What is my car worth ?

[sid10]

I have had my 2004 54plate BMW X5 3.0d Sport since 16 months old and 16000 miles , it has a full BMW service history , fully stamped up to date 3 green bars to go , MOTD in December so 11 months left . 90,000 miles new starter motor last year , towbar , Napa leather seats , front heated , BMW X6 summer wheels 6.25mm all round Pirelli no punctures , set BMW X6 winters Vredestein 5mm rears , 7mm fronts no punctures .
  I have been looking at E70s and now F15 as their prices are dropping fast .
What can I realistically ask in a private sale ?

[graemeX5]

Hi

I guess you'll get the offers of £20 from some but probably a lot more, most of the cars on pistonheads are via dealers and they will be priced higher.

The one below is a 2004 car with 75k miles, for £7250 but that's via a dealer so that could be £1500 more could be from so 5.5k to say 6.5k depending on condition and demand, but dealers offer more hpi finance etc so you may have to adjust accordingly.

Also as they shall better in the winter months when cold freezing weather so best to sell now before prices drop. A dealer would probably say £8k on forecourt looking at the prices on websites

I sold mine to brother in law in trade so got less and it was petrol but sold it in March before the prices dropped further

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 04/6428860

Graeme

[mogsyman]

I'd say you'd be lucky to get £6k trade in and it would be on a forecourt for around £8k

The additional wheels etc. Are of no interest in the trade in price, best selling those in eBay.

AW8 is your man for a definitive value.

[sid10]

Hi thanks , the car is in good condition some dealers are offering 3k , another 4K which is the same as a high mileage , not looked after dog . Makes you wonder why they mark theirs up so much for service history on the forecourt which they have bought out of a car auction !

[paddy wright]

Try we buy any car and see what they offer as this tends to be dealers starting points these days anyway.

[AW8]

My personal opinions....Values are all over the place.....Colour spec & options are factors. It is true that seasons impact prices but this does not mean that bad weather guarantees a quick or strong sale.

Many buyers wanting a used car between £3- £10k will avoid cars that have prospects of relatively high maintenance costs.

The significant difference between p/x offer & forecourt retail is supposedly to alow trade to adequately prep for a forecourt sale &/or stand by a used sale in event of any issues. Reality is many traders spend as !ittle as possible buying, preparing & dealing with post sale issues.

Used advert prces are worth considering, however, they need to taken within context.....The car in the PH advert has been advertised for a considerable while - thus opinions may vary as to whether it is corrctly priced to sell.

I can't proprely evaluate car without seeing it. That said, assuming colour, history spec and condition all good I would estimate a private asking price circa £6k (maybe an attention grabbing £5995) . Maybe consider geographical sale location when deciding asking price. Stating the obvious now but cars priced to sell will typically sell quicker than cars priced higher.

A 2004 facelift likely to have been BMW demo 1st so spec should be relatively good. I cant see the X6 alloys helping with the sale unless lucky enough to find a buyer who wants that look.

I check used E53 adverts near daily on various sites, look at completed sale prices, valuation guides as well as speaking to sellers. I feel I have a relatively good idea of prices & demand.

i was a litle curious re this car myself......albeit E53 wise I have primarily been more interested in manual box examples.

[sid10]

Hi thanks for you time and explanation!
The car is black with beige nappa leather interior , heated front electric seats , aftermarket witter towbar and fully stamped BMW service history from new , just had new starter motor last year , inspection 11 , new rear brake hoses , Bosch battery the year before , front ball joint at Xmas for mot . The wheels are almost identical to the style 132 on the facelifted version of which this one is although they just required front spigot rings as the rears are 72.6 as standard on an X6 anyway . ( as they are 2012 wheels makes the car look a lot better )
The car has had 2 new door catches replaced , 2 new BMW wing mirror glass , rear boot handle replaced . Anything it requires I try to source from main dealers although I did fit the door catches myself as it is quite an easy job .
I have all of the paperwork to back everything up as well , just a bit gutted to be offered 3k for a very well looked after car .
  I have looked at a lot of new cars E70 and F15 although whilst they are a step up , feel tighter they feel a bit dull  , I have been offered an ex Police 2014 BMW X5  E70 ,  under cover car with 74,000 miles , full service history , hpi clear and no damage although poverty spec , no radio but has a towbar a must for me , no leather or other toys 17k what do you think ?

[paddy wright]

That e70 sounds way way over priced with that spec and will be impossible to sell on- avoid!!!!

[sid10]

Dealers are wanting over 25k for poverty spec 2012/13 E70 se , not sure what to go for , may jump ship to Porsche !

[AW8]

sid10....


Re your E53 .....Sounds well cared for. Spec sounds ok albeit you don't mention Comms & audio set up. Personally not a fan of tan interiors but plenty of others seem fine with it.

As for the Ex Police 2014 E70 for £17k The questions I would ask myself would be.......

