Has it now become a nightmare to sell a private car...?
Discussion
1974nc said:
Will do lol.. just nipped out to put some fuel in for a weekend drive and had half convinced myself it must be like some on here say..' an old scrapper' but you know what, it isnt.. its a great drive and I will be sad when it goes!
I regret selling my 535i - and that's not even half an M5 really.Perhaps you should keep it, and just buy your missus a (very) cheap runabout?
My guess is, a few months after you've sold it, you'll be regretting it.
Especially as you have spent all that money on it, and got it to where you want it to be condition wise.
STW2010 said:
1974nc said:
Apologies if I've been a bit tetchy but I feel like a criminal now and that's not me at all.
That has certainly not been my intention, so apologies if any of my posts have done this
I was really pleased when the insurance arranged to have it sorted and the day after I picked it up I had the wheels refurbed to match the shiny paint and 2 new tyres put on (fronts - that were still at 4.5mm) however her indoors started to refuse to drive it anymore and as this means my toddler doesn't get to go to her playgroup now I had my hand forced. :-( I can't afford to buy her a runabout and tax/insure that too so I have no option.
I feel like I haven't got the best out of the car yet though and its a shame.
I feel like I haven't got the best out of the car yet though and its a shame.
JamesK said:
Maybe people are doing some internet research (I know I do now) and coming up with doubts?
That can actually work for you. Every issue (and remedy) on my old X Type was pretty much documented in the Jaguar Forum. The eventual buyer of my car knew I wasn't telling fibs when I listed what work had been done on it to keep it in tip-top condition, and my slavish attention-to-detail when doing the work.TonyRPH said:
For a 70k mile car, it seems to have needed a lot of work?
These are all high mileage items, according to a colleague who owned an M5 and maintained it fastidiously.
You need to talk to a few more BMW owners.- 4 wheels refurbed
- Rocker cover gasket
- diff input oil seal
- centre exhaust rubbers
- vanos replaced by bmw at 43k miles
These are all high mileage items, according to a colleague who owned an M5 and maintained it fastidiously.
They aint the last word in reliability that people think.
Plenty goes wrong with them, even low milage properly maintained examples. Also they may be age related which in most cases happens to correlate with milage so people then assume that is the cause...
Improve the advert, put lots of pictures in a lot more description but do not list the damage. It will put people off even though it shouldn't. If it's been repaired by a BMW main agent then the car will be as good as new so anouncing in the advert that it has been repaired is just stupid.
Oh and price it at an appropriate level. Putting it in cheap simply makes genuine buyers wonder what is up with it.
r11co said:
JamesK said:
Maybe people are doing some internet research (I know I do now) and coming up with doubts?
That can actually work for you. Every issue (and remedy) on my old X Type was pretty much documented in the Jaguar Forum. The eventual buyer of my car knew I wasn't telling fibs when I listed what work had been done on it to keep it in tip-top condition, and my slavish attention-to-detail when doing the work.OP - I didn't intend to start a witch hunt and am sorry if there are those who jumped on that particular wagon but I can honestly say if it were me, I would not be able to leave out a repair of that size/value. Now that this thread exists I would add it to the advert and make it positive - free respray in effect. Anyone GENUINELY interested in an M5 will not be put off by this. They will however be suspicious if you don't mention it and they read this for example. Human nature.
Good luck with the sale. I'd love an M5 one day
This is ridiculous, he is trying to sell his car, not win some kind of hand-wringing honesty award. There is no onus on you to mention the repair or include the paperwork that relates to it, if directly asked if it's been in a bump while you've had it, that's a different kettle of fish, although most sellers/dealers will go out of their way not to mention anything negative so you will lose out to the competition if you do.
Different thing if it was Cat C/D but we are talking about a relatively minor repair, the fact it cost £4,000 is more to do with BMW's pricing (especially for insurance repairs) than anything else.
Can't see the ad now it's withdrawn but I would remove any negative mention of repairs whether mechanical or bodywork and don't provide these receipts with the paperwork, most people are so stupid that one mention of repairs and they will assume it to need more in the near future (rightly or wrongly!). Keep the ad short and sweet, tidy up the car as much as possible but most of all get people to view it rather than putting them off at the first hurdle.
