[iPhone]

Originally Posted by m3lover453

ask yourself, how are prices set or determined? Supply and Demand of course. How do prices change in conjunction with supply and demand? Price Elasticity. If the people within the market have a high demand for m3's,then there is an inelastic price elastic relationship. The sellers then can work together in having a common price of which they should be sold for.If the demand was low for these cars, you sure as hell wouldn't be able to get what we are getting for them. As long as there is a high market demand which drive all the sellers to work together to have their 01,02,03, etc priced higher than kbb, then that will leave the consumer/buyer only able to buy an m3 for that price. Therefore making KBB inaccurate.

From what I've seen kbb seems to be inaccurate in some instances when mods, color combo (IR, cinnamon), and maintenance documentation are present.

[beemerb0y]

I'm really tired of M3 owners (not BMW owners, but M3 owners specifically) thinking their cars are worth gold. Prices are ridiculously overpriced, especially on these forums. If I disclosed the prices I paid for my previous 2 M3's, you would think I'm lying. But I'm not. I found sellers who were reasonable and didn't have a car-price ego. I wouldn't pay anything close to KBB. I've always paid near the "trade-in" value for these cars, and before anyone tries to make an assumption about the quality of the car, my friends who have seen/driven my cars (and are on this forum) can vouch for what I got. Bottom line is 75% of the e46 M's on the market are 2002-2003 with 80k+ miles on them. These are not worth the $25k most people are asking.

And I agree with the bottom guy

Originally Posted by TosM3

Nope man but on this forum people think there cars are worth more then what its really worth.

[ImperialDuckM3]

Originally Posted by beemerb0y

I'm really tired of M3 owners (not BMW owners, but M3 owners specifically) thinking their cars are worth gold. Prices are ridiculously overpriced, especially on these forums. If I disclosed the prices I paid for my previous 2 M3's, you would think I'm lying. But I'm not. I found sellers who were reasonable and didn't have a car-price ego. I wouldn't pay anything close to KBB. I've always paid near the "trade-in" value for these cars, and before anyone tries to make an assumption about the quality of the car, my friends who have seen/driven my cars (and are on this forum) can vouch for what I got. Bottom line is 75% of the e46 M's on the market are 2002-2003 with 80k+ miles on them. These are not worth the $25k most people are asking.

And I agree with the bottom guy

Good for you bro...If you can find a desperate seller who's willing to take near trade-in value for their car.. I say more power to you!

[m3lover453]

^^^ agreed. no one is going to spend 25k on an m3 like you described if everyone else is selling theirs for 19k. There is a difference between whats a reasonable, practical price and someone who has overpriced their car due to "sentimental value". But unless someone is desperate to sell their car, there is no point for anyone to sell the car for trade in value...thats the whole point of selling the car vs trading it in at the dealer.

[cosmos///m3]

Originally Posted by iPhone

No unless they have some serious mods

Modifications dont really add serious value to your car... It does, but after all a seller is better off parting out a car. That said, it does add some value depending on mods.

Now just like mods, it all depends on the car. 03.5+ is going to be more expensive than 01-03 models. Same with color combos. I would expect to pay ~2-3k more for a car with imola or cinnamon interior over those with black or dove.

Some people on this thread suggest that people are asking/thinking they have M3s that cost much more than they are worth. Knowing that my car is a more "rare" color combo with low miles (Jet Black/Imola Red ZCP 6 Speed w52k miles) I wouldnt even consider selling it for less than 28k right now, but thats just me. If someone else doesnt like it I they can move on... either I will sit on it or wait for the right buyer

[DeltaAir]

Rare color combination or not, it is a somewhat mass produced 6, 7, or 8 year-old car. The market will determine what price these cars are able to fetch and right now there seems to be a bit of a disconnect between buyers and sellers.

Even AutoTrader has an alarmingly large range of prices.

[s4play]

For high performance cars like the m3 that are no longer made and in limited supply you simply just CANNNOT go off KBB!!!!

There is no such thing as apples to apples in the car world, case point:

Car A: 2006 e46 m3, super low miles, owner has well documented history with no accidents, a garage full of of exotics and he only drove the m3 let's say 2000 miles per year and in high demand color (AW/Red).

Car B: 2006 E46 m3, Supercharged M3 but 6 owners, repainted at some point and no documentation being sold off Ebay. with high miles. Color is Black/Red.

I think most of us would pick A - heck I would pay more for the car with less mods unless it's well documented!

Problem is most people want Car A but only willing to pay for Car B's price.

Fact is any rare car that is no longer made or hard to find will command more money. This holds true for almost any performance car from the NSX to the GTR and even the s2000.

[cbrown5294]

Here is my example-2004 6MT, 75k miles, 2 owner car
Black with tan leather and most options except navi. I would say its overall good condition but definitely has had some wear on seats, steering wheel, etc
Guy wants $22k. I'm going to have inspection before so if it passes is this a fair price?
Thanks for input

[srlehmkuhl]

I enjoyed reading this thread. Bottom line, is the market dictates the price. On a large auction site that I have access to, there are only 10 E46 M3's from 2001 to 2006 available coming up for auction or available for wholesale to the dealer network. Only 3 of them are under 80k miles. You also have to remember that when buying from a private seller, you often will get a vehicle that has records, a story, and a good send-off from the person from which you purchase it. How much is that worth in a vehicle where maintenance is everything? KBB doesn't take that into consideration. They look at auction values, trade-in values and don't weigh things like valve adjustments, bad sensors, and all the other little nuances that need to be corrected before it is offered to the public. When sites like this get less traffic and people don't fall in love with the design or drive of the E46 M3 anymore, you will see the price more closely resemble KBB prices. I don't see that happening anytime soon....

[Ulver]

It depends. If it is an exceptional car that has been very well maintained, original paint, no modifications, etc., then go for it. If you really like the car, you won't think about what you paid for it. You'll only think about how much you like it. This assumes that you intend to keep it for a few years, and not try to sell it after a year, or so.