What’s going on with the E86 market?

T

True-Blue

Veteran
 Bristol/Bath
It seems anything below about 90k miles is being listed on Autotrader at £10k+, some way more,…. and not selling.

Cars over 100k miles seem to be listed at anything from £6k to £8k on FB,… but are also not shifting.

Two camps, overpriced and seemingly good value, but very limited movement 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
I don’t think it’s just e86s

There is an e85 3.0si near me with good low mileage, half decent spec apart from the beige interior that hasn’t moved from £9500 for about 4 months
 
These cars are nearly 20 yrs old they will sell on condition and mileage if you think a low mileage car is too expensive buy something else. Good E85/86 cars hold their value very well but are a long way from being rare classics, enjoy them for what they are.
 
It may warrant a separate thread, but what do think the correct value for a benchmark (excellent condition, FSH, decent spec) E86 with 60k and 100k?

I reckon £12k and £9k (which frankly is the same as I’ve reckoned for the last five years).
 
True-Blue said:
It seems anything below about 90k miles is being listed on Autotrader at £10k+, some way more,…. and not selling.

Cars over 100k miles seem to be listed at anything from £6k to £8k on FB,… but are also not shifting.

Two camps, overpriced and seemingly good value, but very limited movement 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Now this is just my opinion based on what I see:
I think there are several factors at play with these type of cars; that is very niche market and aging.
Firstly there is still a 'hangover' from covid regarding prices. The car market has changed but many people are still hanging on to the covid pricing model. Basically in denial.
Secondly these type of cars are almost exclusively second or third cars now. Sellers don't 'need' to sell, just want to as long as they can get their valuation for them. So no incentive to be realistic to the market.
Thirdly people value their cars against others similar they see on the internet. If those are expensive, then guess what? If you are not bothered whether you sell or not, there is no incentive to do a lot of research of actual selling prices.

One thing I cannot understand is that since covid many many private sellers are pitching their prices at the same, or in many cases above, the retail prices of dealers/ traders. This is universal. Doesn't matter what car it is. Just doesn't make any sense to me.
 
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I am seriously considering my next 'toy' to be a an E86MC. I will only buy the very best example with very low mileage, in the right colour, with all it's history and paperwork being correct. I would have to wait for this car to come to the market and it will be very expensive; probably £30k at present. I won't pay £30k for that car though, so I may not get one.

If the market in general for these cars is anything like me then there will be many cars not selling.
 
Its not just z4 that Ved is nulling demand for cars that majority own as weekend / hobby .
2026 = £450 for Si Zs ? £800 for ///M models ? > double the cost of insurance ?
I consciously left the z world years ago when i was spending more for ved per month than i was doing on fuel.
Yes i could afford it but i just chose alternatives that tick more boxes.
 
Pondy said:
Now this is just my opinion based on what I see:
I think there are several factors at play with these type of cars; that is very niche market and aging.
Firstly there is still a 'hangover' from covid regarding prices. The car market has changed but many people are still hanging on to the covid pricing model. Basically in denial.
Secondly these type of cars are almost exclusively second or third cars now. Sellers don't 'need' to sell, just want to as long as they can get their valuation for them. So no incentive to be realistic to the market.
Thirdly people value their cars against others similar they see on the internet. If those are expensive, then guess what? If you are not bothered whether you sell or not, there is no incentive to do a lot of research of actual selling prices.

One thing I cannot understand is that since covid many many private sellers are pitching their prices at the same, or in many cases above, the retail prices of dealers/ traders. This is universal. Doesn't matter what car it is. Just doesn't make any sense to me.
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Agree with every point there - that's exactly how I see it.

It's exactly the same in the VX220 world - Autotrader prices are very different from Facebook ones. And I bought my E86 via Facebook so got it lower priced than I would from Autotrader.

When selling "commodity cars" (Focus, etc) then I think pricing is more formulaic - age, model, mileage, condition = price +/- 5% or whatever. Whereas with these types of cars it's colour, spec, etc that can swing the price by quite a bit. And owners being 'bugger that, I want £x for it" because of the investment / attachment.

I'll soon be selling my VX and I'll do exactly that - price it at the higher end on Autotrader and wait. It's not the sort of car that needs to be below the Autotrader price thresholds, it just needs the right person at the right time so I'll wait it out. I'll take good photos, pull together a great history pack and basically put if forward in the best light possible.... Or swap it for a Z4MC! ;)
 
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I look at it from the Must, Should, Could when it comes to selling.
My son inherited his Grandad's Rose pink Peugeot 208, very fortunate to be left a car but he hasn't got a licence and no intention of getting one. That was a Must sell and it went for ok money through Motorway.
My lovely MK1 MX-5 was a Should sell. I ran it for over a year but didn't have a garage so it wouldn’t have been sensible to keep it exposed to the elements. It sold almost immediately for decent asking.
My 130i LE was the Could sell as it wasn't getting much use. I put it up for what I'd paid for it, no interest, so increased the price by £750 and sold it for asking a few days later.

Maybe all these E86s fall in to the Could category.
 
Miscowjones said:
I look at it from the Must, Should, Could when it comes to selling.
My son inherited his Grandad's Rose pink Peugeot 208, very fortunate to be left a car but he hasn't got a licence and no intention of getting one. That was a Must sell and it went for ok money through Motorway.
My lovely MK1 MX-5 was a Should sell. I ran it for over a year but didn't have a garage so it wouldn’t have been sensible to keep it exposed to the elements. It sold almost immediately for decent asking.
My 130i LE was the Could sell as it wasn't getting much use. I put it up for what I'd paid for it, no interest, so increased the price by £750 and sold it for asking a few days later.

Maybe all these E86s fall in to the Could category.
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I am so in the game for a 130LE

Proper ‘in the know’ car
 
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To get the car you want at the right price you have to be patient there are always cars that need to be sold, the combination you want may not be common, unless it's black, the "si" models are expensive but worth waiting for.
If you want to look at it buy 60k car and polish it, if you want to drive it buy 120 K car for half the price and have fun, 6 cyl engines are good for 180k if maintained properly, cheap fun motoring
 
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