It's time. Goodbye BMW.

Devon

I've decided to make a real effort to get rid of the BMW in favour of something that has more boot capacity for practical reasons.

My question is, if I go to one of those auction places like Merlin or Windsor, how much can I expect to lose off the actual value of the car in terms of %.

Experience with selling or buying at auctions welcome!

ondafly

it would help - if you mentioned what type of BMW it is.

Devon

Yeah no problem. I have a 1998 BMW 328i Coupe with 80,000 miles on the clock. It's a very VERY fast car and not for everyone, so I don't know whether putting it in one of those auctions would be a waste of time or not.

unkel

Devon wrote:

Yeah no problem. I have a 1998 BMW 328i Coupe with 80,000 miles on the clock. It's a very VERY fast car and not for everyone, so I don't know whether putting it in one of those auctions would be a waste of time or not.

No waste of time, it will probably sell and it is less hassle than selling privately. But don't expect much for it. People expect bargains at auction

What car are you getting? Did you consider using it as part-ex for the new car? You'll loose less money that way

neacy69

would it not be worth your while to try the usual selling channels such as carzone.ie, auto-trader or local newspapers (even adverts.ie) before trying to sell for less than its worth at auction?

Devon

I'm hoping to get some sort of 4 wheel drive vehicle for the amount of stuff I shuttle to and fro. There's no way of knowing who the best people are to place the ad with, plus the added headache of having boy racers show up just to take it for a speed is so off-putting. I've seen ads that say "no cash, no test drive" but I have no idea how that works - do you charge them for a test drive? I know what I'd say if someone charged me for a test drive...

Fey!

Try the mags/websites first. What's the spec?

SouperComputer

It's a very VERY fast car and not for everyone

Sorry, but I couldnt help but laugh at that!

As unkel said, the car will certainly sell at an auction, but you may get pittance for it. Might be worth a try if you set a reserve that you are happy with.

Autotrader would be worth a try, also carzone and maybe even good ole' adverts.ie right here.

Not sure what you can do about the test drive though. Have you advertised it yet?

Devon

Well the "not for everyone" comment is actually a quote from someone else. The 2.8 litre engine is very off-putting to a lot of people. Some couldn't handle a car with that much poke, some wouldn't want a car with that much poke, and others just couldn't care because of the high tax.

I'll be avoiding adverts.ie on this one. It's just not the right market. The folks at autotrader are mailing me some form to fill in, so I'll give it a go in that and see if I get any genuine interest.

Now, if only I could figure out how others enforce that "no cash, no test drive" clause...

SouperComputer wrote:

Sorry, but I couldnt help but laugh at that!

As unkel said, the car will certainly sell at an auction, but you may get pittance for it. Might be worth a try if you set a reserve that you are happy with.

Autotrader would be worth a try, also carzone and maybe even good ole' adverts.ie right here.

Not sure what you can do about the test drive though. Have you advertised it yet?

SouperComputer

What about BMW clubs and mesageboards? Theres one in Ireland IIRC.

overdriver

Devon wrote:

Now, if only I could figure out how others enforce that "no cash, no test drive" clause...

Simple! If you're selling it for x amount, make sure they show you x-amount before they drive.
The speedy-boys won't bring that much out just to play in your car for 10 minutes.
In theory...

kdevitt

Why not trade it in against the 328i touring on www.accarsales.com

It has an Alpina block and Mahle pistons - its kicking out 260BHP or so. Loads of space, and definitely more room than the coupe!

junkyard

How much are you looking for it and have you any photos?

Devon

Yeah pictures aren't a problem, plus the autotrader folks said they'd send out their own photographer to get pictures at a certain angle.

Seeing that that there's one like it up there on carzone for €12k which has higher mileage, I figure in order to generate interest I'd have to set my price around the €11k mark.

Would that seem about right?

Mc-BigE

Devon wrote:

Now, if only I could figure out how others enforce that "no cash, no test drive" clause...

Ask them for proof of insurance first!

You could insist on driving the car yourself while their in the passenger seat.

