Auction Tracking is a concept for a regular feature we’ve had for years, and are happy to debut on CarsFancy. The big idea isn’t that groundbreaking but we think it’s fun: track the sold prices of oft-traded enthusiast cars on popular auction sites.
We know there are amazing resources at places like Hagerty, Hemmings, and the big auction houses that do a better job of cataloging the entire universe of classic car prices. Auction Tracking can’t compete there. Where we will provide some unique value is in offering more than a “what do those go for?” gut check on cars many of us own or aspire to own. From an Abarth (maybe) to a ZHP (eventually), we’ll clock prices on sites like Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids to track values and report if the arrows are pointing up or down.
If you love the idea, don’t hesitate to holler in the comments about which cars we should track, cover and report on next.
– Seyth Miersma, Editor, CarsFancy
If you bought an E30 M3 in 2016, did nothing but enjoy the hell out of it and kept it in good running order, you’ve more than doubled the value of your investment. Though the auctions we track were much less frequent in 2016, the average price for a nicely kept E30 M3 was about $33,000. Nearing the end of October in 2024, that average has skyrocketed to $73,141, year-to-date.
A quick aside so we’re all comparing apples to apples here: When looking at E30 M3 auctions, we’re only marking down prices for cars that actually sold, not “bid to” or “sold after” or “best offer accepted” results. We also ignore prices for cars that were engine swapped, heavily modified, or made into race cars, as we think all of those factors significantly change the value equation here. And, though we’d like to get to them soon, we’re also excluding M3 Evo results from our averages.
With all of that out of the way, here are what we’ve compiled for yearly average sold prices of E30 M3 models, from 2016 to 2024 (at least through October…):
- 2016: $33,004
- 2017: $36,056
- 2018: $49,218
- 2019: $45,699
- 2020: $61,932
- 2021: $73,957
- 2022: $83,862
- 2023: $62,667
- 2024: $73,141
What a ride! For people like your 46-year-old author, the E30 is one of the holy grails of the sports car world. Forgetting for the moment that it might not be the best-ever M3, it’s a car that Gen Xers and old Millenials grew up lusting after, and clearly willing to pay a premium for in recent years.
Our spreadsheet really starts to get crazy in the 2018 column, when the jump to nearly $50K on average was partially powered by our first tracked sale at six digits ($102,000). Then, in 2020, a massive curve-wrecker of an auction on Bring a Trailer supercharged the whole model for a couple of years.
The car above was absolutely pristine, showed a meager 8,000 miles on the odometer, and had stories written about it all over the internet, post-sale. In fact, the price was so sky-high that without it the average for the year drops from about $62K to just under $57K.
From 2021 to 2022, there are no fewer than 13 cars sold for $100K or more that meet our criteria, pumping values to a high of almost 84 grand before a precipitous drop in ’23. That regression is a bit hard to explain. We’re guessing that since we’re primarily looking at very nice examples, and only in the U.S., there was simply less inventory readily available… and the total number of E30s sold at auction in 2023 bears that out.
This year, prices are clearly rebounding, cars are being bought and sold quicker than ever, and the auction average has climbed back into the $70K zone. We’re excited to see how 2024 nets out.
Are you an E30 M3 owner? When did you get in and how much have you realized – in reality or in theory – on the value of your car? Let us know, in the comments.
