Let's Talk E30 Prices (Or, How Much Should I Sell For)

[emmettlodge]

E30 prices seem to run all over the place. I need to sell mine and I'm not sure how to price it. Does anyone have suggestions?




1990 automatic 4 door.
90,000 miles.
Everything works.

[Mister MK4]

start at $1. be flexible.

[Armour]

info on the car

[hrama803]

info on the car

this.

[zane!]

Beat 318? Nice 325is? M3? Some info would be good.

[emmettlodge]

info on the car

Yeah wow sorry I need a coffee or something. Editing OP now.

[Harv]

Yeah wow sorry I need a coffee or something. Editing OP now.

We still don't have a clue what motor is in it.

[emmettlodge]

We still don't have a clue what motor is in it.

I thought they only came with one motor? It's the 6 cyl.

[Armour]

I thought they only came with one motor? It's the 6 cyl.

1990 should be the M20B25, unless it's the 325e then it'll have the "eta" M20B27 but i don't think theye were available in 1990

edit: 325e stopped in 1988, so you have a M20B25

That car looks to be in pretty damn good shape, the right buyer might pay $3500-4000 or more

[emmettlodge]

1990 should be the M20B25, unless it's the 325e then it'll have the "eta" M20B27 but i don't think theye were available in 1990

I couldn't say for certain if it's an "i" or an "e" since there's no badge and the title just says "325".

[r_fostoria]

I couldn't say for certain if it's an "i" or an "e" since there's no badge and the title just says "325".

It's an i. The eta motor would have a lower redline that yours does.

[hrama803]

$4000

[hipster.]

$3,000 because automatic.

[slirt]

I couldn't say for certain if it's an "i" or an "e" since there's no badge and the title just says "325".

pretty sure they dropped those suffixes by '90; by that time all motors were i (injection) and the e motors (eta = efficiency) retired after '86. so if it just says 325 it's a 325i w/ 169hp (per Wiki).

and yeah, ~$3500 sounds right

[wisky]

Looks like a straight, clean and relatively low mileage example, you would probably get good results on eBay. If I were in your shoes I would try to get $3k - $4k out of the car.

[Hufeisen]

$3,000 sounds about right since it is auto. Rust free?

Throw it up on R3vlimited.com.

[lowredcabrio]

auto. You would have a gem on your hands if it were a 5 spd. Either way, I think you're making decent profit on this car.. I do believe its been in a bump though, no?

[Horror Business]

$4000

Umm.. no.

Things this car benefits from:
-Low mileage
-Clean paint, body and interior.
-updated plastic e30 bumpers (non-diving board chrome bumpers)

What it lacks:
-It's an automatic, nobody pays premium for an auto trans e30. If they buy it then they will MT swap.
-It's 4 door. This is personal preference for most but 4 doors sell for less.
-It doesn't have sport seats (the Recaro like seats).
-It's on bottle caps. Basket weaves are more popular.
-It's an odd/dull color.
And most importantly:
-this is a 22 year old car. Wheres the pics of the engine? Pics of the suspension components? If I don't see that all of the hoses, timing belt, accessory belts, ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rods, rear sub-frame bushings, sway bar end-links, drive shaft guibos, etc... if none of those have been replaced by this time a buyer is looking at a couple thousand dollars minimum just get this car driving right)thats if they do it themselves.

I know e30s are gaining popularity big time these days but the asking prices are becoming rediculous. Edmunds, blue book values are at most $2,500 for a showroom perfect condition e30 sold from a used car dealership. Private party values are less than 2K. I try not to scare people away from buying these cars but don't let the trend and popularity take advantage of your wallet.

In my honest opinion I would not pay more than $2,500 for this car. It would be worth it for the excellent exterior but I would have to do a manual transmission swap to even make the purchase worth it. And that's assuming I don't have to replace anything made of rubber on the car. By this I mean all hoses, belts and bushings.

In the end, if this car were manual transmission I would pay $3,000 to $3,500. But its not. Id offer you $2,000. Maybe a little more.

[hipster.]

Umm.. no.

