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Fri 25 Nov 2016 09:40

BMW E39 535i - Best place to sell 1998 BMW E39 535i - Chris on the road

Hi, any thoughts/experience of the best place to sell an E39 BMW 535i?

Low mileage (101K),MOT'd until Oct 2017, just serviced, had auto trans fluid changed and 2 new front tyres, new battery. Brilliant condition inside and out. Grey leather and walnut. 'M' steering wheel. The only glitch is the stereo doesn't work (not sure why), though the trip computer etc all work perfectly.

Sell via an onlien forum or alternatively Auto Trader? (not keen on the latter as I really want to avoid the usual tyre kickers and sell it on to someone who appreciates the car (if that's possible) rather than a boy racer).

Any indicative values? (difficult with seeing the car, I appreciate).

Advice gratefully received.

Chris

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Fri 25 Nov 2016 10:43

BMW E39 535i - Best place to sell 1998 BMW E39 535i - RobJP

ebay. Start at £1, no reserve. That will tell you what it's really worth, rather than the comedy 'classic' prices that some car sales places are claiming they are now climbing up to.

As to what it's really worth ? I'd say anywhere from £500 to £2k. You don't say what year it is.

Those things were never bought by people who did big mileage - those who did bought diesels. So you'd expect them to have reasonably low mileage.

It's not really likely to be bought by a boy racer. They can't afford to run it, they certainly can't afford to insure it, and, while it's certainly quick in a straight line, it's not going to cut it in handling compared to a quick Ford, Golf, or SEAT.

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Fri 25 Nov 2016 11:05

BMW E39 535i - Best place to sell 1998 BMW E39 535i - SLO76

Car and classics is worth a try, there's plenty of modern classics like this on the site and it's usefull for valuing by looking at similar cars for sale but don't get over excited by some classic dealer prices, they often have stock sitting for years at overinflated valuations.

As for valuing it well it's a hard thing even with seeing it. These are all over the place right now. Most E39's are firmly in the banger runabout stage and even tidy 520, 523 & 525's change hands for only a few hundred quid but E39 M5's are starting to rocket as all M series cars do eventually.

There's a couple of low mileage 525 Sports on at £6k on Autotrader with classic dealers but that's top top retail with a warranty and at a classic dealer who's prepared to sit on it for a long time. More mainstream dealers have them at £2.5-£3k with sub 100k mileages and history again with a warranty.

While the 535 is rare, the trade don't seem to value them any higher than the 525 which is seen as a more robust engine yet still has plenty of go so I'd figure sticking it on at £2495 and seeing where you go. Worth trying both Car and Classics and Autotrader. The later has a protected number system to filter out most of the sales/scam callers and stops texting. Gumtree while free is a nightmare for time wasters, m****ic offers and scam callers so best avoided unless it's a cheap junker.

Edited by SLO76 on 25/11/2016 at 11:07

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Fri 25 Nov 2016 12:23

BMW E39 535i - Best place to sell 1998 BMW E39 535i - 72 dudes

Good advice from SLO76, to which I would add online forums for BMW enthusiasts.

I'm a member of several for Mercedes so I assume there will be similar for past BMW 5 series too.

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Fri 25 Nov 2016 14:32

BMW E39 535i - Best place to sell 1998 BMW E39 535i - corax

I would try Pistonheads. There is a following amongst certain people on there for large petrol engined exec's, especially if they are well maintained.

If you sell it, you might even see your car pictured on the 'best smoker barges' thread, now on Vol.10, near 500 pages!

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Fri 25 Nov 2016 17:32

BMW E39 535i - Best place to sell 1998 BMW E39 535i - Galaxy

Bear in mind that, if you sell via Ebay, you are talking about at least a few hundred pounds in fees!

My brother recently sold his car via Autotrader. It's true it wasn't a BMW, it was a Ford Focus, but he sold it to the very first person who telephoned and then came round. Also, now when you advertise with them, they give you alternative telephone numbers to use in your advert, so you don't keep getting people pestering you on your home or mobile numbers. The alternative numbers divert automatically to your own phones, but a caller will never know what your actual telephone number is unless you tell them. It's brilliant!

He was very pleased with the whole advertising process on Autotrader and full of praise for them.

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Sat 26 Nov 2016 06:19

BMW E39 535i - Best place to sell 1998 BMW E39 535i - catsdad

As far as I can see eBay should not cost "a few hundred pounds in fees". I have never used them to sell but looking at their fee structure, the 10% final fee for general items is reduced to 1% for car sales.

So in this case it would a bit more expensive than an Autotrader basic ad, but the eBay auction facility may make it the better option it for a car such as this.

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Sat 26 Nov 2016 09:11

BMW E39 535i - Best place to sell 1998 BMW E39 535i - pd

Pistonheads and ebay classified are quite good for cars like this,

Take lots of photos, lots of detail of the service history etc. You need to try and appeal to an E39 enthuisiast to get a good price so look like you're an enthusiast selling.

The 535i loses out in appeal to the 540i a bit as it is just as complicated, uses as much fuel but without as much performance.

Still, nice E39s of any type are rarer and rarer so if it is nice then there will be a buyer for it.

The stereo is probably the unit in the boot btw.

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