Getting back to the thread title, there does seem to be a shift toward more modern classics, notably by discerning collectors buying at auction. A recent UK auction was a case in point, where all of the pre-war classic machines on offer were outsold by 70's sports cars.
It follows then, that good clean low mileage examples of the E31 will gain entry to this category.
And of course, the CSi and Alpina models are already there.
Values must be going up because that is a lot of money for what I would consider to be one of the less desirable E31s. I think we are seeing a shift from buyers looking for the best driving experience to collectors. And no offense to any of you early 850i 4spd auto owners. Just not the version I would choose.
INSTAGRAM: jellismotorwerks
I think the current interest in e31s is being driven by the fact that people who grew up with pictures of them on their walls now have the disposable income to buy one and they will pay good $ for the really good, low mileage examples. It makes sense . . . just look at the Model T and pre-war vehicle market. Most of the folks who grew up dreaming about those cars are no longer with us -- hence the decrease in demand for those cars. In time I imagine the same will happen to the cars from the 1950's, then 60's muscle cars will follow, etc. Likewise you see an increased interest right now in cars from the 1980's and 90's . . . the Toyota Supra comes to mind.
Of course superb examples from any period will always demand a premium. I hate to say it but a 300SL Gullwing or a 1960's 12-cyl Ferrari will always be out of my price range. Oh well.
Sean
Last edited by Sniff38; 06-30-2017 at 11:40 PM.
And this guys is selling his car too cheap
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used...ting=178353009
Board Member of SoCalEights (Marketing, Web Development & Social Media), Vice President: BMWCCA/E31 Chapter, www.cartiologyfilms.com
Current E31s:
1997 BMW 840Ci Black on Beige. CSI 62, 107 and 16. Euro-CSi #892.
Client Represented E31s (Cartiology Films)
1994 BMW 850CSi #11 USA, 1994 BMW 850CSi #31 USA, 1994 BMW 850CSi #58 USA
93-850Ci - manual 6 speed. 97-850Ci - M73 Steptronic. 94-CSi 125, 95-CSi 162 Daytona Violet, CSi 198 White on Red
Past E31s:
1991 BMW 850i. Calypso Red on Beige Nappa and 1995 BMW 840Ci. Bright Red on Beige Nappa
1997 BMW 840Ci. Black On Black Nappa, but changed to Dakar Yellow on Black Nappa and 1994 BMW 850CSi #27. Red On light Silver.
1991 BMW 850i. Automatic. Red On Black and 1996 BMW 850Ci. Automatic. Midnight Blue on Gray.
1994 BMW 850CSi. Black On Blak #107, Black/Black 97-840. White/White CSi. Silver/Silver 97-840
not so fast... that one is actually pretty neglected. Totally worth the $10k, but it isn't even in the same league as the BAT car
Would it be $10k worth of neglect?
Quite possibly, yes. He lists quite a bit of things that it needs right now, and you can bet there is a whole lot more deferred maintenance not listed... if there weren't, the list he does admit wouldn't be there.
This one seems like a better value to me...
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used...ting=170999242
Your extrapolation logic is sound, but $27k is way outside 3 standard deviations (in the US anyway) for an early automatic, even with the low miles. The 22k mile example should set the bar. Unless there are at least two guys that gotta have Glacier Blue, I still don't see it going over $25k though. I'd love fr it to go that high, however IMHO low $20's is more likely. Should be an entertaining final 10 minutes!
"Asphalt is evil, it must be punished!"
'89 Z1 Dream Black/Alcantara/Camo, Racing Dynamics, the coolest doors known to man -- Sunny days & Sundays
'90 Z1 Red w/custom red/black French leather, Ground Control coil overs, BBS RV-F --Mais Oui!
'91 850i Mauritius Blue/Black --1 of 179
'85 M635CSi Alpine -- "Explosive!!!"
'03 M3 Conv, Imola w/ SMG -- her daily driver
'17 “30 Jahre” M3, Macao Blue -- 1/500 made
Previously owned: 74 2002 (x2), 85 325e, 80 323i Baur, 94 325iC, 03 325CiC, 80 633CSi, 90 325iC, 98 318ti (Budget M3), 01 X5, 02 X5 4.6is (x2), 94 M3, 98 M3/4, 16 340i
"Asphalt is evil, it must be punished!"
'89 Z1 Dream Black/Alcantara/Camo, Racing Dynamics, the coolest doors known to man -- Sunny days & Sundays
'90 Z1 Red w/custom red/black French leather, Ground Control coil overs, BBS RV-F --Mais Oui!
'91 850i Mauritius Blue/Black --1 of 179
'85 M635CSi Alpine -- "Explosive!!!"
'03 M3 Conv, Imola w/ SMG -- her daily driver
'17 “30 Jahre” M3, Macao Blue -- 1/500 made
Previously owned: 74 2002 (x2), 85 325e, 80 323i Baur, 94 325iC, 03 325CiC, 80 633CSi, 90 325iC, 98 318ti (Budget M3), 01 X5, 02 X5 4.6is (x2), 94 M3, 98 M3/4, 16 340i
Well. The 22k miles blue car sold for $34138.
