value of an 85 745i in MountainWest "EDITORIAL" (archive)

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This seems to be the bone of contention of this board. There are two schools of thought that seem to prevail. There is the crowd who is into e23's because they are a rock solid platform that hold up like a tank. They are now 14-21 years old and still terrific driving cars which make them a tremendous value. In the US you can buy a 728,732,733,735 or even a 745 in a situation for $1000, BUT....to make it a 100% car you could spend another $10,000, seriously. You can dump $2500 into A/c compressor/condensor/receiver dryer/fans and controls using new parts. Not many of us who are conpetent wrenches are equipped to handle freon. Sure you can find a parts car and do any and all of it on the cheap, but the quality isn't the same as new and the longeveity isn't the same and don't forget the 60 hours of your time which does have value unless you're single and have no family or friends and your parole officer would rather have you working on your car than back out on the street.

Paint: To restore a 745 correctly, removing all trim, door handles (not trivial by itself) bumpers, even glass, can not be done professionally (we are talking a professional job here, not$99 Erle Schibe) for less than $4000. If the brake system is shot, rotors, calipers, brake lines, master cyclinder, booster, brake bomb are all going to cost, even if you do the work yourself. Trans work is not cheap, it's going to cost between $2500 to $4000 for a ZF4HP22EH trans depending who does it for you and if it's rebuilt or new. I think you see where I'm going here, to make a really nice car is going to cost. So there is the value concious group who think these cars are the best thing since sliced bread, the rust at the bottom of the door on the inside, the door dings, the dented roof, hood, trunk from hail,scratches from stones, etc don't bother them, these cars are tanks and probably one of the best values out there, but you can't get these guys to spend any money on there car because, they only spent a $1,000 for it and it's a driver.

Then there is the other school of thought who have the flagship of the fleet, the 745 and see this car vis-a-vis everyother car out there in the marketplace. There are excellent examples still out there that have pristine original paint, terrificlly maintained, with perfect wood, perfect leather, perfect mechanicals. These are cars that have the equivalent of 2-3 years worth of use on them, but are 14-21 years old. This crowd drives a 745 because it has the classic look, road feel, and performance that very few other cars can give regardless of cost, oh did I mention burled walnut and buffalo hide interior, self leveling suspention, as well as kick ass acceleration. Spending money on the car is the cheapest thing we can do to keep it in top condition compared to $8000-12000 of depreciation on a new car in the first year alone. So what if you spend $2000-$3000 fixing this or that, you have an absolutely perfect car that is either original or restored to perfect condition and gives the same reliability and performance of new equipment. IT COMES DOWN TO VALUE. These cars are a terrific value regardless of whether you drive a daily driver that is beat, but still a fine piece of equipment or whether you have a rare classic example that is a collector piece.

What is an 85 745i in MountainWest worth. You said the paint is excellent. The heat is stuck on. Could be a $35 heater valve or it could be something more involved. It depends on what else the car need. Above average buffaloe interior means to me you could clean it with saddle soap or Murphey's oil and treat it with Surflex softener or Connelly Hide Food and it would look like new, it's very durable.

Value depends on the condition of the car. "Book Price" means nothing, the condition of the car means everything with a car this age. What work has been done in the last few years that you won't have to do, recent trans, brakes, ac work? I personally would rather buy a well preserved original car or a profesional quality restored car that is mechanically excellent than take my chances on a can of worms and try to make everything correct.

One is an old car, the other is a classic automobile. One school of thought may never be able to convince the other to see it there way, it doesn't matter, there is room for both, but not to offend anybody, to say a car is worth $3000 and to hear the paint is excellent tweeks my ear a little. You could buy Jen's, John Stein's, David Taylor's, Bruce's or either of mine for a penny under $6000-$7000 even if we "needed" to bail. Someone would pay that BECAUSE THESE CARS ARE WORTH THAT. I was talking to Andre Grande just yesterday and he said he couldn't sell his car for less than $8000 minimum and it needs paint.

I bought an 85 745 with 125,000 miles for my mechanic 2 months ago because I wanted him infected with the disease. Wood and interior are restorable, but it needs paint, a trans, a turbo, exhaust, and just about everything else. I found the car, chased it for 6 weeks, dickered with the guy and waited until 2 days before he had to leave town and stold the car for $1700. Was it a good deal? Yes. Was it worth more? Yes. Will it take $5-6,000 to make it right? Yes

Value depends on quality and what a buyer and seller can agree upon. Amen. steve

Automatic Sport select shift, 110K miles.
No rust, paint excellent, buffalo hide above average.
Everything seems quality but the heater is stuck in the heat position so its always blowing hot.

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