops now, and £6k tops if I sort out the bodywork (a few bits of rust and a couple of not insignificant dings). Truth might be nearer £4.5k / £5.5k (or less?!?!?!)

Manual, non-M coupes...

My take is that the coupes can sell for £10k to £18k, but the reality is that to be worth more than £10k or £11k they need to be under 80k miles, very nice condition EVERYWHERE, and probably a nice / rare colour as well. Or you need to get lucky that someone comes along who loves what you are selling and hasn't spent that long looking at the market.

For £8k to £10k you should be able to get something very nice and under 100k miles.

For £6k to £8k you should be able to get something very nice and under 125k miles.

For £3.5k you might be able to get something with an MOT, and at £6k you should be able to get a very nice high miler

M-sports maybe a touch higher than SE, but I can't say I've really noticed. Prices seemed to me to be a bit cheaper up north when I was looking, but the longer I look the more I see realistic pricing down south as well.

Take £1k off for automatics. If the car has been customised nicely then maybe the value hasn't been harmed too much.

One thing I might add... there seem to be so many for sale, and loads that hang around. I am not even sure I really knew these cars existed and hardly ever see them around - yet two have come up for sale in my fairly small town in the 3 months since I bought.

I think one could make an argument that market value is 20% below the figures I have listed - with market value being the price a genuine seller who simply wants to sell reasonably soon at a fair price can achieve after proper marketing. In contrast many sales happen at 25% ABOVE market value, with a lot of sales happening when an unwilling seller who is much more concerned about a price in their head rather than a sale finally finds muggins who really wants that colour, can't be arsed to travel more than 30 miles for a car and hasn't done much research beyond silly dealer asking prices.

 

[j3nks79]

It’s a buyers market at the moment. Cars that are priced highly have been sale for months and months.
Not great if you’re selling at the moment but perfect if you are in the market for one.

 

[STC_Zed]

It’s definitely a buyers market especially because they’ll be a toy / third car for many households and those sort of frivolities are hard to justify for many. They’re quite a niche car as well - I saw my first coupe locally when I popped to Sytner yesterday. There was a phoenix yellow coupe leaving the service bay.

Values do seem to be all over the place. Higher priced cars do seem to be shifted judging by Zachary Luke’s updates but I’m starting to see a few cheaper ones on Facebook etc which don’t actually look too rough.

I paid £8k for mine in 112k with heated seats, xenon’s, cruise and nav. It’s a bit rough around the edges but is a car that I can use (it’s a daily) without fear of destroying the value too much.

 

[Mr Tidy]

As has been said not many people buy them as daily drivers which limits the number of potential buyers, which leaves actual buyers in a strong position.

Having said that I bought my first one 10 years ago ( ) and since then prices have been up and down quite a bit. Although overall they are still quite high at the moment - I paid £9,600 for my first Sport one on 54K miles with Ruby Black Individual paint, Xenons, DSP stereo and heated seats, but if I had kept it it would still only be on 91K and probably worth about what I paid!

Anyway Freds' figures seem about right.

 

[Zedebee]

Check out this thread.
https://z4-forum.com/forum/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keywords=Zedebee&t=78216&sf=msgonly&ch=0&start=15
Scroll to my post of 31/12/2020. There’s a lot of data on coupe prices in September and December of that year,

 

[BTZ461]

No matter the brand, the used car market (classics and interesting cars too) is on its knees, it's a global thing, the post covid spend up on real estate and lifestyle has come to an end. Prepare for a bumpy ride guys, a long way to go yet.
And I'm doubting values will come back to where we were, given the creep to EV / hybrids is gaining even more traction, and the enthusiasm is waning, especially amongst posters who are aging and belong on this forum, this writer is 72, with a shed full of M cars ............

 

[Fred Smith]

No matter the brand, the used car market (classics and interesting cars too) is on its knees, it's a global thing, the post covid spend up on real estate and lifestyle has come to an end. Prepare for a bumpy ride guys, a long way to go yet.
And I'm doubting values will come back to where we were, given the creep to EV / hybrids is gaining even more traction, and the enthusiasm is waning, especially amongst posters who are aging and belong on this forum, this writer is 72, with a shed full of M cars ............

Is there an argument that 2000-2010 petrol engined manual cars of a reasonably decent quality will forever be safe and comfortable and reliable enough to be useable in a way that an MG Midget isn't, whilst also being the most recent cars not to be destroyed as an experience by too much tech? Maybe in a few years people will recognise it as a sweet spot and continue to cherish cars from that era.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Is there an argument that 2000-2010 petrol engined manual cars of a reasonably decent quality will forever be safe and comfortable and reliable enough to be useable in a way that an MG Midget isn't, whilst also being the most recent cars not to be destroyed as an experience by too much tech? Maybe in a few years people will recognise it as a sweet spot and continue to cherish cars from that era.

I'm sure that will happen once they become proper classics, but it will be a while!

You only have to look at current Classic Car prices which seem to be driven by older buyers who have cleared mortgages, maybe have children who are no longer dependent and generally have some disposable income to indulge themselves by buying the car they always wanted, or reliving their youth with a car from their past.

But that doesn't happen until you get to your 50s/60s which is why prices of 80s classics like Sierra Cosworths, E36 M3s, Golf GTis, 205 GTis, etc. have now taken off like 70s classics did years ago. Even 90s cars like Honda NSXs, Toyota Supras, RX7s, have started to climb, so maybe another 10 years!

