Help please - What's my E90 worth?
Discussion
A boring story but my car got rear-ended on a slip-road off the M3 a couple of months ago. The insurers of the car that hit me admitted liability and suggested I go to one of their nominated repairers for an estimate which came out at just over £2K.
So they decided to class it as a Cat N and valued it at £2,055, but I have got them to increase that to £2,240.
As it's ongoing I don't want to go into too much detail but it's a 55 plate manual 330i SE (so the great N52 engine) on 121K miles in Sparkling Graphite with Beige leather and Light Poplar wood trim. It has Bi-Xenons, electric glass sunroof, power-fold mirrors and a retro-fit DAB head unit.
The only manual N52 engined 330is I found on Autotrader are both Sport models but were £3,500 and £4,275, so £2,240 seems a bit mean to me.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
So they decided to class it as a Cat N and valued it at £2,055, but I have got them to increase that to £2,240.
As it's ongoing I don't want to go into too much detail but it's a 55 plate manual 330i SE (so the great N52 engine) on 121K miles in Sparkling Graphite with Beige leather and Light Poplar wood trim. It has Bi-Xenons, electric glass sunroof, power-fold mirrors and a retro-fit DAB head unit.
The only manual N52 engined 330is I found on Autotrader are both Sport models but were £3,500 and £4,275, so £2,240 seems a bit mean to me.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Nice spec car, but they'll be pricing on a boggo one using data that is 12 to 18 months old. Whilst 2.2k seems a bit low, the other figures feel a bit high. I was about to advertise a 3 owner e91 330d m-sport auto, 120k miles on an 08 plate for 4k.
If they've moved up once not sure they will again. Depends how long you want to drag it out for. My brother had a F31 320d xdrive stolen last November, really nice spec. They offered 10k originally, back and forth a lot and they increased eventually to just over 11k. Even though we found the exact same car x2 for spec wise at 13k, they wouldn't budge further other than saying welcome to go to the ombudsman about it.
If they've moved up once not sure they will again. Depends how long you want to drag it out for. My brother had a F31 320d xdrive stolen last November, really nice spec. They offered 10k originally, back and forth a lot and they increased eventually to just over 11k. Even though we found the exact same car x2 for spec wise at 13k, they wouldn't budge further other than saying welcome to go to the ombudsman about it.
If its worth more and you can justify it by showing examples for sale then tell them you're not happy with it/ you cant replace like for like for the amount they've offered.
I was wrote off at the start of the year, got a stupidly low offer and managed to get it raised twice to an amount of just over 7k.still not enough to buy the vehicle and do the mods that were insured but better than the first offering.
I was wrote off at the start of the year, got a stupidly low offer and managed to get it raised twice to an amount of just over 7k.still not enough to buy the vehicle and do the mods that were insured but better than the first offering.
Thanks for the replies.
It looks like I don't really have any option seeing as they have increased their original offer and given what the repair estimate any higher figure would possibly make it economic to repair, and they really don't want to take the Cat marker off.
I can't find an SE model advertised anywhere which doesn't help, but I do feel they are being tight.
I do plan to keep the car, but doubt I will bother with a repair given how minimal the damage is!
It looks like I don't really have any option seeing as they have increased their original offer and given what the repair estimate any higher figure would possibly make it economic to repair, and they really don't want to take the Cat marker off.
I can't find an SE model advertised anywhere which doesn't help, but I do feel they are being tight.
I do plan to keep the car, but doubt I will bother with a repair given how minimal the damage is!
Mr Tidy said:
Thanks for the replies.
It looks like I don't really have any option seeing as they have increased their original offer and given what the repair estimate any higher figure would possibly make it economic to repair, and they really don't want to take the Cat marker off.
I can't find an SE model advertised anywhere which doesn't help, but I do feel they are being tight.
I do plan to keep the car, but doubt I will bother with a repair given how minimal the damage is!
Blimey, is that it? Seems a shame for the car to get an insurance marker because of that.It looks like I don't really have any option seeing as they have increased their original offer and given what the repair estimate any higher figure would possibly make it economic to repair, and they really don't want to take the Cat marker off.
I can't find an SE model advertised anywhere which doesn't help, but I do feel they are being tight.
