I thought the same thing when I read that. Although, I guess the most desirable color doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any rarer or had fewer built.
Quackbury- agree with your points about OEM accessories and ability to residualize since port installed. But you could build this exact car with normal port installed accessories other than the LSD so I struggle with what actually creates premium for this car. I believe the power kit and exhaust were actually port installed on this car for example - not factory - and you could order this package on F30 335 or 340 models for almost the entire model run. Also not sure I follow your point on suspension - I don’t see anything unique on this package there either from a stock M sport 340? We can agree to disagree but I don’t see the market giving this car a premium over my other 6MT 340.
I also have a 2018 340 ZHP, mine is white/red w/39k miles, and I find myself in a similar situation. I talked to 4- BMW dealers, plus Carvana, Vroom, etc and all were slightly below my residual, and now BMW does not allow 3rd party buyouts. With tax my buyout would be around $38.5k, my payment was $698. I debated on buying the car out, but since I had already extended the lease none of the incentives were available per BMW directly.
I’m on month 3 of extension because I reserved a 22 M240i that the dealer had ordered, but it was damaged in port and has been in a weird limbo for over 1.5 months now. The thought of going to an automatic was hard to swallow at first, but I came to accept it. I also checked into leasing a new 21 M340 xDrive but no way those cars are worth +/-$950/mo! I have recently come across an in-stock M3 manual out of state so that is a big consideration. Yes, leasing is +/-$1150/mo, but on an M-car I think the BMW Select is worth considering too.
I’ve seen dealers asking low to mid $40’s for manual 2018 340’s, but they are taking them in for mid to low $30’s. A lot of what has been said makes sense as to why they’re doing it. The ZHP appears to add no real value yet. I decided against buying mine out because I think it’ll be underwater for quite a while yet, except to maybe that one special buyer. Right now, in most cases, leasing seems to be a safer option because it’ll be a while yet but eventually the car market will, at least, stabilize (if not crash).
Your decision makes sense. Whether or not the dealer really wants my car or not, they aren’t willing to pay a premium for it and I think they sincerely don’t think they can sell it for more (not quickly at least).
So to your point about being underwater… I think that as a private party who is willing to wait for the right buyer or use BaT it’s at least break even at this point with taxes. I think it will be underwater for any dealer buyout or trade in for the rest of its life unless they get really popular.
I think their value will be most driven by what happens to the 6MT market in general. This was the last run of the non-M manual. So there may be a hot market for people who can’t afford a used M but want the 6MT BMW. That would separate it from the rest of the BMW 340 valuations.
@Lessee1220 Could you tell me more about this? I didn’t know that extending the lease could have an adverse affect on BMW offering incentives.
I’m not sure there are many incentives anyway at this point…
Give it time.
Anyways dealers don’t define the market for niche cars any more than monkeys punching numbers into a computer can.
A dealer offered $8,000 for my E60 535i because all his computer could tell him was that that’s what typical E60s were worth. I sold it privately for almost $15k because a RWD M-sport is actually much rarer, better looking and more fun to drive… all things that enthusiasts care about and dealers usually don’t.
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I had heard that sometimes BMW will sell you your car for less than residual, or offer certain finance or cash-back incentives if you buy out your lease early. I wasn’t aware of this before mine expired. So when I called BMWFS and asked they said there might’ve been some incentives (didn’t specify) but since my lease had technically expired I was no longer eligible. I don’t believe this would affect anything at the dealer level like APR or CPO.
The ZHP’s are cool cars and should command some premium, but I’m just not sure the market and general BMW enthusiasts have caught up to it yet, plus it was an expensive 3-series in 2018. I’ve enjoyed mine, and it’s been a solid, reliable car too. Sadly, dealers don’t generally care about enthusiasts. Sure they love us when it comes time to sell the latest hotness at a markup, etc. but generally, it’s all about what will sell the quickest for the most profit and sadly the majority of the market could care less about driving and performance and are all about status and comfortable, easy transportation.
