For Sale (SOLD): 2005 BMW 330CI ZHP Performance Package Mystic Blue with Premium, Nav, Xenon, PDC - 52k miles/TN

[ZHPBilly]

Let's call this a feeler post as I have no idea what as to what price to offer my car for sale. Even then I'm not entirely sure I am going to be selling. I've driven the car approximately 8k miles in the last year and a half.

I purchased this car from BMW of Arlington, VA in April 2008 after looking for a ZHP for a LONG time. I had never even seen a Mystic Blue ZHP until this one - so I jumped on it! It's beautiful. It came with CPO and Extended Maintenance. All service has been performed by either the Arlington, VA BMW dealer or the Nashville, TN BMW dealer.

2005 BMW 330CI "ZHP"
6MT
52,000ish miles
Mystic Blue with Black Leather
No license plate holes in front bumper
All stock except for a euro tray with sliding cover (still have cup holders) and aux input in cigarette lighter
I have all original documentation and new records

Options:

* Performance Package
* Premium Package
* Xenon Lights
* Navigation
* Parking Distance Control

Replaced under warranty at time of CPO inspection:

* Rear tires
* Alcantara Shift Boot
* Alcantara Steering Wheel
* Alcantara A-pillars

All service has been performed at the dealer (under warranty and extended maintenance program):

* BM53 Radio replaced
* FM Amplifier replaced
* DME reprogrammed
* Inspection II
* Belts
* Wipers
* Oil Changes

The title is perfectly clear, but there was a small accident resulting in airbag deployment but NO PAINT WORK. A piece of road debris passed under the air dam but then "popped up" once under the car, striking the front right control arm. Repair was performed by Wagon Work in Alexandria, VA (AMAZING shop). The resulting bill was $10k, $5k of which was parts cost for air bags, headliner, etc. Again - NO PAINT WORK. The plus? You have brand new control arms, headliner, and steering wheel! I've since driven the car over 10k miles and it's just like new. I doubt a technician could tell it was ever in an accident except for the new components. There is curb rash on 3 of the wheels, and a few nicks here and there from normal use. I can give it a better look-over next time I drive it.

The car is located in Nashville, TN. But I could easily get it to DC/ATL, etc if necessary.

What is the 'Mafia's thought on price? I don't have any pictures of my specific car hosted.. but this is pretty much exactly what it looks like:

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/picture?PictId={8B361A50-FB7B-4F81-A16F-6E40B1F5B54C}&size=orig

Thanks for the recommendations:
Billy

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Billy, nice car.

So tough to price that car. On the one hand, you had a hefty bill to repair the car. On the other hand, there was no paint work. That's good.

In addition to the control arms, what else did the dealer have to replace under the car? Sounds like quite a few parts had to be replaced as a result of the debris that swooped in under the car. It might be easier if you take a look at the repair order and see what they had to do. If parts were $5K, that debris walked through your undercarriage and drilled some expensive parts.

A little more information would be helpful.

Welcome to the site.

[ZHPBilly]

Thanks for the reply; I'm trying to find the docs. All parts were BMW OEM, so therefore $Texas. Airbags and the alcantara pieces were unbelievably expensive from the dealer ($1500 for wheel, $1300 for airbags, $500 headliner). Even little things like the safety battery terminal can be $1k once replaced and installed. That and the shop is super pricey so I think the largest remaining chunk of cost was labor ($105/hr mechanical). Edit: just found some notes I had on my computer.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Yeah. The wheel is very expensive. Airbags add up too.

I think you're doing it right. Just disclose the information and assign your best to price it. If I did an inspection of the car, and found nothing wrong, I wouldn't have a problem buying a car like that.

One other question: did this get reported to Carfax or Autocheck?

[ZHPBilly]

I asked them if it would show up in Carfax and they said no. I never ran it though.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Don't believe them, Billy.

My 335 was damaged inside of a BMW dealership work bay. The technician allowed my car to get in gear while they were working on my car. Slow speed damage (about 1-2 MPH). Dimpled headlight (replaced), paint transfer on driver door (repaired), hood crease (replaced), bumper cover dented in awkward place (replaced), driver side mirror scratched (fixed).

The dealer went through their insurance. I was assured that there would be no problems with carfax. That's true. But there was a problem on Autocheck. Showed an accident at center of car. Didn't give any details about where the accident took place or how ridiculously slow the car was going. Anyhow, Autocheck revealed that accident.

If there was an insurance claim, there is a good chance that Autocheck picked this one up -- even if Carfax didn't.

That's why I have Autocheck as an affiliate advertiser (http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-4193730-10857687) on our site. Look in the first post or last post of every thread in the classifieds section. There is a link that says: "Check for Accidents Before you Buy." I don't much care about carfax, simply because they miss a lot of accidents that Autocheck picks up.

[danewilson77]

That car rulz...

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[leadsupplier]

i'm in for more pics ... i'm a little skeezed out by the fact the airbag was deployed etc.. etc..

what do you want for it?

[ZHPBilly]

i'm in for more pics ... i'm a little skeezed out by the fact the airbag was deployed etc.. etc..

what do you want for it?

I'll see about getting some pics of it.

