2003 ZHP Sedan Mystic over Natural only 33k miles on BringATrailer

[Cabrio330]

Looks like a fantastic car, and the comments are all very positive. I am thinking this will set a pretty high water mark for ZHP pricing.

Not mine, no affiliation, etc.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2003-bmw-330i-zhp-7/

[BMWCurves]

I think this is my favorite color combo of all ZHPs, excluding individual options. Only personal knocks against it are lack of Cold Weather Package (really just for the heated front seats and fold down rear seats) and it's a 2003 so no auto-headlights.

[fredo]

Good find.

[BMWCurves]

And it's already shot up to $12k

If it ends up being bought by some high-end car dealership, so help me God.

[az3579]

And it's already shot up to $12k

If it ends up being bought by some high-end car dealership, so help me God.

This. If EAG buys this, it will genuinely piss me off.

[Vas]

Eag doesn't buy cars that are 2003 and under

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[danewilson77]

Purty

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[illirep]

Eag doesn't buy cars that are 2003 and under

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They sat on their last zhp for 2 years so I doubt it....

And they have plenty of inventory 2003 and older.


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[Reasoned1]

Lovely, lovely color combo...

[Vas]

They sat on their last zhp for 2 years so I doubt it....

And they have plenty of inventory 2003 and older.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkAre you placing a bid?

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[illirep]

Are you placing a bid?

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I plan on placing several until I’m the winner! Unless it goes for stupid money....


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[Cabrio330]

This car is a perfect buy for EAG, but since it is an auction I expect the bidding will soon be out of range for them to make a profit. Btw, I'm not an EAG hater.

[330blast]

This is my dream color combo, and very rare. 6 MT, super low mile, here comes the bidding war. I am really curious how high the price will go. There is a good chance that it will break $20K.

[fredo]

Now at $13k and 6 days to go.

[BMWCurves]

$14k now.

My thought every time the price goes up:

https://i.imgur.com/2O5zRj6.gif

[az3579]

$14k now.

My thought every time the price goes up:

https://i.imgur.com/2O5zRj6.gifBidding habits can be as bad as gambling for some. Lol

One reason I dislike auctions is that sometimes people artificially drive the price up.

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[BMWCurves]

$15k.


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[NYRhockey]

Not a blue guy but this car does look pristine.

The one EAG had with 28K on it took a long time to sell and was last listed at $27K, so i would not be surprised if this one sneaks into the low $20s. Currently at $16,250 with 6 days to go and 370 watchers. Going to be a good race to the end.

[webster]

damn. unicorn ZHP right there. hope it goes to a member.

[sean96gsr]

Damn. If this car had heated seats / cold weather I'd be bidding. It's otherwise perfect for me.

[illirep]

What is the consensus on the lack of heated seats? That seams to be a deal breaker for lots of folks. Is it that big of a deal?

I want to bid to win but that is a slight reservation for me.

I otherwise wouldn’t care but being in the northeast, it is a concern.

On the contrary, this would be a garage queen / fair weather car, so I could get by without them.


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[bandwagn]

You can retrofit heated seats, but it’s getting harder to find a clean low milage sedan - not to mention one in an awesome color combination.

If it ticks all the other boxes, it would be difficult to pass up - I do love my heated seats, but I have a Vert in Nebraska

[Reasoned1]

One less thing to break...

The only thing I don't care for is the alcantara steering wheel, but I'd cover it, regardless.

[Cabrio330]

Heated seats are critical for me in a convertible to increase top-down drivability here in the South from say 8 months per year to nearly 12 months per year. They are less critical with a coupe or a sedan. I think a lack of heated seats does impact value for coupes and sedans a bit, but the delta is really immaterial for a low-mileage car like this one.

[ETAction]

What is the consensus on the lack of heated seats? That seams to be a deal breaker for lots of folks. Is it that big of a deal?

I want to bid to win but that is a slight reservation for me.

I otherwise wouldn’t care but being in the northeast, it is a concern.

