Trade in advice

Ipro

Was just browsing donedeal and came across this ( http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-7-series-730d-se/5672421 )

Milage seemes low , interior looks ok for age/mileage and bodywork seems ok (from the pictures of course)
Nct is almost up , presuming same story with tax and there's no mention of service history. Usually wouldn't touch something with those status at a private sale but would concider making an exception with it being from a dealership.

I currently have a 2001 e46 320d (pictured) 130k (miles) excellent condition inside and out , it's manual/cloth but is the se/business edition and has cruise controll , voice activation and wood trim etc. recently serviced with 4 new tryres , 10minths road tax and nct is up in January (nct pre check said it needs a bushing for the front anti roll bar , €5 plus labour) other than that it's spotless like new inside & out. Great car , love it , very economical (I regularly make trips to cork and get around 50/60mpg which is fantastic for a 12 year old car )but hey ! Who dosent want a 7 series right.

I've not yet driven a 7 series (I had a 5 series for a brief period before ) but I quite like the look if them. It's my understanding that in the current climate , my 320d is going to be a lot easier to sell than a 7 series (especially with 10months tax)

What's your opinion ?

I'm planning to go have a look at the car to check the overall condition , possibly take it for a drive if it seems ok and see how the car is to drive aswell as deciding if I like the overall feel of a 7 series over the 3 series.

Would I be upgrading or downgrading ?

Is a 05 7series in this day and age considered to be prestige or a banger ?


If I were to decide to go ahead with the purchase I'd be trading in my own car.
In this case I'm not interested in what the dealer should offer me for my car , not am I interested in what he would let the 7series go for.

(He could offer me 3k for my car then give me the 7series for 8k or could offer me 4k then ask the full 9k for the car) this gets all very messy so in simple terms the best way to put it is what's the cash difference ?

Giving him my car , how much extra should I be prepared to pay ? (To get a good deal! I'm quite happy with my car and haven't even got it for sale , I just saw this and it caught my eye so not in a hurry to sell or anything like that)

Thoughts , opinions , prices and valuations all appreciated :-)

Sobanek

This shape 7 Series is considered a luxobarge. If you get the facelift (pretty much the same money!) then it will be prestige.
The E65 pre-facelift never looked as a prestige car in my opinion, it looked the part after the facelift.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-730d-facelift-model/5777611

Dealer isn't going to make you a good offer on a trade in, especially a 2001 320d. They have to make money, not break even. I'd say he'd offer you 2k for that car and want 10k for the 7 Series (most dealers add premiums in case of trade ins).

If you're willing to spend some time, sell your car on DoneDeal / Carzone and then buy this exact pre-facelift model, then you've got some room to bargain, as the pre-facelift isn't as desirable as the facelift model. Especially a 2005.

Ipro

Sobanek wrote: »

This shape 7 Series is considered a luxobarge. If you get the facelift (pretty much the same money!) then it will be prestige.
The E65 pre-facelift never looked as a prestige car in my opinion, it looked the part after the facelift.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-730d-facelift-model/5777611

Yeah I've seen the facelift and did feel it certainly looked a lot nicer ! One thing I like about the older models is the boot lid. Sounds odd right ? But I think it has to be one of the nicest boot kids off all time , real American looking!

Some links to facelift models you come across would be great! :-) trade only as I want to trade in , along with what I should be offering with my own car :-)

OREGATO

I think your best bet is to sell the 320D privately and go into the dealer with cash.

The 320D's seem to be quite popular so shifting it on shouldn't be too much hassle as long as you price it accordingly.

If you are set on a trade in, your best bet is to visit the dealer and try to negotiate.

Best of luck with the car hunt

TBi

Throw your car through NCT and put it on donedeal. When I was selling my 318 I was offered between 1500 to 2000 from different garages but it had a fresh nct so threw it up on donedeal and got the asking price of 4000 (others were advertised from 4-5k). 2000 more than the best trade in and was able to haggle 1000 off the price of the car I bought. Much happier having that 3k in my pocket!

Is your 320 a cork reg? Facelift model?

bazz26

A nearly 13 year old car is worth very little to a garage as it has a certain value which a dealer cannot turn over a decent profit on. Most likely they will offer you below trade value on it. You will get more for it by selling it privately.

I'd also favour a facelifted 7 Series, they ironed out a lot of problems that were common on pre-facelifted models. Also remember just because these type cars are affordable these days doesn't mean that they are cheap to maintain. While they can give very little bother, the costs can go through the roof if something big goes wrong.