The airbags deployed by struck of horrible luck because of how/where the debris (I think it was a drum brake) impacted. I'm not sure of the specifics of where the sensors and everything are, but it hit just in the right spot to make them trip. But all is as-new now.

I'll look around at prices, etc.

[quikryptonite]

I wanted the Mystic Blue coupe so badly for the longest time, but had to go with the sedan. It's a lovely car though. Good luck to you. Some lucky peep will be rolling in that.

[Crestwood1001]

More pics and a price pleaseeee

[BCS_ZHP]

I'm interested, left a PM with my number.

[ZHPBilly]

Sorry everyone, I got busy. Will try to get back to everyone in the next few days.

[tomjonesrocks]

Anyhow, Autocheck revealed that accident.
If there was an insurance claim, there is a good chance that Autocheck picked this one up -- even if Carfax didn't.

I agree with the Carfax thing--I bought a Saab in '02 I found out was in an unreported crash on Carfax. I was pissed.

My wife was in a pretty decent crash requiring nearly $10k in work (though no airbags deployed) in her Jeep Liberty--all work done through a very reputable body shop--and none of that was reported to either Autocheck or Instavin. I haven't actually checked Carfax on that yet--assume it's not there either.

So far it seems all the reporting sites have their faults.

[BCS_ZHP]

Billy,
Did you decide not to sell? I'm going to be in far southwestern NC next weekend, July 2-3, would like to make arrangements to see it.
Bruce

[MiniD]

I'm located in Knoxville. Interested in a price!

[BCS_ZHP]

I had the pleasure of meeting Billy and driving his ZHP a little over 2 weeks ago. Its a nice car, mechanically fit and only needs tires and a few cosmetic items. But my head's in a weird place right now, I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet on another ZHP. I told Billy I'd post its availability to the family.

When I saw and drove his car, it had 54K miles. He was visiting his parents in the DC area and then headed to CT for a beach vacation. We talked today and he's leaving the beach tomorrow, headed south on I-95 ultimately going back to Vanderbilt near Knoxville, TN. He could take the I-95 or I-81 route through PA/MD/VA, depends on the mafia's desires. He said he would stop to show the car along the way if anyone if really interested.

Here's my assessment. The non-body work incident does not show up on a check of Carfax or Autocheck. The paint is original like he said, what damage the car sustained was to the right front suspension and I could tell there's a new control arm and some other small pieces. (Mentally, I still factor that in as an incident to the vehicle's value and his point of view was that it shouldn't affect value.) All the common mechanical ailments are good -- FCABs fine, brakes fine, belts good, coolant overflow tank fine, valve cover gasket fine, no vanos noise, I didn't notice anything that needed immediate attention. But it needs tires yesterday, its down to the wear bars both front and rear. He and I assessed that the fronts are probably the original tires -- wow, 55K miles of use out of them -- as they're dry rotting in the tread grooves. The backs were probably replaced one time but they need it again.

The cosmetic things I noticed -- the NAV system is acting up, it thinks its in the SE US and would not reset, Billy suspects it needs a new antenna for the GPS; rear bumper has a gouge in it from someone bumping into it, probably a $300 deal to fix and respray the rear bumper; fabric is falling off the C-pillars, just needs a reglue; center console arm rest is worn and a little on the driver's side bolster, just needs a re-dye job; wheels are straight but all are curb rashed, a refinishing would take of that. Side rear window rubber is dry rotted, would eventually need replacement. And that's about it. Tires and the cosmetic items I tallied up to be about $2-2.5K.

Billy has assessed the car to be worth about $20K but is willing to take $19.25K due to the need for tires. I found Billy to be a very honest and laid back guy, early 30's, just finished grad school. If it sells for what he wants then great, and if not he'll keep it and fix things up over time as he has another vehicle for a daily driver.

Last item, when Billy bought this car a few years ago, his best friend was a BMW tech at one of the DC area dealerships. That friend hooked him up on the purchase of the vehicle and then attended to everything the car could possibly need mechanically. When the incident happened where he ran over a brake drum in the road, his friend hooked him up with one of the best independent BMW repair shops in our area. So I truly believe there are no mechanical mysteries or surprises with this one, its a nice lower mileage coupe worth picking up.

If you want to hit him up while he's driving tomorrow, here's Billy's cell #: 703-nine-four-six-2743. Tell him I sent you, he'll know its legit and worth him making a stop during his drive tomorrow.
Good luck,
Bruce

[kayger12]

Great info, Bruce.

Thanks for taking the time to write this up.

[BCS_ZHP]

The wife suggested that I change my name to ZHP Bounty Hunter (considering it). When I asked her what my bounty would be since I just love seeing & driving these cars, she said if they buy the car you found then ask them to buy you a beer, you love both. She's still a keeper.

[Brett72586]

sent a PM

[Atlanta ZHP Fan]

I live in Atlanta and would possibly be interested although preference isa sedan. Are you ever in Atlanta?

[BCS_ZHP]

Don't believe that Billy visits here too much anymore, would be best for you guys to call him @ seven-zero-three 946-2743.

Leave a message, he never answers an unfamiliar number, but he will call right back.
Good luck, its a very nice car.

Bruce

[ZHPBilly]

Thank you everyone for the interest, but the car has been sold. Apologies for not updating the listing sooner.