On the contrary, this would be a garage queen / fair weather car, so I could get by without them.


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Along with heated seats, the CWP lets the rear seats fold down making it more applicable to daily driving, but if its going to be fair weather garage queen.......

Bill, heated-shmeated.

You have to get this car.

[A1Gio2]

What is the consensus on the lack of heated seats? That seams to be a deal breaker for lots of folks. Is it that big of a deal?

I want to bid to win but that is a slight reservation for me.

I otherwise wouldn’t care but being in the northeast, it is a concern.

On the contrary, this would be a garage queen / fair weather car, so I could get by without them.


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It seems like your concern is with resale. If you intend to bid and own, and drive in fair weather, the lack of heated seats should not bother you.

If your concern is how difficult it's going to be to resell, then yes, take that into consideration.

[webster]

i live in texas so i get to use my heated seats for about one week a year, but i still would not make that factor into this decision much even if i lived in a colder clime.

[nextelbuddy]

sadly this car is just going to be bought, sat in a garage and driven another 5k in 1 year and then eventually resold. these cars tend to just get resold and change hands because people want and lust over that low mileage and resale value. They pretty much treat it as money.



if you really want heated seats its not easy but its not hard.

i retrofitted heated seats into my m3 seats in my sedan.

those seats in thet car are so mint that you obviously would keep the seat covers so you need to find a set of sport seats at the junk yard that have heated seats. get the seat covers from them and cut the heated seat elements out.

it takes me about 2 hours at the junk yard to get the seat covers off, use a razor to cut the threads that hold the heated seat elements to the seat covers.

you have to get them from sport seats. sport seats have an extra heated seat element in the thigh rest portion and comfort sets dont have that piece.

you can take your $10 heated seat elements with your seats to an upholstery shop and they can sew them in to your existing seat covers.


the seat covers are actually pretty easy to get off the seat frames.

there are plenty of DIYs and even a heated seat retrofit kit on ECS that comes with a new button panel that has all the buttons except sport button.. even the sunshade button... the wiring is pretty simple as well.


should take about 3-4 hours to do the wiring for the heated seats from the button panel to each seat under the carpet.

[nextelbuddy]

i also get so amused at the people that own those low mileage cars. they need a ZHP "expert" to help write their draft of the car for the highest price possible. that means they know that most of the people that can afford this car wont know anything about the ZHP and just how common they are with the standard 330i.

look at the comment from the seller lol


Re: TheStigM3 and ZHP exhaust is the same as 330i…… We take the description provided with this auction very seriously. It was prepared by Mike Pelly and myself. After reading period literature with articles on the ZHP launch (included in the sale BTW), we had the draft proof read and edited by “the” BMW CCA national expert on the ZHP, just to ensure accuracy before submitting to BaT for consideration. Can we suggest some quick googling before ‘educating’ the BaT audience in the future? “ZHP exhaust differences” will net you 39,600 suggested links on the topic.

[330itoy]

I have been trying for over a year for this color. All the decent ones are bought up by the dealers and resold at a premium. When BAT started it was nice to buy a car at a decent price. Now those days are gone. eAG or someone Big will buy it and flip it for a huge profit. Sucks for the enthusiastic. Wish BAT could stop it. It has got out of hand. What a waste!


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[NYRhockey]

I have been trying for over a year for this color. All the decent ones are bought up by the dealers and resold at a premium. When BAT started it was nice to buy a car at a decent price. Now those days are gone. eAG or someone Big will buy it and flip it for a huge profit. Sucks for the enthusiastic. Wish BAT could stop it. It has got out of hand. What a waste!


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In its current condition and mileage it'd probably have to go into the $20K+ for it not to be a good buy. However, if it does go for only the $16.5K it's at right now i agree someone will be flipping it.

[ETAction]

I have been trying for over a year for this color. All the decent ones are bought up by the dealers and resold at a premium. When BAT started it was nice to buy a car at a decent price. Now those days are gone. eAG or someone Big will buy it and flip it for a huge profit. Sucks for the enthusiastic. Wish BAT could stop it. It has got out of hand. What a waste!


