2002 BMW M3: Is There Any Depreciation on Driving Pleasure?

toxic asset = liability

Maybe you can get some TARP money for it?
I bet the Fed's will bail you out, too!

The "depreciation on driving pleasure" usually happens when the repair & maintenance bills start outweighing the "fun to drive" factor.

Toooo expensive to own and maintain.

But doug, would you get rid of it if you can keep it in a garage and use it only for fun?

Good luck affording the maintenance! I have a friend with an old porsche who always amazes me with how much he pays for parts!

I've had my '01 M3 for almost 3.5 years and I ran the same calculation you did. I only drive it ~4k/yr and my depreciation figure was $390/mo. I need to drive it more!

When I get my E46 M3, I'll hardly be worried about what anyone thinks of the cost to keep it operating properly. I'll be too busy having fun. It costs what it costs -- it's not going to go down, and potential owners should research and know these things prior to buying one.

When you own a car like this... not just fun, but also stylish, refined, and a status symbol... the fun does not end until it becomes undriveable. Even then, you'd have the option of simply parking it in front of your house or telling people you own one and people will be envious.

That does seem like a lot of depreciation, but then again, 23,000 miles in one year is a lot. I'd bet at least $2,000 worth of that depreciation is from the higher than average miles. You know a lease with a 24k/year mileage allowance would cost you an arm and a leg - far more than $638 a month for a car like this.

I am not willing to pay for an extra car's storage, upkeep, etc. However, this could make a great daily driver for those of us with a pleasant commute. Would this car cost $2K a year in additional repairs over a similarly aged Accord? I'd have zero problem with that. Or, do you think its entrials are about to fall out the tailpipe because its a European peformance car?

I am tired of reading about maintenance costs for the E46 M3. For the record, I have a 2004 M3 convertible I bought new and have driven 70000 trouble free miles. My total cost of ownership outside of payments and insurance is 3 sets of Michellin PS2s, One brake job for all 4 $1200 at a indy shop, $300 for a oil service at dealer after the 50K maintenance program(never again), and $200 for 2 cracked fog lamps I bought and replaced on my own. I bought the car for 64k and now is worth 20k. Everyother maintenance item and repair was taken care of BMW under their program and warranty. I am not selling cause this car is more fun than the 335i that I also have and would get rid of before I sell the E46 M3.

To be honest, I think you overpaid when you bought it. But yes, the depreciation on it over the last few years has been bad, but its been just as bad on any high-performance luxury sports car.

Seriously, the economy is a good reason why. If you look back at historical depreciation on a given "high-end" model you will see that the last 18 months have been brutal.

**When I was tracking these cars while dreaming of buying one, I was noticing an average annual depreciation of around $5k per year for cars in the $25k to low $30's price range (assuming standard mileage).

However, I got my '04 M3 with 41k last July. At that point the kbb was $36.5k (I paid $31.5) and now its $29.3k with 50k miles, so roughly $7k.

If I expand that out to 18 months, its $10,800.

I realize you packed on the miles, but I wouldn't expect an older car with more miles to depreciate more than mine.

This leads me to believe you could've gotten a better deal, thus reducing your depreciation value. (that or your TMV is off). Plus mine came with a CPO warranty and a maintenance program through BMW.
* I also searched 9 months for the perfect car, which I understand is a luxury you don't have.

Seriously, no more posts about the cost of repair & maintenance on the E46 M3. These things are pretty easy to work on, fairly bullet-proof, and probably the final M-car I would ever buy. Sure, there is the chance of a rare major repair needed, but for the most part these cars are not much more expensive to repair and maintain than a regular BMW E46. I will be looking to get a 2006 Alpine White M3 in the near future and drive that sweet car for a long time.

I think the economy and high mileage account for most of the depreciation.

Must have overpaid for it. I've bought two 540i sports in the low 30's and driven them 1 to 2 years and the depreciation when I sold them (privately, not a trade in) was about $3500/yr, though the miles were more like 12k/year.

Then again, buying before the stock market crashed and seling now, the market may just be soft.

And finally, the Edmunds used car values have been wildly inaccurate lately. For Infiniti FX35's here Edmunds is showing prices that are way above even asking prices at Infiniti dealers. Couldn't be more wrong

Maybe you should go check autotrader and ebay's completed auctions!

I'm trying to see the value here. You paid $30K, spent over $2K in repairs and maintainence, and lost $11K to depreciation.

For the same $30K, you could buy a new G8GT with exactly the same acceleration, the same gas mileage, and spend nothing on repairs. Granted the G8 is a larger car, so it is not quite tossable in the corners, but in day to day driving, that would not come into play, unless you live in the mountains to commute to work.

To me, the BMW status symbol badge does not seem worth the premimum.

Kingfish4,
yep sounds like you'd be happier with the G8GT. It's definitely not a bad choice of car either.

Hehe, how much do you think that G8 would be worth a year and half and 22,000 miles later though? Probably about $8k less. Fast forward 5 years down the road, and the M will be worth more.

I remember shopping for cars about two years ago, and drove the A4, CTS, and 330i. I drove the BMW last and decided that it was well worth the $5K premium over the other two. The G8 wasn't available yet and was definately a strong contender when I looked at the numbers, but I didn't want to wait 6+ months for the car. If you haven't driven a 3 series, I would highly recommend just simply test driving one. I never understood why they won comparisons for so long until I drove it. My 330i has depreciated nearly $12K in the two years I've owned it, but if it was lost tomorrow I would go right out and buy another one.