I live in Massachusetts and am considering selling my 2002 M5. Normally I would trade cars in and take a financial hit to avoid dealing with the sales process. The kind of numbers I'm getting from my dealer may be a tad low. I've thought about listing the car here, and perhaps at my local club. Has that proved to work better for those who have tried it. It's silver, in excellent condition, fairly new stock wheels and tires (thanks to a theft). Just under 50,000 miles. All stock except for Schnitzer [sic?] pedals. Original Star Tack phone has been removed and replaced with a BMW center armrest. I see other M5s listed here for north of $25,000, when dealer is at $17.5. A reality check would be nice. Also, I have no problem with having a prospective purchaser's mechanic check the car, but does one really have to offer test rides? Thanks.
wow you only have 50,000 miles on it? thats low for that car. well there is a reason why these guys sell them high priced, because its worth it! they take care of these cars!!!! man if i had the money i'd take that off your hand.
That may be the reason they ask higher prices, but do they get them. My car has been well cared for, and has full service records at my dealer. I'd still like to know the best place to find out what a real price is, and then sell without too many hassles.
Are you a member over at www.m5board.com? I'm not up on the most recent market, but I'd guess you could easily sell the car for a minimum of $4k more than the dealer is offering. The majority of the high asking prices M5s do not sell for those prices. If you are the original owner, have all records since new (including intra-interval oil changes), have covered the "typical" issues the M5 has around this mileage (CPS, MAFs, fuel filter, thrust bushings, etc), have garaged the car since new, then with the right marketing (create a simple web page with many high res pictures) and some time, I would think you could sell for $24-25k range.
dealers don't want many cars nowadays for trade, so they lowball everything (as does CarMax). go to various internet websites and get a fair market value for your car (autotrader.com, cars.com, etc). to get the price YOU want, you should sell it yourself and expand your marketing territory to include the whole US. i've bought cars from across the country without seeing/driving it in person (i had owner take the car into a BMW dealer for a PPI and then talked to the mechanic personally).
Are you nuts? Would YOU buy a used car for that much money without driving it? If I show up at your place to inspect it, you damn well bet I'll want a test drive. You are perfectly within your rights to ask to see a driver's license and proof of insurance before doing so, but I'd let visitors know in advance. I, for one, don't carry an insurance card on me (since it's required to be in the car here).
Actually, I'm perfectly within my rights to cover a car with a sheet and ask for a sight unseen purchase. But, as you point out, that probably wouldn't work too well. I would be happy to lose any prospective buyer who can't convince me that has the ability to pay cash (or certified check) without a financing contingency. Cash deposit when agreement is reached on sale, and if you can't pay within a set period, goodbye deposit. Likewise, I do want proof of insurance, both collision and substantial liability. Finally, you are right about test drive, and I guess I would have to offer if I felt comfortable. But I am going to be in the passenger seat (or an experienced gorilla of my choosing .) Bye the way, I don't think I'm nuts, just picky and in no real hurry. Of course, what sane person would own an M5?
Just a word of caution: I've heard about forged cashier's checks, to the point that banks are taking just as long to clear them as regular checks, so they are just as risky. I think the only way around it would be to cash out the check at the bank that issued it (which should be able to verify it, but then YOU have to take the risk of moving that amount in cash), or go with the buyer to his bank where he has the check made up while you wait (so you can be reasonably sure it's real). I used the second method when I sold a cine camera package for $28K. And yes, my bank still took 10 business days to clear it. If people were still paying that kind of money for the damned cameras, I could buy your car. But those days are gone. I think that you will be able to tell more about the prospective buyers ability to safely drive your car by talking to him than by checking "his papers". Perhaps you should set some ground rules for the test drive, and I think you should definitely be riding shotgun. I'm not in your price league right now, although I like E39 M5's. Good luck with your sale...
so do u have a price range in mind? i am thinking about getting a family car( not really just something with 4 doors, but lets call it family) and my number one choice is the e39 M5.. and well if you had pictures or anything i would love to consider this car... i test drove one, one time... it was amazing, the thing really hauls. but i noticed some performance lose. some people that get an M5 want to make sure the performance is still all there, and during the test drive don't let them do that,(obviously) but if you don't mind, suggest to do it yourself. i mean. if i like the pics( if u have em) then id be at ur doorstep asap. to check out the car. but the value of these cars are dropping fast, especially with the new 2011 F10s coming out in spring.
