Are e28 prices going up quite a bit??????

[tacm]

I have been noticing some of the prices on our cars recently and i think they are creeping up a bit. A well sorted 535is with nice paint and good history is north of 7k. I have not seen an M5 for under 12k in recent memory, and I have seen some tuner clones in the high teens(lord knows what a real Hartge or Alpina is fetching these days). Anyone have any thoughts on this??????

[M635CSi]

If everyone believes they have gone up then they will go up. There is a lot of E28 available so if prices go up, more cars will come onto the market pushing against price increases.

As the fundamentals supporting a healthy economy erode more "bling" will be sold. Healthy economies incent investment in the means of production. Unhealthy economies encourage consumption.

I would not say E28 prices have gone up quite a bit.

[ChronicX]

in a much shorter way, I would say yes.

[Justin_FL]

The people that realize how much it costs to make an E28 "right" won't mind paying higher prices for the nicer cars. Of course, a well sorted E28 is nothing more than a car that has been maintained properly, but as with any 20 year old car it's more the exception than the rule as the years pass and the asking prices reflect a premium.

Even your typical, fair condition ~$2-4k 535i/535is is not quite the bargain once you start poking around, open the checkbook, get your hands dirty, and begin replacing marginal components that are tired after 20+ years, before things start breaking and you are stuck on the side of the road. Of course, there is a large percentage of E28 owners that buy them because the cars are cheap and there are plenty of cheap ones to choose from and "fix up". Getting stuck on the side of the road is just the inconvenience of owning a 20 year old car, right? I won't tolerate that in any car I own, but of course in the back of your mind it's a risk for the nicest E28s, too.

IMO, cheap E28s are false economy. If you want a nice, well sorted and reliable car where everything functions as intended and won't scare away the birds, it's probably worth spending the cash up front and starting off with the right car because making the car run right and look nice can become very expensive endeavors.

Not that there aren't deals to be had, but cheap E28s just aren't worth it for me once you run the numbers to fix one up.

[daka]

Hey,
You are preaching to the choir....
Almost any descent not to say really nice E28 seems to be in the $ 3000 to $5000 range...any with out serious rust problems that is.
I know that mine had over $10,000 spent on it from 2001 to present...
If I hadn't been "seduced" by the E24's (an E28 with a sexy body) I wouldn't have "sold" it

[mogie]

I think e28s have gone up slightly, but not much. Some e28s though are priced way too high and some are pretty reasonable. On average though i'd say they've gone up like 500 bucks in my opinion.

[M635CSi]

On average though i'd say they've gone up like 500 bucks in my opinion.

Is that the same as saying they've doubled in price?

[mogie]

lol, the original reference was to well sorted e28s so the $500 increase is referring to those good examples. As for the cheaper not so good ones i see no change in those. Just the better ones

[CT533i]

It's funny this topic was posted. Just last week I got my Property Tax for my 533i. I figured the car's worth was going to be even lower than last - It wasn't. It's about $1K higher! Last year they said it was worth $1,900 - now it's 2,900. According to my checkbook, the last time it was worth this much was in 2002. (oh and yeah, like I'd sell it for $2,900 )

Well, it is becoming a classic. Apparently, 25 years is the official age a car becomes a classic. Many think it's 20. However, in CT you can get classic plates for a car if it's 20 years and over. This is as of the past few years - prior to that it was 25.

[M635CSi]

This question is a riddle. Prices don't go anywhere, they don't go up and they don't go down. People create the price when they tell a story of worth; what their car is worth or when others tell them what their car is worth. To the extent the storyteller is believed, that becomes the price. Depending on how well the story is delivered and the credibility of the storyteller, the price is accepted.

[ChronicX]

I bought my car for $800 and after 1.5 years the only issue is that the gas line was leaking. $12 fix.