Ipro

TBi wrote: »

Throw your car through NCT and put it on donedeal. When I was selling my 318 I was offered between 1500 to 2000 from different garages but it had a fresh nct so threw it up on donedeal and got the asking price of 4000 (others were advertised from 4-5k). 2000 more than the best trade in and was able to haggle 1000 off the price of the car I bought. Much happier having that 3k in my pocket!

Is your 320 a cork reg? Facelift model?

I'm in cork most weeks I commute from cork to dublin but it has a 01 D reg (136hp pre facelift) insurance was actually 10% cheaper on this compared to the facelift so got a nice surprise when they said they would be giving me extra off the policy.

Yeah I'm thinking to throw it through the nct first. Judging by the replies so far it looks like I'd be a lot better selling it privately .

Ipro

bazz26 wrote: »

A nearly 13 year old car is worth very little to a garage as it has a certain value which a dealer cannot turn over a decent profit on. Most likely they will offer you below trade value on it. You will get more for it by selling it privately.

I'd also favour a facelifted 7 Series, they ironed out a lot of problems that were common on pre-facelifted models. Also remember just because these type cars are affordable these days doesn't mean that they are cheap to maintain. While they can give very little bother, the costs can go through the roof if something big goes wrong.

What visual differences are there between the pre and post facelift models.

How to tell them apart.

Could I get a nice example for under 10 k ? Black / sport with under 130 milkes.

A lot more selection across the pond but don't want the hassle of bringing one over as it gets tricky with insurance and the mot not being seen as a nct by the insurance would void my cover etc

Sobanek

Ipro wrote: »

What visual differences are there between the pre and post facelift models.

How to tell them apart.

Could I get a nice example for under 10 k ? Black / sport with under 130 milkes.

A lot more selection across the pond but don't want the hassle of bringing one over as it gets tricky with insurance and the mot not being seen as a nct by the insurance would void my cover etc

It's a diesel, so 130k miles would be normal for this type of car.





Right: Pre-facelift, Leftt: Facelift.

Except for the interior shot.

commited

Ipro wrote: »

Usually wouldn't touch something with those status at a private sale but would concider making an exception with it being from a dealership.

That's a big mistake! I wouldn't consider any modern BMW without service history unless it was cheap enough to throw away if something major went wrong. Buying from a small dealership does not mean that all costs will be covered/car will be more reliable - often the "warranty" isn't worth the paper it's written on and it's incredibly difficult to get anything fixed. The BMW is the second most expensive car on his forecourt, most being sub €3k.

The best purchase is a car in fantastic condition, with FSH, from the person who's owned it for a great number of years (ideally the first owner), and then bank the saving for any potential repairs in the first years ownership.

Do bear in mind that a 730d will be a hugely different ownership proposition from the 320d, the increase in tax is only the start, as they are far more complicated with lots of electronic to go wrong as well as all of the usual diesel related reliability costs.

This looks like a good buy:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-730d/5766964
One owner from new and FSH. This is a benefit as they've more than likely always treated it like a €100k+ car, so I'd be surprised if it hasn't exclusively been to BMW garages.

You should consider the e39 530d either in auto or manual - auto for effortless progress or manual for MPG.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2003-bmw-530d-m-sport-not-audi-vw/5628244
Only 2 years older than the 730d, 5k cheaper and a far more realistic ownership experience as there is a huge aftermarket parts availability for these cars which has led to quality parts being available at far lower prices than from BMW.

Ipro

commited wrote: »

That's a big mistake! I wouldn't consider any modern BMW without service history unless it was cheap enough to throw away if something major went wrong. Buying from a small dealership does not mean that all costs will be covered/car will be more reliable - often the "warranty" isn't worth the paper it's written on and it's incredibly difficult to get anything fixed. The BMW is the second most expensive car on his forecourt, most being sub €3k.

The best purchase is a car in fantastic condition, with FSH, from the person who's owned it for a great number of years (ideally the first owner), and then bank the saving for any potential repairs in the first years ownership.

Do bear in mind that a 730d will be a hugely different ownership proposition from the 320d, the increase in tax is only the start, as they are far more complicated with lots of electronic to go wrong as well as all of the usual diesel related reliability costs.

This looks like a good buy:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-730d/5766964
One owner from new and FSH. This is a benefit as they've more than likely always treated it like a €100k+ car, so I'd be surprised if it hasn't exclusively been to BMW garages.

You should consider the e39 530d either in auto or manual - auto for effortless progress or manual for MPG.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2003-bmw-530d-m-sport-not-audi-vw/5628244
Only 2 years older than the 730d, 5k cheaper and a far more realistic ownership experience as there is a huge aftermarket parts availability for these cars which has led to quality parts being available at far lower prices than from BMW.

In your opinion do you feel the ownership/running costs of a 730d are significantly higher than a 530d?