Things this car benefits from:
-Low mileage
-Clean paint, body and interior.
-updated plastic e30 bumpers (non-diving board chrome bumpers)

What it lacks:
-It's an automatic, nobody pays premium for an auto trans e30. If they buy it then they will MT swap.
-It's 4 door. This is personal preference for most but 4 doors sell for less. There are 4door enthusiast within the E30 crowd.
-It doesn't have sport seats (the Recaro like seats).
-It's on bottle caps. Basket weaves are more popular. Moot point considering how clean the car is. Stock wheels are stock, I have never let which stock wheel sway my decisions on used cars.
-It's an odd/dull color. That's actually a really nice color.
And most importantly:
-this is a 22 year old car. Wheres the pics of the engine? Pics of the suspension components? If I don't see that all of the hoses, timing belt, accessory belts, ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rods, rear sub-frame bushings, sway bar end-links, drive shaft guibos, etc... if none of those have been replaced by this time a buyer is looking at a couple thousand dollars minimum just get this car driving right)thats if they do it themselves.

I know e30s are gaining popularity big time these days but the asking prices are becoming rediculous. Edmunds, blue book values are at most $2,500 for a showroom perfect condition e30 sold from a used car dealership. Private party values are less than 2K. I try not to scare people away from buying these cars but don't let the trend and popularity take advantage of your wallet.

In my honest opinion I would not pay more than $2,500 for this car. It would be worth it for the excellent exterior but I would have to do a manual transmission swap to even make the purchase worth it. And that's assuming I don't have to replace anything made of rubber on the car. By this I mean all hoses, belts and bushings.

In the end, if this car were manual transmission I would pay $3,000 to $3,500. But its not. Id offer you $2,000. Maybe a little more.

I disagree with a few of your points. At the end of the day this is a car with a very large enthusiast following. This is not a camry. $3k is reasonable.

[emmettlodge]

$3,000 sounds about right since it is auto. Rust free?

Throw it up on R3vlimited.com.

Yes it is rust free. Thanks for the listing suggestion.

auto. You would have a gem on your hands if it were a 5 spd. Either way, I think you're making decent profit on this car.. I do believe its been in a bump though, no?

Yeah it's been in some minor fender benders (thanks to my g/f ), and it was 50% destroyed by fire in the late 90's.

I'm not making any profit on this car even if I manage to get the suggested $3.5k for it. It's cost me $6k over the last 2.5 years to keep it road worthy.

[lowredcabrio]

what the hell? I thought you got this car for free.. How did you manage to drop 6k on this car recently?! and why the hell didn't you quit on a free car? I guess I can see why you want to rid of it but after 6k of work it sounds like it's received a good lookover and that should help with your resale. Post up some of the things replaced.

[Horror Business]

I disagree with a few of your points. At the end of the day this is a car with a very large enthusiast following. This is not a camry. $3k is reasonable.

I totally agree with you. And yes there is a huge market for the car. I just try to make people aware of what they are really looking at. As is we have no idea how this car handles or drives. It just looks incredibly clean from the outside. $2,500 to $3,000 is reasonable for the right buyer. But $4,000? No ****ing way.

[emmettlodge]

what the hell? I thought you got this car for free.. How did you manage to drop 6k on this car recently?! and why the hell didn't you quit on a free car? I guess I can see why you want to rid of it but after 6k of work it sounds like it's received a good lookover and that should help with your resale. Post up some of the things replaced.

Yeah it was free.

It's one of those things where I kept telling myself "Oh, it just needs this, and then it'll be good" and then before long, I'm this far into the hole.

Things I've replaced in the last 2 years, off the top of my head, are:

-Water pump
-Belt
-Shocks front and rear
-Exhaust
-Battery
-Alternator
-A/C compressor
-Blower motor and resistor
-Instrument cluster lights
-Fuel tank sending unit
-Brakes/rotors front and rear
-Radiator (was from road debris puncture though)

[Hufeisen]

^^^ Based on that and if you have records, $3k should be realistic. Someone might pay more, but more money might buy an 'is coupe or convertible. However clean sedans are getting harder to find. Wish I need another e30 and had the reserves to save it

[lowredcabrio]

Based on that recent work, you can ask a greater amount. Seeing records of that work, I would very comfortably buy that car... if it were manual. Good luck.

[matty_peppers]

$3250 IMO. Sold a big bumper auto 4 door 2.7L for $4200 in February, but it was exceptionally clean.

[ttvick]

I'm familiar with these thinly disguised for sale threads

I'll start the bidding at $20

Realistically though, I think that low-to-mid $3k range would be a fair price.

[jazzcat2001]

any rust on it? would love to have something like that for a daily driver

[emmettlodge]

Thanks everyone.

[wisky]

Get it detailed and throw it up on eBay! This way we can see what it goes for.