Increasing (theoretical) resale value.

[pandaboo911]

Back in the topic, apart form mechanical maintenance, Replacing/repairing worn out/faded trims and interior bits can be cost effective. Steering wheels, rims can be sold separately so I wouldn't mind spending money on those (used stuff).

This is very true. The general buyer knows only what he sees, if the car looks great it'll sell great.

Because vladcar. His cars were awesome, but only what we saw in the pictures was awesome. As we found out, his work was attractive, but obviously not quality.

It's always better to remove mods you bought, before you sell it, just because of the enormous amount of money you'll lose selling them with the car, you're better off keeping them for the next car, or selling them separately.

[JinormusJ]

Actually to weigh in, and not taking sides.

the only increases in e30 value are to enthusiasts.

end of story.

to any one else in the world (great and vast majority) these cars will continue to depreciate.

that is true.

the only cars that will, in the long run, increase logically are the mint examples of the more desirable models 325is, 218is, and of course M3.

the M3 will (is) going to out strip all others.

BUT!

look at what the drivers in an enthusiast market have done for say, Muscle cars.

that is a market that is completely out of touch with reality...and the cars are worth outrageous money.

tl:dr notes; Stammar is right for the 99% of the car driving public

everyone else is right for the Enthusiast population.

we all agree we love e30's, but even at my stage in life, at the $10K Price point, there are other cars that I would pick first,@15k It isn't on the list anymore.

people asking that money for a non M3 e30, are looking for a very rare and specific buyer.

they might exist, but not in the same numbers of people wanting to SELL their e30 for 10-15k

Honestly, I agree with you completely, and I've got a question to ask while your still on that thought: Do you think e30s will one day be a car that would be completely phased out of the general market and become a car that is completely "out of touch with reality"? We'll use your example and look at 60's muscle cars, even throw in Supras to the mix cause dei-fiiiiiine. The only people buying those whips are enthusiasts, and here are some reasons of because-why:
1) Cost of initial buy
2) Cost of mantainence
3) Costs/Degree of labor involved to fix/tune/refresh

I think e30s will one day grow to hit the minimum point needed to fulfill all three criteria because of the very reasons that these cars do require a lot of work; they aren't that hard to work on, but with the level of car-knowledge today (more than half of drivers don't even change their own oil), people are bound to derp up and just quit; and the degree of labor and expertise to successfully swap in a new engine or modify a M20 would scare small children if we use the same demographic example from point 2.

That being said, just like with Supras and old muscle cars, the general public interested in e30s will be completely phased out as more and more people succumb to the Man, drink the kook-aid, and buy a new car, thinking it will be a better investment in the long run (nothing wrong with new cars, but I'm an old-soul at heart, so I'm obviously going to have my bias ;)). This would leave the e30 market to be decided eventually and ultimately, like in the. Ase of muscle cars and Supras, by the enthusiasts as the general public seeings the cost, weighs their options, and leaves an ever decreasing market. But, as you all know, the e30 cult following is one huge mama-jama: I don't think e30s will run out of new and old enthusiasts anytime soon who would be willing to pay the initiation fee to join in on the madness..

I think e30s will reach the point where the general public won't even be seen driving these cars because in their minds, there would "be no point", and the only people rocking the ultimate driving machine will be people that know what they're driving and fully appreciate the time/labor/money spent on it. Eventually, the power to dictate the market will rest fully in thpan ands of those already exclusive drivers that know the costs associated with owning a car like this, and I'm sure the market will definitely reflect that as more and more enthusiasts enter the scene and become e30ducated. Do you think theres a possibility that the percentage of "rare" drivers you described will grow slightly more common as the years go by and more hardcore enthusiasts take shape..?

Just trying to stir the conversation, and I think I've officially deviated from the point of this thread. Lol
Thoughts..? Thread jack..? Make a new thread..? :rofl:

[jasonbk]

Back in the topic, apart form mechanical maintenance, Replacing/repairing worn out/faded trims and interior bits can be cost effective. Steering wheels, rims can be sold separately so I wouldn't mind spending money on those (used stuff).

[jasonbk]

I think it depends on where you live (salt belt or not). Northern areas where the cars get rusted to shit, will have less nice e30s per prospective buyer, which means the price will be higher than california. I wish I could find rust free non-running crap e30s under $1000. For example, average canadian e30 325 automatic sedan cost at least $2000 (asking price is more than that usually) and it will have more rusts, while 5spd coupe costs about $1000 more, whether it's 318i or 325i. Right now there are couple of people that I know looking for e30 coupes and verts, for $5k, and they can't find clean one.

Loot at mk1 rabbit, clean, running mk1s usually go for more than mk2s that are in same condition, and mk2s are slightly more expensive than mk3s.

[stamar]

The best post in this thread was actually sent to me in pm for some reason.

He wrote his experience with flipping cars in general.

He also wrote a more general short advice post to only do tasteful things.


In general its just the widely known rules but obviously spend time cleaning and detailing the car.
He has a connection with maaco where if he strips the paint off they spray it for $600.
which may or may not be feasible to anyone else in general it should be.

The most important thing though is to wait til you sell it. Painting it today for selling it next year doesnt work especially with maaco paint jobs. And even springs or shock set ups that are 700$ might be exciting if they were put in last week..... but in a year that means nothing.

In general I am positive most anyone said dont invest anything in your car, no matter what you think its worth and expect to get it back. especially on a retail level.

Dont refurbish the interior. Maybe junkyard upgrade the interior.

