Thoughts on this 04 330i?

[ELCID86]

Need your collective advice. I may have tracked down the car I am looking for near Charlotte, NC. Seems like a nice guy to deal with. Prompt on emails and we spoke for about 15-20 min. He also just sold an M Coupe. This is his 4th BMW. He is looking for another M. Recommend a PPI? He actually suggested he’d take it in if I wanted him to –shop of my choice. (I’ve made a few edits below based on things he told me) Appears it needs some PDR on the dents, possibly H2O pump and tensioners. I value your opinions. Reasonable price for this mileage given the maintenance?

$13k OBO
2004 330i ZHP
Build date is 03/04
VIN: WBAEV53424KM06873
100,500 miles- my DD though
6 speed manual
Imola/Alacantara- all the interior was re-wrapped by BMW around 45k
Cold Weather package (heated seats, headlamp washers)
H/K Sound
OEM Aux input -located in the glove box
Carbon fiber wrapped trim (over previous owner's red painted trim)
(Non-smoker)
(3rd owner- Have all maintenance records from dealer and previous owner. I bought it at ~67k miles, 2 years ago. Car has been registered in VA, SC and NC.)

Maintenance:
-New cross drilled/slotted rotors and pad- about 12k on them
- New front axle wheel bearings both sides - about 12k
-Powerflex FCABs within 15k
-I have Powerflex RTABs but they are not installed
-Tranny and diff fluid changed with in the last 12k
-Oil changed within the last k and changed at least every 7.5k with Mobil 1
-Recent alignment and rotation.
-Cabin and air filter changed in the last 1k
-New tires all around within the last 9k (Nitto)
-Just did the Inspection II with new spark plugs, wires and valve cover gasket
-Replaced expansion tank, coolant and new belts at 100k (one tensioners was also replaces, but not water pump)

Mods:
-LED tail lights
-Clear Corners
-Clear side markers
-OEM BMW Performance SSK- (pictures are pre-install)
-3.38 diff vs. factory 3.07
-Square wheel set up- running 255/35 18s all around
-12.5mm wheels spacers on the rear
-The wheels have been plasti dipped black- I bought it that way and have yet to change it

Disclosure:
-Car has a clean title and car fax
-Car has 3 minor dents that I know of, 2 on the driver's side rear door (both from my 5 year old) and one on the passenger's rear quarter
-I also had a piece of tire tread thrown up at the car while driving down the interstate. The damage entails a new bumper, new fogs, new ambient temp. sensor, new wheel well shield. Repaired and bumper and hood resprayed. (Pics from before and after)
-Broken clip on dash trim near glovebox
-CF wrap near e-brake peeling/bubbling a bit

I hope this link works:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p12nxwbjg5xn8th/qU8sMflHTe

[Torxuvin]

He's had it listed for a few months. (in which he has been slowly dropping the price) I think that's fair for the mileage and maintenance. That's a little under what I want to sell mine for.

[S85FTW]

Do the sedans hold their value better than coupes? I assume so because the zhp sedan is the best E46 sedan made where the zhp coupe is second best (to the M3). I am just wondering because I sold my car for $12,000 with 111 on the clock and it was an 04 coupe back in July 2012. I could not get a dime more out of it.

[ELCID86]

He's had it listed for a few months. (in which he has been slowly dropping the price) I think that's fair for the mileage and maintenance. That's a little under what I want to sell mine for.
Thanks. He said he was not in a hurry to sell since he sold his M coupe and is slowly looking for an M replacement. This is his DD.

[NorCalZman]

If anything I think sedans have the practicality advantage over the coupe. I hardly ever carry people in the back, but I like having the rear doors anyway.

[ELCID86]

If anything I think sedans have the practicality advantage over the coupe. I hardly ever carry people in the back, but I like having the rear doors anyway.
Agree. One of the reasons my 20 YO son wanted to sell his 330Ci and wants a sedan.

[ELCID86]

Back to the original question... any other thoughts on the car?

[johnrando]

Yeah, we tend to be an "off topic" kinda group. I don't pay close attention to prices but the car itself seems well taken care of maintenance-wise and worth it. If others say the price is fair, it's certainly worth a closer look. That could be some pricey dent fixing though, it will be interesting to see what it takes to fix that.

[ELCID86]

Yeah, we tend to be an "off topic" kinda group. :-)

That could be some pricey dent fixing though, it will be interesting to see what it takes to fix that.

Good point. I guess I could try to get a local PDR shop look at it. I think the driver's side back door window trim would need replacing for sure.

[nike001]

Story on SES light & wrapped trim? Is it cube under there or did he sell off his cube and just wrap some crappy wood trim? I'd personally try for a lower price because IMO.. cube is a special ZHP thing. Much better than wooden trim Di-noc wrapped.

