Hemmings M3 Market Values

[CurtEgerer]

Hemmings has a new magazine out called Sports & Exotic Car. It's a pretty interesting read actually. This month they've got an article entitled "Attainable Exotics". The e30 M3 made the list with a nice little review. That's the good news. The bad? They've set a low value of $5000 and a high value of .... hold on to your hats ..... $8000!!!!! In fact, it's the cheapest car on the entire list. Where in world do they come with this stuff? I guess they do mention that these values are for "presentable drivers in average condition, not concours-quality trailer queens", but still ...... :rolleyes:

[SimonM3]

They are out of their minds, we ought to inform hemmings that if they can locate these cars at this price, I want all of them. They should do some research before publishing such nonsense. This makes them look stupid!

[noro]

that's the value you see on the standart kbb/edmunds lists... This is the result of what people say they paid for the car during tax payout, which people generally lie about. So the price is compiled using data provided by the state. Since these cars are not sold by a dealer the actual price is only known to the buyer and seller.

[CurtEgerer]

You're probably right regarding the tax data, but other cars on the list seem to be more in the ballpark of what I've seen on eBay and the general market in recent months. For instance:

83-85 Lotus Espirit Turbo : $15,000 - $25,000
85-89 Porsche 944 Turbo: $10,000 - $15,000
71-74 De Tomaso Pantera: $25,000 - $40,000
75-82 Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS: $24,000 - $28,000

These all seem reasonable, although maybe slightly low. But the M3 seems to be about 1/2 of what it actually is????

They also list the 71-74 BMW 3.0CSL at $14,000 - $19,000. This also seems extremely low to me for a real CSL.

[Revmaster T]

Most likely the insurance company`s are going to use this as a reference " Bibel".

Thomas

[NWe30M3]

I think it's time we just admitted we paid way too much for our cars and that they are all right.

:rolleyes:

[CurtEgerer]

Maybe a little research and a 'letter-to-the-editor' is in order .....

[noro]

with a small number of good example cars left nobody can say what the true value is.

bottom line is you will not find a good, reliable, presentable e30 m3 for $8000 unless you get very very very lucky.

[AugieM]

For what it's worth I just came from the licensing office and the county gives a 91 M3 an assessed value of $11,100. Seems they do better research than Hemmings...

[Mmark]

Originally posted by AugieM
For what it's worth I just came from the licensing office and the county gives a 91 M3 an assessed value of $11,100. Seems they do better research than Hemmings...

When your livelihood depends on it.....
m

[StevesAlpine]

Heck where I am at there isn't anyone that knows the difference between my M3 and my sons 90 325i except my is white and his is maroon!

[MPowerM3]

Originally posted by noro
that's the value you see on the standart kbb/edmunds lists... This is the result of what people say they paid for the car during tax payout, which people generally lie about. So the price is compiled using data provided by the state. Since these cars are not sold by a dealer the actual price is only known to the buyer and seller.

State thinks I bought mine for 1,000. The lady kinda questioned it and I told her it was pretty much a rolling shell with a blown motor.

[Dietrich]

I hope you didn't just publicly admit to tax evasion.

-Dietrich
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's"

[EVOIIIM3]

That just SUCKS! And we wonder why no insurance company wants to pay out more then $5k on a totaled car.

Why, oh why can't anyone get the value of the M3 right? This has been going on for years! Anywhere you look, for $5k you either get a total beater, or a roller.

NICE cars now are around $18, and really nice ones over $20.

What we really need to do, is start to inform the general public about it. Lets all right to Hemings, and tell them that you CAN'T get a E30 for that much!

Here is the only email that I could find
Customer Liaison/
Scam Information: [email protected]

[EVOIIIM3]

This is what I sent to them.....

In this months issue you have an "Attainable Exotics" article. In this you have the 1988-1991 BMW E30 M3. You are right in that it is a barging exotic.
And generally a wonderful car never to be reproduced.

The down side, and the part that the E30 M3 community has in general is the pricing of this car. No one, including Hemmings, can get this right. KBB, and the rest are so far off. NO WHERE, can you get a E30 M3 in "good" shape for $5000. In the last month, I have seen adds for 3 rollers going for $5000. Most people pay around $14-18 for a good car, and real nice ones go for well over $20k. One even just sold for over $35k. There is a really tight knit E30 M3 Community, there are cars for sale all the time, never are they around your $5-8K. If they are that cheap, it's due to misuse & abuse. These cars are NOT cheap to maintain. Parts are on par with any other exotic. Some are not taken care of, these you will see in the $8-12 range.

Check BMW CCA's club magazine Roundel. Every month there is at least on E30 M3 for sale, most are in the mid teens.

Hemmings is great resource for collectible cars, people really listen to what you print. But it's misnomers like this that make it hard for people to collect from total loss with insurance, and when selling to the undereducated populous.

Michael Swale
1991 BMW M3 (owned for 10years now)
Seattle, WA