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eBay Spanker of a 2.2 Sport on ebay 27k miles

And hopefully people on here know that although my head may be in the numbers my heart is very much in hands on. Speaking of which I'm back from hols on Lanzarote tomorrow (hence the temporary Spanish flag) and will be trying to get the 2.2 engine swap finished in time for Santa Pod on 2 Jul :)

https://zroadster.org/threads/2-2-engine-replacement-project.17379/
 
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We fall into both camps on this one. We both love the retro looks of the Z3 and have had one in the garage pretty much continuously since 2003 and now that money in the bank is actually depreciating it seemed like a good time to buy a nice Z3M. If it holds its value then we have enjoyed it for free, but if values carry on climbing then it will be a good investment. You cannot however put a price on the feeling when you floor the throttle in second and keep on flooring it through the gears.........priceless.
 
Going back to the original post, the car looks to be a nice example but the guy has serviced it himself since he bought it in 2010 so the service history will be down to trusting what he says he has done.
There's a lot of discussion about what that does to the value. I was pulled up for one missing stamp in the book when l put mine up for sale.
 
And I'd want to see a full service history on this too if I was going to pay the asking price ;)
 
lightning said:
Going back to the original post, the car looks to be a nice example but the guy has serviced it himself since he bought it in 2010 so the service history will be down to trusting what he says he has done.
There's a lot of discussion about what that does to the value. I was pulled up for one missing stamp in the book when l put mine up for sale.
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Lightning - sent you a PM re your car. Cheers. Simon
 
I see in the listing they're asking for a £500 non refundable deposit.

Are these people for real?

Do they think that inspires confidence in a buyer?

So it'll cost us £500 to go travel to see their car, and lose it if it's not as described?

Absolute nonsense, how many potential buyers has this put off?
 
I have a Buell motorbike that I bought new in 2001 that has not been back to the dealer since the warranty ran out. Serviced at home as and when due and usually before it is due. Dealer stamps in the book are just so much ink and not a true indicator of a vehicles condition. Only my take on things of course and sadly a stamped up service book seems to be the holy grail for most buyers these days.
 
Lazzzydog said:
I have a Buell motorbike that I bought new in 2001 that has not been back to the dealer since the warranty ran out. Serviced at home as and when due and usually before it is due. Dealer stamps in the book are just so much ink and not a true indicator of a vehicles condition. Only my take on things of course and sadly a stamped up service book seems to be the holy grail for most buyers these days.
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I don't think that's quite what I'm representing. If I was to spend top end money on a Z3 I want to see an unbroken lifetime history of care and attention. A stamped up service book with at least yearly oil changes is one such route. Records and receipts from you home servicing would be another route. Independant BMW specialists or back street garages, whatever.

So you're right that a stamped up service book isn't necessarily the be all and end all although I would still say if you want the very best price it's necessary provenance. But the flip side is if it isn't stamped up then you need to see some evidence of due care and attention throughout the lifetime.

It's only logical that a stamped up service book, with all related receipts is going to be the best provenance and consequently price if you are comparing otherwise identical cars. The price inevitably gets adjusted back from that level of provenance.

And even if I wasn't bothered. I have to think about when I sell the car on one day to someone who might be bothered.

If liking to know my cars/possessions in general have been well looked after (and will continue to be) and that I'm making best use of that scant resource called money then I'm happy to be called awkward/a fuss pot :)
 
I viewed a 2.2 sport in Dakar yellow months ago for a forum member and told him to leave well alone. It wasn't a nice car though it had a hardtop with it and new red roof. It was up at £5995. It has just sold for £4995. As already said each car is worth what someone is willing to pay.
 