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Speaking of buying and selling, with the way BaT is trending i'd imagine it will be bought in the next year or two by one of the larger sites/dealers. Started locally out of San Fran they have grown to be a force in the business. Always fun to scroll through their listings.

As far as this car, it'll see 20K i'm sure.

[Cabrio330]

I have been trying for over a year for this color. All the decent ones are bought up by the dealers and resold at a premium. When BAT started it was nice to buy a car at a decent price. Now those days are gone. eAG or someone Big will buy it and flip it for a huge profit. Sucks for the enthusiastic. Wish BAT could stop it. It has got out of hand. What a waste!


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I understand the sentiment since you are looking to buy, but I have never heard an owner complain about rising values. #sorrynotsorry :thumbup

For what it is worth, higher mileage examples being sold elsewhere than BaT and EAG are usually bargains. And I am not referring to 200k mile cars either. I really only watch convertibles, and there is a 2006 grey/alcantara 6-speed with 65k miles on Autotrader right now for $9,995. That is a ridiculous deal, in my opinion (having not seen the car).

[az3579]

I understand the sentiment since you are looking to buy, but I have never heard an owner complain about rising values. #sorrynotsorry [emoji106]


Except the values aren't rising.

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[Cabrio330]

Except the values aren't rising.

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I didn't suggest they were rising. I merely replied to 330itoy's suggestion that good examples are getting harder to find and that groups like EAG and BaT are causing values to rise. Which is a good thing for us owners, no?

I gather you have some insights about ZHP values. Care to share?

[holyc0w]

i also get so amused at the people that own those low mileage cars. they need a ZHP "expert" to help write their draft of the car for the highest price possible. that means they know that most of the people that can afford this car wont know anything about the ZHP and just how common they are with the standard 330i.

look at the comment from the seller lol

I did find it somewhat funny that there were 3 people representing the car on BAT.

[az3579]

I gather you have some insights about ZHP values. Care to share?

Well, they're 12+ years old now, and they're BMWs... And not collectible. And insurance won't pay you more than maybe $9k in case it gets totaled. Looking at it this way, you can get a current generation F30 for this price range. Whether it's a better car or not is irrelevant; this matters because the ZHP isn't a collectible.

The only ones that sell for more than $20k are the ones where the buyers care more about mileage than what makes financial sense. People know this, so they charge obscene amounts of money for the pristine ones, because they know that all they have to do is sit on the car for a while until someone with lots of disposable income and the desire for an old BMW comes along and buys it.

But, as far as values go, the only thing that matters is either what insurance is willing to pay for it, or how much of a loss you're willing to take when paying over it's value for one.



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[webster]

^ i agree with most of that but i must add i received a $16k payout for my totaled ZHP a year ago. an outlier, surely, but if you have maintenance and mods to back up additional value, it can help with insurance payouts.

[Cabrio330]

But, as far as values go, the only thing that matters is either what insurance is willing to pay for it, or how much of a loss you're willing to take when paying over it's value for one.

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I have bought and sold probably 24+ cars in my 40 years of driving, and only BMWs for the past 20 years (no, I am not a dealer, just an enthusiast who wants to own certain cars even if only for a year or two!), and I have never considered what insurance would pay me if I totaled the car when making or accepting an offer. Am I the exception, or is it possibly that your view about insurance payouts are a serious factor in market values? Or am I reading too much into your comment?

[webster]

up to $18k!

[illirep]

I really wish all these annoying people weren’t making it more expensive for me!!!


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[NYRhockey]

$18,250 + 5% BAT fee brings it to $19.2K before taxes. Getting up there, but if i was in the market for a zhp and liked blue i'd be considering it. We had that concourse-participating Imola here a few months ago and i think sold in the low $20Ks?

[nozhp4u]

I do remember a gorgeous Imola on black leather CA car that sold about 5-6 months ago. Every conceivable piece of BMW Performace kit you could imagine, every interior wear item replaced, ceramic coated several times...think seller was asking mid twenties and it had 6X,xxx miles.

A point was mentioned about insurance values and collectibility on these cars. I never consider an insurance company’s payout value as a good barometer of market value on bona fide collectible cars OR up and coming cult following/future collectibles. I had a ‘98 C2S and my insurance company only considered insured value to be 30 or 40k. They acknowledged that the replacement value as determined by market comparables was more than double that, but nonetheless their payout in the event of a total loss or theft would have been a fraction of that. If you drive a low mileage pristine example 10-20 year old ZHP/M3/911/etc and do not have a stated value collector car type policy, you will receive far below market value in the event your car is written off due to a total loss/theft type event.

Ultra clean, low mileage examples of any car with a niche following will command a price premium. It’s simple supply and demand.


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[johnrando]

Heated seats a must for my vert.

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[Reasoned1]

You can always work something out with the insurance company if you want them to cough up replacement value--you'll just pay through the nose to do so.

[bandwagn]

But, as far as values go, the only thing that matters is either what insurance is willing to pay for it, or how much of a loss you're willing to take when paying over it's value for one.

At this point, you either go stated-value, or you aren’t concerned about what insurance is willing to pay for it

[fredo]

$19,500 … 2 hrs to go … auction ends at 2:00 PM CST.

[illirep]

$19,500 … 2 hrs to go … auction ends at 2:00 PM CST.

$22k plus 5% plus $1k for shipping + DMV fees. Did not expect this to get this high. I was prepared to pay stupid money, but not insanely moronic money....bummer.

[BMWCurves]

Yeah I predicted $22.5k due to the low miles, sedan, right transmission, and (best) color combo.

Watching these BaT auctions just show that people have a lot of money to burn.


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[illirep]

Yeah I predicted $22.5k due to the low miles, sedan, right transmission, and (best) color combo.

Watching these BaT auctions just show that people have a lot of money to burn.


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Still doesn’t seem that the reserve is met. Am I missing something?


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[fredo]

We'll find out very soon.

[Cabrio330]

Still doesn’t seem that the reserve is met. Am I missing something?


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How can you tell that? I don't see any indication of a reserve at all, much less a reserve not met like on ebay. I must be missing something.

Edit: This car has a reserve (since they do not stipulate it does NOT have a reserve) but there is no indication of whether the reserve is met until the auction ends. From BaT:


How do I know if an auction has a reserve?

We announce when a vehicle is being offered at No Reserve by putting that information in the listing title. Apart from that, you can’t see information about a vehicle’s reserve. We don’t like the kinds of bidding games this information encourages.

[ETAction]

Right, it will not indicate whether the reserve is met or not. It has a reserve. I am sure it has been met, if not very close.

[slater]

$24,500 with 1min to go. frig.

[Cabrio330]

Winning bid was $26,000. Bidding war between two late arrivers - bimmers and surly1. More than I expected but as a ZHP owner I am happy!

[slater]

sold for $26K.

[ETAction]

geeeeeeeeeezzzzz

[san]

Wow!
And also yay I guess?


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[330blast]

Beyond my imagination!

[BMWCurves]

That’s...well, I hope the owner gets a lot of joy out of that car.


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[330blast]

Nice comment on BAT -->

Jun 22 at 12:04 PM
996gt2 83

Every ZHP listed on Craigslist just went up in price. Thanks again BAT.

[330blast]

$26K + 5% + shipping + registration, it is creeping into EAG territory.

[Vas]

Sold for $26k. Dang.

[NYRhockey]

$27,300 before taxes. Hot damn.

Was there any maintenance history? when i read the ad it says " Notable maintenance included ignition coil replacement and tail light recalls performed under warranty and hood insulation replacement at 25k miles". If that is it then this car will still need a bunch of money for the usual stuff.

[BMWCurves]

Yup. It’ll go through the same stuff I did because of age rather than mileage.


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[slater]

That’s...well, I hope the owner gets a lot of joy out of that car.


