Price on a 5 series

[Chainguy]

Anyone who has the knowledge care to let me know if the following car I'm going to look at next week is expensive or on the money?

It's a 540i, black, on a 51 reg with 82k and the usual leather and satnav with a full BMWSH. Trade seller is looking for £7499, and has already said he isnt keen to shift from that, even with no trade in from my end, it'd be a cash purchase.

Mods, please move to another forum if you think it best.

[OllieWinchester]

Without looking, it sounds like all the money to me.

[LHDisbest]

£7500?

He'll have that for a while then, your lucky if thats £4k's worth.

He's quite obviously a fantasist.

[Chainguy]

Thats the problem, I've been working outside the UK for well over a year now on contract, so I have no feckin clue what prices on used big capacity cars are. WHen I left blighty, it was all stratospheric house prices, credit card millionaires and £3 coffees. Needless to say, I aint missing it much!

Edited to add, so you think he's a little checky then!

Edited by Chainguy on Sunday 22 February 15:35

[Bemmer]

CAP Average Condition £3075 Trade...!!!

[Chainguy]

Bemmer said:

CAP Average Condition £3075 Trade...!!!

Bloody hell! Whats happening in the UK then?

Alright, the photo's he sent showed it was above average, but not four bloody grand above average!

Anyone know of something similar for sale? I get back next week and so am off on the hunt for one.

[berry100]

Leggy, but a bit of haggling may see a decent buy...

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

Old shape, not as leggy but cheaper ...

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

Edited by berry100 on Sunday 22 February 16:04

[HRG]

Chainguy said:

Bemmer said:

CAP Average Condition £3075 Trade...!!!

Bloody hell! Whats happening in the UK then?

Alright, the photo's he sent showed it was above average, but not four bloody grand above average!

Anyone know of something similar for sale? I get back next week and so am off on the hunt for one.

I bought an E39 528i auto on a 99V with 76K miles for £2,800 about three months ago!

[Chainguy]

Thanks Berry. That first one is a bit of a contender. Never really thought about going all the way up to the 7 series before Might indeed be worth a drive down to see it.

[sparks_E39]

1999-2000 plates are selling at around £3000, I paid just over £3k for a 99 528i with 110k on it in October, prices have dropped loads since then so £4500 max I'd say. Sounds a lovely car, but £7500 is what a 2003 model in excellent condition is worth.

[Fox-]

These threads make me cry. I spent £7k on my 530i Sport 2.5 years ago

[Chainguy]

Trouble is finding them. Since posting, I've had a trawl around Auto trader. Everyone of the cars I want seems way more expensive than whats being mentioned here as being book. Wildly so.

In short, I want an older shape 5 (prefer the shape) in a solid colour, 4 litres or above, auto, with leather and satnav/tv and as full a service history as possible and definately below 90k. I've had leggy stuff in the past thats spat silly things that haven't been to much grief to fix, bit still strand you on an Italian motorway at 4am. And I can't be arsed with that.

I'm not finding any of the above below £7000 though

[Crombers]

I recently sold my 96 540 with 155k on the clock for £2k so if you can find a 2001 Sport on decent miles with all the options for 3 or 4k then you're doing well!

That said I'd reckon £6k/£6.5k for a tip top example would be a fair price. It's still a lot of car for the money.

[SJobson]

Where does the OP say it's a Sport?

[Chainguy]

No, it wasn't a Sport I looked at.

Still not finding these 51 plate 540i's with the options I listed above at 4 grand though. Or if they out there, they sure as hell ain't on Autotrader.

Edited to add, I've just got off the phone to an independant dealer who specialises in BMW/Mercedes etc. He laughed like a drain at the notion of such cars for such price, told me if I find one, to let him know - he'll buy as many as I can point his way. Even with his mark up, 4k is way off whats out there for sale at the moment. 7 and above is whats on the forecourts.

So, the crux is, is this one of those cases where the reality is different from what the black book says?

Edited by Chainguy on Monday 23 February 08:57

[Fox-]

Sometimes its best to ignore the internet armchair CAP book readers and buy what you are happy with. If you want a 540i and every single one for sale is £7k then frankly spending £6k on it doesn't seem so daft. There are lots of E39 facelift models for £4k now but there are few I'd actually want to buy.

Don't forget that CAP values an 80k mile 540i with 6 previous owners, 4 different brands of tyres being sold in a questionable area of Birmingham the same as it values an 80k mile 1 owner from new example with not a penny spared being sold by a retired gentleman from Kent.

Would you give each seller the same...?

[JamesK]

I agree there's some middle ground but £7k for an 8 year old V8 saloon is just bonkers - even if it's showroom standard frankly.

I own and love an E34 540i but I'd be looking hard at the 528/530 if looking for an E39 - they are much more plentiful and a fair bit cheaper (other than the obsessed about 530 sport which seems to be oput of kilter price wise).

[Chainguy]

Some good points listed above in both those posts. I agree the 530 Sport is probably overpriced, it certainly was when I left the UK. And yes, I have driven one, so I know what they are and what they can do.

As Fox said, it's looking like the CAP is wrong on this one. If I want the car I want, it's not going to be a 4k hole in the wallet.

When I get back, if I find one similar to what I described, I'll happily hand over £6500 in used twenties for it. Whether I like it or not, that seems to be the reality of the market.

I'm not paying a penny above that though. I'd rather bide my time and use the wife's car first.

[Fox-]

JamesK said:

(other than the obsessed about 530 sport which seems to be oput of kilter price wise).

Only because its the bestest car ever made in the history of the universe.

[SJobson]

I bought my fully loaded 540i Touring nearly two years ago for £5,500 - it had 126k miles on it then, and 146k now. There's an 80k mile 51 plate facelift one on Auto Trader for £5,500 currently in fact. Is a non-Sport saloon really more valuable?