[ColoM40i]

In summary......
Traded my nice but common non-performance SUV for a Stinger GT2 AWD.
I'm an old muscle car guy & wanted to once again taste acceleration.

The Stinger is quite quick, 0-60, 4.4-4.6 but now I miss the versatility of a SUV. To keep the acceleration and the versatility I decide I'd take a chance on either an AMG 43 or the X3 M40i. I ordered the M40i last week.

My concerns.......I've heard, read, and have been told to never buy but only lease an Audi, BMW or Mercedes because of their steep and quick depreciation and poor reliability reputation. I don't care so much about the depreciation, it is the money pit reputation after warranty that concerns me.

Do I dare take a chance and pay cash and buy the extended warranty or lease and then buy it (if it's been reliable) with extended warranty?
It will be driven about 6000-8000 miles per year. Your inputs would be very much appreciated. (even yours Mr. Cranky)

[GOLFFRR]

if you decide to go with ext warranty, we blow them out for forum members;If you want to get a quote to see how the numbers look to help with your decision contact info is here: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1670964

good luck on your choice!

[kscarrol]

Taking delivery Monday... Just sent Christine an email for a quote. As a longtime forum member, always appreciate the help GOLFRR!

[GOLFFRR]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Taking delivery Monday... Just sent Christine an email for a quote. As a longtime forum member, always appreciate the help GOLFRR!

awesome! she will dial you in monday(closed sundays), any issues you know im on here everyday just buzz me and ill follow up for you my friend! And heck yea! We blow them out for you all, which helps bc they are def not cheap as you know

[spaceman12]

Originally Posted by ColoM40i

In summary......
Traded my nice but common non-performance SUV for a Stinger GT2 AWD.
I'm an old muscle car guy & wanted to once again taste acceleration.

The Stinger is quite quick, 0-60, 4.4-4.6 but now I miss the versatility of a SUV. To keep the acceleration and the versatility I decide I'd take a chance on either an AMG 43 or the X3 M40i. I ordered the M40i last week.

My concerns.......I've heard, read, and have been told to never buy but only lease an Audi, BMW or Mercedes because of their steep and quick depreciation and poor reliability reputation. I don't care so much about the depreciation, it is the money pit reputation after warranty that concerns me.

Do I dare take a chance and pay cash and buy the extended warranty or lease and then buy it (if it's been reliable) with extended warranty?
It will be driven about 6000-8000 miles per year. Your inputs would be very much appreciated. (even yours Mr. Cranky)

I bought and switched to Geico insurance for their mechanical breakdown insurance which covers mechanical parts up to 7 years/100k miles with $250 deductible. Only new model year cars are eligible under 15k miles so make sure buy it before you reach that mileage. Mine costs only $75/6 months which is just tacked onto my insurance premium versus BMW warranty plan which would've been like $3k for a 2 year extension on factory warranty.

I too did not care much for depreciation but was a bit worried about repair costs after warranty is up. I can see myself keeping the car for maybe 5 years but now I'll have peace of mind in case I want to keep it longer.

[mreg376]

Originally Posted by spaceman12

I bought and switched to Geico insurance for their mechanical breakdown insurance which covers mechanical parts up to 7 years/100k miles with $250 deductible. Only new model year cars are eligible under 15k miles so make sure buy it before you reach that mileage. Mine costs only $75/6 months which is just tacked onto my insurance premium versus BMW warranty plan which would've been like $3k for a 2 year extension on factory warranty.

I too did not care much for depreciation but was a bit worried about repair costs after warranty is up. I can see myself keeping the car for maybe 5 years but now I'll have peace of mind in case I want to keep it longer.

Actually the GEICO coverage is for everything, including electrical, not just mechanical parts, even though it's called Mechanical Breakdown Insurance. it's excellent.

[sbt007]

Originally Posted by ColoM40i

In summary......
Traded my nice but common non-performance SUV for a Stinger GT2 AWD.
I'm an old muscle car guy & wanted to once again taste acceleration.

The Stinger is quite quick, 0-60, 4.4-4.6 but now I miss the versatility of a SUV. To keep the acceleration and the versatility I decide I'd take a chance on either an AMG 43 or the X3 M40i. I ordered the M40i last week.

My concerns.......I've heard, read, and have been told to never buy but only lease an Audi, BMW or Mercedes because of their steep and quick depreciation and poor reliability reputation. I don't care so much about the depreciation, it is the money pit reputation after warranty that concerns me.

Do I dare take a chance and pay cash and buy the extended warranty or lease and then buy it (if it's been reliable) with extended warranty?
It will be driven about 6000-8000 miles per year. Your inputs would be very much appreciated. (even yours Mr. Cranky)

To answer the original question. My experience with german cars (Audi, BMW and also VW) is that you are not likely to encounter any big issues in the first 3-4 years. So that way it is similar to any other vehicle. The depreciation is what it is. The driving dynamics gets you hooked. The BMW engines are usually very reliable. But other issues are always possible, especially after say year 5. I personally would keep some sort of extended warranty coverage for peace of mind. The M40i is in the middle of the cycle, so one can expect any issues from the first year 2018 have been ironed out. I have been checking this forum and the GLC43, and most problems in this forum are minor compared to the MB.

