BMW Second Hand Market Discussion

[g3org3y]

I've noticed an abundance of Z4s flooding the market both in coupe (E86) and roadster (e85) form in the last week or so.

Also stock of X5s has really dropped off and E53 owners are asking silly money. Really fancy an E70 but v few N52 engined examples around. Don't want a diesel and I'm wary of the V8 (valve stem seals etc).

As usual, not that many E91s about in 325/330 form.

Can't comment about diesels, always change my filter to exclude.

[aka_kerrly]

g3org3y said:

I've noticed an abundance of Z4s flooding the market both in coupe (E86) and roadster (e85) form in the last week or so.

Also stock of X5s has really dropped off and E53 owners are asking silly money. Really fancy an E70 but v few N52 engined examples around. Don't want a diesel and I'm wary of the V8 (valve stem seals etc).

As usual, not that many E91s about in 325/330 form.

Can't comment about diesels, always change my filter to exclude.

I agree with your observations regarding the number of Z4s, however I have also noted that quite a few Z4s have been sitting around unsold for quite a while and prices of 3.0l variants being quite strong. The Coupes are in my opinion a strange thing to price, if you look at the difference between ones sold in ebay via bids versus classified prices there seems to be around £3-4k difference and ive seen at least 2 Z4 coupes that have been for sale at least a year now. I am hoping they could depreciate a smidge more.

On the e91 front , sadly with the 06-10 era BMW 3 series id say there is around a 60/40 split in terms of diesel vs petrol, then of those petrol powered cars around 65% of them are 4 cylinder rubbish. If you then only want a manual you are faced with losing another 2/3rds of the remaining cars available so you may need some patience in order to find the right one.

[Mr Tidy]

aka_kerrly said:

I agree with your observations regarding the number of Z4s, however I have also noted that quite a few Z4s have been sitting around unsold for quite a while and prices of 3.0l variants being quite strong. The Coupes are in my opinion a strange thing to price, if you look at the difference between ones sold in ebay via bids versus classified prices there seems to be around £3-4k difference and ive seen at least 2 Z4 coupes that have been for sale at least a year now. I am hoping they could depreciate a smidge more.

On the e91 front , sadly with the 06-10 era BMW 3 series id say there is around a 60/40 split in terms of diesel vs petrol, then of those petrol powered cars around 65% of them are 4 cylinder rubbish. If you then only want a manual you are faced with losing another 2/3rds of the remaining cars available so you may need some patience in order to find the right one.

I've noticed much the same, but when I was selling my Z4 Coupe in January I really struggled to shift it. I thought I had done well moving it on before lockdown, but post-lockdown prices shot up! People were asking about £2K more than I got for mine for similar cars.

Another thing that always surprises me is the number of Z4Ms for sale at any one time, given that only about 1,200 were registered in the UK!

When I was looking for an E91 in early 2018 I only wanted a manual one with the N52 engine and struggled to find any 330is, and they were nearly twice the price of 325is. So I bought a 325i!

It was practical but performance was a bit disappointing so in 2019 I talked myself into an E90 330i because E91 330is were still nearly twice the price!

[g3org3y]

aka_kerrly said:

I agree with your observations regarding the number of Z4s, however I have also noted that quite a few Z4s have been sitting around unsold for quite a while and prices of 3.0l variants being quite strong. The Coupes are in my opinion a strange thing to price, if you look at the difference between ones sold in ebay via bids versus classified prices there seems to be around £3-4k difference and ive seen at least 2 Z4 coupes that have been for sale at least a year now. I am hoping they could depreciate a smidge more.

On the e91 front , sadly with the 06-10 era BMW 3 series id say there is around a 60/40 split in terms of diesel vs petrol, then of those petrol powered cars around 65% of them are 4 cylinder rubbish. If you then only want a manual you are faced with losing another 2/3rds of the remaining cars available so you may need some patience in order to find the right one.

Yes, the E86 Coupes are an interesting one. 'Future Classic' etc. However, that means some buyers are a bit 'optimistic' about pricing. With the Z4 (both Coupe and Roadster), spec is very variable. There are quite a few out there without heated seats or xenons (both essential imo). Also a lot of autos I've noticed. E85/86s are the kind of car that needs a manual imo.

The 320d is the new 318i. Loads of them about. I see a few 325i (usually the later N53 3.0 versions) but 330s continue to be uncommon.

X5 wise, vast majority are diesel. I don't really want a diesel as my wife (who will be the main X5 driver) doesn't do loads of miles plus can't be bothered to mess about with turbos etc. Not sure whether they are compliant with London ULEZ either.

[Earthdweller]

g3org3y said:

Yes, the E86 Coupes are an interesting one. 'Future Classic' etc. However, that means some buyers are a bit 'optimistic' about pricing. With the Z4 (both Coupe and Roadster), spec is very variable. There are quite a few out there without heated seats or xenons (both essential imo). Also a lot of autos I've noticed. E85/86s are the kind of car that needs a manual imo.

I think you have got that right, many coupe owners seem very unrealistic about the value of their cars. I’ve seen adverts claiming 1/200 etc and people asking daft money for cars with mods and well over 6 figures on the odo

Value wise, imo, only the M and Si will hold their values and then only for really nice low mileage examples, both seem to be softening at the moment though. Where they will settle long term is anyone’s guess though. It’s purely down to the relatively low numbers and them being the best of the models
1206 M‘s of which 592 are Coupes 614 are Roadsters
3152 Si’s of which 2189 are Coupes (593 auto) , 962 roadsters ( 268 auto ) ( U.K. figures )

Of the others, I can see nice low mile early 3.0 cars being sought after .. most of the rest will fade in value like any other old car as there are 10’s thousands of them ( about 28k rhd all markets )

This time of year is I think when people think of getting rid of the summer car before the winter rather than wait till the spring

[Pica-Pica]

g3org3y said:

.

X5 wise, vast majority are diesel. I don't really want a diesel as my wife (who will be the main X5 driver) doesn't do loads of miles plus can't be bothered to mess about with turbos etc. Not sure whether they are compliant with London ULEZ either.

If the car is EURO 6 (post late 2015/016 build) it will certainly be ULEZ compliant.