nickw6666 said:
£31k for a 7000 mile car is a good deal, provided you want a nearly new car in terms of condition.
The car is worth that for the buyer that wants a car that has had minimal usage and who wants an original ultra low mileage appreciating classic.
The depreciation on that car as mentioned will be less than a 2-series convertible as mentioned.
So it's horses for courses. If someone wants to use their car as a daily or put 10k plus miles on it a year it would not be a wise investment. But for someone who is keen to buy an ultra low mileage nearly new condition Z4MR, and use it as a 2nd car, it makes a lot of sense.
As for whether the low usage would be a problem that would be very unlikely and for a prospective buyer the simple answer would be to get the car checked over by BMW, which the seller would no doubt be very happy to arrange if the car is so good.
The seller is looking for the right buyer who appreciates and is prepared to pay to get probably the lowest mileage Z4MR in the country.
For those that think £30k is too much money for an ultra low mileage Z4MR, have a little look at air cooled Porsche 911 prices,, M3 CSL prices with the unloved SMG gearbox, and 1M coupe prices with an N54 non-motorsport engine!
Yes, I agree and I don't disagree with the price either. There's only one car and it will take only one buyer who wants it and will be prepared to pay it. It will be someone who wants that car for themselves though rather than as a speculative "investment".
The figures as an "investment" just don't stack up.
The examples of air-cooled 911s or M3 CSLs aren't valid though...at this point in time. Their prices (or rather the sudden jump in their prices) was totally manipulated by a small cartel of dealers and a few motoring hacks. It's been done many times before with other cars as well....E30M3s, E9 CSs along with the E46 CSLs mentioned. I've had all of those cars and each time I've seen the 'punters' fall for it.
Take what on the face of it seems like the extreme example of the M3 CSL (but would equally well apply to the E30 M3):
Before what I'll call "The Hype" happened I tried, for over a year to sell mine for £30K before it eventually went. That was about 6 years ago.
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/2003_M3_CSL/index.html
What would that car realistically sell for now? £60K ? So, I often think: "Oh God! If only I'd have hung on to it!" Such that I can barely bring myself to look at adverts for them. :lol:
But, I try to console myself with the following:
1) I, like most Average Joes, will find it difficult to predict what cartelist dealers and journos are to hype next and for how long. Anybody else notice how it's gone quiet on the E30 M3 and CSL front of late? That's because the dealers have made their money by hyping and then shifted on to do the same with something else leaving those who bought at the top of the hype high and dry and now trying to shift their (often average quality) purchases at totally unrealistic prices in the private classifieds.
2) By remembering how much so-called 'Profit' that I would really have made by hanging on to it.
It cost more like £2K/annum just to owned and that's assuming no repairs were needed.
At the time I did also have more than £30k's worth of debts/mortgage etc. and reckoned £30K shaved off those debts was worth about £1200/annum.
So that's £3200/annum true ownership costs without even driving it. Over 6 years that would have come to £19,200.
£60,000 minus £19200 is £40,800. That's £10,800 more than I sold it for 6 years ago...or, £1800 a year "profit"!
Nice...but hardly a life-changing amount?!
And how many Average Joes really possess the crystal ball required to predict the fickleness of "number 1" above? :roll:
but all i see there is a no win catch 22 situation for anyone fortunate enough to have £31k to even consider it :? 
throw 3k ,4k,5k on the car over 3/5 years & you soon have a 15,000 - 20,000mile £20k car :wink: 
) & many others around the 35k / 40k sell circa £16k/£17k 
3 months later the 911 dream was done , just no magic in the 996 so it went & after a dabble with a 645Ci found myself on the Z trail , the rest is history 