Selling my 4BW Already

[ST Expat]

Bought a '22 6MT 4BW in February and have put less than 2k miles on. The vehicle is a monster and the best car I've owned, but I appear to be suffering from 'Car Club Syndrome' as I never drive it for fear of rain, dings, scratches etc. It has 24k miles, CF1 & 2, suede, PDR, HUD, ventilated seats, base wheels. Do you think $55-57k is a fair price? Interior is pristine, exterior is probably an 8/10 with a few tiny rock chips and blemishes on the front end. Dealers and online sellers are only offering up to $48k. I'm not in a rush to sell and will absolutely keep it vs losing money on it, but would like to get it gone before the cold weather hits. Knowing I'm opening myself up to ridicule, the plan is to return to a Focus again (albeit an RS).

 

[Finally-a-V]

If you look at Autotrader, prices are all over the place. Sadly, dealers don't care about CF, just year and miles. Base seats might hurt you. I would think (without really doing a lot of research) $55k might be a good place to start.

 

[ST Expat]

Base wheels, the seats are the top tier ones.

 

[Finally-a-V]

Opps, sorry, read that too fast. Still agree with $55ish.

 

[BimmerFan]

I don't know about pricing, I don't keep up with CT4s and I do know the market has been getting softer for used cars.

Have you tried BaT or C&B? See what they want as a reserve and go from there. Remember that although people do want certain options, generally in the used market (especially if you sell to a dealer) they don't mean much.

If your car is properly equipped with three pedals, you're more likely to get a quicker sale closer to your price. If it's an auto, you may have to resign yourself to taking a loss.

Hey, taking a loss is normal for cars, they are depreciating assets. The pandemic screwed up our normal perspectives.

BTW, I do not abuse my cars but on the other hand, I don't save it for the next guy. Drive it, enjoy it, use it!

 

[Super Saloon]

Bought a '22 6MT 4BW in February and have put less than 2k miles on. The vehicle is a monster and the best car I've owned, but I appear to be suffering from 'Car Club Syndrome' as I never drive it for fear of rain, dings, scratches etc. It has 24k miles, CF1 & 2, suede, PDR, HUD, ventilated seats, base wheels. Do you think $55-57k is a fair price? Interior is pristine, exterior is probably an 8/10 with a few tiny rock chips and blemishes on the front end. Dealers and online sellers are only offering up to $48k. I'm not in a rush to sell and will absolutely keep it vs losing money on it, but would like to get it gone before the cold weather hits. Knowing I'm opening myself up to ridicule, the plan is to return to a Focus again (albeit an RS).

I owned a Focus RS for 5 years, great car. If it’s truly just fear of wear/tear and not something else, why not invest in paint protection film and ceramic coating? That solves the rain and nicks/scratches dilemma. Just a thought as the money you invest there would probably be a wash or offset on the loss you would take selling. The 4 BW is a nice car, but it’s not a Porsche GT car or Ferrari where you’re going to lose a ton of money if you get minor damage. Hell it’s probably about as collectible as a Focus RS is, albeit a bit nicer.

 

[668LT4]

Hey, taking a loss is normal for cars, they are depreciating assets. The pandemic screwed up our normal perspectives.

BTW, I do not abuse my cars but on the other hand, I don't save it for the next guy. Drive it, enjoy it, use it!

Could not agree more with these comments.

 

[Smott]

I just bought a similar spec (CF1&2, bronze wheels, manual, sunroof, ventilated seats, PDR, HUD) for 58,500 with 9k miles on it. 55 might be a tough sell with 24k miles IMO. Just helping where I can

 

[Grainofsand]

I say drive the sh*t out of it since you paid for it. That's the one thing I regret that I didn't do after I sold my car. These things were made to be beat on, otherwise you're wasting your time and money.

 

[ST Expat]

Thanks all for the insights. One of the reasons I'm considering selling is because I need new tires which is another expense. If I keep it, I'd be looking at $2,700 for tires and front end PPF, and it will still have to spend 12 weeks in my garage between December and February (I got a massive insurance discount for this). If I decide to drive it all Winter long, I'd be looking at $800 extra on insurance premium.