I would be open to the idea of a 5 series. Doing the figures the tax and insurance was working out the same on both. The only difference being that there was a lower mpg from the 730d than the 530d
Are parts a lot harder to find for the 7 vs the 5. ?

Usually I order mine on ebay (a company trading on the site , never from an individual or second hand) if it's a part I can wait a few weeks for. Otherwise the place I get the car serviced has a motor factors next door that have a good stock of bmw parts at reasonable prices.

ofcork

That dealer wouldn't have the greatest rep either.

commited

Ipro wrote: »

In your opinion do you feel the ownership/running costs of a 730d are significantly higher than a 530d?

I would be open to the idea of a 5 series. Doing the figures the tax and insurance was working out the same on both. The only difference being that there was a lower mpg from the 730d than the 530d
Are parts a lot harder to find for the 7 vs the 5. ?

Usually I order mine on ebay (a company trading on the site , never from an individual or second hand) if it's a part I can wait a few weeks for. Otherwise the place I get the car serviced has a motor factors next door that have a good stock of bmw parts at reasonable prices.

If you're comparing the E65 to the e39, then comparable repairs will generally be more expensive on the e65 as well as a whole heap of stuff in the e65 that the e39 doesn't have to go wrong in the first place. Of course, the e65 is a far superior cruiser but the e39 is a great car in its own right that still has a lot of fans today. The e39 has a huge selection of aftermarket parts, the e65 will not have the same range and availability. Remember, there is more to running a car than tax, insurance and mpg. Either way, a 530d or 730d will cost more to run than your 320d!

How many miles/year do you do?

Ipro

ofcork wrote: »

That dealer wouldn't have the greatest rep either.

After rethinking things and taking advice from some of the replies I've decided it would be much more wise to buy cash from a private sake where the owner is the first owner (or second owner but bought the car when it was 1-3 years old) and has full service history.

Ill keep the 320d till January and possibly look at selling the car then.

This makes the most sense as it's not going to cost much for the nct and it will add more value to the car then the road tax. Also in January the new car I look at buying will be considered a year older on the reg and will be cheaper / get a year newer for the same money , cars always seem to come down in price in January /February with people buying new cars and the older ones then needing to pass down the chain.
Given the age of the 320d I suspect this won't loose too much value in this instance so should be worth my while.

Ill start a new/seperate thread soon asking people for their advice on the car it's self in terms of what to look out for , price I should be paying , running costs and reliability.

Thankyou all for your advice.

Ipro

commited wrote: »

If you're comparing the E65 to the e39, then comparable repairs will generally be more expensive on the e65 as well as a whole heap of stuff in the e65 that the e39 doesn't have to go wrong in the first place. Of course, the e65 is a far superior cruiser but the e39 is a great car in its own right that still has a lot of fans today. The e39 has a huge selection of aftermarket parts, the e65 will not have the same range and availability. Remember, there is more to running a car than tax, insurance and mpg. Either way, a 530d or 730d will cost more to run than your 320d!

How many miles/year do you do?

I bought the car with 127kmiles 2 months ago and it's now 131miles but this is an exception as I've been visiting the OH weekly (dublin - cork) but this will go down a good bit.

The car is used for the following.

Visiting the OH in cork (who will move to dublin shortly but will still make trips down once a month )

To visit my family in Wicklow (every 1/2 week(s)

To visit friends in naas every week.

I also go from city center once a week to clairehall to do the shopping as the tesco there is convinent for parking and has a decent selection.

Public transport/foot is used for everything else as I'm smack in the city center and there's just no point.

The car is used for long journeys only (apart from the weekly trip to clairehall which is only about 7/8km round trip) the 320d I have does not have a DPF but given the other long trips I do I feel a car with a dpf shoulda be an issue ?

commited

With what you've said about your mileage, you should consider petrol alternatives (for example a 525i e39 vs 530d e39). I bought a 4 year old 530d in 2007 and currently have a 2001 530i which I've had for just over a year as my annual mileage is much lower than it was. Realistically, a 525i should be more reliable than a 525d/530d as fuel systems are far more simple, as well as no turbo/swirl flaps to worry about. The bonus is that they're cheaper to tax & buy too so it's a bonus all round. For what it's worth, I was considering an e60 but the build quality/driving experience seemed like a downgrade compared to the e39.

Unfortunately it's getting hard to find an e39 with less than 3 owners these days but it is still possible - just takes a while! The build quality on the e39 is so good that the main thing is to buy on condition, rather than mileage. Abused cars are relatively obvious to spot, mine has about 130k on the clock and still looks very fresh inside and out. There are also some great aftermarket headunits that look like the original BMW satnav unit but are far more advanced, if you're looking for a few more toys!