[TX3M]

Originally Posted by ColoM40i

In summary......
Traded my nice but common non-performance SUV for a Stinger GT2 AWD.
I'm an old muscle car guy & wanted to once again taste acceleration.

The Stinger is quite quick, 0-60, 4.4-4.6 but now I miss the versatility of a SUV. To keep the acceleration and the versatility I decide I'd take a chance on either an AMG 43 or the X3 M40i. I ordered the M40i last week.

My concerns.......I've heard, read, and have been told to never buy but only lease an Audi, BMW or Mercedes because of their steep and quick depreciation and poor reliability reputation. I don't care so much about the depreciation, it is the money pit reputation after warranty that concerns me.

Do I dare take a chance and pay cash and buy the extended warranty or lease and then buy it (if it's been reliable) with extended warranty?
It will be driven about 6000-8000 miles per year. Your inputs would be very much appreciated. (even yours Mr. Cranky)

In general, paying cash for a new car is NOT a good idea. A car is a depreciating asset, so you're just tying up your money in something losing value as soon as you drive off the lot. If you absolutely KNOW that you are going to own the car for 5 years (it's not going to get stolen, totaled or sold by you) and you are planning to keep it after a loan would have been paid off, then paying cash might make sense because you won't be paying any interest over the course of your ownership.

What you should consider instead is to lease or finance the car and take the money you were going to use to pay cash and invest that money in a diversified investment portfolio instead. Your earnings on that money in 5 years should be more than the interest you have paid on the loan or lease (based upon the interest rate, of course). After 5 years, you should be ahead financially. Talk to a good financial advisor and they will explain this to you.

As far as leasing vs. financing, consider this:
1. I would go with the option that results in the least amount of money spent by you over the course of your ownership of that vehicle. Add up the cost of your down-payment and your total monthly payments for leasing vs. financing over the same period of time, and go with the less expensive option.
2. A loan with a very low interest rate (0-1%) is a great deal. If you can get that, put down a small down payment and finance as much as you can.
2. Remember that it's hard to get out of a lease without losing money if you decide you don't want to keep the car for the full term of the lease. Buying gives you the flexibility of selling whenever you want to (although you will lose money if you sell within a short period of time).

About Extended warranties:
I never do that. Four years is a long time and a lot can happen. How can you possibly know now if you're still going to own that car when the warranty is up in 4 years?

Finally, I will just say that in my line of work I see people making bad financial decisions all the time. Before making any big financial decision (e.g., Buy or lease a car? How much to put down on a mortgage? Should you pay off a mortgage early?), you should speak with a financial advisor or financial planner.

Good luck!

[sbt007]

I agree with almost all of the above. Except the part about getting out of a lease. It is exactly the same whether buying or leasing. You can trade in a leased vehicle any time. It always has a buyout value. I have done all of these - returned leased vehicle after 3 years, traded in leased vehicle after 2 years, bought out leased vehicle after 3 years and proceeded to keep it for 6 years. Vehicle depreciates the same no matter what. Trading in early is always going to be bad for your wallet. So it might seem like you are losing money trading in early on a lease, but it is simply that you paid less downpayment to begin with.

What it boils down to is this: what are you spending per year over your projected ownership period. And that is the amount you need to be comfortable with.

[Alias1431]

Originally Posted by ColoM40i

My concerns.......I've heard, read, and have been told to never buy but only lease an Audi, BMW or Mercedes because of their steep and quick depreciation and poor reliability reputation. (even yours Mr. Cranky)

That's entirely going to be based on how long you want to keep the car.

As far as reliability goes, the B58 engine is looking like it's going to be BMW's most reliable engine in decades. The plastics/bolt-on's are more likely to be what fails, but that could be said of any car. If you choose to own, you can do a lot of the simple stuff yourself for not too much more than a Honda would be.

For some people, leasing is 100% the way to go. For others like myself, buying is the way to go. It all comes down to your personal goals and preferences. Either way, you're already on top by choosing the X3 M40i.

[jjl]

My M40i has been Honda Accord-like in terms of reliability. Flawless. Same with the F15 X5 I had before it. Cannot say the same about the Mercedes ML350 I had before the X5. I wouldn't hesitate buying a current BMW and thanks for the heads-up re Geico's extended warranty insurance. As for saving money, agree with the above - the bottom line is the cheapest way to own a car is to buy a car with good resale value and reliability and an extended warranty and keep it as long as you can, but for many where's the fun in that?

[TX3M]

Originally Posted by sbt007

I agree with almost all of the above. Except the part about getting out of a lease. It is exactly the same whether buying or leasing. You can trade in a leased vehicle any time. It always has a buyout value. I have done all of these - returned leased vehicle after 3 years, traded in leased vehicle after 2 years, bought out leased vehicle after 3 years and proceeded to keep it for 6 years. Vehicle depreciates the same no matter what. Trading in early is always going to be bad for your wallet. So it might seem like you are losing money trading in early on a lease, but it is simply that you paid less downpayment to begin with.

What it boils down to is this: what are you spending per year over your projected ownership period. And that is the amount you need to be comfortable with.

Thank you for the clarification on the ability to get out of a lease. I wasn't aware it was that easy.