Selling 135i - Question on Value

[1ToBeOn2Wheels]

Hey guys,

I'm selling my 2008 135i 6MT soon. I plan on using KBB as a starting point for the asking price of the vehicle. I have the complete ///M suspension bits, sway bars, bushings, etc. And Koni Yellow shocks. I bought the parts discounted from the shop I go to. Parts, labor, install, and alignment was about $4000.

My question is what kind of premium do you think I can charge for having these already installed on the car? I definitely think it adds value and makes the car more desirable, especially when it is a complete conversion and was done professionally.

What do you guys think is a fair price, or should I say, what would you expect to pay if this was done to a used 135i you were looking to buy?

[IEDEI]

my best suggestion is that you crawl through the classifieds and see how much similar cars are selling for.

as for your mods....if you find the right buyer then they may pay extra for them, however as a general rule mods rarely add much value to the selling price unless you are able to find that sort of person looking for mods already on the car. you may want to consider de modding and selling the parts seperate as well if you feel like you can't recover the cost of them.

[Bob Z.]

Some say mods are worth about .50 on the dollar but that is too general in my opinion...depends on what a potential buyer finds desirable. In your case though I would price the car based on values without mods so a buyer thinks they are getting the extras for nothing.

[Davyhay]

I think I would sell the car and let the potential buyer know you have the mods if he would like to buy them. If not, sell them separately.

[golf_234]

Mileage??

I recently sold my 2008 135, Alpine White/Black, Auto, 59k Miles, MINT, fully loaded, 19" matte black CSLs for $23 up in SLC. In ca I would expect less because there is so much more on the market, but your mods could compensate so I would say probably

60,000 mi - $24,000
50,000 mi - $25,000
40,000 mi - $26,000


Give or take depending on how well written your ad is, condition, how eager you are to sell, etc. I think you will find the market settling around these prices though. Sad to say but the mods very likely won't get much of a premium. It is a niche car in the first place, and you do have the 6mt, so you could maybe tack on a bit more, if the right buyer were out there. If it is a soccer mom or average buyer, prob wouldn't count on it. Lesson learned, if you are not keeping a car for a long time, it will almost always be a bad idea to put a lot of money into it.

[tuco44]

I agree with those that claim mods do NOT increase the resale value of the car. For a few buyers, mods may be valuable, but even those buyers will expect to get them for a deep discount.

Personally, I would never buy a modded car unless I knew the owner and the car history.

[TwinTurboed]

There are two types of buyers:

Type 1 - Know the true value of the mods, appreciate everything you have done, and will buy the car at a higher price than a standard one because its unique and they know its value.

Type 2 - To these buyers, mods = abuse. Not always true, but the general consensus is that a performance car that has power or suspension mods is generally driven harder or has seen track days aka abuse. A used performance car that is completely stock generally means that it was a daily driver that hasn't been through much abuse.

There are a lot more Type 2 buyers out there than Type 1. Even though I am an enthusiast, I am also a Type 2 buyer. I like my cars unmolested, especially when buying a used BMW.

[ejm3]

When I had my Jeep Wrangler this used to come up all the time.

People love to mod those things. But the more modded it was the more likely it was to have been off-roaded and abused. People really wanted a babied mall-crawler Jeep THEY could then modify they way they wanted.

Its unlikley you will get anything close to your money back on your mods for the same reason.

[631twentyeighteye]

as everyone above has said, mods add no value to sale value unless its worth it to the buyer. You're best bet would be to return to stock and sell the parts and then the car, but that may be costly to do the swap.

You may be able to find somebody with OEM parts that will pay for your swap and maybe a bit of cash on top, to get your suspension bits, and then you have an all your original parts installed for an easier sale.