Or if they insist on a test drive, ask them for a refundable deposit (say 100 euro), which you will return to them after test drive (with you in the passenger seat)
Never hand over keys to the car while you are not in the car, get into the passenger seat first, then hand the keys to the driver.
When the test drive is over, make sure the driver gets out before you do, or get him to hand over the keys to you.
I was reading on another forum in the UK about professional thief’s, who come to test drive desirable cars and everything is fine until the thief tries to open the bonnet latch and all of a sudden it wont open!, so the passenger (you) gets out of the car to see what’s wrong with the latch/bonnet and the thief floors it just as you close the door.


What kind of money are you looking for the 328?

Regarding Replacement (and assuming engine size isn't a problem)

2000-2004 uk imported X5 3.0d sounds like its right (depending on budget)

or maybe a 525d touring, or 2.6TDI A6 avant quattro or allroad
http://www.cargiant.co.uk/cars/detail.asp?Id=309837
http://www.cargiant.co.uk/cars/detail.asp?Id=300872
http://www.cargiant.co.uk/cars/detail.asp?Id=309269

Biro

They're not that fast, so you won't be getting speed freaks test driving. But as they'd have an LSD, then you'll probably get the boys looking for sideways action around trying it out, maybe looking to upgrade from a 325 or something.
You could just try the no cash no test drive thing, or just tell them that there is an LSD and there is no need to try it out. If they need to know that it's not fecked, then a mechanics inspection can sort that for them. If they want it that bad, they'll pay.

Bluehair

There's no limited slip diff on these cars as standard. It's worth posting the car up for sale on http://www.bmw-driver.net and http://www.bmwcarclubireland.com/ as there'll always be some interest (and certainly more value than bringing it to an auction).

Gatster

They're not that fast, so you won't be getting speed freaks test driving

They're faster than most stuff out there, and you will get a large proportion of tyre-kickers looking for a go - I did with my 323i coupe, it's just the way these cars look. By the time I sold it I'd been refusing a drive to anyone who turned up and asked for a drive in the first minutes without even looking over the car.

Put conditions on the test drive, and that should sort them out. I asked for proof of valid insurance on everyone I let test drive.

Devon

Apart from asking people for their insurance policy, what other conditions did you attach to test driving it? Were the large proportion of people 19 year old boy racers with burberry caps in suped micras??

Gatster wrote:

They're faster than most stuff out there, and you will get a large proportion of tyre-kickers looking for a go - I did with my 323i coupe, it's just the way these cars look. By the time I sold it I'd been refusing a drive to anyone who turned up and asked for a drive in the first minutes without even looking over the car.

Put conditions on the test drive, and that should sort them out. I asked for proof of valid insurance on everyone I let test drive.

Mc-BigE

Devon wrote:

Apart from asking people for their insurance policy, what other conditions did you attach to test driving it? Were the large proportion of people 19 year old boy racers with burberry caps in suped micras??

Not many 19year olds will even get an insurance quote on your car

Gatster

I 'assessed' it on a case by case basis (there were, by the end, quite a few 'cases'). The youngest lad I got was 23/24 from memory, but owned up striaght off he didn't have insurance so I drove him on a short run. He turned up with 4 mates and said he'd be back with a deposit the next day but then phoned me and told me the bank had refused his loan or some sh!te.

Lesson 1 there - after that if anyone asked for a drive I started asking up front if they had the cash, even occasionally on the phone if I thought they were time-wasters.
Cash question hesitation = No drive. No insurance = No drive. Out of say 10 callers I'd say 2-3 were 100% genuine, though it may have been more.

The general demographic was mid-20's, hatchback (various types), occasionally older/crapper 3 series drivers. I ended up selling it to a mate, but the last guy before that jumped out of his Corolla, stroking his bumfluff moustache in the summer sun and opened with 'Alreet boss, can have a droive'...

Devon

Gatster wrote:

...but the last guy before that jumped out of his Corolla, stroking his bumfluff moustache in the summer sun and opened with 'Alreet boss, can have a droive'...

That's exactly what I want to avoid, or at the very least minimise the chance of it happening. Thanks for taking the time to let me know of your experience.