[DaveA]

So, back when I had my F30 340i, I ended up with an almost fully-loaded car for about £37k, once the deal was done and the dust settled… That resulted in a finance payment of about £600/m....

I just looked at the M340 (the G20 range equivalent) and a similar spec would list at about £56k, with a deal likely at about £50k (although you might get a better deal)… This is without any additional price that import duty might add from next month…

Looking at finance deals at the moment, that car, on the same basis that I took out the finance on the F30 340, would be costing £200/month more than I was paying then... and that is having the benefit of a lower interest rate...

Here’s the thing… as nice as a G20 M340 might be, would it really be worth that much more than the car it replaced…? This seems a pretty hefty change over 3 to 4 years...

I started looking at all this when I realised that, for the same sort of money I was paying for my 340, I am now looking at an M135i…

[JustChris]

How many years ago was that Dave?

I do agree there's crazy pricing going on.

Original 5L mustang in the U.K. was about £33k but not it's £46k etc

I think the finance figures look harsh your quoting, guessing they're very low deposit as the £66k M3 I got for £51k was £599 a month but with £4K in.

Basically right now there are zero deals around IMO and dealers are happy about that as supply is quite limited right now.

[Rbrown]

OP - a very good point.

Our cars can renew in 2021. Beginning to have a look at options. Just can't believe the price now for similar cars - and jo real offers. Sense with Brexit things could get worse.

For the first time ever, I'm seriously considering just settling finance on both cars and keeping them.

Bit worried that there may be unforeseen running costs with keeping cars into 4th or 5th year of ownership. But we will see.

[EvilDrPorkChop]

Been saying for a while now new car prices have been on the rise for 3/4 years.

When a 420d with a few bits on is pushing on £50k you know there's something not right...

Only ones that seem reasonably priced at the minute seem Porsche, i'd have a Cayman any day over a 4er for £10k more

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by JustChris

How many years ago was that Dave?

I bought the 340 September 2016... and prices/deals stayed broadly the same until the run out of the F30...

Originally Posted by JustChris

I do agree there's crazy pricing going on.

Original 5L mustang in the U.K. was about £33k but not it's £46k etc

I think the finance figures look harsh your quoting, guessing they're very low deposit as the £66k M3 I got for £51k was £599 a month but with £4K in.

Finance quoted was a legitimate BMW deal for me on the 340 at the time... It was 4.9% then.... also, yes, with a low deposit...

The M3 deals were supported with fairly good GFV's and rates, if I recall correctly... so monthlies were helped by that...

Now, finance is 2.9%... and to compare deals then/now I found a car on the available stock that would go for about £50k and so I could see the finance deal now as a accurate figure...

I was just trying to compare my numbers as like-for-like as possible... Not saying others might not get better monthlies, hence why I was looking at cash price, too...

Originally Posted by JustChris

Basically right now there are zero deals around IMO and dealers are happy about that as supply is quite limited right now.

I think supply has been run down pending January...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by EvilDrPorkChop

Been saying for a while now new car prices have been on the rise for 3/4 years.

When a 420d with a few bits on is pushing on £50k you know there's something not right...

I think I first noticed it when the G20 came out and I realised that a 330 was going to cost more than my F30 340... then the G20 340 just went even more north on the pricing...

Originally Posted by EvilDrPorkChop

Only ones that seem reasonably priced at the minute seem Porsche, i'd have a Cayman any day over a 4er for £10k more

Funny you mention that, because I noticed this when JustChris posted about the Cayman earlier in the week... It was 2012 when I was last in a Porsche, but I looked at the pricing of the Caymans and I did not get that same feeling that I have when I look at the BMW's... Yes, prices have gone up, but not in the same ways I feel the BM's have...

My Cayman S in 2005 was (IIRC) about £56k... Similar car now would be £60k... OK, it's not the 6 cylinder engine now, etc etc... But, still, that's over 15 years...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

Bit worried that there may be unforeseen running costs with keeping cars into 4th or 5th year of ownership. But we will see.

In the end, that's why I got out of the 340i... It was not so much that I was massively worried there would be a problem, just that the overall running costs if you factor in warranties etc etc .. and the servicing... I was just starting to feel that new cars were more containable with my financial circumstances...

One of those damned if you do and damned if you don't decisions...

[Rbrown]

Originally Posted by DaveA

In the end, that's why I got out of the 340i... It was not so much that I was massively worried there would be a problem, just that the overall running costs if you factor in warranties etc etc .. and the servicing... I was just starting to feel that new cars were more containable with my financial circumstances...

One of those damned if you do and damned if you don't decisions...

I know what you mean. But on the flip side (and I usually lean towards a new PCP), I'm thinking keeping my car saves on getting caught into a new PCP agreement with current economic climate, extra road tax, depreciation will slow down etc.

A 4 year old car will cost more to run for maintenance etc.

Will see how I feel nearer the time. With the shortage of good offers looks to continue.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

I know what you mean. But on the flip side (and I usually lean towards a new PCP), I'm thinking keeping my car saves on getting caught into a new PCP agreement with current economic climate, extra road tax, depreciation will slow down etc.

A 4 year old car will cost more to run for maintenance etc.

Will see how I feel nearer the time. With the shortage of good offers looks to continue.

Keeping a car into years 4/5/6 etc. is the best way to save on running costs. Safety net of an extended warranty and move to independent servicing if main dealer quotes are ridiculous (but from what i recall, BMW usually start getting very competitive on service rates for older cars with different pricing vs. newer ones).

Ok, it's a while ago now (sold in 2016), but my E90 320d cost buttons in depreciation for years 4-7. Servicing cost no more than the early years and the extended warranty picked up the tab for imminent timing chain failure. Memory is always a little hazy, but iirc the 36 month GFV was around £13k. I was a 'little' over the allowed 36k miles at about 75k probably. Sold for a shade under £7k, 42 months later with 105k on the clock.

