Should I buy an M4?

[A4 lee]

Looking for some opinions about my current position and if its a good time to get an m4

Currently have around 55k in gold and silver investments,earn roughly 60-70k

I have low monthly expenses £1500ish and zero debt

I would be looking at an m4 comp with 30-40 k miles at around £33k

I have 10k cash and would look to sell 10-15k of my gold and finance the rest for 1 year,to be paid by selling more gold each month and some months paying from wages in the hope gold/silver rises in value which im confident it will

I have been looking to get bmw insured warrenty for £1800 a year to cover any major issues

I feel i am in a good position to own and maintain the car and would like your feedback TIA


Id like to add im 39 with 15 years ncd,own an smax as our family car,a van for work and this will be a weekend car stored in my garage

Edited by A4 lee on Saturday 9th May 10:06

[Jamescrs]

I own an M4 which I drive daily pretty much, I love it and for the money there's nothing I would swap it for.

a few points:

Insurance prices can be eye watering, especially when you first buy it, mine has come down over the subsequent years but it does seem to catch people by surprise.

Maintenance costs again can be high, depending on what you are used to but there is an M tax connected to everything.

Mine has been pretty reliable, I haven't had any major failures but i've had to get work done including rocker gasket and cover, sump gasket, diff leak (that was under warranty so BMW replaced the whole diff).

There's a lot of people who do keep them as weekend cars, other people will argue it's not special enough to e a weekend car, it's a personal opinion.

[Doesitdrive]

Through work I gave driven all sorts, quite a few M4,s and would chose one over anything else if I had the money.

Though a California T could run it very close.

[A4 lee]

I had a quote this morning for mutlicar at £847 for the m4 and £297 on the smax,i imagine i will find it cheaper than this but thats fine if not

It may not be special enough as a weekend car for some but it certainly is for me,after driving an smax for the last 2 years 🤣

I have owned a good 12 bmws over the years from e36s to the most recent e92 330i,an m4 will be a big step up from all those and maintenance is a big difference but i will still have 40kish left in investments. I will have around 2.5k disposible income a month and a fully comp bmw insured warrenty will help me sleep at night. I have made 20k profit in a year from gold and silver so in theory this car would be almost free,right ? 🤣

Where do we think the prices will be in 2 years time on these ? I am hoping for a manual which are hard to find so i may be waiting a while and will have more cash available as the weeks go on

[cerb4.5lee]

Jamescrs said:

I own an M4 which I drive daily pretty much, I love it and for the money there's nothing I would swap it for.

Same, and I'm 5 years and almost 50k miles in with mine too.

They're a fantastic performance daily driver in my view, but I'm not entirely sure if I'd run one as a weekend car though, and I'd be looking at a 2 seater drop top or similar for that I think.

[cerb4.5lee]

A4 lee said:

It may not be special enough as a weekend car for some but it certainly is for me,after driving an smax for the last 2 years

[Wills2]

Great daily driver but I wouldn't have one as a weekend car as it's just going to sit there losing money, I'd rather look at an e92 m3 or e46 if it's a weekend car.

[Evanivitch]

I've been looking at weekend family car too, bit early at the moment as kids still rear facing. I have an MX5 but it's almost completely unused, the opportunity to just go for a drive are slim, and most local practical trips are a choice of M4 or speed bumps, neither of which it's great for (plenty of aimless fun drives about to drive)..

The reason I say is, you seem financially pretty astute, so having an expensive garage queen (still costing you insurance etc) seems like a poor choice, and will you use the performance with kids in the car?

But, maybe something like an 4 seater convertible, possibly an S4 or a Mercedes, gives you something with a bit of poke but also sense of occasion for the kids with the roof down. You could even go Mini Cooper S convertible. In yellow.

Just my thoughts I've been having myself.

[Jamescrs]

A4 lee said:

I had a quote this morning for mutlicar at £847 for the m4 and £297 on the smax,i imagine i will find it cheaper than this but thats fine if not

It may not be special enough as a weekend car for some but it certainly is for me,after driving an smax for the last 2 years ?

I have owned a good 12 bmws over the years from e36s to the most recent e92 330i,an m4 will be a big step up from all those and maintenance is a big difference but i will still have 40kish left in investments. I will have around 2.5k disposible income a month and a fully comp bmw insured warrenty will help me sleep at night. I have made 20k profit in a year from gold and silver so in theory this car would be almost free,right ? ?

Where do we think the prices will be in 2 years time on these ? I am hoping for a manual which are hard to find so i may be waiting a while and will have more cash available as the weeks go on

No idea where values will be in a few years because the government could bring new legislation in to kill the market for these cars completely or tax them to oblivion. The values seem to have levelled off currently, I bought mine almost three years ago and paid a premium as I bought used approved from BMW and i've lost a bit on it but over the last 18 months they seem to be pretty stable.

