What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
BMW Z3 2.8 Auto - Selling a one owner roadster and cherished number - Steveieb
My partner has downsized and finally decided to part with her beloved Z3
It's a 1997 2.8 auto in Montreal Blue metallic with 57 k miles from new.
Totally immaculate with a full service history and no issues.

It has a personalised plate which is three numbers and letters that would be ideal for a lady named Claire as it is the shortened version.

Grateful you're advice on the disposal . Was thinking of selling the plate on eBay but what reserve would you advise.

And how about the car disposal ? And asking price.

Grateful your advice
BMW Z3 2.8 Auto - Selling a one owner roadster and cherished number - Steveieb
Failed to mention that she bought it new in 1997 and it cost a whopping £35k !
BMW Z3 2.8 Auto - Selling a one owner roadster and cherished number - skidpan
Failed to mention that she bought it new in 1997 and it cost a whopping £35k !

Totally irrelevent. Its a 20 year old car now and whilst it may be worth a bit more with low mileage good condition and one owner its still a 20 year old car.

Its only worth what a buyer is prepared to pay. You just need to find that buyer.

BMW Z3 2.8 Auto - Selling a one owner roadster and cherished number - SLO76
No idea about the market for plates but I’d call round dealers to see if anyone is prepared to buy it and how much for before separating it from the car. It won’t add much value to the car together if at all but it may help it sell.

As for the car itself, a well written advert on Autotrader with loads of pictures and a realistic price would be your best route. Don’t get carried away with the over-inflated prices some dealers are trying to fetch for Z3’s, although pretty it’s not a classic and was never the best two seater sports car on the market and autos are less popular than manuals. Plus these so called classic dealers are willing to wait months, even years to get that premium price.

If it genuinely is immaculate I’d try it at £4,995 with an aim to rip the arm off the first person to offer more than £4,500. I see some on at dealers at £9k or so but they’ll sit and sit waiting on that one buyer with more pounds than brain cells. Alternatively you could call round any prestige/classic dealers in your are to see if they’ll bid it. If one has a punter in waiting you may get strong money and an easy sale.

I did sell a 2.8 manual on an R plate a couple of years ago. In good but not mint condition, 86k and a folder of paperwork thick enough to beat an elephant to death with. Friend bought it despite my advice that he wouldn’t like it (bit of a boy racer) and he wanted out of it after a few months as he found it dull to drive. Might look like a sports car but it certainly doesn’t drive like one. I found a buyer quickly at £2,800. Ended up buying a crusty Mk II Toyota MR2 that he rather liked but in typical farmer style tried to maintain on the cheap and ruined.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/02/2018 at 20:35

BMW Z3 2.8 Auto - Selling a one owner roadster and cherished number - KJP 123

Wonder if it is worth splitting plate and car. To me, initials KJP, if I wanted the car the plate means nothing much, maybe just a bit more interesting than a normal plate. Claire may really like it for her brand new Mini cabriolet though but won’t want hassle of buying car.

Don’t know where to sell but I don’t think ebay would be all that good.

BMW Z3 2.8 Auto - Selling a one owner roadster and cherished number - Steveieb
Thanks for your comments.
Will try Autotrader at £2995 without the plate and hope to sell CLR separately.
BMW Z3 2.8 Auto - Selling a one owner roadster and cherished number - Metropolis.
Try posting on car and classic

m.carandclassic.co.uk

Different type of punter on there. Take loads of good pictures, give it a personal touch in the description and you should get a better price. Emphasise that it’s 1 owner too.
BMW Z3 2.8 Auto - Selling a one owner roadster and cherished number - badbusdriver

£2995 seems a bit low to me, when i looked on autotrader the other day there were only 3 (2.8) with less than 50k miles, ranging from £8795 to £12995, and while SLO is probably right about patient dealers/wishful thinkers, i can't help thinking that if the car is in the condition you say, you should manage more than that.

Unless you are in a desperate hurry to offload the car, i'd suggest pricing it as SLO suggests. It is after all, getting to the time of year when more people might be thinking of the nicer weather to come and getting a new toy to enjoy it in!.