Opinions please - buying a used M3 E46
Discussion
I drive a supermini type boy racer thing (C2 VTS) and I need to upgrade. I rather like the M3 (and the Boxster, but that's a different matter).
So the question is: Is it a terrible time to buy an '01 or '02 M3?
The new M3 is in late stage development/testing, for an 07/08 (?) launch... and surely its release will have a dramatic effect on the value of the current M3. Does anyone have a more accurate guesstimate of the new M3 launch date? And do you have an idea of how hard the E46 M3 values will be hit?
I understand that cars depreciate like hell at the best of times... my Citroen has lost half its new value in 25k miles... but I don't want to spend £20k-£25k, and have the M3 drop half its value in 2 years, because I bought it at a really bad stage in its life.
Can anyone help? Is it pointless to wait? Will the cars drop much lower in the next 6 months?
Any help/opinions welcomed. Ta v much in advance.
So the question is: Is it a terrible time to buy an '01 or '02 M3?
The new M3 is in late stage development/testing, for an 07/08 (?) launch... and surely its release will have a dramatic effect on the value of the current M3. Does anyone have a more accurate guesstimate of the new M3 launch date? And do you have an idea of how hard the E46 M3 values will be hit?
I understand that cars depreciate like hell at the best of times... my Citroen has lost half its new value in 25k miles... but I don't want to spend £20k-£25k, and have the M3 drop half its value in 2 years, because I bought it at a really bad stage in its life.
Can anyone help? Is it pointless to wait? Will the cars drop much lower in the next 6 months?
Any help/opinions welcomed. Ta v much in advance.
If you bought a 2001 car, in 2 years time it would be 7 years old. So I reckon you've got to be ready to lose a substantial amount of money - maybe not quite as bad as 50%, but certainly nowhere near 25% either. They're expensive to run, too.
If you don't want to lose as much money, try and find a good E36 M3 Coupe. You can probably buy the best one in the country (if you can find it!) for 11-12 grand now, or a decent one for 8-10, and they are pretty close to the E46 in performance terms. Obviously the interior fit&finish is not as good, and the exterior is a bit dated, but in terms of bang for the buck they are still amazing value.
Most £20k sports cars will only be worth 10-12k in 2 years time. Maybe an early Boxster would hold its value better.
As for E36 vs. E46 - I assume you're looking at the A46 as its a much newer design with far better safety etc. and potentially more reliable. I would go for a well looked after early E46 - there seem to be some around for under 20k now. Yes you'll lose money - but if you keep it for 4 years instead of 2 years it won't hurt as much.
As for E36 vs. E46 - I assume you're looking at the A46 as its a much newer design with far better safety etc. and potentially more reliable. I would go for a well looked after early E46 - there seem to be some around for under 20k now. Yes you'll lose money - but if you keep it for 4 years instead of 2 years it won't hurt as much.
Thanks for the replies
Does anyone know the projected release date/month for the new M3?
My requirements for a car are that it must:
- Look professional (I do client-facing work and can't rock up in a Evo or an Impreza)
- Be comfortable doing a lot of motorway miles (we're not talking travelling sales rep 30k a year, but I've put 27000 on the citroen in 21 months)
- Be as new as possible (the missus will not consider anything not on a new plate)
- Not break down constantly, or have bits falling off
- Excite me every time i turn they key!
I'm not massively concerned about it losing money steadily, it's just that I think there might be a sudden drop when the new one comes out. I'm more concerned about the purchase price than the resale price, if that makes sense.
Basically I don't want to buy it NOW for £20k if I could buy it for far less in 6 months!
The more sensible alternative might be a new shape 330d, but... hm... somehow it doesn't excite me as much.
Does anyone know the projected release date/month for the new M3?
My requirements for a car are that it must:
- Look professional (I do client-facing work and can't rock up in a Evo or an Impreza)
- Be comfortable doing a lot of motorway miles (we're not talking travelling sales rep 30k a year, but I've put 27000 on the citroen in 21 months)
- Be as new as possible (the missus will not consider anything not on a new plate)
- Not break down constantly, or have bits falling off
- Excite me every time i turn they key!
I'm not massively concerned about it losing money steadily, it's just that I think there might be a sudden drop when the new one comes out. I'm more concerned about the purchase price than the resale price, if that makes sense.
Basically I don't want to buy it NOW for £20k if I could buy it for far less in 6 months!
The more sensible alternative might be a new shape 330d, but... hm... somehow it doesn't excite me as much.
Truth - Depreciation hurts but is a fact of life!
