Dust off your ix's fellas.....Time to cash in!

[E30andy]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1989-bmw-325ix-11/

This must be the highest sale price for an ix ever? Is this just an anomaly or are good ix's really worth this kind of money?

[roguetoaster]

Unpopular opinion, but E30s aren't worth $25,000, but on the back of this "sale" or speculative purchase it's likely that we'll see this car for sale in about a year, with the seller hoping for $30,000 after doing no maintenance, and driving it for 600 miles.

[AWDBOB]

Unpopular opinion, but E30s aren't worth $25,000, but on the back of this "sale" or speculative purchase it's likely that we'll see this car for sale in about a year, with the seller hoping for $30,000 after doing no maintenance, and driving it for 600 miles.

This^^

I genuinely think that sale was an anomaly. I think the seller did a fantastic job with details and photos, and this is a testament to the value of those two things as they reflect on an auction.

No options, reseale red, comfort interior, manual trans, low spec- it didn't even have premium sound. I just don't get it.

That car was the same exact spec/milage/completeness as the alpine white sedan that I totally redid that sat on the market for a year before I let it go for $6500.

BAT is all over the place with iXes too, which makes it even more confusing/frustrating, because now the for sale section will be littered with 10-15K iXes.

I'm happy values are going up on one end, but on the other hand, to me the "value" of what an e30 used to be (ie, cheap buy in, fun car) is what makes it so cool/special. It's just like an m3. There isn't near enough of a driving experience there for $50K, and likewise an iX for $25K.

[E30andy]

This^^

I genuinely think that sale was an anomaly. I think the seller did a fantastic job with details and photos, and this is a testament to the value of those two things as they reflect on an auction.

No options, reseale red, comfort interior, manual trans, low spec- it didn't even have premium sound. I just don't get it.

That car was the same exact spec/milage/completeness as the alpine white sedan that I totally redid that sat on the market for a year before I let it go for $6500.

BAT is all over the place with iXes too, which makes it even more confusing/frustrating, because now the for sale section will be littered with 10-15K iXes.

I'm happy values are going up on one end, but on the other hand, to me the "value" of what an e30 used to be (ie, cheap buy in, fun car) is what makes it so cool/special. It's just like an m3. There isn't near enough of a driving experience there for $50K, and likewise an iX for $25K.

Very well put AWDBOB! Kinda my thoughts exactly. Low spec 4 door ix with comfort seats, hard to believe it went for $25K. The delivery mile E30 M3 that went for $250k on BaT really blew my mind!

The ix I am buying in a few days out of Montana is an 88 with over 200k miles, no rust, brand new paint, redone leather heated sport seats, premium sound, etc. I am paying $11k for it (plus shipping to VT). Based on the red 4 door BaT car, I should be able to turn around and put it on BaT and get > $25k for it!

[roguetoaster]

Guys, are these commodities or relatively common cars to enjoy driving? I ask as it seems like we are getting to the tipping point where they are going to just be the former, and thus cannot be the latter as that would damage the value of the product.

If that happens I really feel like E30s will just be poser cars for insufferable people.

[E30andy]

Guys, are these commodities or relatively common cars to enjoy driving? I ask as it seems like we are getting to the tipping point where they are going to just be the former, and thus cannot be the latter as that would damage the value of the product.

If that happens I really feel like E30s will just be poser cars for insufferable people.

Another good point! I really think of mine as kinda disposable due to rust issues here in Vermont. Drive them and enjoy as a classic daily driver, but know they will eventually rust away so dont pay too much upfront. I'm kinda torn about the one I'm getting out of Montana with no rust as I know over 5-10 years of winter use it will slowly dissolve and be worth nothing.

[rturbo 930]

Another good point! I really think of mine as kinda disposable due to rust issues here in Vermont. Drive them and enjoy as a classic daily driver, but know they will eventually rust away so dont pay too much upfront. I'm kinda torn about the one I'm getting out of Montana with no rust as I know over 5-10 years of winter use it will slowly dissolve and be worth nothing.

You're not seriously going to drive a rust free E30 in Vermont winters and just let it rust away are you? That would be an extremely stupid thing to do.

[roguetoaster]

You're not seriously going to drive a rust free E30 in Vermont winters and just let it rust away are you? That would be an extremely stupid thing to do.

Pretty sure he has a less than perfect example already. Also, driving it, maintaining it and enjoying it seems a much better use for even the best E30s rather than letting them rot away unused, even more so for an ix, since they are winter cars.

[rturbo 930]

At a minimum, I would liberally prep the car's underside and other crevices, such as behind the front wheel and the drains in the bottoms of the doors to keep rust at bay for as long as possible, and immediately attend to any rust spots that do show up, before they get to a point of needing metal replacement. To drive it into the ground and destroy a perfectly good E30 in 5-10 years is just a waste of a good car.

[e30davie]

Imagine how much more it would have sold for without the
Car bra.

[E30andy]

You're not seriously going to drive a rust free E30 in Vermont winters and just let it rust away are you? That would be an extremely stupid thing to do.

