M3/4 unexpectedly sold...Need help on ZHP!

[armaq]

I said I was gonna keep the M3/4, but 2 weeks ago I decided to try the "if I get what I ask I will sell, if not I will not" thing and posted an ad on Roadfly. Guess the extra 3 bucks for bold characters paid off... A guy from out of state on a business trip came to see the car, and offered $20k - an offer hard not to take considering the odometer just ticked over to 66k miles. I took a deposit and he's coming back to pick it up next week. It came as a surprise, I only posted it on Roadfly, and the guy was literally the first to contact me.

So, I'm gonna have to buy a car very, very soon. I came across a 03 IR ZHP with 49,3k miles. It's not a CPO. Apparently it's in pretty nice shape and a lot of issues have been taken care off: http://www.euromericatransport.com/zhp/

He's asking $24.5k, I will try $22k - $23k, then maybe buy a 3rd party extended warranty.

Would you a ZHP with 700 miles of warranty left? Would you buy it at that price?

[killerdeck]

I would. You can extend the scheduled maintenance and/or the warranty through BMW for pretty decent prices. There was a thread over at Bimmerfest that you could extend the maintenance for 2 yrs/50K miles for $945 (including two oil changes, brake flush, replacement of pads/rotors, etc). Just make sure to do this RIGHT after you buy it so there is no chance of going over the 50,000 mile marker before you get to extend it.

[FC]

I would. You can extend the scheduled maintenance and/or the warranty through BMW for pretty decent prices. There was a thread over at Bimmerfest that you could extend the maintenance for 2 yrs/50K miles for $945 (including two oil changes, brake flush, replacement of pads/rotors, etc). Just make sure to do this RIGHT after you buy it so there is no chance of going over the 50,000 mile marker before you get to extend it.

I thought only the original owner could extend warranty/service?:dunno:

[armaq]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will do some research on the extended maintenance, I remember reading it. Hopefully it is not limited to the original owner.

And let me re-phrase my story and question, see if anyone is interested in responding:

My plan was to have 2 cars: keep the M3/4 and a new Subaru LGT Ltd as DD for $25k OTD. However, with the success of the M3's sale, I now can (barely) afford this ZHP as a DD, and something in the high 20's for a fun car. So, would you ZHP guys recommend one with 49k miles?

[ff]

So, would you ZHP guys recommend one with 49k miles?

Provided that:

1) The price is below blue book private party value
2) There is no stalling or power dip at 4K RPM issues
3) The car is in good shape. He did mention that he's a college student, and that door dings were a problem. From the pics, it seems to be in good shape, but you never know for sure until you see it in person.

Personally, I'd be more likely to look for a lower mileage 330i SP for roughly the same price. And something owned by a non-college student...

[equ]

Personally, I'd be more likely to look for a lower mileage 330i SP for roughly the same price. And something owned by a non-college student...

Or a zhp like mine for example (shameless plug) :D

For a little bit more, you get 20,000 less miles, 2yrs of cpo , some original warranty/maintenance, grown-up owner, perfect condition, nav, icelink... Selling to another 'mudgeon carries some responsibility and I'm confident in the car.

[killerdeck]

I thought only the original owner could extend warranty/service?:dunno:

Nope. As long as the car is covered under the original BMW maintenance/warranty AND the extension can be handled before the original warranty runs out, then to my knowledge, anybody can extend either warranty or maintenance. I was looking into buying an E39 a few months ago and was going to be able to do this.

[hfh330i]

I've got a silver gray/natural brown with just over 35k miles. My lease is up in 5 months. I will part for payoff and or lease transfer(if possible). PM me if interested.

[JST]

I said I was gonna keep the M3/4, but 2 weeks ago I decided to try the "if I get what I ask I will sell, if not I will not" thing and posted an ad on Roadfly. Guess the extra 3 bucks for bold characters paid off... A guy from out of state on a business trip came to see the car, and offered $20k - an offer hard not to take considering the odometer just ticked over to 66k miles. I took a deposit and he's coming back to pick it up next week. It came as a surprise, I only posted it on Roadfly, and the guy was literally the first to contact me.

So, I'm gonna have to buy a car very, very soon. I came across a 03 IR ZHP with 49,3k miles. It's not a CPO. Apparently it's in pretty nice shape and a lot of issues have been taken care off: http://www.euromericatransport.com/zhp/

He's asking $24.5k, I will try $22k - $23k, then maybe buy a 3rd party extended warranty.

Would you a ZHP with 700 miles of warranty left? Would you buy it at that price?