I do plan to keep the car, but doubt I will bother with a repair given how minimal the damage is!
No, annoyingly it's £2,240 and until I accept it they won't tell me what they want for me to keep it.
As Sam says it does seem madness to give it a Cat marker, but when I asked what they would give me for a cash settlement with no marker they said "that wasn't an option".
The only upside is that I suppose it would still be worth 4 figures as a Cat N with so little damage.
As Sam says it does seem madness to give it a Cat marker, but when I asked what they would give me for a cash settlement with no marker they said "that wasn't an option".
The only upside is that I suppose it would still be worth 4 figures as a Cat N with so little damage.
Can't you just not claim for your car? I nudged a prius at a roundabout, absolutely no damage to my car but her rear bumper had popped at the clips aand had indents from her actual bumper coming through. Don't know what happened about her car but I just carried on as normal?insurance asked if I was claiming for my car and said there was no damage.
Also is it your insurance company that wont provide the salvage fee or the actual salvage company? I was told a rough percentage in case I wanted that option by the insurance company.
Also is it your insurance company that wont provide the salvage fee or the actual salvage company? I was told a rough percentage in case I wanted that option by the insurance company.
I would make the case that it's worth £3000 at minimum. Being able to get a replacement of equal specification won't be easy. Both the Bi-Xenons and the sunroof are rare options, while a manual 330i is obviously not a common thing to find. The only thing truly common is Sparkling Graphite.
Mr Tidy said:
Just a thought but does anyone know how much more an M-Sport cost when new? Or better still have a price list from 2005ish?
The earliest UK price guide I know of online is for October 2009. It might be a bit too late but hopefully demonstrates your point at minimum: https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/united-kingdom/arti...Many thanks for that - it gives me an indication at least.
So the M-Sport was nearly £3K dearer in 2009, but the Xenon headlights cost an extra £675, the split/fold rear seats were £330, the power-fold mirrors were £170 and the sunroof was £830. That's £2K of options on mine (plus the retro-fitted DAB head unit) so it was only £1,000 cheaper than an M-Sport new! Surely it really shouldn't be more than £1,000 cheaper now?
So the M-Sport was nearly £3K dearer in 2009, but the Xenon headlights cost an extra £675, the split/fold rear seats were £330, the power-fold mirrors were £170 and the sunroof was £830. That's £2K of options on mine (plus the retro-fitted DAB head unit) so it was only £1,000 cheaper than an M-Sport new! Surely it really shouldn't be more than £1,000 cheaper now?
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Sadly I think you are right, but I've no idea why E46s seem to be worth more now. 
I don't really miss the M-Sport seats as I don't try to scrape the door-handles on corners, and the ride quality on 17" wheels is firm enough for me on a daily driver.
As I still have the car I'll think it over. But I definitely want to keep it! A couple of weeks ago I did a 500+ mile round trip in it and it didn't miss a beat.
Back end of last year I was rear ended & given a total loss payout by the other party ins co.
Had a phone call from the settling department & she said she was happy to tell me they would pay out £2400, this was for a car bought mere months earlier with a very specific spec that I couldn't (then) buy for under £5200.
Need less to say I declined.
After a substantial heated discussion I ended up with £5480.
Long story I won't go into but highlights were.
"The value of your car in Glass's guide is £3800"..... "can you repeat to me what the second word of that was?"..... "and what does the word guide mean then?"
"I have sent you web pages showing the exact spec & all the (one) currently available in the UK & why mine was worth more so why are you trying to under value mine when all I want is to be in the situation I was in before I met your client". "well you are using A/T to value your car, here is another for £2600"..... follows their link "but that one is X years older, not this spec and not this mileage etc. etc."
You have to be fully armed with as much armament as possible, speak on the phone, accept no bullsh!t, and know that you are right.
Had a phone call from the settling department & she said she was happy to tell me they would pay out £2400, this was for a car bought mere months earlier with a very specific spec that I couldn't (then) buy for under £5200.
Need less to say I declined.
After a substantial heated discussion I ended up with £5480.
Long story I won't go into but highlights were.
"The value of your car in Glass's guide is £3800"..... "can you repeat to me what the second word of that was?"..... "and what does the word guide mean then?"
