unsold BMW (again!)

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Fri 7 Apr 2006 10:21
unsold BMW (again!) - apm
Hi all,

My GF's 318 Ci (E46, 2000 V, 70k, climate, CD autochanger, cloth, very good nick, metallic steel blue) remains unsold, coming up for the 6th week in autotrader. Went from £9k (vastly overpriced, I know!) to £8k, now down to £7650 in the mag (further down to £7450 on the website). We haven't even had any phone calls (or even Nigerian scammers) for a couple of weeks. Do punters get put off seeing the same car in several weeks running at decreasing cost? Is it still overpriced? I'm now thinking of ebay, but the prices on there seem to be pretty low (scraping £6k, where there is interest). At a bit of a loss! Have these cars suddenly dropped in value/ interest? I know it's a bit underpowered, but at least isn't too expensive to insure. Starting to be a bit of a thing, as she has her new car already!

Any advice very much appreciated!

Cheers,

Alex.
--
Dr Alex Mears
MG BGT 1971
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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Fri 7 Apr 2006 10:41
unsold BMW (again!) - SteVee
How much could you get from a dealer ?
I'm sure there are several competing to buy 3 series BMWs.
I had no luck selling my Suzuki m/cycle so sold to a dealer, and got a reasonable price, after trying several.
In the end the cost of advertising - and the cost of keeping the car means that getting rid of it quickly becomes very desirable.

6K from a dealer tomorrow could be much better than paying more to ebay and then taking 6K from a private buyer.
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Fri 7 Apr 2006 10:47
unsold BMW (again!) - pd
CAP retail for the car is about 7550 so it does sound a bit on the high side. The lack of desirable options (steel wheels, no leather) means it is just another 318Ci of which there are loads to choose from.

I reckon you'd need to be at 6500 ish for a quick sale. A quick search on Autotrader shows up two W-reg examples with lower miles for under 6800 near to me.
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Fri 7 Apr 2006 11:13
unsold BMW (again!) - cheddar
The lack of desirable options (steel wheels, no leather)>>


This is a Ci so would have had alloys as std IIRC. On the otherhand it is the 115 bhp version rather than the later 150 2.0 so is not exactly a fireball, it could be that Ci buyers in the 8 to 9k region are looking at the 6cyl models.

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Fri 7 Apr 2006 11:40
unsold BMW (again!) - Collos25
Plenty of them in the Leeds area on Autrader between £5-6k
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Fri 7 Apr 2006 13:43
unsold BMW (again!) - Keith S
Get a Glasses guide valuation for £3 and hope you get a few hundred more than p/ex value.

I'm no expert but think if you look at Parkers, What Car etc, the values will be 'optimistic' compared to Glasses.
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Fri 7 Apr 2006 13:43
unsold BMW (again!) - Aprilia
Yes, lots of used motors about in this price range and the 3-series is somewhat ubiquitous. One problem is that owners see the inflated prices charged by BMW dealers and base their valuations accordingly.
Basically, you'll have to drop the price until it sells.
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Fri 7 Apr 2006 14:01
unsold BMW (again!) - adverse camber
Glasses says -


Vehicle summary
BMW 3 Series 318Ci
1.9 Petrol 2-door Coupe
5 Speed Manual Rear Wheel Drive
Year: 2000 V
Mileage: 70,000

Estimated value of your car
Part-exchange Price:
Excellent condition:
£6660
Average condition:
£5910
Below average condition:
£5120

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