When should i sell my Z4?

Q

Qeffects

Member
Okay so let me start by saying, i love my Z4. It's the best car i've ever had.

Though i've only had it since november and it just been sat nice and clean in my garage for the majority of the time. However this doesn't bother me, i already knew i don't do lots of mileage. The problem is that in june i plan to do some sort of work canada/camp america scheme which will mean i'll be moved away for 4 months. So i'm thinking it doesn't seem sensible to keep my car for this period of time, paying for insurance and tax, depreciation costs and the worry of my car sitting in my garage a million miles away. So i think it'd be best if i sell it and then when i come back i'll either be moving into the city centre of edinburgh or can just buy another z4, most likely a 3.0 since i'll be 21 and can insure it by then!

So my question is, when would be the best time to sell? I really don't want to sell but it's kind of crossing my mind that it'd be better for me to do that (even though it took me so many months to find this clean example!). Would may be a good time/highest price point to sell at?

Also what do you think my car is realistically worth and i should list it for or expect to get? (i can't really use my purchase price as an indicator as i bought it from a family friend in the end and we did a deal)

2003 BMW Z4 2.5i
75k Miles
Manual
Sterling Grey Metallic
Full BMW Service History
Black Leather
Sport Button
Sport Antenna
Business CD/Radio
12000 miles till next service!
Brand new falken tyres
Recent new disks and pads
 
hello and welcome

That's quite a dilemma you have there :| as your car sounds very nice indeed!
here's a thought, why don't you buy some fitted luggage and drive it to Canada? What a road trip that would be! :D
 
4 months is nothing to leave a car garaged. Unless you need the cash or don't think you want this Zed (adamant to upgrade, etc.) when you return to Edinburgh then garage it. Put it on storage insurance only and SORN it.

To sell and buy another will cost a lot of time and lost money.

Value - I'd be looking to £8k to £9k now
 
I am kind of eager for an upgrade. You see i wanted 108's or CSL wheels, in the past i was a heavy modifier and would buy a set of wheels in a heartbeat. However now that i'm being sensible, i figure theres not much point, instead i could sell my car before i leave (and thus not have to worry about it when i'm away) and then when i come back buy a 3.0 sport with the wheels i want, maybe even a different colour to switch things up a bit :D
Doubt i'll find a car with new tyres and a next service that probably won't be in my lifetime, however i'd be happy to up my budget somewhat and buy a facelift.

So 8-9k? Would i be best listing for £8995 as most people like to bargain a couple hundred here or there?

Also i'm not looking to sell yet, i'm not leaving till summer. So when would be the best time to sell, i.e will the prices rise just before summer?
 
So I'd say you'd already made your mind to sell then...

Summer is of course better time to sell as the weather does have a slight upward effect on prices and I'd say back end recession and a cold Jan/Feb prices are not good.

A quick look at a 2003 2.5 on Parkers with 70k gives a value of £6,660 private good, £1,000 less for 'poor', so I may have been too high. Best to go on Ebay, Pistonheads, autotrader and benchmark your car.
 
woah really? i was looking at 8995 as the lower end of the scale. Ideally i was planning to initially put it up for more like 9-10k.

Looking around pistonheads it seems theres not even one z4 under 9k on the website let alone a decent one. It's difficult to filter out the cheap ones that need lots doing on them rather than the perfect ones that have everything done like mine
 
I agree with CJ that 4 months is no big deal. However lamlp640's idea isn't as mad as it seems!

You can ship your car to the US for about £600. Takes 10-14 days. Drive it to where your camp is, use it all the while you are there. Another £600 to ship it back, as long as it is in and out within 12 months you don't need to do anything else but insure it (and there is a broker in Florida who can sort that). I studied in Canada for a year and didn't know about this, but a guy who went to Florida did it with his MK3 Golf GTI and had a whale of a time driving a RHD UK car with British plates for a year on US soil...confuses the hell out of people and he got to have a US road trip in his own car! Made for some cool photos I would imagine.

If you think you would spend less doing that than what you would 'lose' by selling it, maybe worth considering...
 
Okay so i've been having a look. heres some similar-ish cars i've found
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-53-BMW-Z...ewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item414c6e045f

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-2...omobiles_UK?hash=item27af05a32e#ht_500wt_1157

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-P...mobiles_UK?hash=item3efca2a048#ht_1532wt_1142

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-2...mobiles_UK?hash=item33599b651e#ht_1656wt_1142

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-2...mobiles_UK?hash=item19b6726274#ht_1150wt_1142

If you have a look on autotrader it seems i should aim for just under the 9k mark. On pistonheads all prices are raised by about 1k. Ebay seems to be all over the place. I guess i shouldn't bother trying to figure out a price just yet as i won't be selling for a few months at least.

So i figure prices should rise in spring, May will be a decent time to sell if i go that route.
 
I had a better spec on mine, with 58k on the clock and managed to get 8k trade in - but the options on my were much more - it does seem if the Z4 values have dived considerably witht he new model - although the eager dealers are still putting a hefty premium on vehicles (my dealer tried it on with a 50% markup, dunno if they sold it, its gone off the site now )
 
Qeffects said:
Okay so i've been having a look. heres some similar-ish cars i've found
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-53-BMW-Z...ewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item414c6e045f

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-2...omobiles_UK?hash=item27af05a32e#ht_500wt_1157

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-P...mobiles_UK?hash=item3efca2a048#ht_1532wt_1142

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-2...mobiles_UK?hash=item33599b651e#ht_1656wt_1142

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-2...mobiles_UK?hash=item19b6726274#ht_1150wt_1142

If you have a look on autotrader it seems i should aim for just under the 9k mark. On pistonheads all prices are raised by about 1k. Ebay seems to be all over the place. I guess i shouldn't bother trying to figure out a price just yet as i won't be selling for a few months at least.

So i figure prices should rise in spring, May will be a decent time to sell if i go that route.
Click to expand...


Of course don't mix up forecourt prices with private. They will be at £1,000 to £2,000 higher (in this age and range of car) as they carry warranty and a level of comeback. Also check how long a car has been on the site for. When buying and selling I tend to track a bunch of cars and see what ehy posted at and if they sold. Many people vastly over value their own car as it's worth more to them and has sentimental attachment.

Still - no panic as yuo mention no sale until summer and much will change by then
 
Hi Q

Sorry to see you're thinking of selling up. Certainly best time will be towards end-April/May/June time as folk start to think about convertibles when the weather pickes up, although today is a cracking day 8). Values are fairly low at the moment according to my father-in-law (a car dealer in Fife), just the winter effect really.

I'd say this is probably closest to yours, being a private seller and not a car dealer:
Qeffects said:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-Z4-2...omobiles_UK?hash=item27af05a32e#ht_500wt_1157
Click to expand...

Although that does have the 17" alloys - are you still on the 16"s? I will be soon too LOL if I ever get winter tyres bought. If you're intent on selling, PM me in a couple of months and I'll get the up-to-date Glass's Guide figures from my father-in-law if you want.

Ally
 
I'm with Ally, April /May best time to start advertising it, just as the nice weather is coming. If it sells, great, buy a 3.0 when you get back, if it doesn't, keep it and enjoy it when you get back.Don't get lured into selling it cheaply just because you have given yourself a deadline.Also to be considered, you are concerned that you may not get a good price now, but a 3.0 will be suffering the same winter value blues too, so look at the cost to swap.If you get more for yours in May, you'll also pay more for a 3.0 at the same time.Just my 2p worth. :D
 
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