Possible owner questions

[HokieZHP]

Hey everyone!

I've been lurking around here for a couple weeks now and decided to make an account since I'm getting more serious about buying a ZHP. This will be my first BMW so I am very excited. I'm going to look at one this weekend. Here are some specs on it:

2003 330i ZHP
Black with tan interior
Leather
116k miles


I heard about the car through my mechanic friend who I trust and he said the car is very well maintained and actually used to be his car haha.

Anyways I was hoping some of you guys could give me an idea as to what something like this would be worth assuming everything is well sorted and working?

Thanks!
Chris

[Marcus-SanDiego]

We just saw a ZHP sell for $9900 the other day. It had 105,000 miles on it. It was a Florida car. We also think that was a low sales price.

I'd probably expect to pay about $11,000-$12,000 for that car with those miles.

[HokieZHP]

Thanks Marcus! His asking price is $12,500 but I think I can bring him down some...hopefully. Any things that you would suggest I ask him about/look for?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Get all of the maintenance records. A lot of maintenance should have been done on that car. If a lot of it has been deferred, then factor that into your offer price.

Your mechanic friend will do a pre-purchase inspection for you?


iPad. Tapatalk. Bi-winning.

[Johnmadd]

12,500 is fair. Got mine for 12,000 with 99,000 miles and a lot of good maintenance records like cooling system overhaul with performance water pump and the ecu already updated and a few subtle mods. Oh and be advised that if you have never had a black car that it is hard to keep clean. Sounds like a good deal so far though, id offer 10,500 and see where it goes from there.

[HokieZHP]

I think my friend can do a PPI. The car is an hour away but I may be able to work something out. And yes my family has had black cars and they are a pain to keep clean, they do look good though!

Only issue is I have to sell my '02 Jetta tdi before I can buy this. If anyone is interested let me know.

[Johnmadd]

I think my friend can do a PPI. The car is an hour away but I may be able to work something out. And yes my family has had black cars and they are a pain to keep clean, they do look good though!

Only issue is I have to sell my '02 Jetta tdi before I can buy this. If anyone is interested let me know.

How much? Auto or stick? Pm is cool or right here, just curious, always looking for a good deal on a dd.

[HokieZHP]

Pm'd you.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Hokie, be sure to formally introduce yourself in the New Members forum.

[billschusteriv]

Hi Hokie! Welcome!

As Marcus indicated, maintenance records around that mileage will be invaluable. One point in particular is to find out if the cooling system has been overhauled and what parts have been replaced. If not, it isn't a deal breaker, but this will be the first thing to do before driving the car a great deal or distance.

[danewilson77]

Welcome to the Mafia Hokie.

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[johnrando]

Welcome. Be sure to check out:
http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?374-E46-BMW-330-ZHP-Buyers-Corner-Is-it-a-good-deal

[Marcus-SanDiego]

And be sure to check out the FAQ. You want to know everything about these cars.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?1789-Frequently-Asked-Questions-%28FAQ%29-About-the-BMW-E46-330-ZHP-Performance-Package-Option

[HokieZHP]

Thanks for the unofficial welcome guys. Won't be official till I get the car haha.

I'll be sure to so a formal intro in the new members section. That FAQ answered a lot of my questions, great resource!

[kayger12]

I'll unofficially welcome you here, and officially in the new member section. :)

Welcome (unofficially) to the Family.

[HokieZHP]

Thanks kayger!

Another question for you guys? How long did it take you to find your ideal zhp?

I feel I got lucky because I wanted black manual zhp with leather and tan. And this was one of the first zhps that I learned about through my mechanic friend. Am I unusually lucky to learn about pretty much the exact car I want within a week or so? Of course I haven't driven it yet but it does have everything that I want in a zhp

[kayger12]

Yes, you're definitely lucky. I looked for several months and opted for a coupe when a sedan would have been better for me. I realized pretty quickly that if I wasn't willing to be flexible with certain things, (color, interior, etc.) it could be a really long time before I found one.

The only thing I was not willing to compromise on was the manual trans. Otherwise, I was more concerned with mileage, condition, and maintenance.

I felt like I was fortunate that it only took me a few months.

[johnrando]

It took me about a month to find mine, but it took searching several resources daily and I even "settled" by putting on offer on one from a dealer late in the evening right before they closed (no paperwork signed, etc), and then I found the one I really wanted (and bought) in newspaper by chance the next morning. Whew!

And, BTW, you are officially a member, car or no. We welcome all.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

And, Chris, I also tell people to prepare for frustration along the way. If you find yours right away, great. If not, be patient. There are a lot of bad sellers out there. I had to dig to unearth a lot of information that was not disclosed by the selling parties. Lots of material nondisclosure. Very irritating.