While I am in a position to cover these expenses, it all just makes me feel like shit. I think the crux of the issue is that I grew up with nothing, worked my ass off for years only to scrape by, and have only recently hit a six figure income. I'm not used to having disposable income which is why I keep waxing lyrical about something more practical like the RS. I owned my Focus ST for 8 years and in spite of it's crappy interior, I never had so much fun in a car. It did everything I ever needed it to do, and I got to enjoy it come rain, snow, or shine.

I did get an offer yesterday of $55k so I guess I'll be doing some serious soul-searching today

 

[rubberduck]

The bottom line is whether you enjoy driving the car. It’s a special car, but not that special to not drive it year-around. $55K is not far off from the average new car price of $48K so I don’t see any advantage to selling unless you really don’t like the car.

If you keep it long enough it won’t matter for resale whether you have PPF or not. I’ve never had PPF on any of my cars until I got my 5BW and then I just did the front (this was the first $100K car for me). I had a black 2011 S4 for 8 years without PPF and drove it everyday and everywhere. I paid around $53K for that car in 2011 which is $74K in 2024 dollars. After 8 years the depreciation was such that it wouldn’t matter much what the paint looked like as long as it had minimal regularly maintenance. On your car I would just get ceramic and skip the PPF.

 

[DCV]

I traded in my 23 4 BW last month with 7k miles for a 991.1 C4S and I got 53k for it. Blue with manual and upgraded seats but no CF. Honestly with fall and winter on the way, if you wait too long they will give you even less. Try selling to Carmax or Carvana.

 

[ST Expat]

I traded in my 23 4 BW last month with 7k miles for a 991.1 C4S and I got 53k for it. Blue with manual and upgraded seats but no CF. Honestly with fall and winter on the way, if you wait too long they will give you even less. Try selling to Carmax or Carvana.

They both offered $45k. I drove it to work today so y'all are starting to sway me towards keeping it. I genuinely love the car, that was never an issue. Just need to get over the fear of damage

 

[raptor5244]

Thanks all for the insights. One of the reasons I'm considering selling is because I need new tires which is another expense. If I keep it, I'd be looking at $2,700 for tires and front end PPF, and it will still have to spend 12 weeks in my garage between December and February (I got a massive insurance discount for this). If I decide to drive it all Winter long, I'd be looking at $800 extra on insurance premium.

While I am in a position to cover these expenses, it all just makes me feel like shit. I think the crux of the issue is that I grew up with nothing, worked my ass off for years only to scrape by, and have only recently hit a six figure income. I'm not used to having disposable income which is why I keep waxing lyrical about something more practical like the RS. I owned my Focus ST for 8 years and in spite of it's crappy interior, I never had so much fun in a car. It did everything I ever needed it to do, and I got to enjoy it come rain, snow, or shine.

I did get an offer yesterday of $55k so I guess I'll be doing some serious soul-searching today

If you try to remove the psychological aspects it may help with your decision. Cost-wise, anything relatively new and decent is going to cost $45k-$50k+. Even a GR Corolla is $45k. If you prefer a year round car that is a better fit then I get it, otherwise, I think the struggle will be that you may not really find anything better for the money. Do you trade an awesome build spec 4BW for $55k only to get a $45k vehicle that you don't care as much about or do you just convince yourself to not worry so much about daily driving the 4BW? The reality is that it is just a car, God willing, you will have many more in your lifetime. If you still love it, just drive it and don't worry about it.

 

[rubberduck]

It gets a lot easier once you take the first hit and get over that. For my 5BW it came at the ~6 month mark when I was driving in the snowy mountains in central Arizona and couldn’t avoid a rock in the road. Took out some underside parts and several big dents in the exhaust system. - I was lucky, it could’ve been a lot worse. I was freaking out for a little while. Took me a little time to calm down, but as others have said it’s just a car.

 

[DonD]

Hell it’s probably about as collectible as a Focus RS is, albeit a bit nicer.