"I have sent you web pages showing the exact spec & all the (one) currently available in the UK & why mine was worth more so why are you trying to under value mine when all I want is to be in the situation I was in before I met your client". "well you are using A/T to value your car, here is another for £2600"..... follows their link "but that one is X years older, not this spec and not this mileage etc. etc."
You have to be fully armed with as much armament as possible, speak on the phone, accept no bullsh!t, and know that you are right.
Mr Tidy said:
Sadly I think you are right, but I've no idea why E46s seem to be worth more now.
Same as all cars, E46s are in that point in the curve where they've finished depreciating, most of the rough ones have been scrapped (or are heading there) and the good ones that have been looked after are becoming rare and therefore fetching more. The main thing that kills E46s is rust, so if you find one that is largely rust-free it will definitely command a premium. See the E36 pricing curve and E30 pricing curve as further examples.E90s aren't quite old enough yet to be getting scarce, so they are just seen as cheap cars. Although even within the range there are certain models that will still command strong money, such as a well-maintained manual E91 335i.
Good luck getting it all sorted. It really looks like the damage is very minimal, and with plenty of photos to prove that I don't think you'll have too much of an issue when it comes to sale time. Insurance companies really do throw around Cat N markers to the extent that it's almost meaningless, and as long as you can demonstrate that there was no meaningful damage to the car it shouldn't hugely impact the price.
pmorg4 said:
Same as all cars, E46s are in that point in the curve where they've finished depreciating, most of the rough ones have been scrapped (or are heading there) and the good ones that have been looked after are becoming rare and therefore fetching more. The main thing that kills E46s is rust, so if you find one that is largely rust-free it will definitely command a premium. See the E36 pricing curve and E30 pricing curve as further examples.
E90s aren't quite old enough yet to be getting scarce, so they are just seen as cheap cars. Although even within the range there are certain models that will still command strong money, such as a well-maintained manual E91 335i.
Good luck getting it all sorted. It really looks like the damage is very minimal, and with plenty of photos to prove that I don't think you'll have too much of an issue when it comes to sale time. Insurance companies really do throw around Cat N markers to the extent that it's almost meaningless, and as long as you can demonstrate that there was no meaningful damage to the car it shouldn't hugely impact the price.
Exactly. The E46 has been through its and phase of being a cheap German ‘whip’, driven and ruined by mouth breathers. Add in their love of rusting and all the sE90s aren't quite old enough yet to be getting scarce, so they are just seen as cheap cars. Although even within the range there are certain models that will still command strong money, such as a well-maintained manual E91 335i.
Good luck getting it all sorted. It really looks like the damage is very minimal, and with plenty of photos to prove that I don't think you'll have too much of an issue when it comes to sale time. Insurance companies really do throw around Cat N markers to the extent that it's almost meaningless, and as long as you can demonstrate that there was no meaningful damage to the car it shouldn't hugely impact the price.
t ones have died or are drying a death leaving enthusiasts to save the good ‘uns.The E9x cars are currently in their bad phase; there are good ones (I like to think both of mine fall into that category) but there are plenty of cheap, nails out there. Until these die or get written off, it depresses the whole market.
Good luck battling with the insurance Co. It still baffles me that they want to write the car off for that. It demonstrates (to me at least) how the insurance system is a bit broken; garages treat it like a blank cheque and by the time hire cars etc are factored in you end up with crazy repair bills that kill perfectly serviceable older cars.
I struggled to find any SE models advertised - the only ones I found were Autos but I suppose manual/auto prices are much the same. And sadly a couple were around what they valued mine at!
If it had more damage I'd have worked a bit harder, but given that they only want to take off 22% for me to keep the car I gave in. To be fair I'd have taken less without the Cat marker, but I've basically still got a perfectly usable car that drives fine and some money in the bank.
Even with the Cat N webuyanycar value it a few hundred quid more than I'm paying to keep it!
Anyway thanks to anyone who helped out on here.
If it had more damage I'd have worked a bit harder, but given that they only want to take off 22% for me to keep the car I gave in. To be fair I'd have taken less without the Cat marker, but I've basically still got a perfectly usable car that drives fine and some money in the bank.
Even with the Cat N webuyanycar value it a few hundred quid more than I'm paying to keep it!
Anyway thanks to anyone who helped out on here.
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