Hi Folks, first post here.

I currently drive a 2003 BMW 330i. I love many things about the car, but my daily commute is short and frankly it's somehwat boring in the 330. I'm thinking of letting the wife use the 330i as her daily driver and picking up a used S2K for myself.

Here's my question. How much do you think the market value of an S2K will drop between now and this fall/winter? I know they're higher in the spring, but how much drop could I expect if I bought this fall (it will be winter, and a new MY will have come out)? A few K?

I'd like an 02 to get the glass rear window, and edmunds suggests they're worth about $23K now, but most of the autotrader adds are > $25K. That's way too close to the new cost new given that it's a 3 year old car.

Thanks!

 

autotrader ads are wishful thinking.

try cars.com. The ads there are more realistic. I think you could get 23-24K, 22K if yer REALLY lucky, but I doubt that in the summer. Demand goes down in the winter, but you won't save $5K or anything...maybe 1K.

The S is a very low volume car (between 7500 and 9500 per year), and it holds its value better than mass-market cars do.

 

In my part of South Carolina, the prices do drop a little in the winter. One of the reasons for low prices last winter was that there were three for sale in the local paper, and two more on dealer lots. I watched a yellow 02 sit on one lot for seven months. I forgot what the asking price for that car was in September, but it was high. If you shop around, particularly in less urban areas where there is often less demand, the prices are generally lower unless you can find so many for sale at one time where supply>demand.

Even though we don't have much snow, there is still a seasonal impact.

 

Hey gringo, whats your part of SoCal? I'll be looking to buy one this winter and it sounds like a s2k buyer's paradise

 

It's so hard to tell with this car. Now that the MY04's are really catching on, I believe that the resale value of the sub MY04's are really going to drop a lot quicker than in recent years. Add to that that the availability of the S2000 is increasing, the "got to have factor is decreasing" and the number of other cars with similar performace has increased 10 fold in the past 5 years. I would say that you could get a MY02 for $21k if you look around.

 

I'm in the northeast too. I bought my S2000 over this past winter - January 31st to be exact. As a result of my shopping experience, I can attest that S2000 prices are much lower over the winter around here. And especially the dealers are much more willing to deal when there is snow on the ground. In my experience, S2000 prices are currently at LEAST 10% higher now than they were in January. I'd wait for winter if I were you.

Andrew

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by FifSkin
Hey gringo, whats your part of SoCal?

 

Thanks everyone. .

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nastinupe1
It's so hard to tell with this car.

 

Did you mean right now, or this coming winter? I'm in NY btw.


I wouldn't wait 6 months just to save a small amount of money anyway, but I probably won't be ready to make a purchase until the late fall anyway, so this thread is more out of curiosity what the market might be by then.