I have about 190K on my 325i, and after the most recentmmajor work (the full suspension upgrade), it drives better than new. Engine is in completely perfect condition, with all cylinders having compression results within a 2-point range, and visual inspection during VCG replacement showed a completely spotless valvetrain.
I document every single thing done to my vehicles each in its own binder, the thinnest is about 2.5" thick and the thickest (my 328, for reasons you may know) is 4 binders full.
That's every receipt/report/service order/etc, pictures taken of new components upgrades before going on car, of the old ones still on the car, and the old next to the new off the car.
I also keep Excel sheets, multiple for each vehicle, to track maintenance, repairs, modifications, etc. I print out the latest filled page as completed.
I know that I can, and do, ask a premium for my cars when selling. OK, well, many times it's because the vehicle itself is rare, or is a rare configuration on an already desirable vehicle, ie a recently sold genuine Alpina B6 Bi-Turbo (Grey market import, low mileage, all original numbers, full records, and one of two in the color, not to mention that every Alpina item was intact which is nearly impossible to find outside of museum pieces). Over 20yr old, $72k in records from the SINGLE PO and myself, one of only (literally) a half dozen or so I the country, and the lowest mileage one that is driveable.
I had to sit firm for 5 months, asking $45k, and got a lot of ridiculously low offers. It seems like a lot, and it IS a lot of money, but people also pay more forgGrey market Nissan Skylines that aren't special cars anywhere much less where they're made, whereas this is a car rarer than a Ferrari Enzo.
It sold to a collector who has an impressive garage of rare BMW's, and it has since been sold back to Alpina (at the exact same price he bought it from me) for their own historical collection.
Since I buy cars, and sell cars, pretty often, I firmly believe that it's dishonest, no different than fraud, to sell a car as being in excellent condition if it's not, and for people like me who search for rare cars, it's ONLY AS GOOD AS YOU CAN PROVE, and that proof is in documentation.
Example: when looking for an M3, I had trouble finding the color combo I wanted. Eventually found a few, ranging from 48k to 129k miles, and from $18.5k to $26k in price. The 48k miles car was what I ended up buying, but it was owned by a fellow BMWCCA racer I know and I know for a fact it was never abused, tracked, or maintained in any way other than religiously.
The most expensive car, however, was the highest mileage. Now, all of these are Alpine White over Imola '06 Coupes w 6MT and Competition Package; rare combo, and I ignored cars w modifications (I always do, with some exception).
The $18.5k car had 88k miles, zero documentation, and the owner didn't seem to know jack about the car. The $26k car had documentation from day one of its nearly 130k miles, the owner was incredibly knowledgeable and willing to accommodate my need for proof of condition, had UOA done every 2nd change (every 15k) since new and had all the results, and so forth.
The car with nearly 130k miles was the second best driving car I found by far, I mean it wasn't even close.
The 88k mile car and a 59k mile car ($24.5k) were the worst, and just cursory inspection and I knew that I'd be spending a minimum of $7.5-10 THOUSAND dollars just to get them back into shape, which is insane. The owners were not flexible on price, and said that maintenance records "you can get what you need on carfax"....
I ended up sending my friend to the guy with the 130k mile car, and he bought it the next day.
It now has 183k and has been every bit as reliable as mine, which has over 100k fewer miles.
The other two mentioned come up for sale often, and are on their 7th and 9th owners. Every time they come up is 1k miles before a MAJOR service, yet it's never done...
So, I guess my point is...
Would you rather buy a car, at a premium regardless of miles, from a highly knowledgeable owner with insanely extensive history/documentation of the vehicle...
Or would you rather pay 15-25 percent less, but have little to no history of work, essentially gambling on the less expensive upfront costs being less than the guaranteed immediate maintenence costs?
I know my answer...