I would have no hesitation using a ZHP as my daily driver (and, in fact, I do). It's a great all-around car, and the fact that I am insane and need more power should not be held against what is truly the ultimate evolution of the very well-executed E46 platform (yes...I am including the E46 M3, which I've owned and which for reasons too complicated to explain in this post is, in my mind, an inferior car to the ZHP).*

Whether I'd buy this particular ZHP is an open question. It all depends on how solid your budget is. I think you can get a newer car (04 or 05) with a lot fewer miles for not so much more money, and depending on how long you intended to keep it that might be the route I would go (esp. since it might save you from having to buy the extended warranty). In fact, I'd spend a bit more on the ZHP and go a bit cheaper on the "fun" car, since there are a lot of really fun yet not so expensive cars out there (e.g., turbo Miata).

Hell, I'd like it if someone would buy mine at the end of the lease for its payoff, just so I can see it go to a good home and avoid giving it back to the dealer so that they can make a killing, but that's probably too far off for you.**




*Let's see if that statement stirs up any controversy.

**My lease will be up 3/07, at which point my '05 IR ZHP with Assist and CWP will probably have about 20K miles on it and will be available for about 27K.

[equ]

**My lease will be up 3/07, at which point my '05 IR ZHP with Assist and CWP will probably have about 20K miles on it and will be available for about 27K.

As I'm a seller in this market, I'm a bit curious.

Is this a two or a three year lease? If two, that's a really low residual. If three, how did you get an 05, in 3/04? Did you buy a very high mileage allowance or have really high payments?

For you to sell it to a 3rd party you have two options. Buy it (with sales tax) and sell it. Or do a dealer pass-through. Either way, if the buyer is not the lessor (i.e. JST) there is 1-2k added. Advantage is that with an extra 1.5k or so, you can also cpo your own car.

Finally, an 05 zhp with 20k miles is currently worth way more than $27k and will continue to be in 03/07. So it will be useful to buy it out.

[lemming]

I would have no hesitation using a ZHP as my daily driver (and, in fact, I do). It's a great all-around car, and the fact that I am insane and need more power should not be held against what is truly the ultimate evolution of the very well-executed E46 platform (yes...I am including the E46 M3, which I've owned and which for reasons too complicated to explain in this post is, in my mind, an inferior car to the ZHP).*

Whether I'd buy this particular ZHP is an open question. It all depends on how solid your budget is. I think you can get a newer car (04 or 05) with a lot fewer miles for not so much more money, and depending on how long you intended to keep it that might be the route I would go (esp. since it might save you from having to buy the extended warranty). In fact, I'd spend a bit more on the ZHP and go a bit cheaper on the "fun" car, since there are a lot of really fun yet not so expensive cars out there (e.g., turbo Miata).

Hell, I'd like it if someone would buy mine at the end of the lease for its payoff, just so I can see it go to a good home and avoid giving it back to the dealer so that they can make a killing, but that's probably too far off for you.**




*Let's see if that statement stirs up any controversy.

**My lease will be up 3/07, at which point my '05 IR ZHP with Assist and CWP will probably have about 20K miles on it and will be available for about 27K.

:bait:

no takers, JST.

:D

[JST]

As I'm a seller in this market, I'm a bit curious.

Is this a two or a three year lease? If two, that's a really low residual. If three, how did you get an 05, in 3/04? Did you buy a very high mileage allowance or have really high payments?

For you to sell it to a 3rd party you have two options. Buy it (with sales tax) and sell it. Or do a dealer pass-through. Either way, if the buyer is not the lessor (i.e. JST) there is 1-2k added. Advantage is that with an extra 1.5k or so, you can also cpo your own car.

Finally, an 05 zhp with 20k miles is currently worth way more than $27k and will continue to be in 03/07. So it will be useful to buy it out.

Two year lease. One of the last of the 05s, built 12/04, bought 3/05, right as the E90s were launching. The residuals were kind of crap at that point in time, though the huge discount off MSRP made up for it (mostly). It's also a 15K/yr lease, though the car is obviously way under (dumb mistake on my part, but oh well).

[ff]

*Let's see if that statement stirs up any controversy.

**My lease will be up 3/07, at which point my '05 IR ZHP with Assist and CWP will probably have about 20K miles on it and will be available for about 27K.

Bring this up again sometime around January. We'll see if I'm tired of the IS by then. :)

[lupinsea]

I'd do the ZHP as a DD route with a slightly cheaper fun car.

We bought our ZHP with the idea it would be out daily driver / commute and raod trip car. Our "fun car" is my Jeep Wrangler we use for camping, offroading, and as a back-up weekend run about. I figured the ZHP would be sporty enough to satisfy that side of things while the Jeep . . . well, it does things no car ever could.

Anyways, if you're looking for a fun road car I think some older S2000's are coming down to the low 20's or even less. I'd either do that or pick up an older Miata for cheap, strip it out completely, do the roll cage, suspension, and install either a turbo or supercharger. I figure you can do all that to a Miata for around $9k.

[armaq]

Thanks for the replies guys! I appreciate your thoughts.

Right now I'm convinced only a ZHP will make me happy. I'm definitely going to get one, but I will probably pass on this one and try to find a nicer example.

The dilemma I'm facing now is whether I should get a ZHP in the low-mid 20's and a fun car in the high 20's, or a nicer ZHP in the high 20's and a fun car in the low 20's. The fun car I have in mind is a 02 Boxster S.

BTW equ I'm sending you a PM.

[killerdeck]

armaq, the more I think about it, you should try to get a VERY nice one that is a little higher priced and lower mileage. Mine has 18.5K miles, its a 2004, and if I were selling right now I would probably ask upper-20s. My lease is up in April 07 and my buyout is in the low 20s. It would be foolish for me not to buy it with only about 22K miles expected to be on the car at that point. Who nows, maybe you can be lucky and find one like mine below with no sunroof and only xenons as the options. I just waxed mine this weekend.

[armaq]

armaq, the more I think about it, you should try to get a VERY nice one that is a little higher priced and lower mileage. Mine has 18.5K miles, its a 2004, and if I were selling right now I would probably ask upper-20s. My lease is up in April 07 and my buyout is in the low 20s. It would be foolish for me not to buy it with only about 22K miles expected to be on the car at that point. Who nows, maybe you can be lucky and find one like mine below with no sunroof and only xenons as the options. I just waxed mine this weekend.

See, you are one of the very few ZHP guys I've come across who would not overprice their cars. I've been searching/emailing/making phone calls for the past 3 days, boy do them ZHP owners stick to their guns! Cars like yours are listed for $34k on Autotrader, even 03s with less than 30k miles are in the high 20k's - 30k range and they would not go down much. I offered a guy $24k for his non-metalic, non-sunroof and non-CPO two owner 03 with 33k miles, he basically turned me down without the interest of further negotiation, and told me his price was "highly competitive" at $28.7k.

I'm trying to work out a deal with equ at this point :D

[FC]

See, you are one of the very few ZHP guys I've come across who would not overprice their cars. I've been searching/emailing/making phone calls for the past 3 days, boy do them ZHP owners stick to their guns! Cars like yours are listed for $34k on Autotrader, even 03s with less than 30k miles are in the high 20k's - 30k range and they would not go down much. I offered a guy $24k for his non-metalic, non-sunroof and non-CPO two owner 03 with 33k miles, he basically turned me down without the interest of further negotiation, and told me his price was "highly competitive" at $28.7k.

I'm trying to work out a deal with equ at this point :D

Well I think there are several factors at work.

IMO:

1) It is a truly beautiful car. I tell you it is still a head turner even in an area dotted with premium German cars.

2) It is, in fact, a rare car. From the ZHP mechanicals, to (for some) Imola Red paint, to the alcantara interior and wheel, it is a desirable, limited-quantity car for wannabie-enthusiasts (fanatics crowd) for a lot less than a new BMW.

3) True enthusiasts seek it out, and will make its value hold up. See E36 M3's.

4) Of course, there is always the "seller on crack" factor. The guy who thinks the car actually was limited edition, or an M3 4-door, or whatever.

[killerdeck]

See, you are one of the very few ZHP guys I've come across who would not overprice their cars. I've been searching/emailing/making phone calls for the past 3 days, boy do them ZHP owners stick to their guns! Cars like yours are listed for $34k on Autotrader, even 03s with less than 30k miles are in the high 20k's - 30k range and they would not go down much. I offered a guy $24k for his non-metalic, non-sunroof and non-CPO two owner 03 with 33k miles, he basically turned me down without the interest of further negotiation, and told me his price was "highly competitive" at $28.7k.

I'm trying to work out a deal with equ at this point :D

Hmm...it will be interesting to see if many of these guys are trading up to a 335i. If they are, the cars should be coming down quickly in the next 6 months or so. Stick it out and you will find it! Mine wont be for sale for a while, but i would price it at $29.9K right now if I were selling. Best of luck with equ!

[killerdeck]

armaq, thought you might be interested in this:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167854

Looks like it has potential.

[armaq]

armaq, thought you might be interested in this:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167854

Looks like it has potential.

Thanks!

Right now 03 CPOs look like better value to me. We will see.