I had the same issue with my manual ‘92 Legend sedan. Most people didn’t even know they made the 2nd gen Legend in manual (except for maybe some awareness of the revered Legend GS sedan 6MT), so most valued it below an auto since it’s a niche car. Sold it on eBayMotors for a much better price.
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I just returned my 2018 340 manual non-zhp. I loved that car and regret not buying it ever since returning it in August. I replaced it with a Macan S and it’s not even close to how much I loved my BMW.
For reference, my buyout was ~34k and carvanna offered ~32k. The dealer listed it at 39k and it sold within 2 weeks. Not sure what the actual selling price was.
For the OP, just as an FYI my offers ranged from $26k (what a joke) from Carvana, to a high of $33600 from ShowMeTheVin. I just looked and my payoff with MI sales tax is about $37600
It’s good that sites like BAT and C&B exist now for the niche/enthusiast cars.
Those places and forums are usually the best place to find the right private buyer.
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I still wish I had my 6MT E60 535 and F10 540 and F30 330 with track handling, snorting and blue M brakes. My lobotomized 330e and now 530e rides have deflated the fluff out of driving for me. But my decision was based in part on not owning a BMW out of warranty.
I do drool over the ZHPs, even the F30s. But the rest of the world thinks I’m nuts for wanting two pedals, and there’s too few of us that want to pay extra for the ZHP, so don’t expect much equity. But just buy the car you’re in love with now, drive the heck out of it, and transmit your grin my way every now and then.
Enjoy!
G20 M340’s has the LSD standard so unless someone must have the manual transmission, this car may not be as desirable as the E46 ZHP. G20 is also a significantly better car than its predecessor in almost every way, which again limits the potential market for this prior gen car. Best to offload now that everything is fetching high prices.
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This is the biggest “unless” in the history of “unless”
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Isn’t the manual transmission the entire point?
OP is looking for a car enthusiast. It’ll take time to benefit from the niche market. He’s better off sitting on the car as long a he can until the right buyer comes along. Otherwise, it’s just standard 340 market conditions.
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If this car in the best possible market is 50k, why wouldn’t someone just spend an extra 5-10k on an 18’ M3. I am sure you can get one under 60k.
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It’s funny you say that. I saw many ‘18 M3s under 60k here last year. Of course the market has changed, but I still have yet to see any over 60k.
Well I think the most logical thing is the ZHP 340 is a “baby” M3, so why pay a premium for imitation. Just go buy the real thing lol
I’m not trying to hate on anyone in this thread, but you made the right decision to buy out your lease. I’m late to the party, but there’s a lot of misinformation in this thread. Your car as it stands would at least sell for 45k on the private market right now, and the right buyer is out there who would spend considerably more.
You have an absolute unicorn on your hands. I’m in a lot of the B58 enthusiast groups and what you have is in such high demand right now it’s hard to quantify. My 340 isn’t even a manual, yet my dealer is calling once a week trying to buy it back because the B58 is the hot engine right now, with many saying it’s their greatest engine to date. I’m not sure I believe that yet, but there’s definitely chatter out there suggesting it is.
My 340 has some desirable packages and I was offered 34k for it, which is essentially what I spent, so I’d basically be driving it for free the last year and a half. People on here would call me crazy for not selling, but then what do I buy? Plus I love the car. I don’t know who said the F30 isn’t desirable, but that’s a joke. Enthusiasts are calling the F30 the last of the good looking 3 series, as they ruined the G series. Sure the G20 comes with the B58TU and some better drivers upgrades (limited slip diff standard), but the F30 just looks so much better.
Also, don’t let people on here try to say or discount the ZHP. It isn’t just a package, it’s an actual edition and with just 100 units you have a special car with an engine that is going to go down in history as one of the best BMW ever produced. Keep her close and enjoy the hell out of her. In this case, it doesn’t need to be an M to be special.
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It’s great you are happy with your car but the F30 3 Series is not better looking than the G20. I’ve not seen any talk of that other than people who own the F30 being defensive at G20 reviews going after the F30. I’ve owned both generations and liked my F30 M-Sport but the G20 is just a better vehicle.
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