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Hey guys, so just recently i bought a 2002 BMW 325i with 125k miles for $4k. I paid $3k cash and then i was gonna finance the rest but i got paid yesterday so i just paid it all in full.
This car is in excellent condition (exterior, interior, mechanical) but i wanna do something to it to increase its value to maybe re-sell it and buy another car & continue to do so over and over again and make profits while exploring all types of cars. I think that i got a great deal on this car too.
Below are some pics of the car. If i didn't tell you that i bought it for $4k, what price point would you have guessed? & Please give me any tips/suggestions on what i can do to increase its value.
Thanks.
EDIT: i first bought this car not to fix and re-sell it but just to own a car. Im only 18 and i wanted to have a nice decent 2nd car (first was 2000 honda civic) I was just wondering if theres anything else i can do to increase its value so that maybe one day i can sell it.
$4500, but at that age so many things go wrong on an E46 the price can vary a lot. At 125K pretty much every rubber or plastic part under the hood and in the suspension needed to be replaced along with the cooling system refresh and possible vanos rebuild. Plus those automatic transmissions weren't particularly known for their longevity. Base no package 325i's were the most leased model 12 years ago, so they're all over the place. From the looks of it that car doesn't have any option packages - no sport, no premium, no cold weather, no xenons, base stereo and no leather. They didn't come much more stripped than that.
Those cars go for 3000-3500 in my area. Do you even have the front floor mats? Two keys?
Buying cars and then reselling them to make a profit is not as easy as you think. For one, you'll be paying taxes on each car you buy, because most people will not buy a car from an individual unless they have the title in hand. So that means you need to register each car and pay the taxes, and that will be several hundred to several thousand dollars based on the value of the car. So right there, you have to buy a car really cheap and then sell it for least $500-$1000 more than you paid for it just to break even.
The best way to do this is to buy cars at auction that have been wrecked and that you can repair easily and resell, if you have the knowledge and ability to do that. If not, you're far more likely to lose money.
This car is in excellent condition (exterior, interior, mechanical) but i wanna do something to it to increase its value to maybe re-sell it and buy another car & continue to do so over and over again and make profits while exploring all types of cars. I think that i got a great deal on this car.
Just a word of advice. If you want to do that.. don't buy a used BMW... especially high mileage.
I agree with the others, about the best you can hope for on this deal is that if you might be able to drive it for a year and sell it for what you have in it provided you take good car of it and don't run into any significant mechanical issues.
The best thing to do to keep a car's worth is keep it clean. Really clean.
If there are maintenance records make sure you keep them.
If the seats are leather they need to be mink oiled at least once a year. Don't waste money on fancy leather treatments, go to the shoe care aisle and get a tin of mink oil. Get some saddle soap if they need to be cleaned.
Protection from the sun is also important. If you don't have a garage or carport, get some sunshades, one for the front and back windows. Park in the shade whenever possible.
EDIT: i first bought this car not to fix and re-sell it but just to own a car. Im only 18 and i wanted to have a nice decent 2nd car (first was 2000 honda civic) I was just wondering if theres anything else i can do to increase its value so that maybe one day i can sell it.
Best thing for you to do is to not putting un necessary money into the car. Keep up the maintenance and repair only what's necessary to keep it running. Do you have full coverage on the car? Even if you do, imagine you throw $1000-$2000 into this used car (not hard with used BMW) and car gets into accident.
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