Amazing how little these cars are now valued on the open market?

[AlFutura]

Hey guys, new to this forum—how much would you pay for a really clean 318is? All stock, no mods, good paint & interior.

[amancuso]

Hey guys, new to this forum—how much would you pay for a really clean 318is? All stock, no mods, good paint & interior.

You're in the wrong forum. Check out the e30 forum.

[mxchris727]

Mint 03 540i 6-speed M-sport for 6K

https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/ct...295757342.html

[FelixEsq]

Mine has been a ton of work, but I have really had a great time fixing things. And it is the best driver I have ever owned.

A few months back, I was tempted to get something that needed a little less attention. I ran all the numbers for a car that would replace my E39. It would have cost me about $400 a month. And when I took it for a test drive, I was really disappointed about its driving characteristics. I decided I would spend that money fixing the car for a few months.

Best decision ever.

[OnTheFence]

I paid $21500 for my 03 525 non sport premium pack car with 17k miles in '07. I sold it in early 2014 for $12500 w/ 88k miles but it was absolutely mint with quite a bit invested in parts and OEM mods.

Holy crap, that's an insane price.
In 2014, a 525 with 88k miles was a $5k car, at best.
Now, it's a $4k car, at best.

Basically, don't ever buy a used BMW and expect to get all of your money back when you sell it.

I bought my E39 in 2010 for under $6k.
Just sold it for $3500 after driving it for 6 years.
Best car value I've ever had in my life.

10 years is the sweet spot, as you're getting most of the depreciation for a car that is still fresh.
By 15 years, these cars are now getting tired, and are harder to find nice ones.

I'd much rather pay $6k for 10 years old than $3k for 15 years old.
That extra $3k is savings is not worth the extra 5-6 years and 50k more miles, on average.

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It is ridiculous to see an 03' civic is now worth about double what an 03' bmw is worth. 

This is exactly why I got myself an E39 back in 2010.
HUUUUUUUGE value.

[AlFutura]

Tx. *Newbie

[Nomad1]

I too am way over in the cost of my car (2003-530i) , related to its resale value.Was thinking of getting a different ride, but have decided to have it re-painted and keep on driving it (144k miles). With a new paint job comes better insurance coverage,right ? Is it worth caring collision on a car valued so low ? Won"t they just total it out in most cases for a minimal amount ? Thoughts.......

[dannyzabolotny]

I too am way over in the cost of my car (2003-530i) , related to its resale value.Was thinking of getting a different ride, but have decided to have it re-painted and keep on driving it (144k miles). With a new paint job comes better insurance coverage,right ? Is it worth caring collision on a car valued so low ? Won"t they just total it out in most cases for a minimal amount ? Thoughts.......

If you can show the work that was done to it, you can get an agreed value policy that will value your car at whatever you and the insurer set it at. You might pay a little bit more for insurance but if your car gets in an accident that'll prevent it from being totaled as easily. One of my friends with an E34 540i/6 has that kind of setup.

[AnotherGeezer]

Mine only gets driven occasionally now. Stays in the garage, covered, on a battery tender the rest of the time. I restored it and now I plan to keep it until I'm worm dirt.

[mxchris727]

10 years is the sweet spot, as you're getting most of the depreciation for a car that is still fresh.
By 15 years, these cars are now getting tired, and are harder to find nice ones.

This is very true!

I'm in a holding pattern now with my cars; they are amazing but getting older too. It's funny because they both are looking better with age just sitting in garages accumulating wax buildup. The sad thing is that I've only put 200 miles on my 540 in two years!

Eventually, I'd like to custom order a new BMW and pick it up in Munich in a few years. I'm waiting for the new Z4 or M4 to come out!

[indy525]

Holy crap, that's an insane price.
In 2014, a 525 with 88k miles was a $5k car, at best.
Now, it's a $4k car, at best.

No, actually it was a $12.5k car because that's what someone paid for it.

[amancuso]

Holy crap, that's an insane price.
In 2014, a 525 with 88k miles was a $5k car, at best.
Now, it's a $4k car, at best.




I bought my E39 in 2010 for under $6k.
Just sold it for $3500 after driving it for 6 years.
Best car value I've ever had in my life.

10 years is the sweet spot, as you're getting most of the depreciation for a car that is still fresh.
By 15 years, these cars are now getting tired, and are harder to find nice ones.

I'd much rather pay $6k for 10 years old than $3k for 15 years old.
That extra $3k is savings is not worth the extra 5-6 years and 50k more miles, on average.

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This is exactly why I got myself an E39 back in 2010.
HUUUUUUUGE value.

No, actually it was a $12.5k car because that's what someone paid for it.

I think you guys keep reading that 525i quote wrong. He says he paid 21500 in 2007 for a 2003 model year. That would only make the car 4 years old. Which makes 21500 sound about right.

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I bought my E39 in 2010 for under $6k.
Just sold it for $3500 after driving it for 6 years.
Best car value I've ever had in my life.

How many miles were on it when you bought it for under 6k?

