Is This Where The E30 Market Is Now..?

[KwS 2424]

18 hours ago, Apex said:

The best thing about running a classified on there meant no one could ask questions, not sure if its still the same. 

Long gone, now idiots can ask questions on anything they want.

[gjm 3258]

5 minutes ago, KwS said:

Long gone, now idiots can ask questions on anything they want.

Ad says: "One owner for 27 years..."

Question - "Any service history from before you bought it?"

[Apex 693]

A few of my favorites'.

"First owner" when selling a Japanese import. Guys name is Hemi and he lives in Putaruru. 

"Service history" going back one year since they purchased it and its wiper blades and a battery.  The car is 10 years old. 

"Always garaged" again, owned 12 year old car for 18 months.

"Always used 98". Its a V6 Commodore that will run on 91 no issues and there is no advantage to running 98. 

"Super economical, gets 500km to a tank". Scientific measurement of fuel economy. 

"Rare". There are 8 the same colour on Trade-Me alone.

"Failed WOF". Claims its just a light bulb but they don't have time to fix it.

"Not in a hurry to sell" Drops price the next week and state "MAKE ME AN OFFER" 

"No test drives without proof of funds". Its a 180kw open diff Lexus with traction control worth $7,500.

"Justies". Just f**k off.

 

I'm sure there are more. 

[Sammo 2542]

17 minutes ago, Apex said:

A few of my favorites'.

"First owner" when selling a Japanese import. Guys name is Hemi and he lives in Putaruru. 

"Service history" going back one year since they purchased it and its wiper blades and a battery.  The car is 10 years old. 

"Always garaged" again, owned 12 year old car for 18 months.

"Always used 98". Its a V6 Commodore that will run on 91 no issues and there is no advantage to running 98. 

"Super economical, gets 500km to a tank". Scientific measurement of fuel economy. 

"Rare". There are 8 the same colour on Trade-Me alone.

"Failed WOF". Claims its just a light bulb but they don't have time to fix it.

"Not in a hurry to sell" Drops price the next week and state "MAKE ME AN OFFER" 

"No test drives without proof of funds". Its a 180kw open diff Lexus with traction control worth $7,500.

"Justies". Just f**k off.

 

I'm sure there are more. 

My favourite is their pride and joy they’ve owned for 3 months.

[Vass 829]

The "gets X km to a tank" crowd makes my blood boil.

14 minutes ago, Apex said:

"Rare". There are 8 the same colour on Trade-Me alone.

Or, its increasingly popular variant - "rear".

Other notable pet peeves are "sort after" and "Manuel" [sic]. Must be a Mexican import.

Scary amount of people out there that should have their high school certificates revoked.

[Sammo 2542]

17 minutes ago, Apex said:

A few of my favorites'.

"First owner" when selling a Japanese import. Guys name is Hemi and he lives in Putaruru. 

"Service history" going back one year since they purchased it and its wiper blades and a battery.  The car is 10 years old. 

"Always garaged" again, owned 12 year old car for 18 months.

"Always used 98". Its a V6 Commodore that will run on 91 no issues and there is no advantage to running 98. 

"Super economical, gets 500km to a tank". Scientific measurement of fuel economy. 

"Rare". There are 8 the same colour on Trade-Me alone.

"Failed WOF". Claims its just a light bulb but they don't have time to fix it.

"Not in a hurry to sell" Drops price the next week and state "MAKE ME AN OFFER" 

"No test drives without proof of funds". Its a 180kw open diff Lexus with traction control worth $7,500.

"Justies". Just f**k off.

 

I'm sure there are more. 

My favourite is their pride and joy they’ve owned for 3 months.

[cleanish_e46 204]

I bought a Honda Super Cub described as 'rear' (rare) once. They only built 100+ million of them (and continue to build them).

[Palazzo 477]

"just needs a few things sorted..."

 

[gjm 3258]

Don't forget 'perfect condition for year'.