My M3 has depreciated by approx £18k since new in 2004 - that's £7.2k per year. I do however think that the worst hit is always front-end loaded and that the rate of decrease in value should slow a bit. I would expect my car to reasonably be worth in the region of £15k after 5 years careful use, which means that the overall rate of depreciation would be in the region of £5k per annum or £415 per month.
If you work on this formula, the difference between buying now and in 6 months time is likely to be approx £2.5k. It's really up to you - buy now and enjoy the car for the extra 6 months or buy in 6 months time for £2.5k less. Either way you do it the car that you end up with will still depreciate at the same rate.
Going back to your original question - I would definitely not buy a brand new car now, but see no real reason not to buy the newest possible secondhand example with low miles (there are some cracking deals available at the moment). The M3 is quite a mileage sensitive car when it comes to resale so give the high mileage older cars a miss unless you want to pay less and expect to get a lot less back when you sell on. The new shape M3 is not expected to hit the showrooms until late 2007 I think and in any case its arrival does not automatically make the older shape a poor vehicle. I actually put a deposit down on a new one but cancelled my order when I saw pictures of it - not my idea of a good looking car (too soft looking and not aggressive enough!) If I was looking to get into an M3 now, I would seriously consider the CSL which is a lot of car for the money, and whose longterm value may well be stronger due to its rarity factor.
Whatever you decide to do, before you buy an M3 (or almost any performance car for that matter) work out whether you are prepared / can afford to live with the depreciation and as long you can accept the decline in value you will not be disappointed. Remember that the rate of decline diminishes the longer you keep the car.
My M3 has depreciated by approx £18k since new in 2004 - that's £7.2k per year. I do however think that the worst hit is always front-end loaded and that the rate of decrease in value should slow a bit. I would expect my car to reasonably be worth in the region of £15k after 5 years careful use, which means that the overall rate of depreciation would be in the region of £5k per annum or £415 per month.
If you work on this formula, the difference between buying now and in 6 months time is likely to be approx £2.5k. It's really up to you - buy now and enjoy the car for the extra 6 months or buy in 6 months time for £2.5k less. Either way you do it the car that you end up with will still depreciate at the same rate.
Going back to your original question - I would definitely not buy a brand new car now, but see no real reason not to buy the newest possible secondhand example with low miles (there are some cracking deals available at the moment). The M3 is quite a mileage sensitive car when it comes to resale so give the high mileage older cars a miss unless you want to pay less and expect to get a lot less back when you sell on. The new shape M3 is not expected to hit the showrooms until late 2007 I think and in any case its arrival does not automatically make the older shape a poor vehicle. I actually put a deposit down on a new one but cancelled my order when I saw pictures of it - not my idea of a good looking car (too soft looking and not aggressive enough!) If I was looking to get into an M3 now, I would seriously consider the CSL which is a lot of car for the money, and whose longterm value may well be stronger due to its rarity factor.
Whatever you decide to do, before you buy an M3 (or almost any performance car for that matter) work out whether you are prepared / can afford to live with the depreciation and as long you can accept the decline in value you will not be disappointed. Remember that the rate of decline diminishes the longer you keep the car.
Great post, thanks
Thanks for the rough £4-5k/year depreciation figure. That helps me think this through.
m3desmo said:
The M3 is quite a mileage sensitive car when it comes to resale so give the high mileage older cars a miss unless you want to pay less and expect to get a lot less back when you sell on.
I'm expecting to put more miles than average on it myself, so it's important that it's not above average when I buy it. m3desmo said:
The new shape M3 is not expected to hit the showrooms until late 2007 I think and in any case its arrival does not automatically make the older shape a poor vehicle.
No, but as long as there isn't going to be a practically overnight drop in E46 prices when the new one (E56?) arrives then that's fine. m3desmo said:
I would seriously consider the CSL which is a lot of car for the money, and whose longterm value may well be stronger due to its rarity factor.
Might be a bit out of budget, a CSL! Also, no back seats is a problem. The desire to carry passengers (friends, dog, maybe... gulp... baby) is one of the reasons the Boxster isn't really a very good option for me, and the M3 is. Thanks for the rough £4-5k/year depreciation figure. That helps me think this through.
Silentz said:
m3desmo said:
I would seriously consider the CSL which is a lot of car for the money, and whose longterm value may well be stronger due to its rarity factor.
Might be a bit out of budget, a CSL! Also, no back seats is a problem. The desire to carry passengers (friends, dog, maybe... gulp... baby) is one of the reasons the Boxster isn't really a very good option for me, and the M3 is. Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff