Help: To sell or not to sell e86 3.0si

[Tomko]

I have a 138k mile E86 Z4 3.0si and am at somewhat of a crossroads. With the milage of the car, things are starting to go wrong and I'm wondering whether it's best to keep it and keep throwing money at it, fixing and updating all the things that go wrong, or sell it before things do start to go wrong.

My worry with keeping it and spending £££ on making it nice and mechanically refreshed, is that when it comes time to sell, it'll be worth less than it is now without the work done, since it'll likely have close to 200k miles on the clock.

As a note, I've just got an £800 bill to replace a bunch of gaskets after an oil leak. With the milage it's at, I'm also reluctant to rev it out, out of fear of the rod bearings going, and soon it'll also likely need a new clutch.

Wonder if anyone can help shed some advise.

Thanks!

 

[roblightbody]

Hi

Are you using an independent garage to keep your costs down?

I don't think there's any easy or correct answer, and with a car like this the maths may not give you the answer, it might be more about how much you enjoy the car.

My other "special" car is an old Mini, that I plough money into because i love it, even though it absolutely makes zero financial sense to do so...

 

[colb]

Since you spent £800 on gasket jobs and its stopped all the leaks then as you say other things will probably be due for refreshing. Clutch, gearbox and diff might be showing their age let alone wheel bearings and suspension. Given the mileage I would unload the car for someone else to refresh it and look for a replacement that will suit your needs with lower mileage and some decent history.

 

[Zedebee]

At least you are starting in the right place by having a wonderful E86 already.

If you are concerned about the mileage, you could change your car for another one with 50k less for about £3k. However, bear in mind some of the issues with these cars (and there aren’t many) are age related, not mileage related, and highly dependent on how it’s been driven and looked after.

Generally speaking the N52 engine is capable of very high mileages, 200k+ is not unknown. Oil leaks seem to be quite common, but £800 sound like an expensive fix. Don’t let one bad experience put you off, you are better off finding yourself a good Indy or doing some of your own work if you are handy with a spanner.

You may have read about rod bearing on here, however those threads relate to the S54 engine, I’ve not heard of anyone with rod bearing failure on their N52.

Whichever way you go, I hope you stick with the 3.0Si coupe, it’s a great car.

 

[Drshemming]

If you are going to sell it, I would start advertising sooner rather than later as second hand car prices are at record highs at the moment, and as the chip shortage starts to become less of an issue, then prices are bound to start going down. Get an idea of what the market thinks from WBAC and then put it up on here and the usual listing sites. The E86 is a very popular car nowadays and I personally think they will start to appreciate once we are past the whole covid thing.

 

[brillomaster]

personally id say keep it. better the devil you know. if you swap it in and buy a different one, theres no saying what will need doing to the new one in a years time. at least with the one you have, you'll know what has been done and when.

it'll cost you a decent chunk of cash to buy a car with fewer miles on, personally, i'd rather hold onto that cash in case things go wrong in the future. either way, putting 60k on a car will mean its worth less than where it started, though, theres a bigger difference in price between an 80k car and a 140k car, than a 140k car and a 200k car.

 

[Tom2207]

Ive a hunch that gas prices will roll on and hit used car prices soon , chips cant be far away , Im seeing used car prices start to fall away slowly ,
suits me as Im on the hunt at the moment , but they are still not making any more of them so that will help , but I think after the dip thats coming rare or interesting things will rise again as is usual.
Cars wear out , anything mechanical will break its just a fact of life.

 

[Brouse]

Hi

Are you using an independent garage to keep your costs down?

I don't think there's any easy or correct answer, and with a car like this the maths may not give you the answer, it might be more about how much you enjoy the car.

My other "special" car is an old Mini, that I plough money into because i love it, even though it absolutely makes zero financial sense to do so...

I think Roblightbody hits the nail on the head here in terms of enjoyment and if cost of repairs is affecting your enjoyment then fair enough to move on.

I sort of view it like a hobby really as really enjoy keeping my E86 in shape and repairing bits. There are plenty of hobbies you can sink money into and not see a financial return...that's how I sleep at night anyway :rofl:

 

[Thrustyjust]

You've not said what gaskets you had changed. Bills can add up on any car. Even newer ones. The E86 is pretty robust as a car. Yes, they have oil leaks , just like any other car. They have cheaper bits from the E46 such as brakes etc. I cant see a bubble bursting on them for a while yet as coming into the spring when people start looking for weekend cars. Clutches or more DMF issues can appear but they can on any car too. You know the car and its foibles, why spend money on a car you dont know and also pay a premium for which car prices currently are anyway. I'd keep it and soldier on..........

 

[1000rr]

What makes me laugh is people buying into PCP or buying new and swapping every 3 years…

They lose the 20% VAT straight away and at least £2k a year depreciation …loads more £££ if it’s a premium motor, which yours is…and get stung when they hand them back/sell on due to fooked alloys and supermarket dings….

Even if you spend £1k a year on your car to keep it going, it’s waaaaay less than PCP or buying new. Plus, you’re not losing that much as it’s hit its bottom price, and more than likely, it will appreciate. And you know the works been done to your standard. Even new cars are a headache with all the sensors and electronics they have now.

Use independents, main dealer prices are a rip off, if it’s in warranty, fair enough, but there’s some stonkingly good independent mechanics out there at a huge saving in comparison to main dealers. Just because they charge extortionate amounts, doesn’t mean they know their stuff. In my experience, a lot are shockingly bad.

Spend the savings on good holidays and meals out, enjoy life.

Keep it is my advice, and enjoy it.

 

[Drshemming]

What makes me laugh is people buying into PCP or buying new and swapping every 3 years…

They lose the 20% VAT straight away and at least £2k a year depreciation …loads more £££ if it’s a premium motor, which yours is…and get stung when they hand them back/sell on due to fooked alloys and supermarket dings….

Even if you spend £1k a year on your car to keep it going, it’s waaaaay less than PCP or buying new. Plus, you’re not losing that much as it’s hit its bottom price, and more than likely, it will appreciate. And you know the works been done to your standard. Even new cars are a headache with all the sensors and electronics they have now.

Use independents, main dealer prices are a rip off, if it’s in warranty, fair enough, but there’s some stonkingly good independent mechanics out there at a huge saving in comparison to main dealers. Just because they charge extortionate amounts, doesn’t mean they know their stuff. In my experience, a lot are shockingly bad.

Spend the savings on good holidays and meals out, enjoy life.

Keep it is my advice, and enjoy it.

100% agree, I spend between 0 and £1000 a year to keep my Discovery 3 on the road, it is a fantastic car to drive, all the the things that can go wrong with it have been figured out, parts are cheap, if I was to buy a Disco 5 (god it is ugly), or a RR Sport, I would be spending £1000 a month on PCP plus a big deposit and have very little to show for it 3 years later, my car does everything and more than a current car, every day it would be in the dealer to sort out "new car problems" with it I would be counting how much money it was costing me per day in PCP payments, £40 plus per day.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I agreed to sell my first E86 after an £800 bill (water pump) and took it for a last drive.

I shouldn't have done as it reminded me how great they are, so 2 days later I put a deposit on my next one. :lol:

As someone said you could replace it with a lower mileage one, but sometimes you can end up buying someone else's problems!

If you still enjoy driving it and don't need the cash I'd keep it. It's not like values dropping so depreciation is minimal.

 

[Tomko]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, has genuinely been very helpful and given me a couple of things to think about.

I think after all, I will be keeping the car and work on any issues that come up myself. I do love the car and quite like a lot of you have said, I know what's wrong with it, and what will need changing + love the spec of mine, only other one I've seen like it has been 15k on auto trader, albeit with a lot less miles, but still, that's coming up to Zm prices.

+ although the chip shortage does mean cars are at a high right now, I can see these cars potentially appreciating in time to come, rather than going back down when everything else eventually does. So I suppose with a bit of luck, and a couple more miles on the clock, I won't loose too much value in it.

Although I've not done much work on my cars before, outside of changing tires, adding spacers, and a stubby aerial — and with the thought of opening up an engine being quite intimidating — it's also something I think would be quite fun to learn and I'm quite excited for, now that I'm thinking about it. And as odd as this may sound coming from a 'mechanic' newbie, I can at least be sure the job has been done to a standard that I'm happy with (hopefully...)

So, looks like it's axle stands while I wait for the parts to get the first job out the way, which will be the gaskets (I failed to mention that I didn't go ahead with the work after being quoted that price as it did seem steep). For those that are curious, it's the rocker cover gasket and oil sump gasket that need changing. The former being slightly more straight forward than the latter after watching a couple YouTube tutorials. I may even try to post the process on here. Also a good excuse to refurb the seats since it's not being driven.

Anyway, thanks again for all the input and all the thing things to think about.