What's my car worth?

[arcter]

Thanks for the help guys but I did decide to sell the car. It was a shame to see it go but I think it went to another enthusiast as a new owner so let's hope it works out!

[arcter]

Any ideas?

[B318M42W]

very nice car! it's at LEAST 5-6K, depending on where you are can get a lot more than that.

why are you selling?

[longtallsally]

Don't hate me, but I'd say $3k or $3500 tops.  That is what I paid for mine in very similar condition with similar motor work done (save the head).

My fears in buying the car (don't get mad, but this is just me and what I personally look for in a car)
- Any time head work is done that is not specifically performance oriented tells me that the car overheated and/or has been pounded
- It is almost confirmed by other cooling system components being replaced
- Yours has over 30k more on the clock than mine did when I got it
- Dashes are fairly easy to get, but a huge PITA to install (ask me how I know)
- Having spent around $700 getting my AC sorted and countless hours, the idle issue would spook the heck out of me as it could be so many things and a total nightmare to diagnose
- Power steering racks are $$$$ (if you don't know where to look) and rather a big deal to many folks to replace

Again, I'm not trying to be a jerk or give you a hard time, but there is no way I'd even look at the car for $5-6k.  I have $6k in my car now and I'd say it is a heck of a lot nicer (now that I've done a bunch of stuff), but know that there is no way I'd get that for it.

For example I have:
- New drive shaft
- new half shafts
- new rear wheel bearings
- SS brake lines
- rebuilt the calipers
- Smiley lights and grilles (I live in Germany for the time being)
- OEM cruise control
- Power Sunroof conversion
- Map light rear view mirror
- 13 button OBC and correct coding plug
- OEM premium speakers with tweeters and all
- Brand new Kenwood Excelon KDC-993 head unit (BT, iPod, etc)
- M Tech one steering wheel freshly recovered in new leather (air bag wheel still very much able to be hooked back up)
- 4.10 LSD (small case)

That's just off the top of my head and I have a slew of other parts still to be put on that I included on what I have in the car.

This is all also in addition to what the PO had done:
- new H&R Springs and Bilstein sport shocks (done just before I bought the car and I replaced one bad shock- car came with receipts on purchase of suspension stuff)
- new tie rod ends (documented by PO just before I got it)
- all new suspension bushings: control arms, rear trailing arms, rear subframe
- full timing rebuild (chain, guides, etc)

So like I keep saying, I'm really not trying to be a jerk, but I think your car is worth what you paid for it.  I hope you can get what you want, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.

[jscribble]

I paid $3k for mine in slightly worse condition. I would be quite alright with paying $4k for yours if everything is in order. Unfortunately, I am not in the market for another yet.  I also have about $6k in mine, and about 4k yet to put in it (paint/body, clutch, diff, wheels/tires, timing stuffs, turbo) But I'm in for the long haul.

I don't think they're quite rare enough to get all of your invested money back upon selling... Yet.

Next year I can put collector plates on mine.

[arcter]

Thanks for the ideas - I'll try to see if I can get $4K, obviously it'll be great if I get more.

The head work was done because the car was burning coolant, but it was never overheated while I owned it. The radiator was replaced because it had a slight leak about a month before.

The A/C thing is also not too big of a deal. I'm trying to find a used little compressor control unit because mine was faulty. Shouldn't cost too much to fix.

[longtallsally]

Yeah I felt bad writing what I did, but reality is that most buyers are not like us in that we are enthusiasts.  The market REALLY beats you up for any issues a car has.

If I were in the market, I'd certainly say it is a car to look at as you are an enthusiast and I am too which holds a lot of credence to me.

I totally understand what you are saying on the cost.  However, I will say this; once you get all the silly little issues resolved, they are CRAZY reliable cars and- as you have found out- return one of the most satisfying driving experiences on the planet.

I actually was depressed driving my wife's E46 the other day instead of the E30.  Now that is a pathetic addiction...

I'd rather see you keep it and use the forum and such to keep your cost of ownership down and keep another E30 from getting thrashed by a lame owner.

Along those lines, something to think about cost of ownership would be other ancillary costs such as insurance and fuel with a new car.  Both I'm sure would be higher with a new car.  I've generally had a rule that a car I'm "building" cannot cost more a month than a reasonable car payment to repair or modify.  I've had mine for just under a year and with all that I've done, I'm still at that rule on average and am actually under budget on my project plan.

Either way good luck in your decision.

[arcter]

I totally understand what you are saying on the cost.  However, I will say this; once you get all the silly little issues resolved, they are CRAZY reliable cars and- as you have found out- return one of the most satisfying driving experiences on the planet.