Are the pictures in the dark from the previous seller? Seems like the bumper has been resprayed in the pics taken in daylight. Or are the daylight pictures the older ones?

But, I figure a front bumper respray, new foglights, possible hood respray, fog light trims.. if all of that hasn't been done; new shift boot, remove/replace wrapped pieces (steering wheel, cupholders/ebrake surround), coby wheel re-wrap, whatever work fixes the SES light, remove plasti-dipped wheels, remove tinted corners, address dents, address the probably burnt ZKWs and you should be alright. I'm nitpicking though, but you asked us about the car so I'm assuming you want this type of answer.

GL



Agree. One of the reasons my 20 YO son wanted to sell his 330Ci and wants a sedan.

I was 19 when I was shopping for my ZHP (21 now), and I didn't even look at the coupes. The sedans just look so much better than the coupes do IMO, they look scrawny because of their bigger brother, the M3, with it's larger fenders and such.

[Mike V]

Did you already run AutoCheck? It is showing 2 accidents, both listed as minor. Minor damage to the left door back in 11/2004 and left front 'slight' impact in 2011 (probably the damage that he disclosed). It also shows he's the 5th owner, but that isn't always accurate.

I would ask if the left door still has the VIN tag. It might have been minor enough to not have been replaced.

Is the 3.38 diff an LSD? That would be a huge plus.

With 2 accidents in the history, even though they are minor, is going to hurt your resale when that time eventually comes. I wouldn't pay $13k, but if that replacement diff is an LSD, my judgment might become clouded a little. :)

[Avetiso]

Front bumper has some bad orange peel.

Don't like the carbon fiber. It looks cheap.

I wouldn't be worried about the minor accidents so long as he is upfront and honest. Get the car inspected and make sure the damage was as he told you.

I'd offer him 11-11.5k.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[zhpnsnv]

Looks like the trim clip is broken on the passenger side dash piece (sticking up). I would not consider this car for myself for several of the reasons stated above and because it would be work for me to get it back to stock. If it's to your taste, then that's a different story.

[ELCID86]

Story on SES light & wrapped trim? Is it cube under there or did he sell off his cube and just wrap some crappy wood trim? I'd personally try for a lower price because IMO.. cube is a special ZHP thing. Much better than wooden trim Di-noc wrapped.

Are the pictures in the dark from the previous seller? Seems like the bumper has been resprayed in the pics taken in daylight. Or are the daylight pictures the older ones?

But, I figure a front bumper respray, new foglights, possible hood respray, fog light trims.. if all of that hasn't been done; new shift boot, remove/replace wrapped pieces (steering wheel, cupholders/ebrake surround), coby wheel re-wrap, whatever work fixes the SES light, remove plasti-dipped wheels, remove tinted corners, address dents, address the probably burnt ZKWs and you should be alright. I'm nitpicking though, but you asked us about the car so I'm assuming you want this type of answer.
I do appreciate the response.
WRT the trim, he said the previous owner had painted it Imola Red! And he had it covered to hide that. I had not thought about how that would de-value the car.
Darker pics are from previous owner and fender/hood/fog light were all repaired. I think the coolant light has been addressed with the cooling system work, but need to verify.
- I actually think my son likes the dipped wheels and clear corners; my preference would be to un-dip the wheels. We had just dipped the rims on his silver coupe before I sold it.
-Do you see something wrong with the headlights or just speculating (I'm not sure of the history of the issue)


I was 19 when I was shopping for my ZHP (21 now), and I didn't even look at the coupes. The sedans just look so much better than the coupes do IMO, they look scrawny because of their bigger brother, the M3, with it's larger fenders and such.
Thanks. My almost 21 YO will be the primary driver of this when he gets back from a semester abroad. I hope the urban legend on red cars attracting attention from the police is truly just that!

[BRGcoopahS]

I wouldnt even give that car a further look after seeing those pictures. It looks beaten to crap. Any car that is beaten to crap I think its pretty safe to say that the owner beat the piss out of the car. You make a car look like that, don't expect the owner to have maintained the thing. Who knows though, mabe the guy bought the car in that condition and he actually tried fixing it up.

[zhp43867]

After the respray it looks way better. Interior pictures were taken in the least flattering light imaginable. Wheels need to be refinished in silver.

If you really like the car, it's not beyond recovery. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I don't think you'd be stupid to buy it. As always, you just need to go into the purchase with realistic expectations. This car will cost you a bit of money immediately post sale. The coupe in my signature needed a bit of recovery after I bought it as well.

[onepercent]

I think it seems fine. Try to knock a grand off the price to cover some of the repairs. It seems very well taken care of with just some cosmetic bruises. Very hard to find a 10 year old car without some of that. Cosmetic stuff I tend not to worry about too much (I know many of you have cars that always seem to be showroom perfect all the time!).