Value of a used car vs. a new/semi new car

Hey guys, I'm new here, and want to purchase my first expensive car, a bmw in this case. I've been considering used cars, but I'm still unsure what would financially be the best route to go about in purchasing one.

If I buy a 5 year old bimmer, with ok miles(40-50k), without warranty how much will I be spending on maintenance costs? If I were to sell it in 3 years, it might be 100k miles at that point, hard to sell off, maybe 7-10k depreciation. I'm just throwing rough numbers here. Depreciation + maintenance costs = maybe 15k? So I sell it off and in 3 years I spent 15k. If I keep the car it'll be like 20k+maintenance all of which I lose and the bimmer won't even be worth keeping after 3 years, I'm assuming.

If I bought a newer car, say a year old, still under warranty, very low miles( under 10k?) I won't be spending much on maintenance costs right?- since it'll be mostly under warranty, probably still a deductable to pay for though? Insurance is probably going to be similar as well? Not sure on these points. So in 3 years, I'm assuming there will be a similar price deprecation as the older car, but the miles won't be that high, this matters especially for a bimmer since over 100k, I hear it'll probably not be worth keeping. So in 2-3 years the new car will be at 60k miles I'm thinking 10k depreciation, so in 3 years I may actually spend less money on a 1 year old car than on a 5 year old car.

I'm going to finance in either case, and to put it more into context, I'm thinking of buying a 2002 330ci vs. something newer. Does this make any sense?

Reply » Value of a used car vs. a new/semi new car

Another question, Is there a place where can I find average maintenance and repair costs during the different years in a lifetime of a BMW? or any car for that matter?

Reply » Value of a used car vs. a new/semi new car

I suggest you ask your insurance company for quotes on insurance and research the warranty/maintenance offers from bmw on their website.

There's also research on average repair costs and items of concern for cars on sites like Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports. (not to mention there's tons of info on these boards.)

Happy researching!

Reply » Value of a used car vs. a new/semi new car

My experience with purchasing a 5 year old 1995 325i, was that maintenance was about $2000/year, and depreciation was about $9k in 3 years. So that's like $15k in 3 years.

Then I bought an 18 month old 2004 330i, and after 3 years, maintenance will cost basically zero except maybe $1000 for tires of the 3 years, while depreciation will be about $13k. Total, including additional tax on a newer car, will about match the $15k in 3 years.

So I think buying a 5 year old BMW doesn't save you anything over buying a nearly new one. Why? Cause maintenance is high, and 1st year depreciation is huge (depending on the car though). So buying a 1 year old car takes avoids maintenance for 3 years, and still takes advantage of the high 1st year depreciation.

Reply » Value of a used car vs. a new/semi new car

I agree on a CPO under 3 yrs.

Edmunds.com helped me make the determination that a Z4 was a better financial decision over a Boxster (plus I knew the Z4 was a better automobile), that I needed to buy a pre-owned but still in warranty car, and my neatfreak-nature said that a car 12 months used will have few if any real wear on it.

Reply » Value of a used car vs. a new/semi new car

Here's my take, FWIW. CPO cars from BMW are a rip-off; you will pay @3K extra vs. a private party purchase. So private party is the way to go. Then it's a matter of how much you want to spend. A late model will get you 1-2 years of original warranty (full mtc), then your'e on your own. I personally would never own a "modern" BMW that is not covered by a BMW only warranty.

I think the smartest, most cost effective way to buy any BMW is to find a private party 2-4 year old car with the 100k extended warranty. Even with the EW, you will pay much less than CPO prices and have better warranty coverage. That's the best your going to do, and it will take much longer to find the model, etc. you like and you will probably have to travel to get it. Check out classifieds here. For example, right now there is a 330Ci ZHP with 100k warranty for $29.5k. This on is a perfect example of what I would look for.

Good luck!

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