+1 on all counts.
Because I had so many negative experiences with prospective used car buyers, I vowed to never again attempt to sell my cars privately.
In this day and age, there are many negatives for people buying or even selling as a private party. I’ve really never had any luck unless the prices have been rock bottom. Too many scams out there and too old to be of much interest to folks like Carmax. That’s just the problem with cars-they depreciate into nothing in no time so a lot easier to just trade and take the loss.
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+1
But, some of those negatives existed back in the '70s & '80s when I was selling my old cars. Because of my work schedule, I went to bed shortly after 11 PM, and on more than one occasion I had people call me between Midnight and 1:00 AM, asking if they could come right over to see the car. Even if they hadn’t awakened me from a sound sleep, there is no way that I would have greeted these strangers that late at night.
+1
Yes, it costs me more to trade-in a car, but the convenience, lack of aggravation, and lack of wasted time makes it well worth the cost–IMHO.
I stopped flying in Coach Class several years ago, and I now fly in Business Class. The overall comfort level in Business Class is my personal reward for making it to my later years in good health, and just as I don’t want to endure the aggravations of doing private car sales, I don’t want to endure the discomforts of flying “coach”.
Of course I could do things “cheaper”, but I choose not to.
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Price is key. I don’t know much about BMWs… but the fact that your son believes this is a “rare” car hints to me he’s probably got it priced like a “collectors item.” Meaning: too high. The fact that you can’t seem to sell it is further cold proof. We’re all “buyers” of some sort; think like a buyer. The lowest, fair price is what most of us go for, so price the car accordingly.
Find some recent, comparable sale prices if possible. I know it’s possible to look at completed sales on eBay, though I don’t know if that’s true for cars.
I sold a used Honda of mine about 3 years ago on Craigslist. Took about a month, and no telling how many calls trying to lowball or screw me. I didn’t need to sell it quickly, so I waited patiently. One day a guy contacted me, offered maybe $200 under my asking price in cash, and we did the deal.
Good luck.
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The major reason this car isn’t selling is that it only has 2 doors, and the back seat is mostly for show. You really can’t seat more than 2 adults.
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I had advertised my “close to collector” Riv for a couple thousand for a couple years. Had one bite but too expensive. I ended up getting it out of my garage for $50 with a new $70 battery, full tank of gas, new antenna, and full detail including wax and interior. Plus I delivered it 50 miles. Kinda wish I still had it though.
This car is a bit higher up the luxury ladder than one usually looks for stick shifts, but I doubt that the stick shift is really an obstacle to sale. A stick shift is a problem with some makes, but used BMWs are purchased by car enthusiasts, and a lot of enthusiasts prefer stick shifts unless they live where stop-and-go traffic is the norm.
Oddly enough, selling price is probably not all that critical because buyers who know BMWs will know that they are buying MAJOR maintenance costs. If they use the car daily, In very few years, the selling price will have become insignificant to the cost of ownership. Anyone who can afford to own this car can afford to pay more for a newer car.
Reason is not going to sell this car. Emotion is going to sell this car. Find the best photographer among your friends. Find a complementary background and wait for good lighting. Take lots of pictures. Beautiful pictures will generate interest. Make sure the car is immaculate and well presented when they come to see it. Don’t show it on a cold, rainy day.
I own four BMWs, all of which I bought used. Mileage varies from 50k to 350k miles. I might look longingly at a beautiful ten-year-old 650, but I am way too frugal to ever consider owning one.
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Not my experience . There is a large group of buyers who think brand names like BMW , Mercedes , Jaguar , Cadillac and Volvo bought used will give them miles of trouble free use.
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All this discussing and debating is drivel. Without getting more information from @EvaRunco these comments are just WAGs. I asked some questions to get the ball rolling, but to my knowledge she/he has never been back here with any response.
There simply isn’t enough information.
CSA
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Yep, without knowing the asking price we can’t help. My experience on looking at Ebay ads is that owners often overestimate what their cars are worth, especially when they think they have something ‘special’.
Yeah, but we’re having fun!
My wife wants to know what color it is. Makes a difference.
Here in US, manual transmission isn’t gonna work.
There is actually a very low percentage of drivers who drive manual cars.
There’s a very low percentage of people who fly airplanes, and yet Cessna somehow survives.
I highly doubt it’s the stickshift that’s making it not sell. More like, it’s a BMW that’s out of warranty, and it’s probably overpriced.
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Exactly. If I was looking to buy a used car right now, a BMW out of warranty and likely being listed way too high would be near the bottom of the list, not because of the stick shift.
He’s not trying to sell it to you, or me for that matter. As mentioned above, there is a small market for a high cost, low volume touring car like this. The seller has to figure out how to do it. I saw a few suggestions above that I liked, especially taking lots of flattering pictures and advertising it at a BMW club web site, or maybe something like Haggerty’s.
Fewer people shop for cars like this in inclement weather, not a good time to sell. Is that what EvaRunco is referring to as “this type of weather?” What type of weather, cold and rain? Where is this car? I certainly don’t know as the weather here has been absolutely beautiful ( sunny, warm, extremely pleasant). Here again one can only guess.
And another thing we don’t know is how long the son has been trying to sell this vehicle … years, months, weeks, days, hours? Who knows?
There is way more information that we need that we don’t know than information that we have.
It’s been 3 days with no response and no information.
I consider this a drive-by poster randomly firing blank rounds of not enough information into an audience of car enthusiasts who could probably help if it was an actual discussion.
Unlike some of the others on this site I have quite successfully, with little trouble purchased and sold several pre-owned cars. I know what works and what doesn’t. It’s not that difficult. However, I need to know a few things before I can help and that information is being withheld.
CSA
I want to thank my mother for posting this here, trying to help me out. Now let me help you out with more details. The car has 49k miles and is priced at 18k and has almost every option available on it. It’s on the high side of kbb but everyone wants something for less so I’m expecting lower offers. The car has always been garaged and used primarily as a weekend driver. Barely ever seen rain. There’s not a scratch, door ding or mark on it. The interior is just as clean as the exterior. My thought is that only a true car enthusiast would go for a manual transmission and most want a sports car not a grand touring car. It’s a nitch market. Just got to find the right buyer. If not maybe it will just stay in the collection. All I can say it’s a hell of a lot more car than you’re going to get for a similarly priced Honda 
I’ve got a young co-worker who literally just did this. We use our cars for work. He bought a 2003 3-series. I smacked my forehead as soon as I saw it. It needed front brakes when sold.
Amazingly, he got the brakes done for a very good price - he had already bought the pads and rotors, and found a local mechanic to do the work for $100. We’ll see how it works out over the next few months.