Increasing (theoretical) resale value.

[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.

[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.

[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!

[dannyyisntt]

Fill the trunk with cocaine

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[KenC]

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

[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.

[MattAvino]

Rust is the biggest value reducer imo.

[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

[CrusherCurtis]

Keep records. Fix all rust

[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?