1. Can you happily live with what you describe as poverty spec for £17k ?

2. Can you find something nicer for your £17k (even if a bit older) ?

3. You indicate that car lacks appeal to you, (an enthusiast), so perhaps consider any later owner will face same dilema before buying it from you.

4. Generally consumeables & broken bits get sorted but police cars can still be pushed to auction if deemed end of useful life or more financially viable than causing significant work being done...Don't assume a lack of fault codes.

5.It is unlikely to have been thrashed every hour of its working life & an E70 can tolerate being driven with enthusiasm regularly. Do consider that emergency vehicles can be driven relatively hard from cold....e.g. 1st 999 call of early shift.

6. The description "under cover car" is open to interpretation. A police E70 is highly likely to have been used by traffic or a specialist unit often needing to get from A-B relatively quickly !  (rather than static observations or ferrying senior officers to meetings).

7. If it does not have audio/nav then factor in cost to instal acceptable kit.

8. I would consider a basic spec ex police E70, if price too cheap to ignore, & perhaps if my prime use would be to use it as a work tool....e.g  use towing, light off road etc.....To me that means being 3rd owner on a 2008 car sub £10k.

Hope this helps - feel free to PM me.Your

[AW8]

[quote="sid10"]
Dealers are wanting over 25k for poverty spec 2012/13 E70 se , not sure what to go for , may jump ship to Porsche !
[/quote]

IMO...You dont need to spend £17k to get into a tidy & nice spec E70 30d.

Why does it have to be 2012/13 or newer ?

[sid10]

Hi I bought this one only 16months old , 16,000 miles and have kept it in the hands of a main dealer ever since , I thought the older the car the more troublesome it maybe as I knew the former owner of mine , a 2008 or 2009 model may have had more owners and will proberbly have more mileage than mine hence my dilemma I was hoping for an 8 speed box so 2010 April on . The difference between these and 2013 seems about 2.5k , there is a local one at a main dealer £23895 2010 30d MSport and a 2013 se £25895 at a  dealer 50 miles away both seven seats which is a bonus , both with 40,000 miles but both require a tow bar about £700 .
  I would rather have a newer car but with M sport pack on , tempted by a X5M 2011 at 28k but the new F15 are dropping to low 30s .
  Do I go dealer and pay the premium as I don't want to buy a ringer or financed car to have it taken back or buy one that needs everything ?

[AW8]

Like many you seem cautious buying used and are sensibly keen to avoid repair bills. If you can afford new or approved used then those routes may be best.

Some new and used cars can still go wrong ocasionally..Just because a used car has only had one previous owner does not mean it will want for nothing in the next owners hands. Case in point your own E53. Sure it has been well cared for but you have still had to pay out to sort issues in ownership.

If keen to avoid repair bills then perhaps consider a new BMW or approved used. You could also look at taking out a BMW warranty yourself. If buying private or indy trade consider getting car checked over at a BMW independent or perhaps take a code scanner or phone with carly app if you know how to same quickly & safely, ( if seller not taking issue).

Your heart seems to be on the E70 models with 8 speed box. I accept that an LCI 8 speed box car with other improvements is more desireable than a 2008/9 car but with 2008 cars available so much cheaper I would be asking if a newer LCI model was really worth all the extra thousands of pounds to me.

As for avoiding ringers or cars with finance. You can perform an HPI check yourself, check VIN numbers, check presence of all keys, check authenticity of history by doing MOT checks if car over 3 years old, check paperwork, invoices etc. You can call BMW to verify hisory. Check V5 & watermark. If buying through trade or privately you should only buy from sellers premises.....if in doubt ask to see household billls &/or if really wanting to be careful take a photo of seller holding V5.

A one owner car  is not a guarantee a car has always been pampered. Plenty of one owner cars get part exchanged or returned by 1st keepers to dealers with scuffed bumpers, kerbed alloys & parking dinks....allegedly some cars might only get oil added at oil change time. Some might reject even the best prepared cars on forecourts if they had seen the state of them when in prior ownership.

The tidiest one owner cars can be ones bought direct from the 1st private owner. Sadly & owing to the way customers buy cars nowadays such cars can be difficult to source, (as the car often represents equity at change time).

Be careful not to over focus on the tow bar maths....IMO not that relevant when talking of cars up to £30k & on which you should be able to negotiate more than £700 on the screen price.

Btw I have also sent you PM idea as to a better way to spend £17k on an LCI E70

[sid10]

Hi AW8
            lots to think about !
I was quite shocked that a full service history car with low mileage was worth no more than a high mileage car with no history .
I think a dealer car is the only way to go with a warranty & sell my car privately thankyou for your help .
  regards
      sid10

[snrbrtsn]

The towbar shouldn't be a deal breaker!

I just got a westfalia detachable towbar for mine, £222 from PF jones
Dedicated wiring kit was £125
So all in £347,
I'll be fitting myself having recently fitted F07 and previously E60 I foresee the job is not worth the monies of having fitted, the only nuisance is the rivets though easily overcome and easy to source the gun and rivets.

Good luck with you car searching!