What is my car worth?

[Steve L]

"A little of both. I have never had a car with more issues than this, nor dumped more money into a car, and this isnt my first older car. If I could get a decent amount for it I am open to selling, but if I'm just going to fix it again I might as well just keep driving it then. Dump another quick grand or more and keep going I guess."

These old German cars can be expensive to keep. If you repair them yourself, they become much less expensive. They are best suited for experienced DIY home mechanics with a big tool box.

[Steve L]

That's a pretty car. I predict that these cars will dramatically increase in value in the near future. Buyers are paying $150K and more for '80's M3s, but only paying $14K for nice 325is? The 325 has so many of the characteristics of the M3, but is probably more streetable. And who wants to drive around in a car that he bought for $160K? The 325 and 318 are just right for the street. At some point, the price gap between the M3 & the 325i/318i will close. Ten years ago, you could get a nice air cooled 911 for $13K to $19K and look what happened to them.

So, what is this pretty white 325i worth? Not much without a good transmission. No one wants to buy a car that isn't running. It might be worth over $10K with a new transmission.

[Staszek]

The car is in nice shape, I would fix the trans and you could get a decent amount for it. Those seats are def recovered but they look good.

I would have bought this car when I was looking for my project if it had been around.

[mexocutioner]

A little of both. I have never had a car with more issues than this, nor dumped more money into a car, and this isnt my first older car. If I could get a decent amount for it I am open to selling, but if I'm just going to fix it again I might as well just keep driving it then. Dump another quick grand or more and keep going I guess.

I took it to a transmission shop and they said they are just going to have to tear it open to see whats wrong. The fact that it goes into 1st and 2nd but won't go into reverse is contradictory of the shift fork they said.

[2mAn]

So are you over the car, or are you frustrated by the dead transmission?

[mexocutioner]

Yeah it has been manual swapped. The pictures of the seats are just before I had the swap done. I was just lazy and didnt feel like getting up to take new pictures, plus I gotta clean the interior again now

[2mAn]

Better pics are up. Ill take your word on it for the seats, the guy that sold me the told me it was all original. The business owner said he closed his shop because the builder disappeared on him one day. Is it really worth it to dump more money into a car just to sell it again? At that point Id just keep driving it haha

You should be able to get another auto trans for fairly cheap. The G260 is the manual trans BTW. If I had already done the manual swap on mine, Id sell you mine. People typically dont want an auto. Its not a bad looking car!

[parkerbink]

Seats are recovered. You might be able to sell to someone wanting to do a manual swap.

glws

[mexocutioner]

Better pics are up. Ill take your word on it for the seats, the guy that sold me the told me it was all original. The business owner said he closed his shop because the builder disappeared on him one day. Is it really worth it to dump more money into a car just to sell it again? At that point Id just keep driving it haha

[lukeADE335i]

Looks like it because the stitching runs the wrong way for comforts.

Looks tidy enough. To maximise your money you'll need to fix all issues though as others have said.

In Australia you'd be covered by consumer law on the rebuilt gearbox. Warranties are irrelevant if the product does not last a reasonable amount of time as per standard expectations & cost.

You could expect a rebuilt gearbox to last for years - therefore if it only lasts months, then you'd be covered. Of course there are exceptions if the car was abused - eg. used for motorsport etc.

If you pop the gearbox at your local burnout comp, then you won't be covered :D

[jeffnhiscars]

Did someone redo comfort seats in leather ?

[MrBurgundy]

Those pics suk.

Look up how to upload to flikr, then how to post those image URLs here..

[mexocutioner]

the pictures either come up huge or tiny

[mexocutioner]

Mileage is 157XXX on the body, about 10,000 on the motor. They told me theres no warranties on their transmissions. Just heard back from the owner of their business, they closed down. He says it sounds like a broken shift fork than stripped gears. Not sure how hard of a job that is to fix. Interior shot is a few months old from before the swap. Unfortunately no girlfriend, sorry 2mAn

[IMG]Untitled by Nick Yocono, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Nick Yocono, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Nick Yocono, on Flickr[/IMG]

[2mAn]

first, we need pictures
second, we need mileage
third, we need accident/body history
fourth, need pictures of your girlfriend.

qft