Selling an M3

McCrack

Lads Ive an e92 m3 that I am going to be selling soon and if Im honest Im uneasy having anyone drive it. Im very careful with it and im just concerned that the type of car will attract tyre kickers, test pilots etc..and of course someone test driving it and not being used to its power and spinning it into a curb, wall, tree etc

Ive no problem having anyone inspect it and ill happily bring anyone out in it and open it up on the motorway etc but I just dont want anyone driving it while I own it.

What do people think..would you buy a car without having test drive it yourself..

Bigus

One of those went through Merlin and got good bids , but not quite the reserve, and sold privately afterwards when the owner took it back. . It's one way to flush out anybody in the country that wants one , trade or private and establish the "last price price " years ago you wouldn't dream of putting a good car through Merlin for fear of devaluating it and creating stories and doubt over provenance, but not nowadays.
Price should be less than the UK cost of importing one inc vrt. Because somebody importing from uk can effectively pick their spec.

That owner had the car well advertised separately at the same time too.

No way I'd buy it without driving it anyway and I'd imagine the vast majority of people would be the same. You need to get a feel for a car you are considering buying and you simply can't do that without driving it.

I've never seen a seller have an issue giving test drives, in fact the most powerful cars I've test driven the sellers usually encouraged me to give it the beans to see how I liked it.

EPAndlee

Buying a car without driving it would be madness in my eyes. If it's an M3 your buying you want to drive it on and see what it's like

Zascar

Surely if they came and inspected it - decided they wanted it - came back with cash - then you can let them drive it. Essentially if anything happens on the drive then you keep the cash. That's the way it's done with motorbikes a lot of the time.

punisher5112

I would suggest that you offer to have it inspected at a reputable mechanics or one they bring and weed tyre kickers out that way also.

Nobody will buy if you don't let them drive it.

McCrack

When I bought it private I didn't test drive it although I had a mechanic with me who looked it over. The seller had it from new and it was clear it was well minded.

I think ill just insist on a potential buyer showing me proof of funds before letting anyone test drive it..if they are serious etc

Ill check out Merlin too

bazz26

It would be crazy not to test drive a car like that if interested in buying it. Thing is that a car like that attracts test pilots who have no interest in buying, only interested in having a bit of craic.

I'd be advertising it on the likes of owner forums or pistonheads. While donedeal has a wider target audience, it also has a wider audience of test pilots and messors.

McCrack

Thats my concern and of course someone doing damage

Ill certainly be putting it on bmw-driver.net in the first instance

Henry Ford III

Proof of funds wouldn't hack it for me tbh. I'd want to be holding the cash to allow anyone test drive a very high performance car like that.

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Proof of funds wouldn't hack it for me tbh. I'd want to be holding the cash to allow anyone test drive a very high performance car like that.

And I'd just let the person drive the thing if they come to view it I wouldn't even ask for proof of funds and it would annoy me if asked when viewing a car. Never heard of this sort of thing going on even with more powerful cars than an M3.

Henry Ford III

Isla Calm Infantry wrote: »

And I'd just let the person drive the thing if they come to view it I wouldn't even ask for proof of funds and it would annoy me if asked when viewing a car. Never heard of this sort of thing going on even with more powerful cars than an M3.

What if they crashed or damaged it on the test drive?

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

What if they crashed or damaged it on the test drive?

You wouldn't leave the house in the morning if you worry too much about what if's. I've never heard of someone crashing a car on a test drive, it's exceptionally rare so the chances of it happening are tiny and being a betting man I always look at the odds.

Henry Ford III

A test pilot bluffing his way into the drivers seat in a powerful rwd M3 shortens those odds considerably.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'd also insist on seeing their drivers licence and insurance to ensure they're actually covered to drive it.

If you are meeting someone, absolutely without a doubt take someone else with you and if it were me I'd have another couple of mates in another car parked close by.

There are so many stories nowadays of people selling performance cars and meeting strangers in car parks etc etc only for the car to be taken from them and them left penniless and car-less.

If it were my car and a buyer was genuine, then I'd offer to meet them in the car park of the local Garda station. If the person declines or makes an excuse not to meet there then its safe to assume they're not a legit buyer. Theres a limited market for E92's and so you should be able to weed out the tyre kickers and those simply looking to get a spin in your car.

kdevitt

Just get them to provide proof of insurance - if they don't have cover to drive someone else's car, tell them they need to transfer their insurance for the period covering the test drive, and ask for proof of that transfer.

grogi

kdevitt wrote: »

Just get them to provide proof of insurance - if they don't have cover to drive someone else's car, tell them they need to transfer their insurance for the period covering the test drive, and ask for proof of that transfer.

And what good does the driving other cars cover to the seller? The driven car is typically explicitly excluded from the cover...

Dravokivich

kdevitt wrote: »

Just get them to provide proof of insurance - if they don't have cover to drive someone else's car, tell them they need to transfer their insurance for the period covering the test drive, and ask for proof of that transfer.

Insurance cert takes a few days to come through when transferring. No other means to provide proof. Are you going to wait 4/5 business days for each potential buyer?

Seriously, if you want to reduce your own doubt, just sit in the back of the car with'em while they are driving.

kdevitt

grogi wrote: »

And what good does the driving other cars cover to the seller? The driven car is typically explicitly excluded from the cover...

The driven car belongs to a third party, its covered. The point is that your buyer needs to provide evidence that the sellers car is covered in the event of an accident.

FWIW - I had no issues getting buyers to transfer their cover when coming to view my M3 when I was selling it.

Sexual Chocolate

Isla Calm Infantry wrote: »

You wouldn't leave the house in the morning if you worry too much about what if's. I've never heard of someone crashing a car on a test drive, it's exceptionally rare so the chances of it happening are tiny and being a betting man I always look at the odds.

Had it happen to me before, wasnt your man looking to buy it fault though, we were hit while stationary at lights but luckily very minor.

kdevitt

Dravokivich wrote: »

Insurance cert takes a few days to come through when transferring. No other means to provide proof. Are you going to wait 4/5 business days for each potential buyer?

Seriously, if you want to reduce your own doubt, just sit in the back of the car with'em while they are driving.

Most companies allow your to transfer now with their own portal, theres no new cert issued. You can also ring the insurance company to see which car is currently on the policy.

And sitting in the back of the the car is not much use if they put it into a pillar.

Sexual Chocolate

kdevitt wrote: »

The driven car belongs to a third party, its covered. The point is that your buyer needs to provide evidence that the sellers car is covered in the event of an accident.

FWIW - I had no issues getting buyers to transfer their cover when coming to view my M3 when I was selling it.

I think Grogi is trying to say that even third party entension cover still doesnt make any difference if the potential buyer was at fault in a crash.

JoeA3

I’d recommend trying some well established enthusiasts forums and their Facebook groups before throwing yourself at the vultures on DoneDeal.

I know of guys who’ve successfully sold performance cars that way. You’d feel far more comfortable showing the car to a guy who approached you that way rather than a cold caller on DD.

If it was a VW/Audi or even indeed the BMW - I’d deffo try the likes of Autostadt.ie and they have a very active Facebook presence now too.

grogi

kdevitt wrote: »

The driven car belongs to a third party, its covered.

No, it is not. In majority of the policies I've checked the "operated machinery" is excluded from the cover. So if the driver crashed, his policy will pay for the damages done to other drivers property and personal injuries. But the damage to the driven vehicle is not covered by a standard Driving Other Cars extension.
AXA and AA offer Comprehensive Driving Other Cars, but M3 would be excluded anyway on different grounds.

You would need to take the driver to court to force him to pay for the damages...

McCrack

Thanks lads - a lot of sensible suggestions to minimise risk:-

As I see it advertise on specialist sites, license, ins cert from own vehicle - driving other cars extension, proof of funds & gut feeling.

Prezatch

Out of interest, are you downsizing or upsizing? Care to share why?

PrettyBoy

I was selling an E46 a few years ago and got a call immediately after I placed the ad. We talked on the phone for about 20 minutes and I could tell he wasn't coming to kick the tyres. We spent a long time going over the car and the history and then it was time to drive it. I asked if he was insured to drive it and he told me straight out that he wasn't. I told him there's no way I could let him drive it because if anything happened then I'd be left with a wrecked car. I took him for a good spin, went through all the gears, showed him that everything works as it should and he was satisfied. When we got back he handed me the cash and then drove it from Dublin to Ashbourne uninsured.

OP, in your ad you should clearly state that no one will be driving the car without cash and proof of insurance. If someone is serious about buying an E92 they will expect as much for obvious reasons. The people that aren't serious and just want a shot of the car likely won't bother calling if they see that.

Murph76

I would never buy a car if i could not Testdrive it. This is one of the most important step for the one who is buying the car. You need to get a feeling for the car and be secured about the perfomance.

beertons

Murph76 wrote: »

I would never buy a car if i could not Testdrive it. This is one of the most important step for the one who is buying the car. You need to get a feeling for the car and be secured about the perfomance.

Thread is over 2 years old. That horse has long bolted.

MetzgerMeister

MOD: Thread closed.