Sold my 2009 Z435i

[Lambobimmer]

I originally bought it for 33k 3 years ago and sold it for 26k yesterday. Depreciation was not too bad for 3 years of ownership. I am actually surprised how well the value held up.

However, my car was in excellent condition and included Nav, Sport and Premium packages and I only put about 13k on it. It had 49k on the clock when I sold it. FWIW, I took it to CarMax and my local BMW dealership when I decided to sell it and the both offered my 19k for it. Don't ever wholesale your car in less you are desperate.

It was FBO for the majority of the time that I owned the car and I kept all of my stock OEM parts so I could put it back to stock and part my car out. I have owned 3 BMW's (E46M3, 135i) and I liked this Z4 the best. The E46 handled the best but the Z4 was the fastest and the most fun to drive.

My replacement, 2011 Z06, is currently at a local engine builder. I expect to get it back in about 3 weeks and look forward to putting some more miles on this car.

I learned a great deal from this board as I installed and removed all of the mods that I did to this car. The N54 is fairly easy to work on if you have the proper tools and time.

Many of you bought the parts that I parted out of my Z4 and I hope that you are enjoying them. All of them were in new condition and hopefully it was a win-win for everyone.

[Whey35i]

Good luck with the z06, Hope you enjoy it as much as the Z4

[paris1]

I have never understood why "trading in" a car is so popular. Buying at retail while selling at wholesale makes no sense to me. In 50 years of car ownership I have alway sold my own and, because I take care of my cars, they always sell to the first person who looks at it.

[ttuner]

Originally Posted by paris1

I have never understood why "trading in" a car is so popular. Buying at retail while selling at wholesale makes no sense to me. In 50 years of car ownership I have alway sold my own and, because I take care of my cars, they always sell to the first person who looks at it.

convenience/time. i personally would rather take a little hit and have it done with rather than deal with craigslist crazies and lowballers. just my personal preference though.

[paris1]

Originally Posted by ttuner

convenience/time. i personally would rather take a little hit and have it done with rather than deal with craigslist crazies and lowballers. just my personal preference though.

I know that's the standard rationale, but just using Lambobimmer's example, $7k is worth a fair amount of inconvenience/time in my book. Plus, when purchasing a new or used replacement vehicle, you're always in a stronger negotiating position when you eliminate the trade-in wild card.

[Lambobimmer]

Originally Posted by paris1

I know that's the standard rationale, but just using Lambobimmer's example, $7k is worth a fair amount of inconvenience/time in my book. Plus, when purchasing a new or used replacement vehicle, you're always in a stronger negotiating position when you eliminate the trade-in wild card.

I was willing to deal with the extra time for 7k. I have a friend in the car business and he consigns cars. It took him about 2 months, but he sold it for the price I mentioned above and he took $500 for his cost. I didn't have to deal with anything other than signing over the title once it was sold. Best $500 I ever spent.

There are a lot of dealers that do this so check around before you give in and take a wholesale deal.

[Zyal8r]

Interesting: It cost you about $200/mo depreciation to drive a very fine $65K car. If you leased a new one it would have been more like $750/mo. I call it buying high end at half price or less. Works really well with the Z because they haven't changed since 09, and I keep seeing very low mileage cars coming on the market. It reminds me of the days when Corvettes could be driven and then sold at a profit, almost like real estate. In fact I bet you will do well with the Z06. You just need to buy and sell astutely and take your time and let the first owner(s) absorb the early depreciation. Enjoy!

[paris1]

Originally Posted by Zyal8r

Interesting: It cost you about $200/mo depreciation to drive a very fine $65K car. If you leased a new one it would have been more like $750/mo. I call it buying high end at half price or less. Works really well with the Z because they haven't changed since 09, and I keep seeing very low mileage cars coming on the market. It reminds me of the days when Corvettes could be driven and then sold at a profit, almost like real estate. In fact I bet you will do well with the Z06. You just need to buy and sell astutely and take your time and let the first owner(s) absorb the early depreciation. Enjoy!

After watching televised auto auctions for years and seeing 5-6 year old German luxury cars sell for a fraction of their initial MSRP, it finally dawned on me that the only way to own these cars was to let someone else burn off the first 2-3 years of depreciation through lease or purchase and then buy them with warranty left on the clock (or even better, a CPO car with an extended factory warranty) for 2/3 of its original value. So when it came time to unload my wife's second Miata, it made perfect sense to upgrade to a 2 year old Z4 for not that much more than a new Miata would have cost!

[jparnes1]

Originally Posted by paris1

After watching televised auto auctions for years and seeing 5-6 year old German luxury cars sell for a fraction of their initial MSRP, it finally dawned on me that the only way to own these cars was to let someone else burn off the first 2-3 years of depreciation through lease or purchase and then buy them with warranty left on the clock (or even better, a CPO car with an extended factory warranty) for 2/3 of its original value. So when it came time to unload my wife's second Miata, it made perfect sense to upgrade to a 2 year old Z4 for not that much more than a new Miata would have cost!

That strategy won't work anymore, at least as far as the warranty is concerned. After 2013 CPO warranties don't transfer and after 2014 cars do not transfer maintenance warranties.

[paris1]

Ok, but you can still buy any year CPO from a dealer with the extended drive train warranty.

[Lambobimmer]

Originally Posted by Zyal8r

Interesting: It cost you about $200/mo depreciation to drive a very fine $65K car. If you leased a new one it would have been more like $750/mo. I call it buying high end at half price or less. Works really well with the Z because they haven't changed since 09, and I keep seeing very low mileage cars coming on the market. It reminds me of the days when Corvettes could be driven and then sold at a profit, almost like real estate. In fact I bet you will do well with the Z06. You just need to buy and sell astutely and take your time and let the first owner(s) absorb the early depreciation. Enjoy!

The E89 Z4 is pretty unique in the fact that they didn't make that many. The Good means that you will get more for it and the Bad is that it will take longer to sell. Same thing should also be true with the Z06.

Crazy thing about the Z06. I figured that my insurance would double because it was about double the value of my Z4. However, it actually went down by about $50 a year. I guess all of these old guys that drive their Vette's are safe drivers. lol