A lot more than a bit nicer. Don

 

[668LT4]

I hope you keep it, ST. We all get caught up in the mythical status of our Blackwings. And justifiably so for the tremendous mechanicals. But otherwise, these cars are regular CT4s and CT5s body wise, paint, switchgear, and in many cases, materials. Enjoy your machine. Anything can be fixed. Even though I am completely a 5 guy, I have said before and will say again, the CT4-V Blackwing is the best all around sports sedan for the price, and it is better than most costing more. Keep it and enjoy!

 

[Roadhawk]

I keep waxing lyrical about something more practical like the RS. I owned my Focus ST for 8 years and in spite of it's crappy interior, I never had so much fun in a car. It did everything I ever needed it to do, and I got to enjoy it come rain, snow, or shine.

I totally get it. (still....for many of the reasons noted above by others I would tend to agree with the advice to hang on to the car).

I'm different then many here (who flip cars often). I usually keep my cars and drive them till I can't anymore. I loved my Audi S4 that I sold to a neighbor a few years back. It was wicked fast and could handle wet and snow like nothing else. While I miss it terribly, the car I would really want back is my old supercharged MR2 - fast but not like a CT 4 V BW or my S4...but it was so small and nimble and I had the most fun with it of any car I've ever owned. Besides Audi was a repair nightmare and I'm no mechanic.

Still the CT 4V BW is such a great car and does much so well. I think you might regret selling it. My advice is to drive it and enjoy it and don't worry about potential chips or dents or what not. Sounds like you already have something for the winter....regardless I wouldn't necessarily let $800 prevent you from driving it year round. And you have to replace tires in every car at some point. We currently own 4 cars (and usually do) and I have a separate summer/winter wheel and tire set for 2 of them. No regrets.

 

[bloominguez]

Bought a '22 6MT 4BW in February and have put less than 2k miles on. The vehicle is a monster and the best car I've owned, but I appear to be suffering from 'Car Club Syndrome' as I never drive it for fear of rain, dings, scratches etc. It has 24k miles, CF1 & 2, suede, PDR, HUD, ventilated seats, base wheels. Do you think $55-57k is a fair price? Interior is pristine, exterior is probably an 8/10 with a few tiny rock chips and blemishes on the front end. Dealers and online sellers are only offering up to $48k. I'm not in a rush to sell and will absolutely keep it vs losing money on it, but would like to get it gone before the cold weather hits. Knowing I'm opening myself up to ridicule, the plan is to return to a Focus again (albeit an RS).

I think you're doing it wrong. One of the benefits of buying used is that it's already not pristine and new, no reason to be especially concerned about minor wear--because it already has that! You said yourself, it's an 8/10 with minor blemishes. It's not going to get appreciably worse, so just drive it!

 

[treborny]

Bought a '22 6MT 4BW in February and have put less than 2k miles on. The vehicle is a monster and the best car I've owned, but I appear to be suffering from 'Car Club Syndrome' as I never drive it for fear of rain, dings, scratches etc. It has 24k miles, CF1 & 2, suede, PDR, HUD, ventilated seats, base wheels. Do you think $55-57k is a fair price? Interior is pristine, exterior is probably an 8/10 with a few tiny rock chips and blemishes on the front end. Dealers and online sellers are only offering up to $48k. I'm not in a rush to sell and will absolutely keep it vs losing money on it, but would like to get it gone before the cold weather hits. Knowing I'm opening myself up to ridicule, the plan is to return to a Focus again (albeit an RS).

I hope you keep it, ST. We all get caught up in the mythical status of our Blackwings. And justifiably so for the tremendous mechanicals. But otherwise, these cars are regular CT4s and CT5s body wise, paint, switchgear, and in many cases, materials. Enjoy your machine. Anything can be fixed. Even though I am completely a 5 guy, I have said before and will say again, the CT4-V Blackwing is the best all around sports sedan for the price, and it is better than most costing more. Keep it and enjoy!

Just a perspective, my motivation to buy the 4V-BW was essentially anti-electric, has a transmission I can shift myself, 450+ HP and rear wheel drive. We soon will not be able to buy these anymore! Once they are gone, the choice maybe an Electric Blackwing? By then, what's the difference from other electric cars, the fun will be gone. I Hope you hold on to it.