[scorpta71]

Is it me or is KBB so far off true value for BMW's. Maybe other cars too. It seems it gives little to no value to low miles.

For example: I put in a 2011 335i, sport, premium, nav, excellent condition with 13k miles and it gives a private party value of $23,400.

Same car with ~60,000 miles come out as $19,500. Less than 4k difference for 47,000 miles less?

NADA has the first car valued at $28,000 and it seems they don't even give credit for many options (no option for premium package etc.).

What do you guys feel is the appropriate site to get true value of cars or do you use a combination of the two? Is KBB just hating on BMW, or have the values on E90's really tanked that far due to all the give aways on leases and the flood of them after the lease is up?

[ThugzZ BunnY]

Kbb will be much closer to the true value of your car. They actually buy cars unlike nada, so they will give you a much more accurate figure.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

You need to consider the average driver. Most people get rid of these cars when repairs get too expensive. Many people own a BMW for 4 years, sell it, then it cascades down people who are willing to put up with problems, occasionally people repair it. On this forum, our cars are considered outliers since most people here keep them in phenomenal condition that is way beyond what the average consumer would do.

They're not only taking into consideration the car itself, but many other known factors such as brand, total sales, vehicle class, brand country, etc. KBB is about as accurate as you can get if you're selling an average car.

Use https://cargraph.com/ if you're curious of the distribution.

[cybermgm23]

have you tried edmunds tmv?

[redline2001]

Our cars have no value ,everybody get over it. They will always seem worth more to us cause of their high msrp sticker value but their resale value sinks like stones

[justalilbit]

Ignore KBB, it's irrelevant. If you want the car gone, price it to sell according to similar cars in your area. Not just BMWs. If you want a good value for car and are willing to wait 6-12 weeks or more, ask for a number where you're comfortable getting 80%. KBB is just a reference, nothing more.

[krhodes1]

That's nearly a 20% add for the low miles. I would call that quite significant.

High mileage hurts more than low mileage adds.

If you want to get a decent idea of what real cars sell for, look at eBay completed sales.

[Greyfox]

Anything like KBB, NADA, etc will always be off anymore. They do not react to car valuation fast enough.

If you are selling to a dealer, they are going to look at "like" vehicles at the auctions and adjust from there. Why? Well why would they pay you way more for your car when they could go to an auction and buy it. Also, if they are going to sell it, the car isn't going to bring more at auction than other similar cars, so their price to you is going to be way less than the auctions.

If you are selling privately.... you better be under dealership advertised prices and in line with other private selling. Check cars.com, autotrader, newspaper, Craigslist, etc.

[BlindWolf187]

I think it's a good reference for average cars, but they don't have the data to accurately price outliers (extremely low miles, perfect condition, etc.). For example, it put my car with 30k at like 20 grand, and so I entered "100" into the miles and the price only went up by about $1200. That I do not believe.

[max_330i]

A car with low miles is not necessarily a showroom quality car. I do not know anything about your car, and you might keep it in immaculate condition, but KBB prices the car with all possibilities in mind-- a car might be low miles because it sat in a driveway day in/day out, exposed to the elements, instead of being driven regularly.

[Miller335]

I wouldn't take less than $19-$20k for mine right now even though KKB says its worth $16k.

Low miles, excellent condition, 6MT, full records, Montego blue, coupe.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by redline2001

Our cars have no value ,everybody get over it. They will always seem worth more to us cause of their high msrp sticker value but their resale value sinks like stones

Some guy in a Sprinter offered me $4,600 for my 335 with 50,200. I said are you nuts? He told me dude your car has no value, so I took the deal. What to get next with $4k?

[John 070]

Originally Posted by max_330i

A car with low miles is not necessarily a showroom quality car. I do not know anything about your car, and you might keep it in immaculate condition, but KBB prices the car with all possibilities in mind-- a car might be low miles because it sat in a driveway day in/day out, exposed to the elements, instead of being driven regularly.

Kbb is like zillow, promotes buying and selling. Not reliable nor valid. Not what pros use.

[redline2001]

Originally Posted by Miller335

I wouldn't take less than $19-$20k for mine right now even though KKB says its worth $16k.

Low miles, excellent condition, 6MT, full records, Montego blue, coupe.

Guess its gonna be a keeper for life. Sentimental value means nothing to a buyer.Not doubting your car is nice though. My car is in excellent condition but I know its value is shit. Thats why I still own it. A Honda Accord the same yr and milage probably has the same resale value.

[Tsujen]

BMW's lose value quick, especially the 335i recently has dropped a lot, you can get one for under 10k around me now. Everyone thinks theirs is worth more than it is. Yeah they're nice cars but maintenance and all the problems around them had caused them to drop a lot. It's why I got out of mine before I owed more than it's worth.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by Tsujen

BMW's lose value quick, especially the 335i recently has dropped a lot, you can get one for under 10k around me now. Everyone thinks theirs is worth more than it is. Yeah they're nice cars but maintenance and all the problems around them had caused them to drop a lot. It's why I got out of mine before I owed more than it's worth.

Resale IMHO is irrelevant if you are not a trader.

To an ordinary Joe, if the DSC Hydro pump,goes, he's out $3,400 at the BMW dealer. Two yrs later, it fails again, another $3,400. This is factored in to the used resale price.

To you and me, we know it costs $250 to repair, and DIY.

C'mon, there has to be a price at which you cannot get the car you have, with what someone is willing to give you. Anyone who cares so much about resale, buy an M, they fare better, but cost a lot more to obtain, and maintain.

I just get an M2 or 3 or 4, and keep the 335. Who cares what a website says it's worth.

[Miller335]

Originally Posted by redline2001

Guess its gonna be a keeper for life. Sentimental value means nothing to a buyer.Not doubting your car is nice though. My car is in excellent condition but I know its value is shit. Thats why I still own it. A Honda Accord the same yr and milage probably has the same resale value.

I don't think it sentimental value.
I think the car is worth more than KBB prices it at.

I'm sure everyone says that though.

[sea6speed]

They also tend to discount cars with manual transmissions. But if you're actually trying to BUY a car with a manual they're much harder to come by and command a premium in many areas. Book is book. If it's a common dime a dozen car it's pretty accurate. Anything rare or with a cult following book is irrelevant in many cases.

[WreckerX5d]

KBB is inaccurate and is never used other than in Craigslist negotiations.

[csu87]

try clearbook. http://clearbook.truecar.com/

it is supposed to take data from sales and listing of similar cars to give you a price point.

$23-24k sounds about right for a 5 year old BMW 335 no matter how low the mileage is though.

Edit: You can always try and price off what you see on Cars.com or a similar site, but keep in mind, those cars will end up selling for a few grand off list.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by John 070

Resale IMHO is irrelevant if you are not a trader.

To an ordinary Joe, if the DSC Hydro pump,goes, he's out $3,400 at the BMW dealer. Two yrs later, it fails again, another $3,400. This is factored in to the used resale price.

To you and me, we know it costs $250 to repair, and DIY.

C'mon, there has to be a price at which you cannot get the car you have, with what someone is willing to give you. Anyone who cares so much about resale, buy an M, they fare better, but cost a lot more to obtain, and maintain.

I just get an M2 or 3 or 4, and keep the 335. Who cares what a website says it's worth.

I agree with this - people are so focused on resale, but it doesn't really make sense. The repair bills are a great point too - to me, if something goes wrong on my E9x's, it's a minor annoyance, while to an average person it's probably enough to make them sell the car.

You can't depreciate a car like a 335i 6mt in a straight line - sure, there will be always be cheap examples, but they will likely be trashed. At some point you have to realize, you're not going to be able to get a car like that for $4000 (as an example, extrapolating straight line depreciation sometime into the future).

I try to convince my wife that we need to keep our E91 6MT as clean as possible. That is a car I do not believe will depreciate at the same rate as the KBB/Nada/whatever curves say it will - it was nearly impossible to find and somebody is always going to want one. That said it's not for sale - maybe when my wife is done with it, I'll sell my 330i and swap in an N54 drivetrain.

[redline2001]

Look at all the classified ads/sites. What ever the average mean is the value of your car.KBB, NADA means nothing because no one is looking to pay book value.The market sets the price for any sale, no matter what the book value or appraisal is