 

[Ocsltd]

You say that, but if you look at the recent classic car auction at angliacaruactions, quite a few cars made well over estimate, some by quite some margin which would suggest it's not all doom and gloom..... https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic-auctions/2649-22-Jun-2024

No matter the brand, the used car market (classics and interesting cars too) is on its knees, it's a global thing, the post covid spend up on real estate and lifestyle has come to an end. Prepare for a bumpy ride guys, a long way to go yet.
And I'm doubting values will come back to where we were, given the creep to EV / hybrids is gaining even more traction, and the enthusiasm is waning, especially amongst posters who are aging and belong on this forum, this writer is 72, with a shed full of M cars ............

 

[Fred Smith]

You say that, but if you look at the recent classic car auction at angliacaruactions, quite a few cars made well over estimate, some by quite some margin which would suggest it's not all doom and gloom..... https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic-auctions/2649-22-Jun-2024

Are you joking, loads went for under guide, and the guides seem dead low (I'm not an expert).

Just a quick glance and there's an amphibious london cab that went for just over £1k and you can pick up an MGB GT for under £1k! Fiat X1/9 under £2k, 1938 dragster under £9k (and under estimate). Spitfire and Sprite about £4k each.

 

[STC_Zed]

I think ultimately the Z4 is semi forgotten about especially the coupe. They sold in small numbers and were not hugely praised by the press back in the day.

For many buyers, if they want a two door coupe, a Cayman is the default choice and are available larger numbers.

It’ll be a long time before there is any sign of appreciation especially with them generally surviving in decent numbers.

 

[Ocsltd]

What is it they say, you can't argue with stupid.....

Open your eyes man.

You say that, but if you look at the recent classic car auction at angliacaruactions, quite a few cars made well over estimate, some by quite some margin which would suggest it's not all doom and gloom..... https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic-auctions/2649-22-Jun-2024

Are you joking, loads went for under guide, and the guides seem dead low (I'm not an expert).

Just a quick glance and there's an amphibious london cab that went for just over £1k and you can pick up an MGB GT for under £1k! Fiat X1/9 under £2k, 1938 dragster under £9k (and under estimate). Spitfire and Sprite about £4k each.

 

[Fred Smith]

Oh I can and I am.

Loads on there had no reserve and sold for under £1k.

The guide prices seem cheap to me (I am not an expert on classic car prices, but I have a bit of an idea and lots of guides seemed on the low side compared to what I might have expected, meaning they can still be cheap if they sell above guide.)

Loads sold in or below guide. The odd one like that Sierra Cosworth went for big money.

If by "quite a few" you mean "10 or 20 cars, maybe a few more, in an auction of hundreds of cars" then I can agree, but I also note that all you are saying is that in a very buyer-friendly market there are still cars which are highly desirable and will be subject to bidding wars. This could be regarded as stating the obvious.

I can't agree that auction is indicative of a healthy classic car market.

 

[Fred Smith]

DL07MWY was up for sale at £8,500 in March (auto, blue, 128k)... came down to £7,500 in April and then I have a note saying "considering £6k" on my spreadsheet, which is an impression I must have got from the listing on facebook.

It's now up for £9,995 (seems like a trader bought it and is re-selling).

So on the face of it this car has been up for everywhere from £7,500 to £10k, and we have NO EVIDENCE AT ALL that a single person has been interested in it, other than one car trader who has definitely got it on the market for a VERY toppy price and may be an idiot!

 

[darich]

I bought mine just over a year ago. 75k with FSH for a touch over 10k.
Now on 78k, it's probably still worth the same as what I paid. I've seen a few with similar miles being advertised for more, but they're either dealers or hang about for a long time. I think realistically, I'd say mine hasn't depreciated.

 

[Ocsltd]

At least we can agree on one thing..... :wink:

Oh I can and I am.

Loads on there had no reserve and sold for under £1k.

The guide prices seem cheap to me (I am not an expert on classic car prices, but I have a bit of an idea and lots of guides seemed on the low side compared to what I might have expected, meaning they can still be cheap if they sell above guide.)

Loads sold in or below guide. The odd one like that Sierra Cosworth went for big money.

If by "quite a few" you mean "10 or 20 cars, maybe a few more, in an auction of hundreds of cars" then I can agree, but I also note that all you are saying is that in a very buyer-friendly market there are still cars which are highly desirable and will be subject to bidding wars. This could be regarded as stating the obvious.

I can't agree that auction is indicative of a healthy classic car market.

 

[Fred Smith]

What did you mean by this "You say that, but if you look at the recent classic car auction at angliacaruactions, quite a few cars made well over estimate, some by quite some margin which would suggest it's not all doom and gloom..... "

Were you suggesting that there were loads and loads of cars that went for above estimate, and estimates are not falling as a rule, and that "things are pretty good, don't be such a misery"?

Or were you agreeing that prices are low / falling and just making the utterly pointless "point" that of course in an auction of hundreds of cars some will sell for top money for one reason or another, so now - like every other moment is history - is "not all doom and gloom"?

 

[Unitedleeds1919]

Mines £4695 and I know it’s a good car, but not one person has looked at it I’m in Slovenia now anyway and my Mrs is running about in it as she loves it ….i think it’s worth £5k plus but it obviously isn’t as nobody wants it it at £4695

 

[BTZ461]

You say that, but if you look at the recent classic car auction at angliacaruactions, quite a few cars made well over estimate, some by quite some margin which would suggest it's not all doom and gloom..... https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic-auctions/2649-22-Jun-2024

No matter the brand, the used car market (classics and interesting cars too) is on its knees, it's a global thing, the post covid spend up on real estate and lifestyle has come to an end. Prepare for a bumpy ride guys, a long way to go yet.
And I'm doubting values will come back to where we were, given the creep to EV / hybrids is gaining even more traction, and the enthusiasm is waning, especially amongst posters who are aging and belong on this forum, this writer is 72, with a shed full of M cars ............

What is that saying that prevailed when I woz growing up? Ohh yes, "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink"