[wakeboarder109]

I have a good friend who is selling his 1987 E30 325is, Alpine White over black, 5 spd with 82,xxx miles. The car is pristine and is all original. he is asking $7,500 for it. Anyone have any insight on the value for these? I'm trying to determine whether it's worth paying it or not.

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by wakeboarder109

I have a good friend who is selling his 1987 E30 325is, Alpine White over black, 5 spd with 82,xxx miles. The car is pristine and is all original. he is asking $7,500 for it. Anyone have any insight on the value for these? I'm trying to determine whether it's worth paying it or not.

That's probably reasonable based on what I've seen in the past but doesn't really constitute a good deal. 5,500 or so would be a pretty damn good deal.

[wakeboarder109]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

That's probably reasonable based on what I've seen in the past but doesn't really constitute a good deal. 5,500 or so would be a pretty damn good deal.

I would tend to agree but I don't think there would be any room to negotiate. If he didn't get $7,500 he would keep it.

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by wakeboarder109

I would tend to agree but I don't think there would be any room to negotiate. If he didn't get $7,500 he would keep it.

Then I guess you have a decisio n to make...

E30's that are clean, well maintained with reasonable miles are pretty rare. As such you'll find pricing all over the map.

If it's worth it to you and you'll keep it awhile? Maybe it's worth some serious consideration?

When I finished my undergrad I looked at E30's, E34's, E36's, E46's, E39's pretty exhaustively. E30 M3's were going for 12k or so in great condition (this was back in 2005). Now they're 30-45k...

I can't say a non E30 M3 would do similar, but I would suspect as it becomes more and more of a niche vehicle that you certainly don't stand a lose a whole lot and you may find yourself sitting on a 15k car by the end of the decade.

[evo335xi]

I guess it depends on what you want to do with the car. I would not buy it as a daily though. Maybe you could make some money off it in the years to come, if you can do upkeep.

[Chihuahua]

I have an '87 325iS. $7500 for the car, if truly pristine, is most definitely a good deal. E30 prices are increasing and really don't show much sign of slowing down, unless you're talking about an '84 or '85 318i. Those cars are good for scrap, or shells.

I used to buy good, clean, running 325e cars for a grand. Now a grand gets you an aforementioned shell. The cars I used to buy for a grand are now two and three times that. E30s are old, and the older they get the more the herd gets thinned out so to speak. Finding a really clean E30 is fairly difficult these days.

82,000 miles is incredibly low. He could probably go out on the open market and get 10, maybe more for that car (again, assuming it's pristine as described).

Have any pictures of the car?

[wakeboarder109]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

Then I guess you have a decisio n to make...

E30's that are clean, well maintained with reasonable miles are pretty rare. As such you'll find pricing all over the map.

If it's worth it to you and you'll keep it awhile? Maybe it's worth some serious consideration?

When I finished my undergrad I looked at E30's, E34's, E36's, E46's, E39's pretty exhaustively. E30 M3's were going for 12k or so in great condition (this was back in 2005). Now they're 30-45k...

I can't say a non E30 M3 would do similar, but I would suspect as it becomes more and more of a niche vehicle that you certainly don't stand a lose a whole lot and you may find yourself sitting on a 15k car by the end of the decade.

I am thinking the same thing. I know it would never be a high value car which I'm fine with. I think driving it a few more times may help to clear up my doubts.

[wakeboarder109]

Originally Posted by evo335xi

I guess it depends on what you want to do with the car. I would not buy it as a daily though. Maybe you could make some money off it in the years to come, if you can do upkeep.

It would not be a daily driver. My office is 5 miles round trip from my house so I may drive it once a week to the office. It would be more of a garage queen/long term BMW stablemate.

[wakeboarder109]

Originally Posted by Kyle B

I have an '87 325iS. $7500 for the car, if truly pristine, is most definitely a good deal. E30 prices are increasing and really don't show much sign of slowing down, unless you're talking about an '84 or '85 318i. Those cars are good for scrap, or shells.

I used to buy good, clean, running 325e cars for a grand. Now a grand gets you an aforementioned shell. The cars I used to buy for a grand are now two and three times that. E30s are old, and the older they get the more the herd gets thinned out so to speak. Finding a really clean E30 is fairly difficult these days.

82,000 miles is incredibly low. He could probably go out on the open market and get 10, maybe more for that car (again, assuming it's pristine as described).

Have any pictures of the car?

I was actually talking to him about that today and he was saying he really wants it to go to an enthusiast as opposed to just putting it on the open market for top dollar. If I get a chance I will take some pictures tomorrow. I was looking it over tonight and its amazing how clean it is for the year.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by wakeboarder109

I was actually talking to him about that today and he was saying he really wants it to go to an enthusiast as opposed to just putting it on the open market for top dollar. If I get a chance I will take some pictures tomorrow. I was looking it over tonight and its amazing how clean it is for the year.

NADA high retail for an '87 325iS is listed as $7450. I remember looking this up not too long ago (five years or so) and seeing something around $3000. They're definitely going up in value; M3s are skyrocketing, and since the 325i is the next best thing, they're going up too.

They're awesome cars, fun to mod, easy to work on, and DURABLE - something BMW has forgotten how to do lately.

[wakeboarder109]

Originally Posted by Kyle B

NADA high retail for an '87 325iS is listed as $7450. I remember looking this up not too long ago (five years or so) and seeing something around $3000. They're definitely going up in value; M3s are skyrocketing, and since the 325i is the next best thing, they're going up too.

They're awesome cars, fun to mod, easy to work on, and DURABLE - something BMW has forgotten how to do lately.

That is a substantial jump for 5 years. Unfortunately though, my buddy emailed me back this morning and said the previous owner has already committed to buying the car back.

That was the only email he sent out and took less than 24 hours.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by wakeboarder109

That is a substantial jump for 5 years. Unfortunately though, my buddy emailed me back this morning and said the previous owner has already committed to buying the car back.

That was the only email he sent out and took less than 24 hours.

Not surprising. The good ones go really fast.

If you ever do decide to go on an E30 hunt again please feel free to PM me if you need some advice. I've owned a bunch of them over the years, and sold them all except for the one I have now; that car will stay with me forever.

[E39lolz]

Originally Posted by wakeboarder109

I have a good friend who is selling his 1987 E30 325is, Alpine White over black, 5 spd with 82,xxx miles. The car is pristine and is all original. he is asking $7,500 for it. Anyone have any insight on the value for these? I'm trying to determine whether it's worth paying it or not.

Any pics? I had a friend who was selling a 87 325e with a s50 swap in 8/10 overall condition for $3500 and till this day I'm still kicking myself in the ass for not buying it. He was asking $6500 off the bat with no takers back in 2010 then offered it to me for a lousy $3500! For that price (your friends e30) try to find a s5x swapped e30, however, if the originality is of most importance, then your friends e30 is priced right.