What are they really worth?

[weirdfish]

I know, they're worth what someone is willing to pay, but I thought I'd ask anyway.
You hear people saying that they are becoming quite rare now so must still be worth something, on the other hand, they are big thirsty petrol guzzling beasts which are not flavour of the month if you think of the direction we are heading.
I might add that I'm talking about the 4.6is, ( particularly the Estoril blue which seem to be few and far between ).
Are they worth more in parts? Engines/gearboxes/trim/bodyparts all seem expensive on the usual sites.
I often think about selling as mine gets very little use, ( I have a van for everyday use ), but then when I do drive it I just feel it's a nice place to be, and it can keep up with a lot of stuff on the road today, it does have a few niggles, gearbox sometimes gives the dreaded lurch when stopping, but only once it's warmed up. Depending upon which angle it's parked up on I sometimes get a top end noise when starting from cold, almost like a tappet sound, but this more or less goes in a second or two once the oil gets up there.
I live with these niggles simply because I know if it goes anywhere to have them sorted it's not going to be cheap, and I think is it worth spending the money.
Anyway, I just thought I'd ask the question to see what you guys think.

[henrym3]

Well obviously I like them because I have one. I haven’t spent much on it in the last few years, certainly way less than I would spend getting something new. I think they are worth way more in bits but way to difficult to do, take for ages and turn the driveway or garage into a scrap yard. I’ll keep mine until the authorities tax me out of it. It goes to the paint shop on Monday for a tidy up, still no rust. I have just fitted an Android HU which works fine with the DSP and the Resler module and app. It’s as good as anything in a modern car. With my computer skills it will probably take 6 months to figure out everything it can do. I suppose the main reason I’ll keep it is that of the three cars I have it’s the newest (only19 yo) and they are my hobby.. I just wasted over £70 on a auxiliary water pump because the old one had stopped working or so I thought, because it’s difficult to get at I put some pins through the wires at a convenient spot got voltage so diagnosed the pump. As the plug fits in at the bottom of the pump over the years it had got water in and rusted the internals of the plug. So all it needed was a new plug. So don’t get lazy with your diagnostics sort of undone all that good work I done on the LPG

[weirdfish]

I wouldn't break it myself, as you say, it's a job that would take too long and probably not go down well with swmbo.
Also, it would be such a shame to scrap what is still a very sought after vehicle, I suppose it just comes down to the financial aspect if, or when selling.
I've just come home from a 10 day stay in the covid ward at our local hospital, and it's going to be a very long road to recovery by the looks of things, as such I've sort of re-evaluated what's important in my life, yes, it was that bad at one point in there.
A couple of things that were on the back burner before I got covid have since been sorted, and it feels quite liberating the fact that they're done, so I guess I shouldn't be dithering over the x5 really, but then I'd always promised myself a certain car at some point in my life, so maybe that's the stumbling block, do I pull the trigger now, or wait until I can safely drive again.

[sapphireblack]

No modern car is cheap to maintain, my humble 4.4 probably cost double my purchase price in new parts and maintenance. Its been gone a few years now but i still miss the V8, to a level i thought about buying a V8 X6m, but the numbers simply don't stack up when selling a deisel now its being demonised.

[StuBeeDoo]

10 years ago I broke my E30, because it was worth next to nothing as a complete car (it was "only" a 320i touring, and the only ones that were making money were 325i Sports). I wouldn't have been able to do it at home because of lack of space but was fortunate enough to be able to do it where I worked at the time. TBH I wouldn't do it again, even if I had the space. It was such a pain dealing with chancers on eBay. Yes, I made over £3k out of what was realistically a £500 car even before the rot set-in, but the aggravation and length of time it took to sell all the desirable parts took the shine off it. Three years before I found the terminal rot I had spent north of £2k rebuilding the 2.7 engine. That sold for £250 to a chav who was going to pull it apart because all he wanted was the block and crank. The engine was mint, it had only done 35k - and over 99% of that was on LPG - it would have done another 200k without major work.
In the 10 years I owned the car I had thrown in excess of £12k at it, mostly on upgrades - Hartge 16" wheels, Recaro seats retrimmed in factory cloth to match the rest of the interior, glass sunroof panel imported from the USA, the 2.7 engine, full respray + new genuine BMW front wings, H&R/Bilstein suspension, polybushed right through; the list goes on and on.
I could have kept the car and had it off the road for a few weeks every MOT-time having a welder chase the rust around the floorpan, but it's knowing when it's time to cut your losses. I don't suppose that even now it would have sold for more than £500 as a complete car, and it would have had more than 300k on the odometer.