Different thing if it was Cat C/D but we are talking about a relatively minor repair, the fact it cost £4,000 is more to do with BMW's pricing (especially for insurance repairs) than anything else.
Can't see the ad now it's withdrawn but I would remove any negative mention of repairs whether mechanical or bodywork and don't provide these receipts with the paperwork, most people are so stupid that one mention of repairs and they will assume it to need more in the near future (rightly or wrongly!). Keep the ad short and sweet, tidy up the car as much as possible but most of all get people to view it rather than putting them off at the first hurdle.
On the positive side.....
Three years ago I rashly bought a restored 1969 LHD Morris Mini as a funday driver. Bear in mind that at the time of buying I paid no thought to selling it on - a very reckless impulse buy. A year later and my Porsche itch needs scratching so the Mini will have to go.
Now there's a keen following for the classic Mini here in the U.S but it ain't a huge market. Good ones are rare. Good LHD ones without dodgy re-VIN titles are very very rare.
I prepare for a long drawn out campaign involving a lot of long distance buyers, most of whom will be virtual tyre kickers.
Pop the ad on the US Mini owners forum - no replies after a week... Hmmm strange but Xmas is close so maybe its a better bet for the Spring. Decide to pop a free ad up on the local Craigslist bulletin board to see what happens.
Within two days I have a guy looking at the car. Its pouring with rain outside, my garage is freezing cold, I have a hangover.
The prospective buyer is a nice guy, he's 'money' and even has a tame mechanic with him to give the car the once over while we stand there chatting about his collection of Loti. After half an hour I'm curious to see where this is going....
Me "Don't you want to drive it?"
Buyer "No - its wet outside"
Me " Well don't you at least want to sit in it?"
Buyer "No thats OK"
I'm about to bring the proceedings to a halt so I can retreat inside to the warmth and an aspirin.
Buyer " I'll take it"
Me "Sorry?" thinking I must have misheard him.
Buyer " I want the car"
Paid the full asking and did'nt even ask me to start the engine!
There's an arse for every seat - even if they don't want to sit in it!
hora said:
Jesus? Is that true? I always assumed (bar the sealed for life gearbox and the Vanos issue that these would be pretty decent/quality vehicles
Yes but don't take my word for it. Have a talk to a few owners on BMW specific forums.I can't comment on new vehciles but certainly once you get past 50k miles then problesm can start to arise.
To give you a taste here are some of the more common issues on the 3 litre M54 engine found in the E46 330i and E39 530i
Theremostat failure - both housing leaking and the stat itself failing open.
Radiator failure - they bow out at the bottom and start to leak but if left will fail in a big way.
Cooling system hoses and expansion tank failure - i've spoken to owners who've had to replace these on 6 year old cars because they have failed.
Water pumps have also been known to fail.
The worrying thing about cooling system problems is if the engine overheats it is frequently ruined as the alloy block/head warps and cracks.
Crankcase ventillation valve failure. This is a small £30 valve that takes gasses from the top of the engine and sends them to the inlet manifold and allows liquid to go back into the sump. It blocks up or cracks. This then stops moisture escaping so causing gunk under the filler cap which then gets into the sump and will eventually mess up your oil.
It can also result in excessive oil comsumpsion.
Oil consumpsion - 1 litre every 1000 miles is not uncommon and within spec.
Sensor failure - cam postion sensors, oil level sensors, lambda sensors all fail and although not massively expensive to replace are just another niggle.
MAF failure
Coil pack failure
Vanos failure - it's not just the vanos on M3s that can go t*ts up!
It's not the worst engine out there by any stretch, and with a tasty 231 bhp plus a lovely smooth straight 6 sound there are worse things to have under the bonnet, but the last word in reliability it is not.
Whatty said:
On the positive side.....
Three years ago I rashly bought a restored 1969 LHD Morris Mini as a funday driver. Bear in mind that at the time of buying I paid no thought to selling it on - a very reckless impulse buy. A year later and my Porsche itch needs scratching so the Mini will have to go.
