Resale value of 128i?

[lilcris]

BIMMERPOST / Classifieds

Asking Price:

None

Item Interest

I have posted my 128i for sale on this site, as well as on others such as Craigslist, AutoTrader, and eBay. It has been on the market for close to three months now and we have only received a few offers, most of which fall dramatically below my asking price. I am looking for advice from fellow 1 series owners about the current market conditions.

The car is a 128i, Montego Blue, sports and premium packages, 25k miles. Tires are Continentals with about 6,500 miles on them. I have all service records (serviced according to BMW recommendations). Condition is very good on the interior, with a tiny bit of wear on the leather where the driver's side seatbelt rubs and some scratches on the plastic on the back side of the driver's seat. Otherwise, the inside is immaculate. Warranty and maintenance through August 2013. Professionally tinted windows.

There are a few more issues on the exterior. There is one dime-sized rock chip on the hood of the car that is down to the primer, there is a small scratch next to the driver's side door, and there is some road rash on one of the rims. Apparently, the alignment is off as well.

I am asking around $24k for the car. Kelly Blue books lists the car at between $24,200 and 24,700 depending on its condition. Edmunds lists the car higher, at about $25k. Most listing for similar cars seem to be priced higher than mine, so I think I'm asking for a fair price.

Of the few calls I have received, I have been offered $21k, $22k, and now $22,500. All three offers seem too low to me, at $1500-$3,000 below asking.

I am wondering if anyone has some insight on the nature of the current market. Am I asking too much at $24k? Should I accept the current offer of $22,500 and move on, especially since I've been trying to sell it for 3 months now? Or should I hold out for a better offer? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[misk]

Unfortunately the 128 series doesn't seem to hold value as well as expected. I recently traded in my 2011 128i that was leased and got all sorts of figures before finally deciding to get rid of it sad to say. The fact of the matter was that I was paying too much for the lease and over the remainder of the lease I could be financing something else with that money. Anyways my KBB value was listed also around the mid 26k to 28k for private party in good condition.

When I first took it for appraisal at BmW they offered 22. Later on I decided to go to a VW dealership to look at financing a car and they offered 25. I also wanted to compare that with Carmax but they said 23. I went back to VW and told them that I would only trade in if it got me 26 and they agreed.

But I think you have to take into account that it is still under warranty whereas yours is just about to go out of warranty so that significantly depreciates its value.

Hope this info helps out.

[AW128i]

The 128i doesn't hold its value that well, and neither does the 135i for that matter, though the 128i does seem to depreciate faster. This is the primary reason I ended up with a CPO 128i over the new 135i I set out to purchase. In 2010 I picked up a 1.5-year old 2008 128i with 23,000 miles on the odometer from a BMW dealer, heated/power seats, moonroof, and automatic for $22k. Keep in mind that this was a car that originally stickered for around $35k...an almost 40% depreciation in only 1.5 years. And, it's a CPO car to boot. No, the car doesn't have a ton of options, but for that price, who could pass it up! The 128i makes a great bargain to a used car buyer, and an original buyer unhappy at time of sale.

[lilcris]

Thanks, guys! That was my thinking - it must not have the value I think it has if it's not selling. The buyer and I agreed on a price around 23k, which I'm okay with.