Increasing (theoretical) resale value.

[mikeb23ft]

I'm not looking to increase the value of the car by more than the cost of the investment/upgrade/modification - that's hard to do. I'm saying that if you painted a car and sold it you might get 80% back on the paint, while if you put a turbo kit or something on it you might get back just 50% of that investment.

Also there was a regular ol' iS that was just super clean that sold for somewhere in the neighborhood of 9k on this forum not too long ago, so saying that there is no variable in the value of the car beyond 'does it run' is not accurate.

[dannyyisntt]

Fill the trunk with cocaine

[BKC]

Find a clean one. Keep up on maintenance. Park it in a garage every night. Appreciation over time will take care of the rest for free!

[stamar]

Ya a sale price has certain ups and downs to make an average.

i would not count on getting 3k for your e30. There are way more cars out there than people with that much cash looking to buy one.

a car forum for that model is the least realistic place to guestimate a price for a model.

At the yugo club, a dialed in yugo may sell to a collector for 5000$ all dialed in. That doesnt mean a yugo is worth 5000$ no matter what you do to it, its still worth 500$ or less depending on how much gas is in it. But all the yugo owners can daydream...

In the us, over the last year more than 90% of the 88is sold for under 1500$. Kbb lists it as a model that has dropped so far in value in one year they dont recomend getting one at any price.

As far as will repainting it for 2000 add 1500 in value... no. A bmw will not appreciate in value all the millionaires that wanted one have one....

Or to make a long story short, the price your car gets on the open market is WAY less than the price it could get at a bmw forum. You might find more specific people that appreciate you fixed up anytihng that goes bad in an e30.

Whereas on the open market, if you put an 88bmw is for sale for 2000$ ( with a new paint job and pimped out) you would hear a pin drop as all the buyers stayed away from your car in droves.

[evandael]

Maintenance, records, clean that thing up.. eliminate rust, smelly carpet, leaks, broken trim, etc.


Well-kept stock or nearly OEM original cars always fetch a pretty penny, especially out of the r3v enthusiast circle.

[SimplyDope]

Sell it in BC, Canada. You will get at least double for your car than what you would in the good 'ole USofA.

[BrassDrummer]

Definitely have Vlad Paint it.

[acolella76]

I agree with what people say about turbo cars. They are usually less reliable than NA cars, and most people don't want to deal with that. Another part is people don't know every detail of how the PO set up his turbo, so there is potential for a huuuge headache. The only real exceptions are cars with turbo kits (TCD, TRM, HPF, etc.). Kits make it easy to understand what exactly is in the kit, how it was setup, etc.

[reelizmpro]

Having bought a turbo car I know what u mean. Turbocharging and aftermarket fuel systems need to be understood by the owner as fi cars r finicky but the added power per dollar is unparalleled. I would only take a s50 or greater over turbo m20 because of comparable power and reliability.

[JinormusJ]

That's true.. Honestly, a NICE e30 that would be worth $7-8k on forums would not fetch anywhere more than $3k on the open market.

That being said.. As more and more new cars are getting older and depreciating to equal that of an e30; would you think the price of open market e30s would go down while enthusiast examples would go up as more and more work would be required to recreate the ultimate driving machine..?


Last thoughts. A clean body, good Carfax, a good running engine, and definitely a great sellers attitude is what really sells me on a car. Minor body damage, but nothing crazy like rusted out/crazy damaged quarters or anything. A engine that doesn't sound like a lawnmower and isn't leaking is a plus aswell, and I'm pretty reluctant to deal with people who are douchey about their car isntead of being open to more offers and treatin me like a valued customer and not a wad of cash; I wouldn't want to hand over money for a deal I didn't like much to a guy who treated me like a sack of meat just to get an extra bill or two.

Basic things I looked for when I bought my e30, bit there was a lot more wrong with the engine, suspension, and body than I expected or was said, and the guy was an oldman looking to get a quick sale, so he was much more flexible to work with me

[stamar]

The value of e30s is falling at a rate of free fall. Even the top examples like a 92 convertible will be worth about 500 within a few years. Basically worth 1000 if its running perfectly.

You have reached past the point where e36s are for sale, ob2 ones for 3k and below. the percent of people in the world who would spend 3k on an e30 is very small.

there are no e30s that kbb ranks as worth 3000 much less a 88 with 200k miles etc.
more than 90 of cars go for their kbb or below. Particularly bmws which devalue heavily after 5 years. youre selling your car to a small minority of the market having a bmw in the first place.

used car buyers want civic.

[Joe G]

put a bag of cash in the trunk

[irish44j]

If your goal is to someday sell it as a "classic" car, the best thing you can do is keep it in excellent condition, and keep it all-stock. Someday years from now a clean 318i with a bone-stock M10 and diving boards will be worth alot more than a clean 318i with an S52 swap and euro bumpers, for example.

All depends on when you want the resale to take place. If you mean 2 years from now, "original" isn't worth much on an e30 necessarily, especially if you're trying to sell in an enthusiast community. But 10-15 years from now, it will be.

Look at prices (for example) on 2002s being sold at auctions, etc. The original cars fetch far more than ones that have been swapped or modified, in most cases.

That all said, if your main plan to make money in the future rests on re-selling e30s you might want to find an investment with a healthier return. e30s aren't rare now, and they won't be rare for a long time.

[Vivek]

The value of e30s is falling at a rate of free fall. Even the top examples like a 92 convertible will be worth about 500 within a few years. Basically worth 1000 if its running perfectly.

Did you literally just say that? e30's are almost ONLY bought by enthusiasts or people who like older BMWs. They are definitely not selling because they're cheaper than an older e36 (because they aren't).


For e30's KBB has no value. I never even bothered to look up the KBB for ANY e30 that I looked at when buying mine, because it means absolutely nothing.

[stamar]

kbb is not actually an opinion its an average of what all the vehicles sold for in the us in the last year based on dmv records.

They do go by area.

in my area since I bought my car I havent ever seen an e30 go for 2000. Ive seen a lot of them go up for sale for a lot but never sell. most e30s kind of sit on craigslist for a month. Im not that far from you also, cars are even cheaper where you are.

I wouldnt invest in your 88 car in the hopes that youd ever see half the money in reselling it. You may well find that your car is worth less than 1000 even with a turbocharger and a new paint job in a few years when youre ready to get rid of it.


I would not count on getting more than kbb for your car when selling it as a private party. now more than ever everyone shopping for a car can just look it up. You might but I would count on getting much less.


a buyer like you that bases car value on im not sure what is rare really. a buyer who would pay retail price or above for any car is pretty rare.

particularly in a case like this, no lending organization would loan you money for a car thats 3x its kbb. because as far as they are concerned its worth its trade in value ( re almost nothing) if they repo it.

so its a cash in pocket sort of sale. people with that much cash in their pocket can pull off something a lot newer and nicer. Its a rare buyer what can I say. Dont count on a rare buyer for your 80s car. Dont delude yourself.