Feeler: 2008 E93 M3 (Melbourne Red) MT

[guarnibl]

BIMMERPOST / Classifieds

Asking Price:

None

Item Interest

Well,

I'm living in downtown Chicago now -- barely even drive the car more than once a week (sometimes less than that). So at this point, I'm pretty certain I want to part with the car. Car is in GREAT condition -- never tracked, no mods (besides tint, which is F1 Pinnacle 15% and done VERY well, and removable).

-2008 Melbourne Red E93 M3 Convertible -- 15% tint (will remove for you if desired)
-6750 miles (have owned it for 10 months -- and the past two months besides the long drive between DC and Chicago, I've only driven it 300 miles).
-Followed standard BMW break-in procedures (on everything).
-Never tracked, no mods (minus tint). Garaged, clayed, washed every week.
-Melbourne Red / Black Leather (not extended) / Carbon Leather trim.
-Premium Package
-Cold Weather Package (minus Headlight Washers)
-Navigation
-19" Wheels WITH wheel AND tire insurance package
-Premium Audio w/ Sirius Package
-BMW Assist / Integrated Phone
-Manual Transmission

Car is absolutely stunning. Sticker price was ~$77k and fully optioned minus the headlight washers and rear parking camera. If you add in the 19" wheels and wheel/tire insurance.. the car is going to be over $80k sticker.

Not sure what a reasonable price for it would be -- given the incentives BMW is giving on remaining inventory (though, with 6500 miles, it's still DAMN new). KBB states $66k private party. NADA is coming in around $67k. Both are estimating around $63k trade-in. Would like to see myself get at least $63-$64k for it.

Thoughts?

[guarnibl]

I'm certain I want to get rid of the car. What do you guys think I should list it at? It's fully loaded. MSRP was based without 19" wheels too, since I had added those from another car (told them I would not buy it unless it had that option). Seems like average trade-in for my car is around $62k (estimated is higher, but "AVERAGE" trade from what I've seen is more realistic).

So if the average person is getting around $62k given the options for TRADE -- what do you guys think as far as listing it for private party? $65k? $66k?

[Mookster]

Dealers really dont pay trade-in value on these, especially in this economy. Most dealers will give you Manheim auction price which is anywhere from $52 to $57k - $57k being for a fully loaded, mint conv like yours.

The only time dealer might come closer to NADA or KBB Trade-in value is if you're buying a car from them where they're still making money.

[smmmurf]

Agree, low to mid 50's from a dealer.

[guarnibl]

Originally Posted by Mookster

Dealers really dont pay trade-in value on these, especially in this economy. Most dealers will give you Manheim auction price which is anywhere from $52 to $57k - $57k being for a fully loaded, mint conv like yours.

The only time dealer might come closer to NADA or KBB Trade-in value is if you're buying a car from them where they're still making money.

Gotcha. That seems really low IMO ($52k). $57k seems a bit more reasonable (but still low), but I'd be shocked to see anything lower. But hey, if that's the case, I'll just hold on to it. If it really does sell that low ($52k), I'll probably still owe close to $20k because that's a massive difference (had some negative equity)... and I'm sure BMW's "expected value" for lease termination is going to be similar to KBB or NADA. I only owe ~$30k on the remainder of the lease. If it's really going to be that much, IMO it's pointless to get rid of the car that way.

What do you guys suggest as far as private party listing? Have you guys had success with Auto Trader? If I can squeeze out $65k out of private party, that would be ideal, as it would let me get that $20k number down closer to that $10k.. which is the difference I was shooting for. But looking at other cars priced from dealers around here.. even '08 loaded convertibles are going for $63k retail.. ugh. Strange to me that the fully loaded coupes are going for nearly the same price. Guess they're probably harder to sell because of the weight. Given that, I would expect to get closer to that $58-$59k trade in... the cars were pretty loaded, but not quite as much as mine @ $63k. Not sure how much profit they usually expect to make on the car.

[Mookster]

Just to give you an idea here, here is a conv going for $57999
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/1242395897.html

Notice the MSRP was over $79k - So if these guys are selling it for $57999, doubt they paid much more than $54k ....

[JCtx]

Market is changing for the better IMO, but people are still used to the killer deals of just a few weeks ago, but they're no more. They're still great deals, but nothing like the $15K below MSRP I was referring to.
I don't think it's a great time to sell for that reason, but your best bet by far is to sell on your own (you can list it on Ebay 4 times without charge), and follow a few auctions to a close to see what's the present value of your car, and based on that, make the decision to buy or not. If you were to trade you'd lose your proverbial a$$, so glad you're not on a bind. Good luck man, and sorry to see you go.

As a final comment, I'm going to drive my car even less than you per year, but will keep it for a long time. You should reconsider, unless you have something else in mind.

[guarnibl]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Market is changing for the better IMO, but people are still used to the killer deals of just a few weeks ago, but they're no more. They're still great deals, but nothing like the $15K below MSRP I was referring to.
I don't think it's a great time to sell for that reason, but your best bet by far is to sell on your own (you can list it on Ebay 4 times without charge), and follow a few auctions to a close to see what's the present value of your car, and based on that, make the decision to buy or not. If you were to trade you'd lose your proverbial a$$, so glad you're not on a bind. Good luck man, and sorry to see you go.

As a final comment, I'm going to drive my car even less than you per year, but will keep it for a long time. You should reconsider, unless you have something else in mind.

Yeah... I love the car, but man -- I definitely thought I was going to use it here in Chicago. I used it all the time in DC... but it's not worth the money to only drive it a few times a month. I have the money... by all means -- but, there comes a point where it's just stupidity. I'd get more use out of a boat here in Chicago, lol - even if its only for 4 months out of the year.

The one linked to in Seattle is a fantastic deal. $58k - car doesn't have wheel/tire package and has 4k more miles than mine (though, not sure that makes much of a difference). But yeah, damn. So figure $59k with wheel/tire package. So yeah, that would put a trade around $55k. That's crazy low.

Hopefully we see slower depreciation since the market is improving a bit. Unfortunately, with the 2010's coming, I don't think that will happen.