My wife's Auris is now 7 1/4 years old, ridiculously low mileage, but service costs again the same as the early years. Actually less, because with no warranty to worry about I am not doing a 12 month service for less than 2k miles. GFV in Sep 2016 was around £6k iirc, it's probably still worth a chunk more than that now as the 10 similar cars on autotrader range from £7-10k.

ETA - the latter is a good demonstration of the creep in pricing. In 2013, it was the top of the range petrol model with a couple of options. Listed just over 21k. The only thing we could have done to spend more money was another £1.5k or so for the hybrid. Discounted OTR was around £17k. A new top of the range Corolla is now well over the £30k mark. Which, of course, ripples down through the model years and helps support the value of our old one.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

A 4 year old car will cost more to run for maintenance etc.

Will see how I feel nearer the time. With the shortage of good offers looks to continue.

Isn't it a case, for a multitude of reasons, 'gone' the cheap deals, for many models.

Don't forget depreciation is a lot less on older cars, so even with a bit more cost on maintenance, should still be cheaper long term.

[HighlandPete]

Forgot to add... A lot of us are on lower mileage these days. In my opinion, it's the wrong time to consider a new car, with ridiculous cost per mile.

Running an older car can make so much sense at the moment.

My 535i, even with the extended warranty, had been less than £250 a month for warranty and depreciation. All other running costs are similar to a new car.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Forgot to add... A lot of us are on lower mileage these days. In my opinion, it's the wrong time to consider a new car, with ridiculous cost per mile.

Running an older car can make so much sense at the moment.

My 535i, even with the extended warranty, had been less than £250 a month for warranty and depreciation. All other running costs are similar to a new car.

Yes, completely agree. Our 340i, bought at around 3 years old, has cost around a third what our 335d bought brand new did in pounds per mile.

Tempting as new cars are, I am hoping we won't buy another till I've got no payments left on the M4, which is the only car we don't own outright, as by that point I think the pain of starting a new PCP will be larger than when going from one deal straight to another.

[kzg1969]

Originally Posted by DaveA

So, back when I had my F30 340i, I ended up with an almost fully-loaded car for about £37k.....

I just looked at the M340 (the G20 range equivalent) and a similar spec would list at about £56k......

i was similar......the 335d i bought was £35k and the list was £48k

If the G20 is now £56k list then you are looking at £8k rise in 3-4year on a new model.

So, is it more an issue of not having such good deals as opposed to price creep?

[ZedsRedBaby]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

I know what you mean. But on the flip side (and I usually lean towards a new PCP), I'm thinking keeping my car saves on getting caught into a new PCP agreement with current economic climate, extra road tax, depreciation will slow down etc.

A 4 year old car will cost more to run for maintenance etc.

Will see how I feel nearer the time. With the shortage of good offers looks to continue.

There is a third option, which I don't think anyone has mentioned. Get an approved used car.

Just done this for OH as the 8 1/2 year old E92 was starting to get troublesome (new oil pressure gauge, whole new ABS system, new battery, timing chain suspect) and for the reasons given it doesn't seem a sensible time to buy new.

We got a 4 year old AUC X1 with 13k on the clock. Absolutely as-new condition and should hold it's value for a while with the current low mileage.

[225]

Prices have gone through the roof and I have been tracking the m340i since launch. You do get a lot more kit as standard over the 340i and obviously more power and trick MLite stuff.
However with all the chassis support withdrawn this quarter the deals are sh1te. The 2.9 Apr makes some of that back but even so you (as I have had to stop doing as well!) can't compare the amazing deals we got on 340s at the time.


I am keeping a very close watch on used m340s now and they have finally started to dip below 40k with naff all miles on. The problem is the cr8p GFV which makes the monthlies still not that great. An x3m40i has far better GFV. I almost went for it before the last lock down and glad I didn't now. Will wait to see what happens in the next couple of months as no need for a 2nd car now, especially as we are now tier 4!

[JR1664]

I got lucky. The 2018 340i Shadow edition was pre reg (ex showroom model) so came with 12 miles on the clock, very good spec, under £30k in Oct 18 as they were obviously binning them off. Over two years later I'm getting offered 21/ 23k part ex.

Not sure if to stick or twist, lovely car but getting bored, no finance on it so want to use the equity in it.

The only thing I would say is that at the moment prices, new and used are all over the shop, used and pre reg are stupidly high and not many bite your arm off discounts on new.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by kzg1969

So, is it more an issue of not having such good deals as opposed to price creep?

Looking at a standard spec' 320d M-sport, the price increase over the past 2-years, or so, has been under £3k. I've haven't checked to see what extras you get in the G20, there are usually some additional features in a new model range.

M340i, as pointed out, is a different car, compared to the 340i.

I see most of the difference, in purchase or PCP costs, is the available deals.

[TouringPleb]

What I'm paying monthly now for my 440i GC with M Sport Plus, adaptive suspension, folding mirrors, digital cockpit for 20k a year would only get me a 420i for 8k a year with no options.

[six]

I found my G05 X5 significantly more expensive than my F15. Pano roof = £2500

[Steve_M_Sport]

When a £58k car has a GFV of £20k after 4 years all that depreciation has to be paid for somehow by you.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by six

I found my G05 X5 significantly more expensive than my F15. Pano roof = £2500

Yes but it's got twinkly lights now!

[EvilDrPorkChop]

Originally Posted by six

I found my G05 X5 significantly more expensive than my F15. Pano roof = £2500

The issue is now the X3 is nearly X5 size, the new one is massive!