https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van...608653189.html

2003. Mercedes CLK 55 AMG. - $7,500

https://images.craigslist.org/00r0r_...7K_600x450.jpg

Rebuilt - also, is it me or does the dead pedal look really funky offset?

https://images.craigslist.org/01616_...k_1200x900.jpg

I got chauffeured in a 760iL once from the airport in Germany. Honestly the legroom and headroom was not impressive for how big the car was. I can definitely see why people are leaning more and more towards SUVs. The X7 wasn't out yet at the time but I would have preferred an X7 over the 760.

It was stupid fast though. 60-250 in like no time and you do not feel the speed at all.

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/bnc...601140922.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00T0T_...t2_600x450.jpg

E30 325is. Looks like a passion project and quite well done. Not cheap but not super expensive given the condition

I think that dude is dreaming... long bumpers version on 87 and flat paint... $17.5k is way too rich... he might get action at 12ish

I was thinking more like 8k with that kind of paint and diving board bumpers.


The dirt road picture doesn't help with sale too.

Hey Tofu,

On a trade in at your dealership, what's the typical "buy to sell" split?
Ex they "buy" a car for 80k on "trade in" and then post it for 90k. Or is it more like a couple grand?

I always thoughts smaller dealerships had like a grand for the staff selling it, and a grand for dealer profit, everything else is cost of business?

I would love to know as well. If dark0821 is here too maybe he can chime in as well. I assume it's mixed with what car they sold for that trade in, and how much margin was on that sale?

really depends on the car.


Keep in mind, as a dealer, selling a used car, it has to meet basic safety requirements (brakes, tires, no leaks etc) very hard to say. It really boils down to the car/ trade in itself

How come people don't import cool cars from LHD countries like taiwan or w/e?

You can get a LHD Toyota alphard and don't have to deal with the hassle of a RHD one from japan

Probably a combination of cost, difficulty, and availability.
Cars in Japan depreciate like a rock after a certain age, and there is a plethora of them available at auction at extremely attractive prices. Cars in Japan also usually have very low mileage, not to mention they keep them in great condition for the most part and the inspection process is very thorough.

Also a pretty established network of importers that can complete the whole process for you, or even go it yourself, there's a pretty established way to do it.

Never heard of people importing from places like TW, though I have seen a LHD Alphard on the road and it certainly caught my attention and made me look up when the next gen alphards are going to be eligible for import and its, next year boys!

https://img.favcars.com/toyota/alpha...2_1280x960.jpg
One can dream.

Same, honestly re-conditioning is a huge part of the cost. I have clients come back after a week and said "OMG, WTF you are selling so much over the trade in"... Like a 10 year old bimmer, and I will politely tell them how much in service we have spent to get the car "sale ready".

Because if you crashes 1 week later due to a vehicle issue and not user error... dealer VS facebook market place will have very different outcomes....

Especially older Euros (not even that old tbh), it looks great, drives fine... once thru our inspection... we wholesale it, because to get it to our "safety standards" is literally a $$$$$$ pit, and still cant garuntee its state after said $$$$$ is spent... We just cant take the liability.....

The lhd one you saw was apparently a conversion done in Japan

Seems sorted and taken care of, love these little things

EP3 Civic

Japan is an odd place as typically people aren't a huge fan of 2nd hand things (not that it doesn't happen, but it's a weird cultural phenomena), "shaken" is quite stringent, and people typically take care of their stuff. RHD cars are also less desirable in the rest of the world because well, most places are LHD.

Most of the rest of Asia is more of a bump and shunt type of place, people typically drive their cars to the ground, or they'll just keep trading hands until it's all used up. Even Europe to an extent is the same.

I saw this car today. I went through the previous owner's binder and unfortunately it was just full of basic service items and break fixes. None of the major jobs like cooling system, PS reservoir, VANOS, or the numerous other items suggested by you all have been addressed. Tires were 7 years old. Front bumper and supposedly the hood has been repainted, side skirt was popping off on the passenger side (is this common?), and so were a bunch of plastic bits inside, such as the piece that runs across the passenger side dash. Top went up and down without any issues, and HVAC seemed fine.

I took it for a drive and it was the first time for me in an E46. Car seemed to drive fine, and the 330 had enough pull for me. No darting or pulling, the clutch and gears seemed fine.

At the asking price it's an easy no. I've dropped hints about the outstanding work that needs to be done on this car to the seller. I'm taking it to CG Motorsport on Friday and based on the inspection report, I'll decide what to offer.

To catch up on maintenance, how much would the experts here guesstimate if I'm doing the wrenching?

For somebody that hasn't daily-ed a 330, can buying a 325 instead be a case of "ignorance is bliss"? There's way more options out there for 325's.

Isn't cg a rip off? Never been to them but everything they touch seems to carry a premium

They're charging $220 for a PPI.

Is it a rip off if they are in business long term?

CG is one of those businesses where you either really like them or you hate them.

If you're doing all of the wrenching yourself, you could probably pick up all of the parts you need from RockAuto and FCP Euro for like $2-3K. The high end of that estimate would probably include a full suspension refresh, which is probably optional if you thought it drove fine. The cooling system and other engine bay parts are fairly inexpensive, but you just have to watch the brands. For critical parts, I would stick to Rein Auto, which is a CRP brand.

The thing about is these cars is that they're not hard to work on, but they take time and plastic and bolts inevitably break. That's why when you take them to a shop, a several thousand dollar repair bill should be expected.

If you can get a 325 in a manual, that would be okay. But, the extra 30+ horses is nice.

Yeah, I always found they had a bit of an attitude like I should feel grateful that I was their customer.

What really turned me off of them was when I took my E30 in one time for some work, and one of the mechanics tried to lowball me to buy my car off me by talking shit about all the work that needed to be done on it. Completely unprofessional.

330 has more torque and pulls a bit more like a train.

325 motor is a little more free revving, more entertaining.

Speed on paper is close, but in real world shouldn't be a huge difference either.

I'd offer about 3g give or take off, factoring some things to fix and a set of tires, which should be pretty fair and not a super low ball offer.

Don't forget the $695 doc fee for giving them your money + full ICBC tax on retail price, not the $3000 black book value of the car. So you have like a $20k e46 none M :pokerface::lawl:

rarely agree w JDMDreams on anything - but he's right you know

this is a bad buy. i wouldn't waste the cash on a CG PPI

I might ask CG if they know anybody selling a car privately. Chris might be able to give you a good lead on a car they already know.