Now there's a keen following for the classic Mini here in the U.S but it ain't a huge market. Good ones are rare. Good LHD ones without dodgy re-VIN titles are very very rare.
I prepare for a long drawn out campaign involving a lot of long distance buyers, most of whom will be virtual tyre kickers.
Pop the ad on the US Mini owners forum - no replies after a week... Hmmm strange but Xmas is close so maybe its a better bet for the Spring. Decide to pop a free ad up on the local Craigslist bulletin board to see what happens.
Within two days I have a guy looking at the car. Its pouring with rain outside, my garage is freezing cold, I have a hangover.
The prospective buyer is a nice guy, he's 'money' and even has a tame mechanic with him to give the car the once over while we stand there chatting about his collection of Loti. After half an hour I'm curious to see where this is going....
Me "Don't you want to drive it?"
Buyer "No - its wet outside"
Me " Well don't you at least want to sit in it?"
Buyer "No thats OK"
I'm about to bring the proceedings to a halt so I can retreat inside to the warmth and an aspirin.
Buyer " I'll take it"
Me "Sorry?" thinking I must have misheard him.
Buyer " I want the car"
Paid the full asking and did'nt even ask me to start the engine!
There's an arse for every seat - even if they don't want to sit in it!
Great story Three years ago I rashly bought a restored 1969 LHD Morris Mini as a funday driver. Bear in mind that at the time of buying I paid no thought to selling it on - a very reckless impulse buy. A year later and my Porsche itch needs scratching so the Mini will have to go.
Now there's a keen following for the classic Mini here in the U.S but it ain't a huge market. Good ones are rare. Good LHD ones without dodgy re-VIN titles are very very rare.
I prepare for a long drawn out campaign involving a lot of long distance buyers, most of whom will be virtual tyre kickers.
Pop the ad on the US Mini owners forum - no replies after a week... Hmmm strange but Xmas is close so maybe its a better bet for the Spring. Decide to pop a free ad up on the local Craigslist bulletin board to see what happens.
Within two days I have a guy looking at the car. Its pouring with rain outside, my garage is freezing cold, I have a hangover.
The prospective buyer is a nice guy, he's 'money' and even has a tame mechanic with him to give the car the once over while we stand there chatting about his collection of Loti. After half an hour I'm curious to see where this is going....
Me "Don't you want to drive it?"
Buyer "No - its wet outside"
Me " Well don't you at least want to sit in it?"
Buyer "No thats OK"
I'm about to bring the proceedings to a halt so I can retreat inside to the warmth and an aspirin.
Buyer " I'll take it"
Me "Sorry?" thinking I must have misheard him.
Buyer " I want the car"
Paid the full asking and did'nt even ask me to start the engine!
There's an arse for every seat - even if they don't want to sit in it!
What a mess this thread has turned into.
VANOS failure at low mileage was reasonable common on prefacelift M5's and why would anyone declare repaired damage in an advert if it was all above board and it isn't an insurance writeoff? I mean, seriously?
Does that mean if your 1 year old car has a new camshaft sensor under warranty you should declare it in an advert selling it 4 years later?
He's hardly trying to pass off a shonky insurance writeoff is he - I doubt you'll find a 12 year old car thats never had paint!
VANOS failure at low mileage was reasonable common on prefacelift M5's and why would anyone declare repaired damage in an advert if it was all above board and it isn't an insurance writeoff? I mean, seriously?
Does that mean if your 1 year old car has a new camshaft sensor under warranty you should declare it in an advert selling it 4 years later?
He's hardly trying to pass off a shonky insurance writeoff is he - I doubt you'll find a 12 year old car thats never had paint!
My M3 had 60k miles on it when I got rid, in the 14k miles I owned it for it had;
2x rear springs
1x thermostat
1x diff seal replacement
1x rear trailing arm bushes replacement
1x park distance control unit
1x headlight washer
plus the wheels corroded under the lacquer.
All little issues rather than anything major, but it all adds up.
2x rear springs
1x thermostat
1x diff seal replacement
1x rear trailing arm bushes replacement
1x park distance control unit
1x headlight washer
plus the wheels corroded under the lacquer.
All little issues rather than anything major, but it all adds up.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff