Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1

    I Just Joined! I Need Some Opinions!

    Hello I just joined ZHP Mafia, I recently just bought an automatic Jet Black 330ci ZHP with cinnamon interior and 167k miles on it. I got it for $3500 because the paint was seriously damaged, I live in AZ so the clear coat was pretty much non existent. I work at a body shop so im going to be painting it the same oem color very soon; in fact I started prepping the body for primer a week ago. I have a lot of plans for this car, the biggest hope is to sell it for some profit if I don't fall in love with it in the process.

    Some quick background of myself if your interested, my name is Matt, I just turned 18 and i've been working on cars (mainly BMW's) since I got my license 2 years ago. My first car was a 1987 325i convertible which is now in storage. My love and passion for BMW's comes from the e30, currently I am building an m54b30 swapped e30 (not the convertible, this is a 1991 318is) which will be a dedicated race car and its very very close to running. I got the m54 for the swap out of a 2002 530i (ironically that's my birthday) and took the whole engine apart, changed every gasket, rebuilt vanos, etc., except I didn't touch the internals. I am very familiar with m54s which sparked my interest in ZHPs and the fact that I pretty much know the m54 like the back of my hand which led me to buy a car with that engine so I wouldn't have to pay someone to service it. So I bought a ZHP.

    The guy I had bought it from was probably in his late 50s early 60s and he didn't know shit about cars, which was sort of a good thing because he got everything done at a shop. He gave me a folder full of service records that dated back to when the car had around 120k. The whole coolant system was replaced, and the most recent thing was the radiator and front rotors and pads. The guy had a ZHP before this one so at least he knew what he had. The owner before him removed the factory alarm system and put in this shit aftermarket system in which really sucks. Other than that, the guy took really really good care of it and the inside was really clean for what it was. After I bought it I threw it up on the lift to see what needed to be done and so far this is what I found, oil pan gasket, power steering hoses, oil filter housing gasket, vanos feed line, valve cover gasket, rear rotors and pads, diff mount, rear trailing arm bushings, new shocks, and I think that's it. I ordered all the parts for the engine a few days after I bought the car and then did the oil pan gasket the same week.

    So my goal is to clean up the car, possibly rebuild the engine, paint it of course and sell it to make some decent profit , to help with a down payment on a house for myself, I would like to sell it for 10-15k which I think is achievable. Now the biggest thing I need to know is; Do I need to keep the car as stock as possible to achieve a number like that? Just an fyi the body shop that I work at charges upwards of 8k for paint jobs and im lucky enough to get that same quality paint job (they said it would look like a show car) for more than half the cost because i'd be doing most of the prep, this paint job alone is going to add a lot of value. So anyway the things I need opinions on are as listed.

    1. I would like to manual swap it, but only if it adds value, Should I manual swap or just get the auto trans rebuilt? Or neither?
    2. I'd like to black the car out with smoked side markers, smoked fog lights (not the tail lights or headlights), and paint the stock wheels a gunmetal color, has anyone done this? What do you recommend/think of the idea?
    3. I want to get the angle eye lights, is it worth the effort do cook my headlights and put the rings in myself or should I just buy headlights with the angle eyes?
    4. Would I lose value if I changed the stock radio to the navigation one with apple car play and the hvac relocation? Could it possibly add value?

    Again the goal is to make this car as valuable as possible so what do you recommend? I come from e30s so I don't know much about e46s. I'd love to hear your input on what you think I should do!

    Thanks, Matt

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    18,064
    Welcome! Keep as stock as possible for resale (not sure wrt manual vs auto though). Will answer the other ones later when I can if others don't. BTW, that seems like a high number you're looking for, not sure if you can get that.

    Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk
    Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
    "ZHP or not, I still like you"


    ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
    ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
    Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
    Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
    BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
    Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture

  3. #3
    Thanks so much! and sounds good! Yea it is a high number but I think if I build the car right it's possible.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Chicago area
    Posts
    1,920
    Yes, keep it as stock as possible.

    Also, not sure about the manual transplant. Probably not be worth the effort. Since it came with the auto originally, it might not add much value if any. If I was buying, I would be more skeptical.

    Definitely skip 2 and 3. I don't think 4 would do much for value.

  5. #5
    Ok sounds good thanks man!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2020
    Location
    SF Bay, CA
    Posts
    1,266
    Generally adding aftermarket parts doesn't increase the value of the car, so #2 and #3 out for sure. #4 might add some value, but I don't think you'd get back what you put in for the headunit, even if it's a cheap one.

    #1 is a harder one, this is where you'll have to do your own research. Looking at price differences between auto and manual cars of similar mileage and condition, and comparing that to the cost of parts for the swap, and how much your own time is worth. Also the fact that since the car didn't come with manual from factory, it won't be worth as much as a car that did.
    2004 BMW 330CI ZHP (well, technically ZAM)


  7. #7
    Ya ok that’s good to know thanks, and I’ll do some more research on the swap.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    18,064
    BTW, my car is in no way stock (but I do use OEM parts when I can), but I am not selling mine. I am saying keep it stock as that's the widest audience for selling plus as said, you won't get the money you spent back on the mods.

    Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk
    Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
    "ZHP or not, I still like you"


    ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
    ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
    Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
    Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
    BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
    Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Chicago area
    Posts
    1,920
    In terms of the manual swap, I think it would limit the buyers a bit. You would need to find someone that appreciates the mod over the "unoriginal" part of it. I don't remember any manually swapped ZHPs for sale to use as example data points.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    588
    Matt, don't forget your time is worth money too. Clean it up, paint it (since you have an advantage there), sell it, and--in my humble opinion--barely get back what you put into it.
    2004 BMW 330i ZHP (52k miles), Jet Black with black leather, MFactory LSD (3.38) with Z4 cover, 18"x8.5" ET38 APEX Arc-8's (Anthracite) with 245/40 Michelin PSS', Koni Sports with factory springs and front and rear reinforcement plates, Shark Injector, Corsa TSE3 cat-back exhaust, TMS under-driven pulleys (water & steering), CDV delete, TMS CF strut brace, K&N CAI, GAS DISA rebuild, TMS pedals, Wheelskins steering wheel cover, roller tray center console, black-out grilles, and WeatherTech mats

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