Now that is a major boost in the value of the cars in general. This used to be CSi territory only 3-5 years ago.
http://bringatrailer.com/listing/199...omment-1615146
Board Member of SoCalEights (Marketing, Web Development & Social Media), Vice President: BMWCCA/E31 Chapter, www.cartiologyfilms.com
Current E31s:
1997 BMW 840Ci Black on Beige. CSI 62, 107 and 16. Euro-CSi #892.
Client Represented E31s (Cartiology Films)
1994 BMW 850CSi #11 USA, 1994 BMW 850CSi #31 USA, 1994 BMW 850CSi #58 USA
93-850Ci - manual 6 speed. 97-850Ci - M73 Steptronic. 94-CSi 125, 95-CSi 162 Daytona Violet, CSi 198 White on Red
Past E31s:
1991 BMW 850i. Calypso Red on Beige Nappa and 1995 BMW 840Ci. Bright Red on Beige Nappa
1997 BMW 840Ci. Black On Black Nappa, but changed to Dakar Yellow on Black Nappa and 1994 BMW 850CSi #27. Red On light Silver.
1991 BMW 850i. Automatic. Red On Black and 1996 BMW 850Ci. Automatic. Midnight Blue on Gray.
1994 BMW 850CSi. Black On Blak #107, Black/Black 97-840. White/White CSi. Silver/Silver 97-840
Here's another low priced 840Ci, in white with 90k miles, located in Long Beach, CA.
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lg...202226950.html
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
Demographics insures the shift happens NOW. Auctions that cater to Boomer's infatuation with muscle cars and the 1960's are going to get run over by the massive landslide in near modern classics. Porsche was the very tip of the spear, BMW, Mercedes, Audi and a pile of JDM forms the body and shaft there after. BMW is probably the premier brand here, eye catching designs, enough change up in product mix to appeal to a broad market, and a massive market for modifications, never mind one of the easiest brands to engine swap (Nissan is good for this too).
If you have money to burn and space to use I'd be stashing away anything clean and rust free between e28 and e39. Today's E31 on BaT did not surprise me, the automatic 540i going for $20+ absolutely blows my mind though. Not a six speed, not a M5, that I did not see coming. When you start seeing automatic BMW's sell for all the money that should tell you everything you need to know about the supply and demand equation.
Very surprised this manual did not go for the asking price, I guess still alot of bottom feeders on Ebay.
I know this car personally and even worked on it a bit. It is an incredibly nice 8.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-BMW-8-S...ZZUDP~&vxp=mtr
While I was shocked by the hammer price today on BaT for the 22k mile example, judging from the number of bidders who just HAD to have that particular car I still think it is an outlier. Take the eBay and CL examples above as closer to the average. When more average cars start to sell for silly money (remember that's how the e30 M3 craze started), then the real rush will be on.
For many of us enthusiasts, it would be difficult to buy a car just to put it away as an investment. A wise man once told me that buying cars as investments is like buying art--you should always buy what you like and enjoy it first. That way if it does not appreciate as you had hoped, at least you will still like it.
- - - Updated - - -
I think you are correct. All the serious buyers are now on BaT. eBay still has too much risk which BaT mitigates by realtime conversation between the seller and the potential buyers (and those of us in the peanut gallery )
"Asphalt is evil, it must be punished!"
'89 Z1 Dream Black/Alcantara/Camo, Racing Dynamics, the coolest doors known to man -- Sunny days & Sundays
'90 Z1 Red w/custom red/black French leather, Ground Control coil overs, BBS RV-F --Mais Oui!
'91 850i Mauritius Blue/Black --1 of 179
'85 M635CSi Alpine -- "Explosive!!!"
'03 M3 Conv, Imola w/ SMG -- her daily driver
'17 “30 Jahre” M3, Macao Blue -- 1/500 made
Previously owned: 74 2002 (x2), 85 325e, 80 323i Baur, 94 325iC, 03 325CiC, 80 633CSi, 90 325iC, 98 318ti (Budget M3), 01 X5, 02 X5 4.6is (x2), 94 M3, 98 M3/4, 16 340i
spot on !
add to that:
- over 30.000 e31's produced......will never become a blue-chip car (maybe the alpina 5.7). Only BMW in that list is a BMW 507 (252 produced, unique stunning car)
- it might enter the german collectible index.......(bmw 2002tii is in that list and has far larger production numbers, but the M1 is also in that list ..... 399 pcs....Italian design, chasis by lambo, mid engine)
Convinced it will stay collectible, but how desirable !?
BMW 850 CSI march 1994 (EU spec), SOLD. https://www.classiccars-forsale.com/...94-bmw-850csi/
BMW 850 CSI november 1994 (EU spec)
Dam! I guess I'll just have to keep mine. Since I'm not going to get rich selling it.
Here's a day dreamer that owns a one off car...
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/...248354952.html
Bookmarks