That's basically the reason I opted to put all of the money into it that I did. But I've just realized recently that even though I've put a lot of money into it and replaced all sorts of stuff, I don't know that I can ever really be confident in it. I don't feel like I could drive the car to Las Vegas without a problem, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

Obviously it's an awesome car and tons of fun and I'd hate to see it go, but I'd be willing to lose it if it meant getting a car that I can depend on for at least a few years and that maybe won't cost me as much. I need to be saving up for some stuff too at the moment. Insurance might go up but fuel cost should go down, I'm definitely looking for a car with good fuel economy.

I actually was depressed driving my wife's E46 the other day instead of the E30.  Now that is a pathetic addiction...

My dad has an e46 and I had to drive it a lot when my car was in pieces in the garage. Made me miss my car, as solid and confident as the e46 feels.

I'd rather see you keep it and use the forum and such to keep your cost of ownership down and keep another E30 from getting thrashed by a lame owner.

Well who knows, maybe I can't sell this thing, or maybe I can't get approved for a new car. I hate the thought of the car being destroyed by some jerk but I'm between a rock and a hard place. It'd be an understatement to say I can't afford to continue the way things have been costing me so far.

[jscribble]

Keep the e30 in the garage. It will be worth much more than you have in it someday, enjoy it on the weekends, and try to score a newer bimmer for dd.  That's my plan at least. I just intend to continue dumping money into it, and once I decided that was the path, it makes it much easier. I know it will cost me, and I know it will continue to reward me.

If you are happy with ~$3-4k for it, try to sell it to an enthusiast. At least you won't have as much guilt that someone might be beating her.

[arcter]

Keep the e30 in the garage. It will be worth much more than you have in it someday, enjoy it on the weekends, and try to score a newer bimmer for dd.  That's my plan at least. I just intend to continue dumping money into it, and once I decided that was the path, it makes it much easier. I know it will cost me, and I know it will continue to reward me.

If you are happy with ~$3-4k for it, try to sell it to an enthusiast. At least you won't have as much guilt that someone might be beating her.

I'd LOVE to man, but I probably will need the money for a down payment. I have no money at the moment because I've put it all into this car. I'll probably end up in a Honda Fit or something.

[B318M42W]

+1 on the store it idea... get a beater s***box and save your car
between putting 250$/month, EVERY month into a new car that looses a lot of it's value or putting maybe what... maybe 200-300$ every 2-3 months or so. think about it. what do you think your car needs to be reliable? $$ to get there vs new car payment for 5 yrs
(and the 5-6k would be more appropriate up north )

just some thoughts...

[arcter]

+1 on the store it idea... get a beater s***box and save your car
between putting 250$/month, EVERY month into a new car that looses a lot of it's value or putting maybe what... maybe 200-300$ every 2-3 months or so. think about it. what do you think your car needs to be reliable? $$ to get there vs new car payment for 5 yrs
(and the 5-6k would be more appropriate up north )

just some thoughts...

Man if I was only paying $200-300 every 2-3 months or so I'd be in heaven. It's been more like 200-300 every two weeks or so!

[longtallsally]

Man if I was only paying $200-300 every 2-3 months or so I'd be in heaven. It's been more like 200-300 every two weeks or so!

Wow!  That is a bit steep.  OK, a couple questions:
1) Do you have the tools/know how to work on the car?
2) How long still for school?

I totally understand what you are saying about the costs and such, but despite my car being in very similar condition when I got it, I've put very little into it relatively speaking.  To be succinct, I've put $3k on top of the $3k I spent for it.  $1500 is from the rear end and drive train components that I replaced (I don't think I actually needed the half shafts, drive shaft, or bearings, and the diff was an upgrade).  The ~$700 on the AC was just b/c I'm a pansy and can't do without it.  The rest is pure luxury upgrades as I want my car to have all the toys of the 325is and then some (I've had 3 E30 325is')

So the reason I asked question #1 is that if you have the tools and can make use of this forum and other E30 forums, there really is nothing you can't do.  Also, you are in SoCal where there is a HUGE E30 support system who can provide anything you are lacking.

#2 is to determine how long you can hold out financially for this car.  As previously stated, you will have the new car payment for much longer and will be grossly upside down for a long time, thus in the long run costing a significant amount more than the 318.  So if you can afford to resolve some simple drivability/reliability issues, then just hold on to it and when you graduate, make it the way you want.  I'm currently finishing my FINAL class for my masters (thus why I'm procrastinating on a couple papers and writing long responses on stuff like this) and once I'm done will begin to finish getting mine to be just what I want.

