I'm getting the urge to buy another BMW M car....HELP ME!

Turk

Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner
TCG Premium
Jan 21, 2008
28,507
7,913
The Dilemma:
For whatever reason, lately, I've been getting the urge to get another M car, I miss my M3, it was a great car. The R8 is better than the M3 in every conceivable way (except for person and grocery hauling) but it isn't 3 times as good as the entry cost would suggest. Owning the R8 has actually deepened my respect for BMW and what they can do with a car.

The Cars:
I love the styling of the new M3 and M5, and with a child on the way, they'd make for a perfect family car. If I was to pull the trigger, I'd be getting something a few years used. Used M5s are already near the 50k mark (100k new) while M3s are holding their value strong around 60. I don't want to spend more than 50k on this car, but I can forsee the M3s dropping sharply soon.

The (possible) Solution:
This winter the R8 and my wife's Acura should be paid off, this is going to free up a lot of cash flow. While it wouldn't be a problem getting an M car, I still don't want to be stupid with my money, so here's what I've been thinking in my head. I could sell the WRX, get an M, and then share it with my wife. She works 3 days a week, and works much closer to home than I do. My commute is 75 miles round trip, and I do not want to put 20k+ miles on this car. By switching between the Acura and M, I could see us putting 15k miles per year on the car. This means the garage (and driveway) would consist of an R8, Acura ILX and M3(5).

The Math:
The goal is not to touch any money saved by paying off the R8, that money will be allocated to something else. I'd like to pay for this M car strictly by paying off the Acura and selling the WRX, let's see if it works.

From A Monthly Bill Perspective:
The combined monthly payment of the WRX and Acura is about $900 per month, selling the WRX and paying off the Acura eliminates this $900 bill right off the bat. Let's say I finance $45,00 for this car at 1.9%, that leaves me with a $786 payment for the M car. Let's say $30 more per month for insurance (WRX isn't cheap to insure because dip shit kids) and $40 more per gas we are still $44 under what I'm paying, today. Sounds like a win to me! (I'm purposely leaving out repair and maintenance costs to make this work)

From A Depreciation Perspective:
Everybody that has known me long enough knows that I base my auto purchases on depreciation, not monthly payments. A perfect example is the 488 Ferrari, I've heard stories lately of people buying them for 300k, putting 3k miles on them and then selling for 350k. Buy the right car at the right time, and it will be cheap to own.

Now obviously these are all estimates, but I'm basing this information off how these models have done in the past. Let's say I keep the car for 4 years, that would mean:

5 year old WRX with 100k miles: 11k or 2200 annually
Used M3 with 4 years of ownership, 90k miles: 12k over 4 years or 3k annually.

What this means, to me, is that per month, the M3 would cost ~70 more per month in depreciation to own. Add gas and insurance and we're at $140 per month.

Conclusion
So in essence, I can "trade in" a WRX for an M3 for $140 more per month, seems like a no brainer?

What does TCG think? I'm afraid I may be persuading myself incorrectly.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
I don't see the new M5's holding their value particularly well. They are more complicated than ever before and isn't that the same V8 in the 550 that's a raging turd? I've got mad respect for the car; it's just not one I'd want to spend my personal money on. I'd rather admire someone else's.

The M3 is a different beast. I think that's the better car overall, will probably depreciate less than the M5 and I would assume the turbo six is a variant of the recent turbo sixes, all of which have been pretty good with respect to reliability (of the engine itself). Plus that just seems more BMWish to me.
 

Rebel

TCG Elite Member
Dec 15, 2008
2,827
554
Reno, NV
I say do it. I've been considering trading in my wrx for an M3 or tesla. If you do it, then I'm going to ask that you post lots of pics and I'll just live vicariously through you. :rofl:


In all seriousness though, the M3 is much more fun car to own I think. My wrx is great to drive but I hate the interior & the M is a different beast altogether. I can't really comment on the appreciation aspect since I've never considered that in any of my car purchases.
 

Turk

Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner
TCG Premium
Jan 21, 2008
28,507
7,913
What about selling the R8, getting the BMW as a toy and modding it a little? Seems like you may get more use out of the BMW than the R8. There is a lot to be said for having a car that you'll actually use and enjoy vs something that on paper may seem better but is harder to live with.

latest
 

sickmint79

I Drink Your Milkshake
Mar 2, 2008
26,906
16,620
grayslake
seems you can afford to do whatever you want, so why split hairs as if this is some logical decision over a hundo or two every month. like you are trying to logically justify for your M boner. just whack it dude

although it seemed like you might take the wrx to have tracky track fun, seems less likely if you replace it with fancy bimmer though.
 

Turk

Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner
TCG Premium
Jan 21, 2008
28,507
7,913
seems you can afford to do whatever you want, so why split hairs as if this is some logical decision over a hundo or two every month. like you are trying to logically justify for your M boner. just whack it dude

although it seemed like you might take the wrx to have tracky track fun, seems less likely if you replace it with fancy bimmer though.

I'd track the m, wouldn't be too bad to get a 30k policy on it.
 
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