Tyler AKA YoitsTmac ZHP Coupe Hunt!

[YoitsTmac]

No I don't feel down kicked. and @sillieidiot no, I have never sold my own car. I have sold a Prius in a day and a Camry in three weeks. I didn't know about the Cars and Bids structure either. I did look at the red cars' condition and didn't have an issue, I didn't know they were in accidents. All I can say is I have bought two cars in my life, and one was when I was still a kid at 17. I knew nothing. This is also my first "massive inflationary" period of my life (I'm 24 in two weeks :D ) and it's hard for me to come to terms with the value of these cars when my last E46 was so clean for under $5k with under 100k miles.

I'm also getting different information everywhere. You guys say I'm undervaluing, I have my SoCal chat and my small text group chat say I'm overvaluing. Tie that with my general lack of understanding of this hyperinflation probably tied with some (likely) increased scarcity, it's really hard to wrap my mind around value.

I'm also not saying the cars I'm looking at are shit. Again, just the way I was raised and trained to look at cars is to recognize all the flaws first. I don't nick the car in Georgia for having the glasses holder broken or the trim not flush, but I want to catch them. I don't want to be surprised. I want to level my expectations of what I'm buying. It doesn't mean I think the car is poor because of it, but just trying to fully understand the condition of the car. I don't mind paint chips. The red car in New Mexico I was concerned about though because in the video he sent me, there were like 4x the damage on my current E46 and it was only repainted four years ago. Just seems like a not-so-great paint job.

I digress. In regards to the Georgia car whom I will call today, the only real "issues" I see is the dealer reviews, potential lack of PPI allowed and I think the front bumper is pretty heavily scraped. I don't think that car is such a deal that it's worth skipping a PPI. I get it's a 15 year old car more or less and it happens, but I'm just noting it and I think it leaves some haggling room.

I am also looking at a non-ZHP white on brown for $7k with 140k miles. I can't get ahold of the buyer so it either sold or they just don't care to check that often. My message isn't even marked as read.

I'm only mentioning this because it seems like you're getting a PPI done for cars you have interest in... but the way it usually works is, the good deals that people find are because they took a gamble and picked up the car before anyone else. Sometimes this pays off, and sometimes it doesn't... More people share the good news than the bad...

The hardest advice I need to take. Just again, I was raised in a risk averse family, and it was double reinforced after my first car.


edit: this is almost spec for spec my car I just lost, as I bought it, with 10k more miles for double the price: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...5417&zip=95624

That's part of where my disconnect is.

[YoitsTmac]

On top of that FB white on brown car, I am also looking at this: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sg...391122725.html

What do YOU guys think that is worth?

[BH93]

Let's base-line here based on your original post.

Your non-negotiables.

Interior: Black Dash
Exterior: White, Red, Blue, Dark Silver
Clean body (Clean title, accident + rust free), Coupe, ZHP

Is this still accurate? If so, let's exclude any cars that don't meet this criteria when determining value.

[YoitsTmac]

Doesn’t have to be ZHP but preferred. I like mystic blue too. Can have accidents. They don’t scare me if I can see them or check subframe.

Clean body to me just means no dents. Should have clarified.

[BH93]

Doesn’t have to be ZHP but preferred. I like mystic blue too. Can have accidents. They don’t scare me if I can see them or check subframe.

Clean body to me just means no dents. Should have clarified.

Your search criteria is pretty wide considering the ZHP's and Non-ZHP's have varying price points.
At this point, you're looking for any E46 coupe that isn't black.

[YoitsTmac]

Your search criteria is pretty wide considering the ZHP's and Non-ZHP's have varying price points.
At this point, you're looking for any E46 coupe that isn't black.

No tAig, facelift (might as well). And the black dash. Yeah my search is nice and broad (feels that way)

[BH93]

No tAig, facelift (might as well). And the black dash. Yeah my search is nice and broad (feels that way)

So this is your new search criteria:

Any 2003+ E46 Coupe that is not tAig or black with clean title with black dash interior and no major damage to body.

What is your hard budget and are all mileage okay?
Do all the cars you've linked on here follow this criteria?

[YoitsTmac]

Any mileage okay. Would love sub 120k, probably a pretty firm ceiling at 140k

Budget semi firm at 12-13k. I’ll spend more for blue though.

[BH93]

Any mileage okay. Would love sub 120k, probably a pretty firm ceiling at 140k

Budget semi firm at 12-13k. I’ll spend more for blue though.

Updated search criteria:

Any 2003+ E46 Coupe engine/transmission spec
Clean Title, accident history okay, no major damage to body
Any exterior color except black or tiAg
Any interior color with black dash
<140k miles
<$13k

Any car that falls into this criteria, keep a list to compare values to and you can get a feel for what's a good price.
You've established your criteria, so don't make exceptions to this. Only keep track of what falls into this list.

To me, market price = what's available. If you can't buy it right now, then it's not market.

[YoitsTmac]

And 330* sorry. There’s tons of 325’s

Totally fair on market price. But it’s also what it’ll sell for in my opinion.