[OnTheFence]

I think you guys keep reading that 525i quote wrong. He says he paid 21500 in 2007 for a 2003 model year. That would only make the car 4 years old. Which makes 21500 sound about right.

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How many miles were on it when you bought it for under 6k?

About 115k. It was a decent deal at the time. Typical price was closer to $7500. At $6k, he was getting interest.

[OnTheFence]

No, actually it was a $12.5k car because that's what someone paid for it.

Only that one. The other millions were still worth $5k. Unless the sole idiot was going to hit thousands of them.

[gmak]

I think you guys keep reading that 525i quote wrong. He says he paid 21500 in 2007 for a 2003 model year. That would only make the car 4 years old. Which makes 21500 sound about right.

I don't buy this. I bought a 1998 528i in 2003 when it had 4 years (and still warranty left), and I paid US$14,500. I find 21,50-0 for a 4 year old car to be excessive. However, it does depend on the mileage to some extent.

[rjjablo]

Paid 2K for my 2001 525it with 150K miles and bad throttle body and oil leaks. Maintenance scares off people. It got totaled for two roughed up doors when an X5 hit me. Insurance check was for $3,500 for 4K worth of damage.

[StephenVA]

Money maker!

[fullthrottle540]

I won't be surprised to see the E39s jump in price similar to how E30s will at some point in the future.

I think E39 M5 values will jump like E30 M3.... but I don't expect the 528/530/540 to do anything impressive.

40 years from now, i'm going to kick myself when I see an E39 sell for $300k on the Mecum auction TV show.

[indy525]

I don't buy this. I bought a 1998 528i in 2003 when it had 4 years (and still warranty left), and I paid US$14,500. I find 21,50-0 for a 4 year old car to be excessive. However, it does depend on the mileage to some extent.

Really, it doesn't make sense to you that a $44k car was worth less than 50% of its value after 4 years???

This isn't that difficult guys.

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Only that one. The other millions were still worth $5k. Unless the sole idiot was going to hit thousands of them.

No need to get nasty. If you found one for a good price then congratulations. Just contributing my buy/sell price. It is what it is.

[testify]

Here you go. 1996 750i, asking price $1.5m...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1996-BMW-7-S...hZzTyM&vxp=mtr

I paid almost $30k for my barely used 96 328i in 1997. So I have felt every bit of depreciation nearly since day one.

[indy525]

I think E39 M5 values will jump like E30 M3.... but I don't expect the 528/530/540 to do anything impressive.

40 years from now, i'm going to kick myself when I see an E39 sell for $300k on the Mecum auction TV show.

I agree with you. M5 prices for pristine examples are getting scarce and the pricing is reflecting it. It's interesting to see e39 m5 pricing outpace e34 and e28 pricing even though they are way more common. High M5 pricing should have a positive effect on pristine m-sports to a much lesser degree. Lesser 5s will probably take 30 years to start seeing any significant uptick in pricing.

You can find tired and high mileage cars all day long. Ton of supply. Low mileage cars are become rarer and rarer.

The way I look at it, if I keep it for 5 years and I can sell it for what I paid I'll be a happy camper-even with maintenance. Can't imagine the cost of driving a new 5-series for 5 years. All of us here are making way better financial decisions buying these cars than the guy walking down to the dealer to buy a new 540. Might as well light a stack of money on fire.

[dannyzabolotny]

The only way you'll break even on selling an E39 is if you barely drive it. My 540it is at 195k miles so it's not worth much at all, and I would definitely lose money on it if I sold it. Granted, I didn't pay much for it, so I'm not too upset about that.

[fullthrottle540]

The only way you'll break even on selling an E39 is if you barely drive it. My 540it is at 195k miles so it's not worth much at all, and I would definitely lose money on it if I sold it. Granted, I didn't pay much for it, so I'm not too upset about that.

That's part of what makes BMW nice - letting people know that you can make financially retarded decisions and not care. Anybody can make a wise decision, not many can buy an E39 and keep it in good shape.

[waters17]

That's part of what makes BMW nice - letting people know that you can make financially retarded decisions and not care. Anybody can make a wise decision, not many can buy an E39 and keep it in good shape.

Lmao! Ouch.

[FelixEsq]

The only way you'll break even on selling an E39 is if you barely drive it. My 540it is at 195k miles so it's not worth much at all, and I would definitely lose money on it if I sold it. Granted, I didn't pay much for it, so I'm not too upset about that.

I couldn't agree more. Mine was not running and had been parked for a year when I got it for next to nothing. A little more than two years later I am passing its resale value as I spend more money to repair/refresh old parts.

BUT

I have owned a several contemporaries of my E39, including a '99 Audi A4 2.8, a '97 Mercedes Benz E, and a '00 Acura RL. The all-around best of those was the Acura, simply because it was never really a problem. The worst was the Benz. My E39 is a way better driver than all three of those, which justifies (in my mind, at least) my ongoing "investment" into its upkeep.

And I am sure I will happily spend another $1000 or more on it in the next year as I refresh the suspension all around, do a transmission drain/fill, etc.