Increasing (theoretical) resale value.

[mikeb23ft]

What are the biggest things you would do to an E30 to increase resale value? I've been watching a lot of the British show Wheeler Dealers lately and they buy cars, fix them up, and sell them. I'm not about to do that given my limited funds and mechanical ability, just an interesting topic.

Take my '88 325is for example. It's mechanically sound. If I were to do bodywork on it, I think that it would be worth substantially more on the resale market if I swapped it to Euro or late bumpers instead of just respraying it with the diving boards on. On the contrary, if I cobbled together a turbo kit for the high mileage M20 or put some XXRs on it, I would probably negatively impact the resale value of the car compared to the cost of the turbo kit or wheels. What other features make an E30 pull a premium?

[rustybullet]

A clean well taken car will always fetch more.

[KenC]

CLEAN body/interior and minimal mods.

[ak-]

Clean and refreshed always nets more proportionally to a clean and modded car.

[reelizmpro]

Clean body, original panels, clean title, refreshed with tasteful mods fetch a good penny. However, its been proven that people will pay even more for highly modded cars. Just depends on the mods and as long as it looks clean. Take a pos e30 and drop in an s52 and it will still fetch a premium.

[mikeb23ft]

I have noticed 24v swaps bringing more than turbo M20s.

I'm going to make the switch to late model bumpers, get rid of all of my rust, and get a good respray. That alone will take me from a 2500 car to a 4500 car, not that I ever want to sell it. Who wants to pay 4500 for a car with diving boards?

[CrusherCurtis]

Keep records. Fix all rust

[KenC]

I have noticed 24v swaps bringing more than turbo M20s.

I'm going to make the switch to late model bumpers, get rid of all of my rust, and get a good respray. That alone will take me from a 2500 car to a 4500 car, not that I ever want to sell it. Who wants to pay 4500 for a car with diving boards?

I hope you get a deal on a respray. ROI on that is hard to break even

[MattAvino]

Rust is the biggest value reducer imo.

[mikeb23ft]

I agree that rust is a killer. I got my car for $2k because of rust. Unfortunately I found out after the fact that there's even more than I thought. I still feel like I got a fair deal on it, partially because of all of the records that I got with it.

[KenC]

You'll probably have to dump $4k into it for it to become a $4k car.

[Vivek]

I don't think putting money in it will ever increase the resale value more than what you put into it. Other than maybe a good detail and keeping it looking nice overall. I've seen too many e30's with shitty paint jobs that just ruin the car for me.

[LivingLegend06]

polish exterior, paintless dent removal, clean carpets and swap damaged interior peices. that could add ~1k value for little investment and a couple days worth of work. other than that you will probably be spending more than you will get in return.

[JinormusJ]

New mechanical wear items.
Documents proving you just did timing belt, hoses, belts, etc. Those are always a good blugdeon to get the price your looking for. Top that with a nice looking interior, and the potential owner may just figure your price is a good deal and go for it.

Turbo kits on originally N/A engines always negatively impact cash per premium. most people just want a refreshed engine and then do the work themselves cause they know if there are any problems down the line, they know exactly what they did and can fix it.
For this very reason, I dont like turboing N/A engines. Id rather just get a turbo engine, get a bigger turbo, and swap that in than slapping a turbo on an s50..

My $.02

[stamar]

I would not invest anything in a 88is in the hopes that it would increase the value. It pretty much wont. If your car is ready for daily drive right now, its worth about as much as anyone is going to pay.


I would look into a lot of cheap or free things that fix interior tears, fix paint fix idle etc.

I think upgraded springs can really sell these cars though if the price is still modest.


Something ill advised like a turbo or engine swap will not add anything close to what you put into it.