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I personally wouldn't be paying over the odds for low mileage as that in itself can bring it's own problems. But, if low mileage is important to someone they will likely pay a premium and good luck to them. It's a lot of car for the price and depreciation, even if used as intended, will be far lower than a new car. If it were to appreciate then happy days. Thankfully (IMO) Z3s will always be affordable as were MGBs in there time: the best MGBs can now be had for circa £15K and Z3s fill a similar market. These cars should be looked after and used as intended, they are not really investment vehicles due to the numbers produced. Just my opinion of course.:)
 
Hindsight is a wonderful thing! If we could anticipate the markets we would all be millionaires, (maybe some off you are)? The problem for a lot of us is that as much as we enjoy our playthings my real income has been falling for a couple of years now.
I still think back to a couple of years ago when an S54M roadster in Phoenix yellow (my fave),sold on eBay for around £7800 and I couldn't,t bring myself to make the final bid, who would have thought the same cars would be around the 25k plus mark so soon after!
We were thinking of selling the Turkish 2.8 as it has been sat sorned for a year with just too many other things going on to put any time or money into a light restoration project, the way prices are going I think I will just hang onto her, especially the Marmite colour should make it a pretty rare car?
 
julie z3 said:
Hindsight is a wonderful thing! If we could anticipate the markets we would all be millionaires, (maybe some off you are)? The problem for a lot of us is that as much as we enjoy our playthings my real income has been falling for a couple of years now.
I still think back to a couple of years ago when an S54M roadster in Phoenix yellow (my fave),sold on eBay for around £7800 and I couldn't,t bring myself to make the final bid, who would have thought the same cars would be around the 25k plus mark so soon after!
We were thinking of selling the Turkish 2.8 as it has been sat sorned for a year with just too many other things going on to put any time or money into a light restoration project, the way prices are going I think I will just hang onto her, especially the Marmite colour should make it a pretty rare car?
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Well for some reason 2.8s never normally appeal to me. But a Turkish Green 2.8? I think that's quite a special car and would certainly appeal to me. I think that has definite potential as an investment and is no doubt already worth a good few quid if it's a tidy enough car.
 
Tfp said:
I see in the listing they're asking for a £500 non refundable deposit.

Are these people for real?

Do they think that inspires confidence in a buyer?

So it'll cost us £500 to go travel to see their car, and lose it if it's not as described?

Absolute nonsense, how many potential buyers has this put off?
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My pet chuckle with dealers is when they ask for an "Administration fee"
 
I've always noticed that there are 2 distinct types of buyer.

The first will only buy from a dealer, thinking its the only way to have a secure purchase, and would never go to a private deal, hating the uncertainty of it. These people are the ones to pay £7995, and will believe all the talk about investment etc

The second would only buy privately, thinking that it will always be cheaper, and has confidence that his car buying skills will save him a lot of money. These buyer would want the same car at £3995 or less.

I know a car dealer well, and I'm appalled by his method of buying any car, sending down to the car wash for a gold clean, on the forecourt at full price, no work done. He just waits for interested buyers, and will do whatever work they point out if it makes a sensible sale, with many wanting no work at all. Always best to buy private in my mind.
 
If a car is doing low mileage, is there a need for annual servicing? (although it won't do any harm)
For instance would you change the oil and filter if the car has only done 1200 miles since last year? BMW say no need, a "low mileage" service can be done every 24 months according to them.
Presumably in those cases you'd ignore the service lights as they'd still show a full set of green lights.
 
lightning said:
If a car is doing low mileage, is there a need for annual servicing? (although it won't do any harm)
For instance would you change the oil and filter if the car has only done 1200 miles since last year? BMW say no need, a "low mileage" service can be done every 24 months according to them.
Presumably in those cases you'd ignore the service lights as they'd still show a full set of green lights.
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I wouldn't service a car that's only doing 100 to 1,000 or so miles a year, might have an inspection done after two/three years just to keep a stamp in the book.

This car looks nice in the pictures, and I'm sure it's been on autotrader recently up for £10,995 at a dealership.

But asking people to pay a non refundable £500 deposit before seeing it is not helping.

People will just see that as they'll lose £500 if they turn up and it's not as described.
 
Yeah that's absurd. Nobody in their right minds would pay it surely?
He's probably doing it to stop timewasters. As in go and collect the car within 48 hours of the auction ending. He does encourage viewing before you bid, which is always adviseable.
As for service history on the car, he says "use based servicing" has been carried out. The advert reads like it was serviced in 2010 and then nothing until this year, when it was serviced again.
Seven years is a bit too long if that's the case, although l bet the engine and transmission are still fine.
 
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