Perfect is an absolute. It either is, or it isn't. There is no qualifier!

(I've no issue with people asking questions - I absolutely appreciate a desire to know as much as possible, especially if viewing isn't practical for whatever reason.)

[KwS 2424]

The one that really boils my piss...

"BYO wheels"

Like everyone has a suitable set of wheels to put on a car they're buying, so they can drive it away... Because little Jimmy wants to keep the wheels currently fitted

[Gaz 1059]

The one that drives me wild is 123,xxxkms but will go up as still driving... 

It's not an uni assignment where you've got to make a character limit

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

TradeMe $1 reserve auction for an M-Tech I lip spoiler (needing paint) has just finished with the winning bid at $700! Wow.

I thought it would be a few hundy, but crikey. Need to wrap mine in cotton wool now I know what it’s worth.

[gjm 3258]

1 hour ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

TradeMe $1 reserve auction for an M-Tech I lip spoiler (needing paint) has just finished with the winning bid at $700! Wow.

I thought it would be a few hundy, but crikey. Need to wrap mine in cotton wool now I know what it’s worth.

Wow. 

[Neil McCauley 394]

You wait ages for a bus to come along etc etc...

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/4379495039

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/4381295259

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/4289575679

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

Yeah, it seems to be one gets put up with a healthy asking price (not getting into whether they are realistic or not at this point) and that lures a couple of others out of the woodwork.

I am 99% sure that the Evo 1 was up for sale for ages, but looks to have been restored and now back up again.

One things for sure, I am well out of the E30 M3 market now. 🥲

[jjs 64]

39 minutes ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

I am 99% sure that the Evo 1 was up for sale for ages, but looks to have been restored and now back up again.

Yes - I looked at the car when it was being sold by the prior owner back in 2021.  I should have bought it as he was indicating around $90k.  It just didn't wow me.  It was a good honest car that he had owned for a very long time, but you could tell he wasn't a car enthusiast - wheels were curbed, paint was scuffed and dented and what really put me off was the lack of any real service history over the last 10+ years.  I'd love to see the car in its restored condition, but I don't think its a $200k car - the market for this stuff has softened considerably, and the fact its been converted to RHD will put off some of the purists. 

[Neil McCauley 394]

Just me or did the Evo 1 have much more appeal when it was an honest unrestored example rather than having half the classic parts catalogue thrown at it?

[Apex 693]

Buys honest low owner M3 EVO with non collectable millage. 

Spends 100k restoring it. 

Once completed, takes it out because it hasn't rained for a couple of days, but cant go too far because it might get dirty.. pulls up at the lights and gets dragged off by a Nissan Leaf.. so goes to pub and no one thinks anything of it there either.. questions fiscal decisions.  

Puts on trade-me for near the price of a decent Porsche that's actually fast and actually impressive. 

Must be an audience for these though, I say GLWS and I will look out for it on the road. 

 

 

[Eagle 1661]

Id never be convinced he spent even close 100k restoring it. Maybe 50k and he wants another 50k profit. 

[Driftit 2078]

16 hours ago, Apex said:

Buys honest low owner M3 EVO with non collectable millage. 

Spends 100k restoring it. 

Once completed, takes it out because it hasn't rained for a couple of days, but cant go too far because it might get dirty.. pulls up at the lights and gets dragged off by a Nissan Leaf.. so goes to pub and no one thinks anything of it there either.. questions fiscal decisions.  

Puts on trade-me for near the price of a decent Porsche that's actually fast and actually impressive. 

Must be an audience for these though, I say GLWS and I will look out for it on the road. 

 

 

I think you could expand this scenario to all E30's.

[Apex 693]

14 hours ago, Eagle said:

Id never be convinced he spent even close 100k restoring it. Maybe 50k and he wants another 50k profit. 

Was a hypothetical. Although some of the "specialist" quotes I have seen lately it wouldn't' be hard to spend 100k in 2023. Cost of E30 living is out of control. 

