Is this dreaming or is this the way its going

[Moe]

Saw this on Donedeal https://www.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-...931?campaign=3
Now nice car there buy the looks for it but big money. Classic cars are gone bonkers, yet the likes of a e90/92 M3 is in the toilet at the moment. e46 m3's are creeping up if you can find a good one.

Reason is, I am wanting to scratch the classic itch. My two favourites at the moment are either a totally unmolested e46 m3 manual, or a clean mid to late 80's e30 convertible. Totally different propositions I know but both are cars I really fancy. Is the classic market stupid at the moment? Friend of mine went to look at a 850 reciently and was presented with the biggest pile of shite ever seen, the chap coloured in the BMW logo with a marker, rusty, engine lights and serious loss of power, broken windscreen, interior ripped and torn, water damage etc....I am weary. Advice friends please.

[Andy]

How about an E30 318i Cabrio with around 50k miles? Can be gotten reasonable but would need VRT.

And yes the classic car world has just gotten ridiculous.

[dergside]

Big money alright but its only a bit over what the best cars are moving for in the UK right now. A friend enquired about this car when it was at Classic Hero's and was told politely that they weren't responding to offers below the £25k asking price. These have shot up quite rapidly over the past 3-4 years in the same way that a lot of classics have and the question is when will the market run out of steam and what happens then.

The key will be how many people try to head for the exit at the same time when the market turns and how many that are in hiding come out of bubblewrap, storage, etc. By sheer force of numbers, if the market tanks then the e46 and e92 will drop significantly, probably the e46 most because they are around in numbers and have jumped a bit over the past couple of years, so they have some ground to lose. The e92 will probably drop but not by as much because they're still in the regular depreciation curve and so have been shedding value anyway, and they are probably more usable simply by being more modern.

There are a fraction of the number of e30's remaining compared to e46 and e92 and they are older so further up the "nostalgia" graph so these would get my vote as the best relative store of value in the event of a crash. That's not to say they would be immune from dropping somewhat, but relatively less than the others and more likely to rebound when some normality returns following a market crash. The caveat is that this assumes that the examples of each are the very best of each.

[Mac]

Meanwhile in Germany...

http://www.herrmann-langer.de/fahrze...234287487.html

50K.

[Andy]

Meanwhile in Germany...

http://www.herrmann-langer.de/fahrze...234287487.html

50K.

Great dealer name, Langer :-)

[rebel.ranter]

Great dealer name, Langer :-)

The name I always use in Starbucks when I am in the US (too often), make me feel like I am at home!

I think people are starting to think about spending a bit of that spare money they now have or had hoarded during the recession. That will drive things bonkers, however, like the housing market, only the really good stuff is making the asking money.

[E90 Brian]

IMO that's a crazy price, even if that's a clean enough looking example.

Clean E30s are definitely rising in value, but they are quite hard to find in good condition. A 320i E30 convertible which was rough enough made over €6k at the recent Merlin Classic auction, makes me happy what i paid for mine during the summer!