[ledfoot87]

^thats like me

i paid $500 for my 86 with great interior and decent paint, 190k, 5spd, great runner (but sold my old eta for $500 to buy the m30), put borbets on it to replace the metrics ($350-set of 5 w/ healthy potenzas), and "fixed" the ingition relay (loose and hanging out so the car died every once in a while for the p.o. i pinched the prongs closer together and reinstalled it and haven't had a prob since).

my step brother paid $1600 for his, the interior is crap, paint looks like crap and in the last 3 months he's replaced the coolant rez, guibo, shift linkage, clutch hyrdo-system (master, slave, hoses) and it still needs tie rods, bushings, suspension and a tune up.

i told him patience is a virtue but he jumped at the first one that ran.

[Al Canuck]

I bought my car for $800 and after 1.5 years the only issue is that the gas line was leaking. $12 fix.

That may be the only issue that has stopped it from running, but I bet it needs;

Subframe mounts
Control arm and/or bushings
Brake hoses
Power steering leaks
Engine oil leaks
Guibo
Pitman arms
SI batteries
windows are probably slow
AC work?
Driveshaft ok?
Tail light gaskets
Trunk seal
Valve adjustment

The list of E28 common maladies is HUGE. We work on everything from beaters to concours M5's, and they ALL need or have needed that much work.

Here's the list that my 87 535i has had in the past 2 months;

Rear main seal
Clutch
Trans(swapped in a 265)
Rebuilt shifter
Reman driveshaft
4 wheel brakes
Partial tuneup(plugs and valve adjust)
Control arms
Wheels and tires
Various electrical bugs
Clutch master
Clutch slave
All fluids changed(except coolant)
Swaybar links
Tail light gaskets
Strut housing
Complete exhaust
Cap and rotor
Coolant temp sensor
CV shafts
Diff(3.73swap)
Centre bearing
02 sensor

Still needs;

Subframe mounts
Pitman arms
Various other things

And this was a "good" car, dealer maintained, concourse winner a few years ago.

I guess what a car "needs" is highly subjective, but as a mechanic/shop owner/BMW nut, I want, and NEED my car to run and drive as it was in 1987. A $12 fuel leak would not be nearly enough to make me happy.

Al

[ledfoot87]

ah but needs can quite often be based on budget. if i had the money, i'd be replacing everything on my car and my bike. but i don't, so i replace the things that need immidiate attention and monitor the progress of the things that will be done when they can be.

the things i want to do to my car is always a mile long, but list of things i know should be done isn't far behind and i can only handle one or two things at a time on the needs-to-be-done list. my checkbook just won't allow it.

[ldsbeaker]

I bought my car for $800 and after 1.5 years the only issue is that the gas line was leaking. $12 fix.

That may be the only issue that has stopped it from running, but I bet it needs;

Subframe mounts
Control arm and/or bushings
Brake hoses
Power steering leaks
Engine oil leaks
Guibo
Pitman arms
SI batteries
windows are probably slow
AC work?
Driveshaft ok?
Tail light gaskets
Trunk seal
Valve adjustment

The list of E28 common maladies is HUGE. We work on everything from beaters to concours M5's, and they ALL need or have needed that much work.

Here's the list that my 87 535i has had in the past 2 months;

Rear main seal
Clutch
Trans(swapped in a 265)
Rebuilt shifter
Reman driveshaft
4 wheel brakes
Partial tuneup(plugs and valve adjust)
Control arms
Wheels and tires
Various electrical bugs
Clutch master
Clutch slave
All fluids changed(except coolant)
Swaybar links
Tail light gaskets
Strut housing
Complete exhaust
Cap and rotor
Coolant temp sensor
CV shafts
Diff(3.73swap)
Centre bearing
02 sensor

Still needs;

Subframe mounts
Pitman arms
Various other things

And this was a "good" car, dealer maintained, concourse winner a few years ago.

I guess what a car "needs" is highly subjective, but as a mechanic/shop owner/BMW nut, I want, and NEED my car to run and drive as it was in 1987. A $12 fuel leak would not be nearly enough to make me happy.

Al

Sounds about right. I spent more on most of this stuff than I spent on the car outright!!