Valuing a car without a registration
Discussion
Hi
Whilst I do have the registration, I'd like to see if anyone can value a car without too many automatic searches.
The car is a 2010 325i e91 Touring.
39000 miles.
Full BMW service history.
Manual gearbox
Xenon pack - adaptive with high beam assistance and headlight washers.
Metallic Space Grey body
Saddle Brown interior with satin silver trims.
Professional Navigation (and hence voice control, bluetooth phone preparation etc)
Seat heating
Front and rear parking sensors
Light package
Totally immaculate inside and out. They are genuinely very rare.
What would you honestly expect an independent dealer in London to price it at?
Whilst I do have the registration, I'd like to see if anyone can value a car without too many automatic searches.
The car is a 2010 325i e91 Touring.
39000 miles.
Full BMW service history.
Manual gearbox
Xenon pack - adaptive with high beam assistance and headlight washers.
Metallic Space Grey body
Saddle Brown interior with satin silver trims.
Professional Navigation (and hence voice control, bluetooth phone preparation etc)
Seat heating
Front and rear parking sensors
Light package
Totally immaculate inside and out. They are genuinely very rare.
What would you honestly expect an independent dealer in London to price it at?
Aside from giving the valuer access to accurate price indexes (which I assume is what you are trying to avoid), the reason the number plate is useful is because 9 times out of 10 there are lots of little details which a seller misses which can be easily found from the VRM, hence not having to go back and forth with questions... e.g. in your case:
- M Sport or SE
- How many previous owners
- how long have you owned it
- 59, 10 or 60 plate
- when was the last service due
- when is the next service due
- how much MOT is remaining
- any advisories on the last MOT
- how much tread on the tyres
- any accident history
- any chips or cracks to the windscreen
- smoker's or dog owner's car?
Etc etc...
I'm not saying all those can be deduced from the number plate, but a lot of it can!
Off the top of my head, there seems to be a very similar car for sale (2011 M Sport) for sale at Cooper Ipswich for £10,492. Working back from that I'd be expecting a (trade) price range between £5k and £8k for yours, highly dependent on answers to the above!
- M Sport or SE
- How many previous owners
- how long have you owned it
- 59, 10 or 60 plate
- when was the last service due
- when is the next service due
- how much MOT is remaining
- any advisories on the last MOT
- how much tread on the tyres
- any accident history
- any chips or cracks to the windscreen
- smoker's or dog owner's car?
Etc etc...
I'm not saying all those can be deduced from the number plate, but a lot of it can!
Off the top of my head, there seems to be a very similar car for sale (2011 M Sport) for sale at Cooper Ipswich for £10,492. Working back from that I'd be expecting a (trade) price range between £5k and £8k for yours, highly dependent on answers to the above!
Fantastic answer thanks.
SE.
2 previous owners.
10 plate.
Serviced a month or two ago, next one due when it's due. Not too soon.
11 months MoT, with no recent advisories.
New tyres, less than a month old.
No accident history, paint damage or chops to paint or glass.
Neither dog nor smokers have used it.
The Cooper Ipswich one is very low spec, a 4 cylinder model, and has M Sport, so I wouldn't buy it in a million years. Those three factors alone mean it's worth less to me than an 325i SE with Nav and Xenons.
But once again, thank you for your detailed answer, it's much appreciated.
SE.
2 previous owners.
10 plate.
Serviced a month or two ago, next one due when it's due. Not too soon.
11 months MoT, with no recent advisories.
New tyres, less than a month old.
No accident history, paint damage or chops to paint or glass.
Neither dog nor smokers have used it.
The Cooper Ipswich one is very low spec, a 4 cylinder model, and has M Sport, so I wouldn't buy it in a million years. Those three factors alone mean it's worth less to me than an 325i SE with Nav and Xenons.
But once again, thank you for your detailed answer, it's much appreciated.
tristancliffe said:
Fantastic answer thanks.
SE.
2 previous owners.
10 plate.
Serviced a month or two ago, next one due when it's due. Not too soon.
11 months MoT, with no recent advisories.
New tyres, less than a month old.
No accident history, paint damage or chops to paint or glass.
Neither dog nor smokers have used it.
