Help value this '05 S197 for sale

Comes a time when a favorite bitchin' ride must move on, this is one of those times, found a new love in a 335i, can't keep 'em all. Built it from stock at 46.5K miles. Rather pristine as I found, most probably never driven in the rain as there was zero rust on the undercarriage as in driveshaft, axles, control arms or anything cast iron. The undercarriage part ID tags were like new. Very few pits in the front valance, hood and underside paint. Well, so much for that E36 M3... I bought it to DD and drove her in the rain, construction areas and that berkeleying pea gravel parking lot at work. I cringed every time. Hello paint chips and exposed metal rust.

Satin Silver paint w/ Charcoal leather interior, Pwr seat, windows and mirrors, Shaker 1000 stereo w/ sub in trunk, 2 gauge dash, Hurst 5-speed shifter, shorty antenna, AMR Silver 18X9 wheels w/ Nitto 255 555s, door panels have never lifted.

Less than 1500 miles on all mods and tires since bought stock. 49.5xx on the clock now.

Blackout rear deck panel, Satin fuel cap, Pypes Pype Bomb axle backs.

GT500 front LCAs w/ heat shield mounts welded in from factory S197 LCAs.

BMR adjustable PHB w/ BMR PHB brace, Eibach tubular adjustable rear LCAs, stock sway bars w/ Prothane bushings F&R, Ford Motorsport bump stops, new Ford rear brake cables, rear UCA is stock.

Tokiko D-Specs w/ Steeda Sport springs, 1.0" drop front, 1.25" drop rear, GT 500 front strut mounts, new Ford sway bar links (upgraded '08 version), new Moog inner and outer tie rod ends, SS flex brake lines installed w/ brake flush, rotors and pads were new Ford by dealer at 46.5K miles when bought, camber bolts installed, aligned w/ new wheels and tires, 0.75° neg. camber, zero toe per Steeda.

SR strut tower brace, Airaid Race CAI, BAMA tune w/ free for life upgrades, currently on the 87 Octane Street Performance tune, more low end grunt. Gas hood struts.

Currently running the D-Specs on near full soft, rides like a berkeleying dream. Turns great w/ 255s, Steeda Sport springs and strut brace. Makes all the right noises w/ the Pypes. Also have a lower strut brace to be installed. Factory parts to be included in sale... shifter, air box etc. Factory Bullit Anthracite wheels have a little rash, Yoks are driveable but stones, use 'em for winter storage so the Nittos don't flat spot.

Worst of it is the paint chips, done some Duplicolor touch up but still noticeable. Dealer trade picked that apart, berkeley them. Slight vibration in the steering wheel around 55-60 mph, mighta lost a wheel weight but they are taped over w/ aluminum race tape now. Driver door handle may stick out after closing door, typical S197 problem w/ easy fix, Google that, but I ain't taking the door panel off right now.

I absolutely love this car but I don't drive it enough to justify keeping it. It's great for driving after my midnight shift in the morning when the roads clear, rowing through the gears cleanses my mind. I need room, can't justify letting it parked 5-6 months outta the year.

Less than 1500 miles on all mods and tires since bought stock at 46.5K miles, 49.5xx on the clock now.

How about gimme a CL 'list for' price and a 'will take' price. I have a good idear where I wanna be. Gonna sell while the weather is being pretty decent but it ain't gonna linger over the winter again.

TIA

Sounds like it is right in the wheelhouse of being a $15k car. Most people won't want to deal with modifications other than exhaust(so they can relive their mullet days)

yamaha wrote: Sounds like it is right in the wheelhouse of being a $15k car. Most people won't want to deal with modifications other than exhaust(so they can relive their mullet days)

I think your high by 3-3.5K.

In reply to wearymicrobe:

Depends on areas.....and I'm only going off of the average of similar milage cars(I saw 11k-18k with most listed for 14-16k) of course, they're probably not getting that, but it'd be worthwhile to start there.

No, I think the 15k target is quite reasonable. I've been shopping S197s for over a year and just bought one. 100k mile GTs are $10k to about $13k depending on what they are. A car that nice would command more. The mods, unfortunately, don't add much to the value. You have to find that one guy who wants a car set up like that and realizes what it would cost to duplicate on a stock car. Most other people will be "Yeah, that's nice but how do the pipes sound?". This may be dependent somewhat on what part of the country you are in but I see PA tags so I know $14k would probably be as low as I'd expect to see that.

I purposely stayed away from modified cars when I was looking as I wanted to start w/ a clean slate. Then there's always that guy who posts his ET's or the kid that giggles about holeshots.

Searches on Auto Trader, CarGurus and CL for similar year/ mileage mostly stock cars are showing asking price from $14K to $15.5K for private owner, some dealers list slightly higher. There's always that modified car that the owner wants every last nickel out of. Um, no.

I consider this a rather conservative build, subtle appearance mods w/o any E36 M3 hangin' off it, moderate power improvement and the new suspension really makes this car... that's what's gonna sell it IMO. It ain't overdone. I realize mods scare some people off and may actually devalue the car. For buyers in the know you can't build this car for that kinda money, that will be my target buyer.

Don't like the wheels, Bullits are included. Pypes too loud, it includes American Thunder axle backs which are pretty quiet even w/ the tune. I've had nothing but compliments wherever I went.

I felt before posting here that my ask price would be $15.5K or so w/ a take of $14.5 to $15K. Nothing below $14K as I'd just keep it. Downside is weather will be turning and there are always a bunch of S197s out there.

We'll see.

In reply to fasted58:

Bonus points if you sell it and instantly buy the $20k '05 Saleen s/c car on autotrader.....

Awesome car, wish I was in a position to make an offer on it.

yamaha wrote: In reply to fasted58: Bonus points if you sell it and instantly buy the $20k '05 Saleen s/c car on autotrader.....

Just bought a '09 335i x-drive coupe, couple things to do before winter then drive it year round. Maybe spring time it gets a Dinan tune.