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based on the winning bidders' previous wins, i'm guessing he's a collector.

[BMWCurves]

[emoji849]


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[holyc0w]

Yowza

I would maybe fork over $20,000 if it was a 2005.

[nozhp4u]

I used to think BAT was better for the buyers than the sellers but now I’m reconsidering that theory. I was guessing 22-25k on this one...


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[wstr75]

It was 1 of 14 (Mystic Blue, 6MT, Natural Brown interior), had 33K miles and had a well known ownership history. For a wealthy collector, that price is chump change. The way the human mind works, a collector can get the same satisfaction spending $27.5K as spending $200K. It is not uncommon for a wealthy collector to optimize their happiness while minimizing their investment outgo by following a self-imposed plan to buy interesting cars at non-Ferrari prices.

They (collectors) are not likely to buy 100K mile cars and so we ZHP owners with high mileage cars are not likely benefit in increased valuation all that much. We may benefit in status as minor grade local collectors take note of our cars at local events and that's a good thing for all concerned.

[illirep]

It is interesting - zhp’s have never done well there before.


As someone who sold a few low mileage cream puff zhp’s over the years, I would hate hearing “you can get an M3 for that price” - this would drive me nuts as it was always comparing a low mileage cream puff zhp to a high mileage ratty M3.

However, in this case, one can honestly say you can get a comparable condition and mileage M3 for the same money...

That said, I think low mileage zhp’s are far more obscure than low mileage M3’s. Accordingly, this is without a doubt a collector grade vehicle that will appreciate over time, even from this premium.


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[ELCID86]

I hope the proud new owner enjoys it for many years to come.

[iya_e46]

Wow 26k


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[GMBBS]

Remember, we are all driving ZHPs that someone paid around $40K for...in 2003-6 dollars too. FWIW.

[A1Gio2]

If anyone misses it, you will probably be able to find it on BimmersRUs' website in the near future.

If you do a little research, you will find that they've bought other BMW's on BaT and listed them on their site for nearly $10k markup.

So all the EAG commenters, eat your heart out...there's a new game in town.

[BMWCurves]

They're not new, they're just the slightly lesser known resellers.

[DatZHP]

Man 26K... idk, that seems a bit high, and did BimmersRus really buy it? That sucks if they did... all their stuff is overpriced there.

[webster]

just took a gander at BimmersRUs and wow...their pricing is beyond inflated. and they offer financing?! imagine having a $400 car note on a 15 year old car...sheesh.

[joeybananaz18]

just took a gander at BimmersRUs and wow...their pricing is beyond inflated. and they offer financing?! imagine having a $400 car note on a 15 year old car...sheesh.

I just took a look myself. It really says something about the demand for ZHPs when they're commanding more and a 750i thats year newer. I know E65s have a ton of electronic gremlins, but we're still talking about a car that had a price about 2.5 times as much as ours.

[NYRhockey]

I just took a look myself. It really says something about the demand for ZHPs when they're commanding more and a 750i thats year newer. I know E65s have a ton of electronic gremlins, but we're still talking about a car that had a price about 2.5 times as much as ours.

Not quite, because their cars don't sell. The imola with 54K on it has been around since Jan 2017 (i almost bought it but the seller sucked so i passed and BRU took it). They paid $16K for it and were asking $24K and just now saw they reduced it to $23K, and it'll still sit for a long time at that price. The gray one with 97K for $20K has been around way longer than the imola.

[DatZHP]

I was curious myself and wanted to check it out on their site, but was unable to find it. Is there another location for them that i dont know about other than in IL? Can someone post a link to the cars current page? If not, thats cool, I just wanted to show my friend so he can get a good laugh at it.

[webster]

https://www.bimmersrus.com/

[DatZHP]

Yeah, thats the site i was on, but i couldnt find the Mystic Blue one from this thread in their inventory.

[Cabrio330]

Are we sure bimmers on BaT is the same as bimmersrus? If so, I imagine they'll spend several days/weeks going over the car before listing it.