The Cooper Ipswich one is very low spec, a 4 cylinder model, and has M Sport, so I wouldn't buy it in a million years. Those three factors alone mean it's worth less to me than an 325i SE with Nav and Xenons.
But once again, thank you for your detailed answer, it's much appreciated.
I must admit I was answering your thread on my phone while waiting for a train and for some reason overlooked it being a 325i... again, a good reason VRM's come in handy! SE.
2 previous owners.
10 plate.
Serviced a month or two ago, next one due when it's due. Not too soon.
11 months MoT, with no recent advisories.
New tyres, less than a month old.
No accident history, paint damage or chops to paint or glass.
Neither dog nor smokers have used it.
The Cooper Ipswich one is very low spec, a 4 cylinder model, and has M Sport, so I wouldn't buy it in a million years. Those three factors alone mean it's worth less to me than an 325i SE with Nav and Xenons.
But once again, thank you for your detailed answer, it's much appreciated.
The 6 cylinder is nice, and far rarer than the 318/320i. Rare doesn't always translate to value though.
I occupy myself day-to-day with valuing, buying and selling cars (particularly BMWs) and although I understand your reasoning, the sad truth is that an 'M Sport' trim is often prioritised higher by the average buyer than useful benefits like Pro Nav, comfort access etc. Unfortunately its often about 'look' these days. There's even a noticeable trend of buyers opting for a younger car with higher mileage just to have a 'better' number plate.
For what it's worth the clean 'book' price on your car is £6,550, and that's what I'd personally be wanting (at the least) in PX considering the high level of spec. The book suggests a retail price of £8,225, a tiny bit harsh considering the spec - I think £8,995 or £9,450 wouldn't be unrealistic by a non-franchised dealer.
Purely out of interest, when you say "2 previous owners" do you mean 2 owners including you or 2 owner prior to you? Just curious as I've spotted a trend of people using the phrase as a little loophole to reduce the owner count by 1!
Best of luck with the sale.
AOK said:
tristancliffe said:
Fantastic answer thanks.
SE.
2 previous owners.
10 plate.
Serviced a month or two ago, next one due when it's due. Not too soon.
11 months MoT, with no recent advisories.
New tyres, less than a month old.
No accident history, paint damage or chops to paint or glass.
Neither dog nor smokers have used it.
The Cooper Ipswich one is very low spec, a 4 cylinder model, and has M Sport, so I wouldn't buy it in a million years. Those three factors alone mean it's worth less to me than an 325i SE with Nav and Xenons.
But once again, thank you for your detailed answer, it's much appreciated.
I must admit I was answering your thread on my phone while waiting for a train and for some reason overlooked it being a 325i... again, a good reason VRM's come in handy! SE.
2 previous owners.
10 plate.
Serviced a month or two ago, next one due when it's due. Not too soon.
11 months MoT, with no recent advisories.
New tyres, less than a month old.
No accident history, paint damage or chops to paint or glass.
Neither dog nor smokers have used it.
The Cooper Ipswich one is very low spec, a 4 cylinder model, and has M Sport, so I wouldn't buy it in a million years. Those three factors alone mean it's worth less to me than an 325i SE with Nav and Xenons.
But once again, thank you for your detailed answer, it's much appreciated.
The 6 cylinder is nice, and far rarer than the 318/320i. Rare doesn't always translate to value though.
I occupy myself day-to-day with valuing, buying and selling cars (particularly BMWs) and although I understand your reasoning, the sad truth is that an 'M Sport' trim is often prioritised higher by the average buyer than useful benefits like Pro Nav, comfort access etc. Unfortunately its often about 'look' these days. There's even a noticeable trend of buyers opting for a younger car with higher mileage just to have a 'better' number plate.
For what it's worth the clean 'book' price on your car is £6,550, and that's what I'd personally be wanting (at the least) in PX considering the high level of spec. The book suggests a retail price of £8,225, a tiny bit harsh considering the spec - I think £8,995 or £9,450 wouldn't be unrealistic by a non-franchised dealer.
Purely out of interest, when you say "2 previous owners" do you mean 2 owners including you or 2 owner prior to you? Just curious as I've spotted a trend of people using the phrase as a little loophole to reduce the owner count by 1!
Best of luck with the sale.
How do you know he's selling?
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