Well I'm going to do everything I can to keep the rust at bay, but its inevitable. I have a rusty beater now that will become a parts car for the new ix, but its my personal belief that it is "just a car" and I will be using it as BMW intended in a part of the country that it was designed for. What good is an ix sitting in a garage during the winter, or being driven in the south where it never can be enjoyed in the snow?

[roguetoaster]

The reality, for me at least, was when my E30 wasn't actually nice (steelies, damaged seats, but a great body shell) I enjoyed it more and really drove it like I stole it everywhere, in all weather. Once it got to be nicer and was no longer my DD I just didn't love it as much for whatever reason. Even though I no longer drove it in anything but decent weather, it was only then that rust started to creep in as I wasn't washing it as much, missed a winter prep or two, and was not spending as much time doing maintenance, so I was more likely to miss a new problem.

[E30andy]

The reality, for me at least, was when my E30 wasn't actually nice (steelies, damaged seats, but a great body shell) I enjoyed it more and really drove it like I stole it everywhere, in all weather. Once it got to be nicer and was no longer my DD I just didn't love it as much for whatever reason. Even though I no longer drove it in anything but decent weather, it was only then that rust started to creep in as I wasn't washing it as much, missed a winter prep or two, and was not spending as much time doing maintenance, so I was more likely to miss a new problem.

I will admit, I did waffle a bit on this rust free ix I'm getting for the reasons you brought up, but in the end, life is short, and I am sick of driving a beater all winter. I'm in my mid-fifties and need a more respectable car!
I'm hoping I wont baby the nice ix, because like you stated, driving the beater ix like I stole it is alot of fun!
If I find I cant tolerate the thought of it slowly rusting away, or I dont enjoy driving it as much because I am babying it, I will probably list it up for sale and buy another beater.

[AWDBOB]

I will admit, I did waffle a bit on this rust free ix I'm getting for the reasons you brought up, but in the end, life is short, and I am sick of driving a beater all winter. I'm in my mid-fifties and need a more respectable car!
I'm hoping I wont baby the nice ix, because like you stated, driving the beater ix like I stole it is alot of fun!
If I find I cant tolerate the thought of it slowly rusting away, or I dont enjoy driving it as much because I am babying it, I will probably list it up for sale and buy another beater.

I agree, it's just a car, IMO. However, that may be a hard pill to swallow when you're driving behind a brine truck in a snow storm haha.

The thing with the iX is that it is more of a tool than other E30 variants- it's not a great driving experience unless being used as intended. I would take a RWD E30 over an iX in every situation outside of a snowy climate daily driver, which makes the situation unique.

My brother has been driving his iX (he got it rust free almost 10 years ago) as his only vehicle through PA winters all of this time. He just tore it down to do rust repair this year and it has not been fun, but it was easily saveable.

RP-432 is your best friend, make sure your drains are clean, undercarriage wash regularly, etc.

As values rise, we're going to feel worse and worse about driving these cars and enjoying them, as they'll become a commodity as toaster pointed out.

But ultimately, think about the $11K you just spent compared to that of a new car. Most folks I know lose $11K in the first year of depreciation on their new car, so if you think about it purely as an investment, even if your iX became worth $0 somehow (which is literally impossible due to increasing value of parts) after driving it for 10 years, you're still going to be in a much better position than most of the other folks on the road driving their depreciated shitboxes, all the meanwhile, getting to enjoy your driving experience every day.

[E30andy]

I agree, it's just a car, IMO. However, that may be a hard pill to swallow when you're driving behind a brine truck in a snow storm haha.

The thing with the iX is that it is more of a tool than other E30 variants- it's not a great driving experience unless being used as intended. I would take a RWD E30 over an iX in every situation outside of a snowy climate daily driver, which makes the situation unique.

My brother has been driving his iX (he got it rust free almost 10 years ago) as his only vehicle through PA winters all of this time. He just tore it down to do rust repair this year and it has not been fun, but it was easily saveable.

RP-432 is your best friend, make sure your drains are clean, undercarriage wash regularly, etc.

As values rise, we're going to feel worse and worse about driving these cars and enjoying them, as they'll become a commodity as toaster pointed out.

But ultimately, think about the $11K you just spent compared to that of a new car. Most folks I know lose $11K in the first year of depreciation on their new car, so if you think about it purely as an investment, even if your iX became worth $0 somehow (which is literally impossible due to increasing value of parts) after driving it for 10 years, you're still going to be in a much better position than most of the other folks on the road driving their depreciated shitboxes, all the meanwhile, getting to enjoy your driving experience every day.

Pretty much my feelings right there thank you AWDBOB! I cant bring myself to buy a new car for several reasons including cost, depreciation, too complex, lack of feel, poor visibility, being several. Lets face it guys, we all are driving unique, rare, cool, and practical 30+ year old cars! I really tried to like the VW R32 but just couldnt pull the trigger. My wife has a 2016 Honda HRV and I dont enjoy driving it.

Now get off my lawn!