This is not true. E39 M5s in low mileage, excellent condition have actually held or appreciated in price over the past year. There was fire-selling that went on in the fall of 2008 (I almost bought a second M5 back then as prices were crazy), but the E39 M5 market has matured a good bit since then. Junk cars are definitely out there with high mileage, average at best maintenance, cosmetic issues galore, etc, and you can find those in the teens readily. For properly cared for E39 M5s, no winter use, low mileage, excellent provenance -- prices have actually risen in the past year or at the very least stayed flat. Describing them as plunging is far from what is going on in the market. Prices for quality E39 M5s have pretty much flattened out and likely won't fall much more (daily driver high mileage cars continuing to rack up mileage is NOT what I'm referring to here). No matter as it will basically take at least the low 20,000s to have a decent M5. If it doesn't cost that much up front, it will soon after you buy it which is one of the reasons the market is showing daily beater M5s now -- people are excited to see they can "afford" to buy one, but they don't bother to believe they will need to have something in the range of $3k/year set aside for upkeep and be able to drop $5k on a major issue if needed. Most of these new buyers don't have the ability to properly maintain the cars -- hence the junk you can find out there on the market now. Sad really. E60 M5s have plunged in value as you can find 2006 models in the 35k range now. Fear of huge SMG-related expenses seems to be driving that market lower as the cars fall out of BMW warranty and/or simple desire to not have life complicated by the SMG related experience.
I see your point. That up keeping cost is something that most people do not realize. and well if there is a e39 that is what u just mentioned up above then the price of that car is well in the upper 20s if not 30s. and most people just don't seem to want to pay that much for a car thats about to be 10 years old and 2 models old. i mean the f10 M5 is not out yet, but rest assured just as history shows, there will be a a slight drop in prices. I'm not saying that they are going to drop thousands of dollars at first, but there will be a decrease in the value. However. what a car is worth and valued at are 2 totally different things. I think these well maintained M5s are worth well over 40k, but not valued that high. to me. if i had the money and found one for that much, i would buy it. you cant really put a price on happiness. but, those cars are rarer then a well kept 8 series.
+1 what he said^^^^^.....the E39 M5 will go down as an Iconic "M" car...much like the E30 M3....and really good ones will get top dollar esp. as time passes. The biggest issues with these cars are NOT the cars themselves but the owners. Many people just dont maintain them as they should and cut corners...and then pass it off to the next guy. Happy Hunting for one
You are right to be cautious about test drives but most potential buyers will want a road test if they're local or willing to travel to see the car. Far from thinking you crazy to be reticent, I would think you had lost all your marbles if you handed a stranger the keys to an M5 and did not insist on riding along! A serious prospect shouldn't object to some reasonable conditions on being allowed to drive the car. In your shoes, I would offer to demonstrate the vehicle--as in, "me driver, you passenger"--to anyone who shows some interest. Nothing wrong with giving a few window-shoppers a free thrill if it doesn't crimp your schedule. But I would not let any prospects drive it without first warming up the car properly, insisting they obey traffic laws and not abuse the car, and being reasonably confident a deal can be reached. Require proof of insurance and a driver's license, and call the number on the insurance card to verify coverage. There is no reason to let complete strangers thrash your car to ascertain its condition. Many problems are discernible from either seat and a savvy shopper knows that. Offer to demonstrate the response to aggressive maneuvers (full throttle, redline, high speed, emergency handling, etc.) and when it's time to swap places--should you decide to--it will be fair to insist they stick to evaluating things only the driver can feel: pedal feel, steering/suspension play and so on. Do not let people fiddle with the stereo or accessories while driving--do it for them, or better yet, demonstrate ancillary equipment while parked. Laying out these conditions beforehand helps avoid ruffled feathers. For example, don't demand an insurance card and then just whip out your phone. Having strict rules about how others may use your expensive property is not unreasonable. Those who get indignant and offended are likely to be not serious or to have caused you aggravation later on. As the saying goes, "trust everyone--but cut the cards." I plan to (re-)apply this advice when my (far less exotic) ride goes up for sale in a few months. Asking for insurance proof will be a new wrinkle. I have not done so in the past because my prior cars have been worth far less and I've managed to weed out dilettantes before they get anywhere near the car. This time 'round I think more caution is in order.
