Z3 Sale - advice needed

[GrandadJim]

Hi everyone,

complete newbie first time poster here so please be gentle!! Firstly, apologies if this is in the wrong area, mods please feel free to move it if needed.

I inherited a Z3 from my dad a couple of years back and its been great fun to drive but its now getting to the stage where it needs some serious TLC. I'm not an enthusiast and have zero car maintenance/repair skills so i'm looking to possibly list the car for sale, however i have absolutely no idea whether it would even sell in its current condition and if it would, i don't know how much for? My main reason for asking for an idea of sale price before I post it is that i'll need to figure out buying some sort of cheap runaround pretty quickly so I need a rough idea of budget. Car specs/details are as follows:

- BMW Z3 2.8 pre-facelift widebody in atlanta blue with cream leather interior and heated seats.
- 79,000 miles
- 3 owners from new. My dad owned it from 2001 to 2017 and looked after it pretty well, spent its life in a garage. I now keep it in a garage too.

Problems with it are:
- various dents and scrapes including a fairly big dent on the crease of the boot lid and lots of badly touched up marks on the front bumper (both sides)
- driver side sill cover is missing - it was corroded through and I had to remove it last month to get it through the MOT (they failed it on the corrosion even though i argued the point)
- Rust spot on the passenger side top corner of the A pillar
- various other marks as you'd expect for a car of that age
- rear windscreen has the usual "cloudy" appearance as its never been replaced
- there is a small leak in one corner of the rear windscreen but nothing too bad

Any advice would be appreciated, happy to upload some photos if needed.

Cheers

James

****EDIT*****

loads of photos added (sorry they aren't the best, had to take them in the garage cos its hammering it down today!)

Also, whilst taking the photos I remembered the following important additional bits of info:
- Drivers side wing mirror has been superglued (yep, superglued!!) back together, you can see a run of glue below the wing mirror
- I don't have the rear wind deflector as it was broken way back
- I do have the leather cover for when the roof is down, its in pretty good condition, will grab a photo of it at some point.

 

[Paul Rice]

Photos a must

 

[GrandadJim]

Photos a must

fair point! photos added

 

[Paul H]

She's a bit beaten up, seen worse.

Theres currently a 2.8 pre facelift with roughly the same miles and in better shape on auto trader for a fraction under 2k. This is the cheapest I've seen a pre facelift 2.8 for a while so I'd be guessing somewhere not far off that figure. Few hundred quid under?

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me on current prices will chime in.

 

[Paul H]

Same button layout as mine, I'm guessing it's a 98?

 

[GrandadJim]

Same button layout as mine, I'm guessing it's a 98?

actually its a '99. I believe its right on the cusp of when they did a facelift.

 

[t-tony]

Hi James, where are you (and the car) located as that could have an impact on what someone may be prepared to pay you.

Tony.

 

[GrandadJim]

She's a bit beaten up, seen worse.

Theres currently a 2.8 pre facelift with roughly the same miles and in better shape on auto trader for a fraction under 2k. This is the cheapest I've seen a pre facelift 2.8 for a while so I'd be guessing somewhere not far off that figure. Few hundred quid under?

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me on current prices will chime in.

Sorry, not sure how i missed your first post! I appreciate your advice, thanks very much. £2k seems around the right sort of price, it may be that i'd be better off getting it fixed up before I sell it but I've been getting a bit frustrated trying to find somewhere that can do the bodywork and give it the attention it needs.

 

[GrandadJim]

Hi James, where are you (and the car) located as that could have an impact on what someone may be prepared to pay you.

Tony.

Hi Tony, I'm in Newbury, Berkshire

 

[Paul H]

Out of curiosity I've had a quick look online, I've managed to find 2 cars (2.8 ) in better condition for 1600 and 1750.

Seems prices are still on the low side.

 

[happytadpole]

Seems mostly cosmetic stuff needed so a lot will depend on the mechanical condition/service history. Parkers will tell you it's worth at least £500 and I've seen MOT failures advertised at this level.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/bmw/z3/roadster-1996/28-2d/61/used-prices/
But I'm sure you could get twice that from an enthusiast. Why not buy a sill from your BMW dealer or from
https://www.hubauer-shop.de/en/exterior-right-entrance-41218401406.html
Might be easier to sell...

 

[Paul Rice]

Looks a lot of work, if it had Sports seats and roll hoops would be worth breaking

 

[GrandadJim]

Seems mostly cosmetic stuff needed so a lot will depend on the mechanical condition/service history. Parkers will tell you it's worth at least £500 and I've seen MOT failures advertised at this level.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/bmw/z3/roadster-1996/28-2d/61/used-prices/
But I'm sure you could get twice that from an enthusiast. Why not buy a sill from your BMW dealer or from
https://www.hubauer-shop.de/en/exterior-right-entrance-41218401406.html
Might be easier to sell...

Thanks for the hubauer link, that could be really handy! I am half tempted to grab a sill and get it sprayed, fitting it doesn't look too difficult. Mechanically I know its really sound (I appreciate people wouldn't necessarily take my word for that!) as its spent all of its life bar a couple of years with either me or my dad, both of us have driven it sensibly. It also has a decent service history and a current MOT.

Thanks to everyone for the comments so far, really appreciate the advice. The reality is, it'll probably appear on the for sale section here some time soon, i may get a sill sorted first though.

Cheers

James

 

[Slam]

Welcome and GLWTS

 

[colb]

Bodywork is going to cost to put it right, you need to put the sill cover back before putting it up for sale, the mirror will cost a lot to replace and new sidelight to replace the broken one. Probably an enthusiast would pick it up as a project £1k would be my guess probably get offers for less.

 

[ktnez99]

Bodywork is going to cost to put it right, you need to put the sill cover back before putting it up for sale, the mirror will cost a lot to replace and new sidelight to replace the broken one. Probably an enthusiast would pick it up as a project £1k would be my guess probably get offers for less.

I’m with @colb on his appraisal here. The bodywork alone is going to cost and the mirror needs replacing. In it’s current condition you’re likely to get between £500-£1000. It’ll take some time to restore and you'll have to accept that what you spend now will not be realised if you decide to sell it shortly afterwards. If you’re “in love” with the car, then that’s a different story; if not, sell and don’t give yourself the grief of restoration.

Yours,

Restoration Experienced ktnez99

 

[GZed]

I’m with @colb on his appraisal here. The bodywork alone is going to cost and the mirror needs replacing. In it’s current condition you’re likely to get between £500-£1000. It’ll take some time to restore and you'll have to accept that what you spend now will not be realised if you decide to sell it shortly afterwards. If you’re “in love” with the car, then that’s a different story; if not, sell and don’t give yourself the grief of restoration.

Yours,

Restoration Experienced ktnez99

How can anyone not love a pre facelift wide arch 2.8?
Not that many left now either......

 

[the Nefyn cat]

It's not going to help that it's October already, there's still a bit of a lull in sales of soft-tops in winter. Still, by the time you get it sorted enough to sell it may have warmed up again.

 

[Sean d]

I'm in the market for another restoration job, I have PM'd the OP, If we could come to a deal I would do this one as it came from the factory

 

[Paul Rice]

I'm in the market for another restoration job, I have PM'd the OP, If we could come to a deal I would do this one as it came from the factory

Never say never!