I've seen a couple of e30 convertibles advertised recently (in the classic dealers I hasten to add) at what I think, very strong prices. It got me thinking.....Are e30 Convertibles REALLY rising in price this much??

The following 2 cars are in the current months editions of classic magazines. What do you think?

In Classic & Sportscar, WLN Automotive have a Calypso red 320i Manual convertible, 91 'J', 53k FSH, power hood  and black leather all for £5750. 01253-304487

AND

In Classic Cars the well known Bocking Garage in W. Yorkshire has a Cirrus Blue 89 'F' 325i convertible, 47k from new, Blue hood, apparently stunning for an amazing £7750!!!. Not stated is if its a manual or auto. contact 01535-642085

I'd be REALLY interested to know what these are really like in the steel, so to speak, considering I paid only £2900 last year, for my 89 auto which I think is now nigh on mint and very original (ok it has 102k up but does that drop the price by 5 grand???). Can anyone in that area maybe pop along to have a look and let us know?

Regards

Trevor

WLN Automotive are known for selling mint E30's at sky high prices. And from what i've heard of other people they usually are the mintest of mint and get the prices they are asking. Plus it's coming up to the summer so that normally bumps there prices up quite a bit.

I'm sure you could get a really good price for yours if you were to sell it at the right time

My mate is opting out of his company car & I've persuaded him to go for an E30 325 auto conv instead of a wobbly Saab 900.

We have WLN sourcing him one for £6500 or less with similar miles.  He can afford to go for the best as a Saab (or tired E36 conv) would be more than double that.

"Mint" is a relative term. What's mint to one person is "spares or repair" to another. £2900 sounds a bargain which ever way you look at it & 102k is nothing.

There is a similar situation with Six series. You can get a ropey money pit for £3k, a mint one for £11k from Munich Legends or an outwardly good one for £6k which may go either way.

I took the line of least resistance & went to ML who still spent £3k on my 64k mile example bringing it up to scratch.

You pays your money . . .

At least bringing an E30 up to scratch is relatively affordable - wings aren't £520 each + fitting !!!

Hang onto yours & look after it - it could be money in the bank!

Oh, don't get me wrong, I still think e30 covertibles are one of the safest places to put your money at the moment. Lets face it, you get naff all interest on your money in the bank so you may as well enjoy it. The car market is a fickle place to invest though, there are very few undiscovered "classics" out there. It's knowing when to jump in at the right time, the e30 convertible being the prime example at the moment it seems (along, I reckon, with the series 1 XJ6's). For once I appear to have jumped at the right time!

What I was trying to establish was, "can an 89 325i convertible really be worth a touch under 8k?", which lets face it, is fair e30 M3 / e34 M5 money. I personally would probably place 8k in a nice Shadow 2 or Bentley of some description.

Any more thoughts anyone.

Cheers

Trevor

I hear the arguments about an M3 for the same price but I don't think it's a straight comparison.

For a start, LHD is going to rule the M3 out for the majority and a rorty 4 cylinder appeals to a different market than a silky 6. Throw an auto box into the equation & you can see they're chalk & cheese.

The fact is, if you want a 4 seat convertible with a bit of class for under £10k there's not a lot of choice.  Nearly £8k is steep mind as WLN think £6.5k sufficient for a mintish example.

I agree it's not a straight comparison but if I was going to plough 7 to 8 k in a "classic" car surely the M3 would be a safer bet purely because thats the money people expect to pay and therefore could expect to get if you sold on. Not that you should ever use the car market to invest money in but I lose enough money on my day to day 5 series, without losing dough on the summer one as well.

So a recognised e30 specialist sees mint convertibles at £6500 to £7750. Thats good news for present owners. I'd be wary about paying it though. What if you had to to re sell? You'd have to wait along time for someone else to pay it. That said, Andy, would it not be worth you and your mate popping down there to see the cirrus one? I reckon they'd be mad not to take 7k and thats only £500 more to your mate and if its as good as they say.

Regards

Trevor

I agree an M3 would be more collectable but as an everyday car I would say the 325 is more useable.

All (non-collectable) cars depreciate - my own '98 Audi A6 2.4 lost £2.5k a year! The point of the 325 is that depreciation would be neglible. That was the attraction over a Saab etc.

WLN said £6250 give or take. Motorsports would be £1.5k - £2k more, an Alpina higher again. That's if you could find one.

For £6500 a "sensible" option would be a Ford Focus. Let's not go there!

As for looking at the pricey 325, my mate lives in Windsor hence the WLN scenario.  We'll see.

325 definately more usable

But for collectors theres no choice really, either the M3 or the motorsport

They only made 700 odd convertible M3's, I guess at least 200 plus of those are in Car heaven, leaving at most 500. They're now around 6.5 - 11k. Sort of money kids can drum up, so I guess in the next few years another 200 will take a rather big hit leaving maximum of 300 odd. Now that is a major collectable item.

As for the motorsport, I dont know how many were made but I know it wasnt a lot so you're probabaly talking the same

I he wants usability, plus collectabilty (i.e hanging or or going up in value) then the motorsport has got to be the one. And I have seen decent ones for about £6k

By the way, I do have an E30 M3 convertible that I intend to hang onto for a very long time when I've it back to mint condition !!!

There were 250 Motorsports in Macau blue or Sebring grey.

Other than an M-tec body kit & "bubble" leather there wasn't much between them & a std 325. Power roof & an lsd options were standard fit too.

They fetch very strong money over standard which I'm not entirely convinced is justified. IMHO M3's are too cheap but then so are 6-series!

My own dearly beloved 635 is a Motorsport edition. Apart from M'sport only Misano Red all the other "extras" such as lsd, M-tec wheel etc were available as options.  There doesn't seem to be any price premium for them.

Thanks.  

I think it's the colour that makes it so eye catching.

all this talk makes me wonder what my 325i convertible is actually worth as im considering selling it.

1988 in diamond black - genuine 55k miles with fsh (95% of which is bmw main dealers)

totally unmolested (except for a set of genuine alpina rims)

heated black leather sports seats

good hood (new rear window being fitted in next week or so)

Auto or Manual and (honestley) what contition is it in? It's certainly the right spec and if its a manual and immaculate, also very desirable.

Going by the prices I've seen recently, £4500 to £5000 would seem feasable if it's really nice. I've seen them fly off drives at £3500 (and they were not perfect, just nice original) which makes them seem too cheap. I'd put (on a private sale basis) £4250ono to take £4k............if it's as good as it sounds.

Regards

Trevor

its a manual.

i took it to an e30zone meet and everyone said how quiet the engine is. 

It drives like a new car.

No rust

Paint is good but has a few small scratches in the lacquer - nothing deep or anything tho

Leather is really good, no rips or tears

The alpina rims wud not be going with the car, itd be on a nice set of 15" bbs x-spokes instead.

Ive seen sh***** with 150k on the clock up for £3500, which is what made me wonder what mine is worth with the condition and the mileage etc.

Theres an interesting story behind the car, it was owned from new by a uk business man who had a business here in uk and another in spain.
He took the car out to spain to use there and regd it out there etc (proper uk car tho) but used to bring it back for servicing to the uk !!!! Hence the fact the mileage is so low.
Ive bought it now and for a car of its age its amazing.
HOWEVER im still a kid at heart, and i wanted one i cud modify a touch - nothing chav, just lowered, zone chip, exhaust etc - but this one is simply too good and too original to do that too.
Apart from myself its only had one owner all its life.

Hi , new to here and a little bit confused! First let me say I am not trying to sell my car here, only ask for advice about seling it!

I have a 1988 320i Cabriolet (auto, silver). It has done 129000 miles but is stunning engine wise (full servioce history). Body wise, had new roof last year (manual) and has a couple of spots where rust starting to come through (very small).

My question is...why can't I sell it???  It has been advertised in local papers for a couple of weeks and not one single response! £2250 is my asking price and it is a lovely original example. Just wondering if anyone has advice on how / where to sell it.

Thanks,

First of all I've seen the other post and 2250 is not too high. That is "quick sale required" money.........if advertised in the right place. Try putting it in TOTAL BMW magazine. I believe it's free even with a photo and people looking for one are more likely to look there. Also the classic mags. Theres a couple of mags out there that are purely for selling and it's free to advertise there also.

Unfortunately, yours being the 2litre and an auto may make it more difficult to sell. People really go more for the 2.5's especially in manual as they have a lot more BHP for not a lot more fuel outlay.

Cheers

Trevor

THANKS TREVOR - I KNOW ITS WORTH THE MONEY I'M ASKING - I REALLY DON'T WANT TO SELL BUT MY CHILDREN ARE BIGGER NOW AND IT'S TOO MUCH OF A SQUEEZE. I'M NOT PARTICULARLY IN A HURRY TO SELL AND AM LOATH TO LET IT GO FOR NEXT TO NOTHING!

THANKS FOR THE ADVICE,

BAARBS.

whitey wrote: First of all I've seen the other post and 2250 is not too high. That is "quick sale required" money.........if advertised in the right place. Try putting it in TOTAL BMW magazine. I believe it's free even with a photo and people looking for one are more likely to look there. Also the classic mags. Theres a couple of mags out there that are purely for selling and it's free to advertise there also. Unfortunately, yours being the 2litre and an auto may make it more difficult to sell. People really go more for the 2.5's especially in manual as they have a lot more BHP for not a lot more fuel outlay. Cheers Trevor

I know what you mean re the kids. I've just had 4 glorious days in Cornwall. The weather was fantastic. Unfortunately we had to take the 5 series though purely due to the size. I've only got one daughter but there was no way everything would have gone in the 325. While driving around the lanes down there, all I could think about was "it would be better with the hood down!".  Years of searching for a high spec e39 with a sunroof finally paid off.

It will sell for that. It's the right colour (quite rare in an early e30 convertible) and the hood is a major selling point being new. Mine is white (although I think it suits it) and had the usual bubbling here and there. It's the 325 but still an auto but it does have the indigo leather. It's got 102k up fully historied and had had a new blue hood. I paid £2900 for that (i've since done a further £1000 on it though) and I consider that cheap. I would put yours at £2650 all day long if it's as good as you say.

In the last 2 isuues of Total BMW, WLN (the company listed above with the red 320) have had 2 further e30 convertibles advertised at once again top money. This month they have a green 325 I believe, in at £7750, and thay had a different one in last month, again at top money. I'll see if I can dig out the copies and get the spec etc. Another dealer (the 80's emporiam I think) has just let a very clean 320i auto with similar miles to yours go for about the £3500 mark and that was Kashmir Beige with a brown hood, Not a colour I'd entertain but very 80's. So your price is very attractive, it just needs to be seen.

Further to the above the 2 cars advertised recently by WLN are a 92"K" Kashmir Beige 320i auto, 59k, power hood and leather for £5950 and this month a 92"J" Green (looks like Boston Green) 325 manual,56k Power hood and leather for £7250.

Looks to me like they are moving for this money as well.

This one looks nice. No leather but low mileage and appears immaculate.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4559138686&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=455 9138686&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Trevor

I've got a 320i convertible that I need to sell (new car on the way), so I'm trying to work out what to ask for it.

It was registered in 11/89, it's done 103,000 miles, it's automatic, Atlantis Blue with natural leather and it has air-con (not currently working), 15 inch factory wide wheels and ABS. The interior is in amazingly good condition, the body/paint is very good, except for a dent and scrape (probably £600 to repair properly) the back window is broken (£270 ish to fix) and it uses a lot of oil (1 ltr every 300-400 miles). It's had two owners (my mother and me!). 

It would be really helpful if anyone could give me an idea of what sort of price I should expect to sell it for (private/trade)?

Driver, The problem you have is that it needs work. You need to find someone who is willing to spend time and money to get it straight and up to scratch. Without seing the damage it's difficult to price but I would say, privately, around the £1500 mark would be a fair price. That gives the buyer room to get the paint and window sorted. The oil usage could make it very awkward though.

The prices we are quoting earlier in this thread are for really outstanding (or at least they should be) totally original low milers that need no fettling at all. You see e30 convertibles on eBay all the time at very little money and nearly always they need work. These are not cheap cars to restore and a totally original factory finish (IMO) will always be worth more than a restored one no matter how good it is. Which is why I've only kept my restoration to a minimum thereby maximising the originality.

Regards

Trevor