[Greydog]

I checked a site "how many left" it showed 846 peak registrations in 2003 and Q1 2021 247 on the road with 209 sorn
So I guess they are getting thin on the ground, like Henry the 4.6 (in Estoril) is a hobby as much as a well used daily driver. Again like Henry the paint is terrible now and will get attention soon. What is it worth ? well to get a car that can pull a horse trailer with 2 fat horses in it when needed. Get 5 dogs in the back and 3 or 4 old blokes inside and trundle happily over green lanes and farm land when out shooting I would spend a lot more than the 4.6 would fetch on the market. The real question is would whatever it is be better?? would whatever be as reliable ?? Like a comfortable pair off good walking boots it fits me well and at my age will see me out

[Themoog2]

I'm always searching the classifieds and I have noticed a hike in prices of 4.4 and 4.8 models. Whether they are selling at those prices is a different matter.
Ive looked at many and the ones I've seen are definitely not worth what the sellers want. If it was then my 4.4 is worth 6k all day long.
The 4.6 on the other hand is a bit more tricky. For one to fetch a price north of 5k it would have to be in really good shape.
If the 4.6 had been badged an M car from the factory it would be totally different. It would seem that only people in the know / enthusiasts know what they are.
Personally I have never seen a 4.6 out on the road and I'm always on the look out for E53's. I see mainly diesel cars.
I like the fact that I'm driving around in a 20 year old V8 SUV that you rarely see.
As stated before, it's such a practical vehicle - nearly a van with the seats folded but with more comfort. I'm a plasterer by trade and what I sometimes carry in it amazes me. I one had 12 plaster boards on the roof and 6 bags of multi in the back plus tools etc and it was no trouble at all. I always get comments from customers about my choice of transportation and they are always positive and can't believe how old it is.
If I ever spot a silver 4.6 with red leather though I'm having it.. I missed out on one a few months ago and regret that.

[IanP]

When I sold my 4.6 4 years ago, it went straight to a breaker even though it was in perfect condition. I had fully rebuilt the engine about 15000 miles earlier, but the buyer said he could make a lot of money with the car in bits

[henrym3]

You just never know what tomorrow’s desirable classic will be. I bought my m3 21 years ago for less than the 4.6 is worth now. (4.5k) and its probably worth north of £50k today. Those figures suggest there are 38 4.6ltr on the road, so yes, very rare to see one. Probably even more rare to bump into anyone who knows. Greydog, you made my day.

[lezmtaylor]

When I enter my 2002 4.4 E53 X5 they do not list any !! any idea why ?

Lez

[Alan Gunn]

Same with my 2002 diesel it list 2 i think it was and there are 2 local to me plus mine.

[X5-D-Sport]

I have a 2005 D-Sport in nice condition, & WE BUY ANY CAR were only offering £1300 for it in PERFECT order,
so that would probably be dropped to £800 if that, if i took it to them to sell it, as it is 15 years old so it cannot possibly be in perfect order.

It looks like I will be keeping it until the engine or gearbox lets go, then I will break it or scrap it.

[X5Sport]

I would think it’s probably worth more than that given the way used car prices are going at present. Those types of car buying sites are never going to give you the best. You might get offered £800 but I bet it goes on their forecourt for a good deal more,

[sapphireblack]

Isn't it the case that WBAC.com is owned by BCA, who buy at absolute rock bottom then auction off at a profit. OK, dealers are dealers and no one forces you to sell to WBAC, but it still leaves a bad tasting pill to swallow.

I believe Cinch is the new-ish retail arm of WBAC.com and BCA?

[X5-D-Sport]

I would think it’s probably worth more than that given the way used car prices are going at present. Those types of car buying sites are never going to give you the best. You might get offered £800 but I bet it goes on their forecourt for a good deal more,

.

Aint that the truth... probably £2500 on the forcourt