[RichM50d]

My car was £54k less than a year ago. If I want to get rid now, I’d be looking at around £35k, which seems crazy, for a car with 6k miles on the clock.

Question is, when will it level off, as I’d like to keep it, but can’t stomach losing another chunk in a years time. It’s irrelevant if you lease, but I saved hard to buy this car outright. BMW don’t help, with their incentives for people that finance their vehicles.

I know cars aren’t an investment, but this thing has lost A LOT more than I was expecting, in the first year.

Looking at the final payment on some of these finance deals, they value it at £25k after 4 years, but how realistic is that?

[ClaretFozzy]

I hate to say it, but you probably overpaid by a fair amount in the first place if you paid £54k for your car less than a year ago, which is probably why the depreciation seems excessive. Even with every option ticked, they can be had for less than that.

Having said that, a less than 12 month old X3/4 M40i/d will be worth more than £35k, without question.

[verysideways]

A friend just bought a very nice but relatively basic 5 year old X3 for £20k, which would have been around £40k new.

I'd suggest that your £54k X3 would still be worth half that (retail) at 5 years and 50k miles.

Yes, you appear to have lost a chunk in the first year, but you're going to lose very little over the next 2/3/4 years from where you are now.

And if it makes you feel any better, I bought mine outright too.

[RichM50d]

Originally Posted by ClaretFozzy

I hate to say it, but you probably overpaid by a fair amount in the first place if you paid £54k for your car less than a year ago, which is probably why the depreciation seems excessive. Even with every option ticked, they can be had for less than that.

Having said that, a less than 12 month old X3/4 M40i/d will be worth more than £35k, without question.

I paid £48k for it, so not quite as bad as it could have been. It just pisses me off that BMW launch these cars, then instantly de-value them by knocking £10k off to anyone that wants to finance one.

When I bought it, there were no such incentives, otherwise I'd have financed it, then cleared the finance within the first 14 days.

[n9com]

Originally Posted by RichM50d

I paid £48k for it, so not quite as bad as it could have been. It just pisses me off that BMW launch these cars, then instantly de-value them by knocking £10k off to anyone that wants to finance one.

When I bought it, there were no such incentives, otherwise I'd have financed it, then cleared the finance within the first 14 days.

You're forgetting that 20% of the price is VAT.

So if you paid £48k, that was £40k for the car and £8k in taxes. So the car you bought was worth £40k and now it is worth £35k if that's what you've been offered part exchange.

[ClaretFozzy]

Originally Posted by RichM50d

I paid £48k for it, so not quite as bad as it could have been. It just pisses me off that BMW launch these cars, then instantly de-value them by knocking £10k off to anyone that wants to finance one.

When I bought it, there were no such incentives, otherwise I'd have financed it, then cleared the finance within the first 14 days.

£48k isn’t so bad. You effectively got £6k off a brand new model. Nobody ever pays list price for non-M BMWs, so I always take the RRP with a pinch of salt.

The X3s have always had strong residuals, though, so I’d expect your depreciation to start tailing off soon.

[tonyb15re]

I had an M140i which I chopped in for the X3, I got less than half what I paid for it for a 2 year old car with 19k miles on the clock.. Residuals are pants on most cars, only car I did semi ok with was a 2010 Focus RS where I only lost a couple of grand on after 2 years.

[spangle1980]

That's nearly in line with what my Dad always used to tell me - cars, worst investment (all things considered) ever. Count on losing at least 25% year on year on year.

[popopine]

Do you like the car? If so, it will pay you back in joy. Just another way to look at it.

[OtherBusiness]

The general rule of thumb was they halve every three years but not sure if that is still the case. Just think of it as smiles per miles rather than £!

[Crassus]

BMW, Mercedes and Audi car all depreciate steeply. The more options the steeper the depreciation.

Don't forget that you lose the VAT amount instantly which on a £48-50k car is alot. If you want to spend that sum of money and lose little then buy a used Porsche 991 Carrera S.

You depreciation will start levelling after 3 years. Because its a new model its difficult to tell what it will be worth in 4 years time. It could be £25k, a bit less or a bit more.

[SSBMW14]

After my previous 5 series was stolen I was given a market value of £23k by the insurance company - they used 40% as the guide for measuring value after 4 years.

BMW have used approximately 45% as the measure for the final balloon payment after 4 years on my new X4. SUVs hold there value more so I guess 45% holds up against the 40% for my 5 series.

I have read that they used to be more conservative with the GMFV but now are not so to help reduce the monthly premiums. Personally, I think I would struggle to sell my X4 after 4 years at even the balloon price, and so will likely just hand the car back.

[Crassus]

Originally Posted by SSBMW14

Personally, I think I would struggle to sell my X4 after 4 years at even the balloon price, and so will likely just hand the car back.

For most cars the balloon payment is does not reflect the trade value of the car. The best we can do is to ensure that we get a good deal.

When I ordered two cars in April I put together as spreadsheet using some quick man maths to judge offer. FYI: Depreciation paid includes interest payments.

As you can see the M140i Shadow Edition with H&K, sun protection glass, black grille and extended storage was a cracking deal. A B58 powered car for £25.7k at 33% discount? Yupp. It's a deal of a life time that I signed up for

I also ordered an X3 20i which you can see is a decent deal according to my criteria which is high discount and low depreciation paid. In contrast, the X1 sDrive is the worst deal with low discount, low equipment levels and high depreciation paid.

I recommend that you periodically keep a similar calculator to get clarity on whether a PCP offer is good or not.

[RichM50d]

Yeah, I’m tempted to run it for another year, at least, then maybe go back to leasing or financing the next one, if they’re doing crazy deals at the time. It’s just disheartening having a lump of metal outside, losing an unforeseen amount every month. At least with leasing/ financing, you know exactly where you stand.

[SSBMW14]

Originally Posted by Crassus

For most cars the balloon payment is does not reflect the trade value of the car. The best we can do is to ensure that we get a good deal.

When I ordered two cars in April I put together as spreadsheet using some quick man maths to judge offer. FYI: Depreciation paid includes interest payments.

As you can see the M140i Shadow Edition with H&K, sun protection glass, black grille and extended storage was a cracking deal. A B58 powered car for £25.7k at 33% discount? Yupp. It's a deal of a life time that I signed up for

I also ordered an X3 20i which you can see is a decent deal according to my criteria which is high discount and low depreciation paid. In contrast, the X1 sDrive is the worst deal with low discount, low equipment levels and high depreciation paid.

I recommend that you periodically keep a similar calculator to get clarity on whether a PCP offer is good or not.

[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bG...w2516-h1063-no[/IMG]

Cheers Crassus

[Dandle]

I've always purchased my BMWs between 6 and 12 months old normally ex management cars. My last 5 series I purchased with 6k on the clock and saved over £18k off list, I kept that car 7 years and it cost me 20k in depreciation in that time.
This x3 was 11 months old with 12k miles on it but again with around £20k off the list price. For those sort of savings I'm happy not to be the first driver, I did that with an Audi 13 years ago and lost 14k in 13 months.

Its the first year that the major hit happens but you will always loose good money on expensive cars over the first 5 years or so.

[Crassus]

Originally Posted by Dandle

I've always purchased my BMWs between 6 and 12 months old normally ex management cars. My last 5 series I purchased with 6k on the clock and saved over £18k off list, I kept that car 7 years and it cost me 20k in depreciation in that time.
This x3 was 11 months old with 12k miles on it but again with around £20k off the list price. For those sort of savings I'm happy not to be the first driver, I did that with an Audi 13 years ago and lost 14k in 13 months.

Its the first year that the major hit happens but you will always loose good money on expensive cars over the first 5 years or so.

That's bloody awesome. Good on you. Your M40i looks awesome and has a mega spec. Used cars are the way to go if you have sources of finance that enable you to avoid 10% APR. Cars in the UK dump in value because the rest of Europe don't want our RHD cars except for parts.

My other half and I have agreed that this year is the last time we buy two cars on PCP. We have specced our cars highly to be bought outright near the end of the agreement. If we want to trade up we will save and buy outright.

A close car buddy of mine is, similar to you, great at buying used. Last year he picked up a mint 2016 S500 with reclining rear seats for £34k. List price was just under £100k.

His previous cars were a CL and and E55, both of which also bought 3 years old. When he traded in his CL last year, he had only lost £15k in three years which is what he would have lost in 6 month had he bought it from new.

[london_v]

Unfortunately it's the name of the game. New cars will always take a hit and as people have suggested above will level off in 3 years at which point you may go into positive equity.

I'm not expecting anything back when I hand my car back in 3/4 years time other than the smug feeling I was first to fart in the seats.

There are always exceptions, however. I sold my Cayman GTS for the same price 3 years after I bought I new. I lost £1000 on my Lotus Evora 410 after 10 months of ownership (this was only due to a quick sale).

And I went into the X3M40i agreement knowing I wouldn't get anything back, and that's ok because it's the perfect mix of practicality and performance we need right now as we move to a 1 family car for the short term (and plus I put in 1/4 of what I put into the other cars)

[X3M40i_Nev]

I agree, which is why some (who can afford to pay cash - which doesn't include me by the way) sometimes choose to finance or lease as they know the amount it costs p/m, and can just hand back at the end (in the case of lease).

Me personally can only see buying cash being beneficial with used, when sad car has lost the initial 35-50% value, but others may disagree

[london_v]

Originally Posted by X3M40i_Nev

I agree, which is why some (who can afford to pay cash - which doesn't include me by the way) sometimes choose to finance or lease as they know the amount it costs p/m, and can just hand back at the end (in the case of lease).

Me personally can only see buying cash being beneficial with used, when sad car has lost the initial 35-50% value, but others may disagree

Exactly this. A good friend of mine (with a wealthy father) bought his X1 a year old. Bought it outright with daddy's cash and is now paying him back interest free. Smart!

[verysideways]

Originally Posted by X3M40i_Nev

Me personally can only see buying cash being beneficial with used, when sad car has lost the initial 35-50% value, but others may disagree

I'm sure the car will be worth more than the suggested GFV from the 4 year figures, and in the meantime by buying it i've saved about £8k in interest.

[X3M40i_Nev]

Originally Posted by verysideways

I'm sure the car will be worth more than the suggested GFV from the 4 year figures, and in the meantime by buying it i've saved about £8k in interest.

I am sure you are right, mine is somewhere around mid £20k's I think.
Might actually buy mine..who knows.

Yep, cash is king as far as saving on interest payments.