Car pricing guides are useful when cars are under eight years old. After that they enter banger territory and prices depend on desireability, rarity, and then specification, history and condition. All e89s are in this no man’s land of no longer new and not yet a classic. Some e89s will be leggy, baggy and generally not very nice nor nicely spec’d. These cars will have to be cheap to sell and they will fall to the lows of the e85 quite soon. Conversely, rarer (3.0i eg), well spec’d, low mileage clearly cherished cars will sell for far more. The same happens with nice E86s - really nice ones go for up to twice the amount of a rusty one (£5k-£10k), sometimes they are advertised for upwards of £16k. Note I said advertised not necessarily sold. I don’t think e89s will become a bona fide BMW classic but nice ones will hold their value over time. The reason for this is because cars will never look like this again and there will be a market for what is probably one of the best looking (real world) convertibles of the 21st century. Assuming of course there isn’t world meltdown of course.
On the look out for an E89 Z4
- Thread starter Beerman
- Start date
Yep - there are a range of buyers not interested in the 'cheapest'.
I paid a lot for mine, but when I bought it I was looking for 'the best I could get' & the money wasn't the main factor.
Low miles, mint condition, highest spec, the colour I wanted, reputable seller - all these meant that the CAP price went straight out of the window.
I paid a lot for mine, but when I bought it I was looking for 'the best I could get' & the money wasn't the main factor.
Low miles, mint condition, highest spec, the colour I wanted, reputable seller - all these meant that the CAP price went straight out of the window.
I have to agree. I bought recently a Z4MC which was low miles (30k) and nice order. It was probably as much as 75% higher priced than the 100000+ milers but it was worth it in my opinion as I felt that it had a higher chance of retaining its value than lots of others. Btw It was cheaper than those currently on AT. Yes, of course it’s an old car and it might need work - perhaps even more than the high miles cars - but the thing is that with (high/over - take your pick) priced cars like this buyers don’t fret as much about chucking a few thousand into keeping it great as the value is still there. It’s much harder to do this if the car is only considered to be worth a few thousand - after all (m tax aside) all zeds cost the same to maintain…
Valuations guides are just that a guide and nothing more. When you are trying to trade your car in or just get rid of it as in a disposal or distressed sale and the trader does not particularly want your car they will give you the lowest value possible but this is the opposite of when they are actively looking for stock when quite often they will end having to pay well over what the guide books tell them.
As for these older cars particularly premium or prestige brands as already stated by CliveN and others those examples that are immaculate low miles full spec will command maybe double the price or more of knackered uncared for low spec higher miles examples. This becomes more prevalent as the cars get older and the choice of good examples diminishes.
As for the OP as I mentioned already don't concentrate too much on the price guides instead look at whats for sale, you will find maybe a couple priced really low, many will be in the middle ground and then you will find some priced at the top end of the market. Those examples which are priced in the middle is probably what the fair value or average value is for that model. To get good example (being low miles high spec immaculate etc) at the low end of the market (price wise) or as you put it priced according to the valuation guides, you will have to be lucky.
One last point I don't know about now but back when I was trading, all of these guide books only valued cars under 10 years old anything older and you were on your own to work out what it could be worth.
As for these older cars particularly premium or prestige brands as already stated by CliveN and others those examples that are immaculate low miles full spec will command maybe double the price or more of knackered uncared for low spec higher miles examples. This becomes more prevalent as the cars get older and the choice of good examples diminishes.
As for the OP as I mentioned already don't concentrate too much on the price guides instead look at whats for sale, you will find maybe a couple priced really low, many will be in the middle ground and then you will find some priced at the top end of the market. Those examples which are priced in the middle is probably what the fair value or average value is for that model. To get good example (being low miles high spec immaculate etc) at the low end of the market (price wise) or as you put it priced according to the valuation guides, you will have to be lucky.
One last point I don't know about now but back when I was trading, all of these guide books only valued cars under 10 years old anything older and you were on your own to work out what it could be worth.
North West Surrey
At the summit of the picturesque fens
Probably thanks, in no small part, to this forum.Beerman said:
With so many offering horror stories of the 4 cylinder turbo, it puts a lot of people off them. I've seen it numerous times on here and elsewhere.
The N54 also has some major issues and the cars are more expensive, so puts a lot off those aswell.
Then, of course, there is the 'it has to a straight 6, it's a beemer' brigade.
Which leaves the 23i and 30i N52 cars. Same engine, different displacement. The 23i and 30i 'were' both very good value for money, and the 30i is always going to be favoured over the other for obvious reasons.
Which now makes them very popular, so the prices are bound to rise. There weren't all that many sold new, either, which doesn't help.
Pondrew said:
I wouldn't rule out a 4 cylinder, but the prices some people are asking is crazy. I'm not going to pay more for a 4 cylinder over a 6. Private sale cars are really struggling to move.
The number of cars available is increasing on AutoTrader. I hope this balances prices out.
Beerman said:
That's fair enough if it's a private sale, but not so much for a trade sale. Before I bought my first Z4 I went to look at one on sale by a local trader, and might possibly have bought it but it had a few issues and hadn't been advertised as an SE - I wanted a Sport!
Beerman said:
I know what you mean, there are a lot of deluded car sellers out there.
When I was looking for my F31 recently, I messaged the sellers of every one that fitted the bill (they were all massively overpriced). I said to let me know when they wanted to sell their car for realistic money.
I was shocked at some of the language in the replies TBH.
Let's just say it didn't work!
The only option you have if you think all the good ones are overpriced is to watch and wait. It's a buyer's market, no matter what some may think.
Pondrew said:
I doubt this forum has that much weight as to why people search out the N52 30i and to be fair this forum has a fair few advocates for the N20 yourself included as well as negative stories about this engine, so it balances out. There are quite few on here that despite those negative stories who have still purchased the N20.
For the OP if you are looking at a private sale far away, you could ask the seller if they would do a video call and show you around the car to avoid any waste of time both for you and the seller.
Silverstar said:
Getting on honest appraisal from an owner about the car they are selling is never easy.
I do notice less private sellers are putting any detail in their adverts. They don't want to mention anything about the condition or maintenance of the car. On saying that owners and garages often claim full service history when it is not even close.
Beerman said:Silverstar said:
Getting on honest appraisal from an owner about the car they are selling is never easy.
I do notice less private sellers are putting any detail in their adverts. They don't want to mention anything about the condition or maintenance of the car. On saying that owners and garages often claim full service history when it is not even close.
That is true and probably because they want any come backs. Still a video call will give you a slightly better idea as to if it is worth the trip.