Market has stalled, nothing is selling ATM.. I mean, borrowing money to buy a BMW at current interest rates would be a bad idea,  especially when you consider prices on used and collectable cars are down 20-40% vs 2021 peak and demand has dried up. If you put this car on the mortgage right now and financed it over 10 years it would owe you close to 300k.. Maybe it will be worth 300k in ten years, who knows? But that is not an investment and it is not a 300k experience. 

In this market, I would be buying clean e46's now and enjoying them.

[Contrails 317]

26 minutes ago, Apex said:

In this market, I would be buying clean e46's now and enjoying them.

I think pretty much every classic car marque has taken a hit with the exception of 80s and 90s supercars. And with the sad situation in the ME, things could get worse in regards to Petrol prices. 

E46 M3 manuals are down into the 40s and 50s even here in Australia. I just missed a convertible manual for $30k with 120kms on the clock.  But yes if I wanted to spend $30k on a car, an E46 M3 manual would be a lot of fun but maintenance would be a lot higher too compared to an E30 325i. I am almost tempted to sell my Mtech 1 in NZ to score an E46/E92 M3. 

[Apex 693]

1 hour ago, Contrails said:

I think pretty much every classic car marque has taken a hit with the exception of 80s and 90s supercars. And with the sad situation in the ME, things could get worse in regards to Petrol prices. 

E46 M3 manuals are down into the 40s and 50s even here in Australia. I just missed a convertible manual for $30k with 120kms on the clock.  But yes if I wanted to spend $30k on a car, an E46 M3 manual would be a lot of fun but maintenance would be a lot higher too compared to an E30 325i. I am almost tempted to sell my Mtech 1 in NZ to score an E46/E92 M3. 

Any old BMW would theoretically cost about the same to run and maintain if driven? E46 and E30 are still just essentially straight six RWD basic cars, only there are likely still more E46 parts available.

Personally, if you haven't owned a E46 I would say go for it, even the 328i/330i are great to drive, they are 500% stiffer in the body than the E30 and have far better suspension geometry meaning they don't understeer or snap oversteer.

I'm off to list Mondial Vert on Trade-Me

 

 

[gjm 3258]

4 hours ago, Apex said:

Was a hypothetical. Although some of the "specialist" quotes I have seen lately it wouldn't' be hard to spend 100k in 2023. Cost of E30 living is out of control. 

Market has stalled, nothing is selling ATM.. I mean, borrowing money to buy a BMW at current interest rates would be a bad idea,  especially when you consider prices on used and collectable cars are down 20-40% vs 2021 peak and demand has dried up. If you put this car on the mortgage right now and financed it over 10 years it would owe you close to 300k.. Maybe it will be worth 300k in ten years, who knows? But that is not an investment and it is not a 300k experience. 

In this market, I would be buying clean e46's now and enjoying them.

Listed the Baur at $12k, no reserve.

Not one single nibble. Lots of watching - no bids, no questions.

OK - it's not a manual, and it is less usual. But it is in excellent condition, rust-free, straight six, and pretty much every option that was available.

Fingers crossed I get work soon, in which case we'll keep it.

[Apex 693]

17 minutes ago, gjm said:

Listed the Baur at $12k, no reserve.

Not one single nibble. Lots of watching - no bids, no questions.

OK - it's not a manual, and it is less usual. But it is in excellent condition, rust-free, straight six, and pretty much every option that was available.

Fingers crossed I get work soon, in which case we'll keep it.

Feeling ya mate, I have something for sale also that I know would have sold in a week a couple of years ago, but after a month I have had only one call, not even a low ball offer.

At least its not our lively hood, imagine being a car dealer at the moment, especially if you stocked up a while back. Not that we are going to feel sorry for car dealers. I have enquired about a couple of cars and have had no real response so I can assume people still think its a sellers market.