So to dig a bit deeper, what are the remaining issues with the car?  It sounded like you know what to do to fix the idle/AC issue and that is really all I saw as being critical for drivability.  The PS leak is important, but that is a couple hundred new and a good bit less used, and really is not critical.  I drove my first 325is until I sold it with a PS leak.  The rest of the stuff is cosmetic (seats, dash) and can wait until you finish school and want to complete a restoration.

Over the years, the ONLY reason I've been able to keep so many toys is b/c I've learned how to do all the work myself.  The only new vehicles I've kept for myself were new motorcycles (I currently have a pretty healthy payment for a beemer).

So that said, give us the poop on what needs to be done and lets get some hard numbers out there so you can make a better informed decision.  We looked at a Fit for my wife a while back based on the mileage she puts on cars and just couldn't bring ourselves to get one of the cheaper models due to it being a depressing driving experience, and the higher line models approach $20k which is just plain stupid for one of those.

[jscribble]

Man if I was only paying $200-300 every 2-3 months or so I'd be in heaven. It's been more like 200-300 every two weeks or so!

I have been shoving about $100/week into mine, but I drive it every day and I'm trying to tackle things as fast as I can. Once we close on the house we've been trying to buy for 3 months, I will be picking up a beater bimmer to run daily, and the crazed pace can slow down, or I can tackle those projects that leave the car down for a longer stretch of time. My budget is extremely limited at the moment, and honestly you have less into yours and a much nicer car overall. I had to search for mine for almost a year and paid 3k with a CRAPPY respray 4 years ago. I now have over 6k tied into it and about 4k left to go if I do all the work myself (I plan to)

It really does sound like your car runs very well, drives very well, and looks downright respectable. I think your fears of reliability are very overstated.  I took my car on a 4.5 hour trip 1 month after I got it without issue, despite racing down the interstate and backroads the whole way (followed a buddy). I don't want to say bulletproof, but these cars are TOUGH. Mine has 262k, and hits redline almost daily (7100 thanks to dinan) I would have no doubts I could drive mine to vegas today. The fit you are looking at will likely barely get better mileage, and will depreciate very quickly.  Your bimmer will not depreciate further. It will only look better and better sitting in the garage/drive waiting for a sunny weekend for you two to go hit some corners.

You can pull your p/s system and eliminate the leak for free, and it sounds like you have properly diagnosed the ac issue, but for now can't you switch it off at idle?

LongTallSally is right, post up the other problems so we can tell you if your car is unreliable as you fear, and also if it's worth fixing. (My guess is yes)

I took a new charger the other day from a dead stop to 60mph and had him by almost a full car length. Then I told him it was a 1.8. He was not happy. I still smile.

28+mpg/GREAT handling/sharp styling/RWD/4.10/etc etc etc

Would you really be happy in a fit?

EDIT: If I could start over with your car, I would. It's much cleaner than mine.

[BlueBMW]

I'm a bit biased since I'm a technician by trade, but I'd also say to keep it if at all possible.  New cars are expensive each and every month.  And when they're paid off, you have a worn out car, out of warranty that isn't worth half what you paid for it.  

I drove a Z4 employee lease for two years, it was fun, I was hot stuff, and I didn't have to fix it, but I was also $350 a month poorer (250 payment, 100 insurance)  Even though my 318is needs a bit of help now and then, its still overall been cheaper than the Z4 was (and it was dirt cheap!!)

While the Z4 was new and cool and all, I have a lot more pride driving the E30 around just because it is an OLD CLASSY sporty car.  There aren't a ton of the driving around.  Its different and unique.  Its not just a beat up old american car that should have been scrapped years ago, rather its a good running testament to quality engineering.

I too am going to college right now (evening classes til I sell my house) and my 318is has got to get me through the next 4 to 6 years of school.  I hope that I'll be able to continue driving it well past that.

The E30 is a unique ownership experience unlike any other car out there.  It's an enthusiast car.   Its challenging at times (like when my brakes went out last week..) but at other times its very rewarding (like the last Smoky Mountain Rally)

If you can, please try and keep your car!  If you have good relations with your folks (which it sounds like you do) just have them help you along with a loaner vehicle when trouble arises.

Oh and for the record, I spent $2200 on my car and have put about oh $1500 in it so far. (shocks, tires, mess under the intake, cop conv, brakes, suspension stuff, radio, light bulbs etc)  To be a real show stopper I'd have to repair a LOT of hidden body damage, but as a daily its perfect.