[danewilson77]

3 weeks.

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[aurelius]

Found on Dallas.Craigslist in May of '08, about 6 weeks after buying a pristine e39 530 Sport. I tell the seller I gotta sell the 5. He says ok and pulls the craigs post.

Enter credit crisis. 7 months later I finally had a cash buyer for my 5. Amazingly, the ZHP was still tucked away in the seller's garage (he also has a company car).

Very lucky and a very low price. In today's über-tight used car market, that would not happen. Quite the opposite. These days, be prepared to POUNCE once you've found THE ONE...

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Exactly. Someone just posted that story about the used car market being extremely tight.

We see how fast that ZHP in Florida just sold. You had to be on top of it immediately and you had to be ready to travel.

I knew that I would have to travel for my car. It's really difficult to confine yourself to the area you live in. Way too limited.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Story about the used car market: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304474804576371314168816464.html

[johnrando]

Interesting. I wouldn't have guessed.

[aurelius]

Not that this is necessarily a reflection of the entire national used car market but I found a 2002 325i non-Sport, automatic with 66k miles back in January for $7500. And 2 weeks ago I sold a friend's 2003 Honda Accord EX coupe, V6, automatic, 94k miles for $8900.

[HokieZHP]

And, Chris, I also tell people to prepare for frustration along the way. If you find yours right away, great. If not, be patient. There are a lot of bad sellers out there. I had to dig to unearth a lot of information that was not disclosed by the selling parties. Lots of material nondisclosure. Very irritating.


Yeah I know how annoying that can be. Luckily one of my mechanic's good friends owns a dealership around here and bought the car new. Drove it, sold it to a Duke doctor for 2 years and bought it back from him. Sold it to my mechanic friend. Then bought itback after. Then sold it to his best friend who has the car now. So he knows the entire history of the car which is good. And it isnt being actively sold yet. The dealer's friend who has the car now called the dealer the other day and said he was selling it and I happened to be there talking to him so i get first dibbs on it since he's friends with my mechanic friend. So I was in the right place in the right time.

Sorry that's kind of confusing but hopefully it'll make sense. Main point of all that is that the history of the car is pretty well known. I'm hoping the car is still in good shape when I go look at it either tomorrow or Saturday.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Made perfect sense. As I said, if you get one quickly (this one), that's great. If it's not everything you want it to be, though, and you have to start a new search, then be prepared to exercise patience.

You sound quite capable, though, so my words are really be said for others who may need a reminder.

[HokieZHP]

Either way thanks for the advice. I'm sure I'll have to dig at least a little to find out more of the detailed history of the car.

Hopefully this one will be nice because NC and the immediate surrounding states don't have the best car selection. Wish I lived in cali! Coolest cars are always out there

[goofiefoot]

I lucked out with mine.

There happened to be 2 in my city that I was able to test drive. One sold out from under me, and the other had some issues I wasn't willing to take on. I had already sold my DD, so I was ready to buy. Daily scavenging of all the online BMW forums, as well as nationwide craigslist searches yielded very little. I was getting a little panicked when I happened to check a forum (not this one) and saw a newly posted zhp in Colorado. I got in contact with the owner, had a friend that happened to live in Denver go check it out, and I was on a plane with a cashier's check the next day. What a great feeling to drive JUST the right car home.

Hang in there. You'll find the right car. Good luck!

[HokieZHP]

So here's an update. I went and looked at the car yesterday. First thing I noticed...it's de-badged. It has new rear tires and good front tires. Front seats are faded a so is the stearing wheel. It has black cubed interior with tan leather. Exterior looks great except for the worn window seals. I've seen the seals worn on every one that I've looked at. Can anyone give me an estimate on what it would cost to replace those?

The interior looks good besides the seats. Everything works and maintenance has been kept up with. I drove it also and it drove well. It had quite a bit of road noise and some brake noise. Is that normal?

He wants $12.5 for it

[kayger12]

Road noise could be the tires. Shouldn't have any brake noise.

[HokieZHP]

Well the brake noise faded after a few stops but was not completely gone. I was just wondering what it could be.

[kayger12]

Well the brake noise faded after a few stops but was not completely gone. I was just wondering what it could be.

Sometimes a little rust can build up on the rotors and make noise during braking. That might explain why it went away after a few stops.

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[danewilson77]

Well the brake noise faded after a few stops but was not completely gone. I was just wondering what it could be.<br />
<br />
Sometimes a little rust can build up on the rotors and make noise during braking. That might explain why it went away after a few stops.<br />
<br />
Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

+1.....car probably hadn't been driven in a week or so.

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!