Whether you think your car is worth what bimmer man from the bimmerplanet forum thinks or what 90% of them actually go for either way the general rule is going to be the same which is .... nothing thats not incredibly cheap and simple and tasteful.


ya theres a 96 z3 asking 4600 here in arcata right now. not selling but Im sure it will. More than difficult to sell an e30 convertible for anything like that. People do put them up for that much and you know what I bet once in a while they sell.

[BKC]

Yea. I suppose $7500-ish is my top dollar for an e30. It'd have to be pretty damn nice. As the previous poster said the affection for the e30 wears off when the price climbs too high. I'm not a fan of the e36 but a 2001 3.0 Z3 sounds a helluva lot funner than a 10k e30.

[agent]

I suggest you take everything you know about car buying and toss it in the garbage.

i have yet to see stamar post one thing that i agree with.

Stamar...is out of touch with reality.

[Pac1373]

Actually to weigh in, and not taking sides.

the only increases in e30 value are to enthusiasts.

end of story.

to any one else in the world (great and vast majority) these cars will continue to depreciate.

that is true.

the only cars that will, in the long run, increase logically are the mint examples of the more desirable models 325is, 218is, and of course M3.

the M3 will (is) going to out strip all others.

BUT!

look at what the drivers in an enthusiast market have done for say, Muscle cars.

that is a market that is completely out of touch with reality...and the cars are worth outrageous money.

tl:dr notes; Stammar is right for the 99% of the car driving public

everyone else is right for the Enthusiast population.

we all agree we love e30's, but even at my stage in life, at the $10K Price point, there are other cars that I would pick first,@15k It isn't on the list anymore.

people asking that money for a non M3 e30, are looking for a very rare and specific buyer.

they might exist, but not in the same numbers of people wanting to SELL their e30 for 10-15k.

[rich4rdee]

I had originally intended this thread to be about theoretical increases in resale value for the E30, but it seems to have turned into a shouting match with Stamar, who is out of touch with reality. I don't want anybody to get the idea that I'm going to try to do something to my car solely in an effort to increase its value in the future - I'm going to do things to my car to increase my enjoyment of it now. Value is a secondary consideration. I just thought it was an interesting (theoretical) topic, and I stick with my guns that paint and body is a good way to increase resale value when compared with other places you can spend money on a car.

I think it's safe to assume that adding go fast bits to most cars only subtracts from the resale value because the common buyer will figure the car was abused that much more. Granted, most people looking for a clean e30 will overlook that if the body, paint, and interior have been upkept with zero drivability issues.

Sure, many of us could prolly sell our cars for 1-2k more than we bought em for, but the maintenance we put in over this period means we'll come closer to breaking even. IMO the only thing that will significantly increase the value of any car like this is if you stop driving it today, put it in storage, and only take it out for the occasional weekend drive.

I plan on keeping my e30 forever anyway though. :)

[mikeb23ft]

I had originally intended this thread to be about theoretical increases in resale value for the E30, but it seems to have turned into a shouting match with Stamar, who is out of touch with reality. I don't want anybody to get the idea that I'm going to try to do something to my car solely in an effort to increase its value in the future - I'm going to do things to my car to increase my enjoyment of it now. Value is a secondary consideration. I just thought it was an interesting (theoretical) topic, and I stick with my guns that paint and body is a good way to increase resale value when compared with other places you can spend money on a car.

[BKC]

If there's "millions and millions" of e30's out there where are they? Today i drove from my house south on I-5 to Seattle and back (over 200 miles) and saw exactly ZERO e30's. If I'm out driving around all day i may see two or three. I see excellent examples maybe two or three times a year and I drice all over western Washington.

I paid $5650 for mine 6 years ago and have turned down $7000 recently. I'm going to buy another one (if i can find a nice one) and I'll happily pay $7-8k for it if i do!

[JinormusJ]

Just owning your e30 makes you richer in the long run :up:

[BergerNJ]

lol this thread is full of fail

equating a non running, rusted e30 4 cyl for 300 bucks...to a perfect shape ORIGINAL IS, is apples to oranges....

no one buys a 1967 mustang thats rusted to shit, has a seized motor and rats nests in it for anything over a couple hundred........but one thats perfectly restored, matching numbers will pull a hefty price.....

and quoting kbb on a car thats at its youngest 22 years old is even worse......


I know for a FACT that my vert will be worth more as long I stay on top of it and keep it nice....for 3 years before I bought my e30 the prices were a bit lower and as time went things went up....even during the recession....



Just because its a "common car" doesn't make it worthless....rust and shit maintenance does.....

It may be a common car, but the e30 has a huge following-drift, drag, auto x....or even just resto guys who go to meets....you name it......their are plenty of people who respect the car for what it is....

Everyone I know who sees my vert asks me how old it is and is instantly surprised its a 1990....they think its a sick car and a classic already....imagine what the e30 will look like in another 10 years from now...

[pandaboo911]

Guys stop arguing and get back to the point of the thread, how to increase resale value.

[JinormusJ]

FYI, here is a link to a site that actually does CLASSIC car research, and not just blehblahbleh crap

These guys are the real deal when it comes to classic cars; they actually DO their research to see what true values are on sales, and not just what gets reports to the DMV.


Mindblown
IIRC, last time I checked was when I first got into the e30 game 6 months ago; I distinctly remember all values were ~$300 cheaper back then opposed to now. The only reason you'll find an e30 below $3k is the seller isn't and enthusiast and doesn't know what they have and believe crap like KBB that generally is unreliable to begin with.

So OP, final words: Don't do anything to your car except basic mantainence and garage queen that junk. Tasteful mods and a well pulled off engine swap and your car will become a cash crop for future enthusiasts.


/thread