Where Do My Ratings Come From?
M Coupe Rating Scale
Many people have asked how I determine my ratings. Well, the star ratings on the sale listings are really just my off-the-cuff impressions of the coupe and are relatively subjective, but I do have some rules I try to follow. Here are my general guidelines.
Condition
1 star – Needs significant body or mechanical work
2 star – Repaired salvage, in need of lots of TLC, simple mechanical issues
3 star – Average condition, possibly needing some mechanical or aesthetic work but nothing significant
4 star – Above average condition and well sorted mechanically
5 star – Like it drove off the showroom floor yesterday. Usually reserved for the ultra-low mileage and garage queen/show cars. I also need lots of good photos or to see it in person before I’ll give a coupe 5 stars.
Rarity
1 star – 1 of 100+
2 star – 1 of 50+
3 star – 1 of 25+
4 star – 1 of 5+
5 star – 1 of less than 5
I adjust the ratings somewhat based on how often I see them for sale. For example, I often add a star for alpine white and steel gray which are not super rare numbers-wise but don’t come up for sale very often. I also sometimes add a star for S54 coupes in color combinations also available with S52s. There are other instances when significant modifications justify increased rarity like an S50 engine swap or Dinan signature certificate.
Value
1 star – Priced way over what it should be and should never sell at asking price
2 star – Priced a little bit over what I think it’s worth based on year, condition, mileage, modifications, etc.
3 star – Priced in the neighborhood of where I would recommend someone to price it at
4 star – Priced at what I would consider a really good deal
5 star – Priced in such a way that the buyer is basically stealing it
This is the most subjective of the ratings as different things are worth more to different people. Sometimes coupes to which I give 2 stars sell really fast and others I think are great deals sit on the market a while. Almost all my value ratings will fall between 2 and 4 stars with the only rare exceptions being those that are $10k over- or under-priced (in my opinion).