[wjones14]

Sent my CA a text asking about getting on the wait list for an M2, and getting a ballpark number on a trade for mine. The advice in her reply was that from a dealer perspective, my car is worth between $26,000 and $31,000, and I was probably better off selling it privately.

MSRP with options was $51,295. I got a 6% discount and paid $48,200 in April 2015.

It has 7500 miles, stored winters, never driven in rain, and is in perfect condition. None of that matters really when talking to a dealer about trade in.

At $26K it has retained 55% of its value after less than 2 years. By MSRP, it's 50%.

Part of the decision to go with BMW was that I thought they had good resale value. In comparison, I paid $26K (MSRP) for my 2005 Mustang and sold it privately 10 years later in 2015 for $11K. It kept 42% of its value after 10 years.

[walnuttea]

That's pretty crazy. I've been monitoring prices here and there, and was actually happy to see that prices were't dipping that much. I would definitely shop around quite a bit with other dealers before arriving at a conclusion. That's a really low mileage car. Have you gotten a Kelly Blue Book estimate?

[SCCThree]

A similar thing happened to me a couple months ago when I looked into trading my 335is in on a 435xi.

I bought my 2011 335is CPO from the same dealer I was looking to trade back into. It had 30k miles when I bought it. In 2.5 years I have put 15k miles on it. It is in outstanding shape, still under CPO wrap-up warranty, fully loaded and bone stock. I bought it from them for $39k. KBB says the mid point trade in is about $21,500 which I already thought was pretty damn low. They offered me $18,500 with no explanation as to why they were so low vs KBB. So, I walked. Maybe it's just an Autonation thing.

I ordered my M240xi from a different dealer but I am dreading fighting over my trade once it gets here.

[wjones14]

Originally Posted by walnuttea

That's pretty crazy. I've been monitoring prices here and there, and was actually happy to see that prices were't dipping that much. I would definitely shop around quite a bit with other dealers before arriving at a conclusion. That's a really low mileage car. Have you gotten a Kelly Blue Book estimate?

KBB shows trade in range $31.5 to $34K, and value in my area at $32,897. So for some reason, the dealer I bought the car from is lower than that range.

I test drove a Focus RS last weekend. The Ford dealer offered $32.5K trade in after negotiation and MSRP on the RS. The general manager showed me some cool software they have that supposedly shows actual prices that dealers paid at auction. There were only maybe 6 2015 2 series total that sold at auction. They showed the mileage and price. The M235i cars went between $31 and $33K. All had higher mileage than mine. There was one 228i that went for $26K.

[Lucky13]

The dealer is in business to make money so they will lowball you big time. Wholesale is obviously a lot lower than retail, 2015's within 200 miles of my location are retailing for around $37K by the BMW dealers. The 3 different BMW dealers cars all had between 20-30,000 miles so your retail value should be higher. Trying to trade a 1-2 year old car is about the worst financial deal anyone can put their selves into knowing you lose 20% just in year one and that's 20% off retail but a lot more than 20% on wholesale. I've been checking pricing because my lease runs out in May and my retail value is around $33K and residual is $30K on my 2014 (9,600 miles). I couldn't find 1 M235 with manual transmission within 200 miles of my location on Autotrader.

[Pparana]

Originally Posted by wjones14

KBB shows trade in range $31.5 to $34K, and value in my area at $32,897. So for some reason, the dealer I bought the car from is lower than that range.

I test drove a Focus RS last weekend. The Ford dealer offered $32.5K trade in after negotiation and MSRP on the RS. The general manager showed me some cool software they have that supposedly shows actual prices that dealers paid at auction. There were only maybe 6 2015 2 series total that sold at auction. They showed the mileage and price. The M235i cars went between $31 and $33K. All had higher mileage than mine. There was one 228i that went for $26K.

this time of year will be best for trade in as auction prices are inflated as used dealers buy a lot of inventory for tax refund season. Blackbook is pretty close to auction, some banks have links for free. It is an industry standard for loans, wholesale and retail.

Bmws in general do not hold value the first 4 years then they kind of hit the normal trend. They do not lease well either. Not sure how they sell so many.

funny everyone here wants the focus rs, over in europe they want a mustang, even a low spec trim one over the focus.

Vorshlag did a track writeup on the focus rs, it was not very complemtary, if you plan on tracking it.

http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?p=58381

"I understand that this series of posts looks negative. Sorry, not sorry. Our impressions just did not match the shiny happy opinions of many car magazine writers or forum fan boys. We don't have a lot of tolerance for the excuses of why this car has massive understeer, and the failings of the "RDU" programming were real. The RS has massive amounts of hype which, we felt, is not justified. It needs a lot of work to handle more neutrally, and the power delivery is very FWD-like."

[wjones14]

Originally Posted by Pparana

funny everyone here wants the focus rs, over in europe they want a mustang, even a low spec trim one over the focus.

The Focus is off-topic, but the main reason I looked at it is because it's a practical car that's fun. AWD, 4 doors, a hatch, and a 350/350 engine. I'm not a track rat, but do try to go to one HPDE event per year, and I think the Focus would fit the bill as a daily driver and occasional track car. Plenty of folks over on the RS forums have tracked their cars without issue.

That said, now that the 1LE Camaro is in dealer showrooms and can be had at discount below the $44K MSRP, that seems to be the way to go if you want a bargain track car close to the performance of a GT350.

[Pparana]

Originally Posted by wjones14

The Focus is off-topic, but the main reason I looked at it is because it's a practical car that's fun. AWD, 4 doors, a hatch, and a 350/350 engine. I'm not a track rat, but do try to go to one HPDE event per year, and I think the Focus would fit the bill as a daily driver and occasional track car. Plenty of folks over on the RS forums have tracked their cars without issue.

That said, now that the 1LE Camaro is in dealer showrooms and can be had at discount below the $44K MSRP, that seems to be the way to go if you want a bargain track car close to the performance of a GT350.

camaro is a giveaway and a monster performer for what it is, I may pick one up in the future. That or a gransport. Yeah one hpde no worries will be more than fine.

[sectachrome]

Originally Posted by Lucky13

The dealer is in business to make money so they will lowball you big time. Wholesale is obviously a lot lower than retail, 2015's within 200 miles of my location are retailing for around $37K by the BMW dealers. The 3 different BMW dealers cars all had between 20-30,000 miles so your retail value should be higher. Trying to trade a 1-2 year old car is about the worst financial deal anyone can put their selves into knowing you lose 20% just in year one and that's 20% off retail but a lot more than 20% on wholesale. I've been checking pricing because my lease runs out in May and my retail value is around $33K and residual is $30K on my 2014 (9,600 miles). I couldn't find 1 M235 with manual transmission within 200 miles of my location on Autotrader.

I've been watching the used M235i market for a while, hoping to get one soon. I agree with what you said here. I would expect to see your car selling for high 30's. Manual M235i's are also extremely rare. There is only one in my entire state, and it's not in great condition. I think you would have better luck selling privately, as there just aren't a lot of cars out there to choose from right now and personally I would be willing to pay a bit more for a well cared for, low mileage manual car. If I wanted an auto/X drive model, I would have a lot more options and could be pickier on price/options.

The depreciation on these from new is rough. I'm looking to spend about $35k, I can't imagine having paid $50k 2 years ago. I would guess that's pretty common among "luxury" brands though.

[Lucky13]

This depreciation is pretty standard, one of the major car magazines always shows retained value after 4 years (in there new car issue in Sept) and cars in general are less than SUV's and way lower than trucks. If I remember the 3 series was around 50-52% which was pretty standard for cars it competes with. 7 series is horrible and nost high end BMW, Mercedes, Audi's depreciate much worse than the lower end of there product line. After 3 years depreciation really slows down and that's why buying a low mileage 3 year old car coming off lease is the best way to go. Cars are lasting a lot longer than they used to so the depreciating hit is early and hard. My neighbor has a 2009 BMW 535 with 260,000 miles on it, does a lot of hwy miles and the 5 series he had before this one he put 250,000 miles on it.

[bartginger]

Just found this thread. I have been trying to sell my 2015 M235i for about a month now on Ebay. It is mint, automatic, 4,500 miles and has no sunroof and no options. I started at $40,000 OBO and the only offer I had was for $30,000. I just took the car to Carmax on the recommendation of my BMW salesman (I have an M2 coming) and they offered me $30,000. I have been steadily reducing the price and I am now at $36,000 OBO. I have accepted the fact that with no options it's an even harder sell, but at least I didn't pay the extra for options I didn't want when I bought the car.

I think there is very little market for these cars used; if someone really wants one they'll just do what I did and buy one new. The money loss sucks but it least I will soon be rid of this thing and hopefully into a car I actually love and can cherish for a long time.

[sectachrome]

Originally Posted by bartginger

Just found this thread. I have been trying to sell my 2015 M235i for about a month now on Ebay. It is mint, automatic, 4,500 miles and has no sunroof and no options. I started at $40,000 OBO and the only offer I had was for $30,000. I just took the car to Carmax on the recommendation of my BMW salesman (I have an M2 coming) and they offered me $30,000. I have been steadily reducing the price and I am now at $36,000 OBO. I have accepted the fact that with no options it's an even harder sell, but at least I didn't pay the extra for options I didn't want when I bought the car.

I think there is very little market for these cars used; if someone really wants one they'll just do what I did and buy one new. The money loss sucks but it least I will soon be rid of this thing and hopefully into a car I actually love and can cherish for a long time.

I think the M235i is a pretty niche car, but your lack of options and sunroof is probably not doing you any favors. On the used market you don't really pay that much more if at all for a loaded car than a standard one. The low mileage is attractive, but the price would have to be pretty good for me to choose it over better optioned cars with like 20k miles. I'm sure the right buyer is out there for it though.

[Doug Hoover]

I've been reading of the huge numbers of cars currently coming off lease after 2 and 3 year leases.
Leases have been pushed in order to sell more cars from all manufacturers and it is now having the effect of depressing used car values in general. BMW is a large lessor (?) and that may be way we are seeing crappy trade in values.
Yes, dealers will certainly take advantage of us. If we let them.

[Gatte]

I don't think it's that bad. 2.5 months ago my local BMW dealership offered me 34200$ for my car whose MSRP was 47150$.

I paid 41800$ for my car and will be selling my car next week for 35000$ with 11394 miles on it. I've had my car for almost 2 years, so it has been cheaper than leasing it.

Also, this is my 3rd offer over 34000$.

[wjones14]

Originally Posted by Gatte

I don't think it's that bad. 2.5 months ago my local BMW dealership offered me 34200$ for my car whose MSRP was 47150$.

I paid 41800$ for my car and will be selling my car next week for 35000$ with 11394 miles on it. I've had my car for almost 2 years, so it has been cheaper than leasing it.

Also, this is my 3rd offer over 34000$.

Why are you the only one?

I'm not surprised if you're selling it for $35K privately. That's what they're going for.

But for a dealer to offer you $34,200, knowing they'd be selling it for $35K doesn't make any sense, unless..., 1) you are a lifelong customer of the dealer and they know you'll keep coming back; or 2) you're trading in on another car, and they're making the profit on the sale end of the deal.

If I sell mine, I will try for $39K and see what happens. It's a manual with an MSRP of $51,295, pristine condition, and 7500 miles. Folks in this thread are saying the manuals are harder to come by, so that might be in my favor. Not sure how low I would go on negotiation, but hopefully the final sale would be at least $35K. KBB says it's worth $36K retail.

[Gatte]

Originally Posted by wjones14

Why are you the only one?

I'm not surprised if you're selling it for $35K privately. That's what they're going for.

But for a dealer to offer you $34,200, knowing they'd be selling it for $35K doesn't make any sense, unless..., 1) you are a lifelong customer of the dealer and they know you'll keep coming back; or 2) you're trading in on another car, and they're making the profit on the sale end of the deal.

If I sell mine, I will try for $39K and see what happens. It's a manual with an MSRP of $51,295, pristine condition, and 7500 miles. Folks in this thread are saying the manuals are harder to come by, so that might be in my favor. Not sure how low I would go on negotiation, but hopefully the final sale would be at least $35K. KBB says it's worth $36K retail.

I have not bought a single car from that dealership and I twice went in to inquire about my M235i and the M2 and did not end up buying from them. I went to them in 2016. The book value might have changed in 2017 and hence the low offers.

If you're patient, you should get a good price for your car. There was someone else who was looking for a manual right here. I hope he sees this thread. He has another thread called 2014 cpo M235i or something.

All the very best with your sale.

[wjones14]

Originally Posted by Gatte

I have not bought a single car from that dealership and I twice went in to inquire about my M235i and the M2 and did not end up buying from them. I went to them in 2016. The book value might have changed in 2017 and hence the low offers.

If you're patient, you should get a good price for your car. There was someone else who was looking for a manual right here. I hope he sees this thread. He has another thread called 2014 cpo M235i or something.

All the very best with your sale.

Very nice reply - thank you!

Yes, I agree about the change in 2017. There was a news item just the other day about it being a buyer's market right now for used cars.

[amw896]

luxury cars are all pretty notorious for tanking in value until they hit the 3-4 year marker, then they kind of stabilize. Someone listed the main cause above as well. Blame leases in high volumes. Excess supply will always drive down prices unfortunately.

[MartyMcFly88MPH]

Wow that seems really low. KBB says my car is $34-37k trade in. Its pretty loaded and has AWD, but I wouldn't have thought that adds much.

[pltek]

your dealer is trying to take you for a ride. you should def get what others are saying 31-33K or walk away and go do dealership that is serious

Originally Posted by wjones14

Sent my CA a text asking about getting on the wait list for an M2, and getting a ballpark number on a trade for mine. The advice in her reply was that from a dealer perspective, my car is worth between $26,000 and $31,000, and I was probably better off selling it privately.

MSRP with options was $51,295. I got a 6% discount and paid $48,200 in April 2015.

It has 7500 miles, stored winters, never driven in rain, and is in perfect condition. None of that matters really when talking to a dealer about trade in.

At $26K it has retained 55% of its value after less than 2 years. By MSRP, it's 50%.

Part of the decision to go with BMW was that I thought they had good resale value. In comparison, I paid $26K (MSRP) for my 2005 Mustang and sold it privately 10 years later in 2015 for $11K. It kept 42% of its value after 10 years.

[Hankdoll]

Originally Posted by SCCThree

I ordered my M240xi from a different dealer but I am dreading fighting over my trade once it gets here.

SCC, congrats on the new car. It seems since you ordered the car you really won't have any leverage with the dealer on trade in value. He is probably pretty sure you won't walk on the deal after waiting for your exact car. Do you have a plan? (Curious, b/c I'm in the same boat as you )

[supernova72]

Originally Posted by sectachrome

I've been watching the used M235i market for a while, hoping to get one soon. I agree with what you said here. I would expect to see your car selling for high 30's. Manual M235i's are also extremely rare. There is only one in my entire state, and it's not in great condition. I think you would have better luck selling privately, as there just aren't a lot of cars out there to choose from right now and personally I would be willing to pay a bit more for a well cared for, low mileage manual car. If I wanted an auto/X drive model, I would have a lot more options and could be pickier on price/options.

The depreciation on these from new is rough. I'm looking to spend about $35k, I can't imagine having paid $50k 2 years ago. I would guess that's pretty common among "luxury" brands though.

FWIW for my 2014 M235i (bought used with 8800 miles) it took a yea for find a 6MT car that had the options I wanted. I'm still glad I went with manual trans. Hill hold! It's such a fantastic car to drive. Nothing against auto trans but I'm a stick shift car guy.

MSRP for my car was $50,800. I paid $40K even + shipping Oct of 2015. I realize it's in the mid to low 30's now. Free maintenance on 2014's follows the car. Nice.