What's this BMW Wagon worth?

This car is for sale near my house. It's not on Craigslist, just parked beside the road. It's a 2003 BMW 3 series all wheel drive wagon, automatic, with 180k miles. It has a crunched front fender that can't be saved but I think the bumper is salvageable. The front turn signal is broken. I don't know anything else about it other than the fact that it has a "Caring for Pets" license plate on it, so it probably smells like dogs. I have a friend who is wagon shopping (non car-guy) and I'm trying to figure out what would be a fair offer.

In reply to Woody:

i would say around 4k, bolt on a matching fender and a new light good to go.

Chris

cdowd wrote: In reply to Woody: i would say around 4k, bolt on a matching fender and a new light good to go. Chris

I was about to say 3500-4k........if it were a manual, book would be the same, but could be sold for closer to 8k....

Four grand seems like a lot for a car with 180,000 miles and body damage. Would you pay that?

It's a 2003 BMW, yes, it's likely it would sell for that no problem if everything else checks out. The only cars close to that locally are a $5500 330ci with a salvage title and a crappy respray, and a $5600 2003 X5 with 276,000 miles. I doubt they'll get that much but it'll be over $4000.

The wagons are also rare enough to command a little premium.

$6000 - $8000 is about the going rate for good ones - 5spds get the premium. Mileage is a little high, but doesn't hit the price like you would think.

My price point was what you could sell it for, as I misunderstood the question......if I were buying, I'd say 2500 all day due to the body damage.(give some story about $500 headlights.....)

$2500 - 3500

Get a look at the front axle boots - If they are torn, raxles.com in FL... about $250 for both. It is an easy job.
Rear springs - they rusted and broke on early models living in the salt belt. Unchecked, the dampers could be blown and the perches rusted too.

Other than that - it's the GM auto in '03 and they do die but they are not ZF expensive to replace. 180k is a lot of miles on an auto with "lifetime fill" though... just sayin'

I'd be lowballing it.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Other than that - it's the GM auto in '03 and they do die but they are not ZF expensive to replace. 180k is a lot of miles on an auto with "lifetime fill" though... just sayin' I'd be lowballing it.

I know nothing about these cars. GM auto even on the AWD?

All this recent BMW wagon talk is getting my craiglist finger happy...

Not savable? Son, that fender is "NOS like new" to someone like me! Granted, on that car it's probably cheaper to buy a used fender in the same color, but I'd break out my body hammers on that bad boy first...

As for price? I dunno man, the miles are high, it's 10 years old, and it has damage. $3K is the max I would go, as-is.

Woody wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Other than that - it's the GM auto in '03 and they do die but they are not ZF expensive to replace. 180k is a lot of miles on an auto with "lifetime fill" though... just sayin' I'd be lowballing it.

I know nothing about these cars. GM auto even on the AWD?

Yes, IIRC it is a GM A5S390R before the '05 model year in the 325/330xi models.

Thanks everybody.

I'd try to get it for $3K or so. If they're realistic about the damage and the miles, they'll probably take close to that. If you're serious, you might want to run a CarFax understand any additional accidents, and if the title is clear or not (make sure it's not a buyback).

I am not sure how familiar you are with old BMW's, but they come with some conditions. They will need almost all the suspension bushings redone, the cooling system will probably need redone, the rear subframes occasionally rip their mounts from the body, and at least one of the window regulators will fail annually. Fun cars though.

There's a MINT 2003 locally with manual trans and 160k miles for $3500. It's been for sale for a month with no bites. E46 values have TANKED....

At 180K, redoing some of the 100K preventative maintenance items is looming ahead. If I was the seller, I'd be happy with anything over $2250. Even at that price, a non car person buyer may feel butt hurt if they see a thousand dollar estimate for wear and tear items, not including the fender damage, on a 10 year old dog taxi.

MrJoshua wrote: I am not sure how familiar you are with old BMW's, but they come with some conditions. They will need almost all the suspension bushings redone, the cooling system will probably need redone, the rear subframes occasionally rip their mounts from the body, and at least one of the window regulators will fail annually. Fun cars though.

^This, at this age and miles it is a car that will need looking after. It's why as much as I loved mine I talked my dad out of getting one too. Not really the best choice for a "non-car" person unless the don't mind paying for the upkeep.

In an effort to keep opinions unbiased, I purposely omitted his asking price, which is $3800. Since he's not advertising it anywhere that I can find, I'll see if it's still around in a week or so and offer $1500.