Manuals do certainly come up in the owners groups for sale but they are generally less desirable than the DCT cars, I get some people do want a manual and maybe the argument for them is stronger when it's a weekend car but it's more of a niche market.

[A4 lee]

All valid points here and food for thought

My issue is i have fell in love with the m4s and i cant see any other car fitting the bill for me, i just wouldnt be happy to buy anything else at the moment

Im aware its going to depreciate but this could be a car i keep for many many years.Im not sure what i would swap it for in the future if anything. im happy to lose the value providing i can get a low mileage manual,which given the low mileage i will put on the car will surely hold its value over most out there

[oldaudi]

I m not convinced maintenance is a big problem on these. I ve done 25k miles, I use it almost daily and in two years I ve had 5 oil changes, 2 MOTs, brake fluid change and two new rear tyres. I go to BMW who offer discounts for the age of the car and do the work whilst I sit and wait. Idrive is fully up to date with paper work for the extra oil changes, 71k miles now.

I did have the differential leaking and replaced all 3 seals , this was an expensive job and the MOT just flagged up the rear springs starting to corrode. Redish motorsport fixed the diff and they ll get the springs work too soon.

Many times I wonder why I moved from my 640. The 6 was more comfortable and got me to the speed limit in about a second more than the m4. But when I see another one on the road I think they still look brilliant and I m happy that I have one too.

I m in no rush to move on and not worried about its future value. Of course it can get through fuel, but on my commute in efficiency mode I see high 20s low 30s most days. I think it s important to find one with every service on the idrive green and a complete standard one.

I also have a 2016 Audi a3, a 225 TT and a 1.4 Polo. Driving one of those for a few days reminds me how good the m4 is when I get back in it.

Edited by oldaudi on Saturday 9th May 13:26

Edited by oldaudi on Saturday 9th May 13:35

[A4 lee]

Test drove a few this week and they all had late services both oil and brake fluid,i think for the bmw warrenty they all need to have been done on time so that is something i need to make sure is thr case with one i get

I have read this alot that they are pretty reliable but if i didnt have bad luck i wouldnt have any luck so no doubt something will go wrong on me hence im certain i want a warrenty in place.As far as consumables go i should comfortably manage a set of brakes tyres and services with no issue

Seems my biggest cost will be depreciation which is something i can live with to be able to to jump in it anytime i want and hit some b roads and maybe the odd track day

I fully hear what everyone has said about it being an expensive weekend car but id rather that than an expensive daily if im honest,less wear and tear less fuel to pay and i can keep it in pristine condition that way

Going forward i dont see anything tempting me to sell it and through lack of use i hopefully wouldnt get bored of it over time

[Jamescrs]

oldaudi said:

I m not convinced maintenance is a big problem on these. I ve done 25k miles, I use it almost daily and in two years I ve had 5 oil changes, 2 MOTs, brake fluid change and two new rear tyres. I go to BMW who offer discounts for the age of the car and do the work whilst I sit and wait. Idrive is fully up to date with paper work for the extra oil changes, 71k miles now.

I did have the differential leaking and replaced all 3 seals , this was an expensive job and the MOT just flagged up the rear springs starting to corrode. Redish motorsport fixed the diff and they ll get the springs work too soon.

Many times I wonder why I moved from my 640. The 6 was more comfortable and got me to the speed limit in about a second more than the m4. But when I see another one on the road I think they still look brilliant and I m happy that I have one too.

I m in no rush to move on and not worried about its future value. Of course it can get through fuel, but on my commute in efficiency mode I see high 20s low 30s most days. I think it s important to find one with every service on the idrive green and a complete standard one.

I also have a 2016 Audi a3, a 225 TT and a 1.4 Polo. Driving one of those for a few days reminds me how good the m4 is when I get back in it.

Edited by oldaudi on Saturday 9th May 13:26

Edited by oldaudi on Saturday 9th May 13:35

Rear springs cost isn’t too bad at all from a main dealer for the parts. I don’t remember the exact figure but I had them replaced in mine when one snapped and I recall thinking it was no worse than most other premium cars I’ve had in the past.

[A4 lee]

Bay looks immaculate on yours mate,beautiful sight !

I have heard the springs break alot and the same with the m2

I am fine replacing things like that its the big complicated jobs into the thousands which worry me and im hoping anything like that would be covered. I brought an s5 v8 after selling my e92 and within 3 weeks it was misfiring,had all the coils and plugs replaced and it was still the same. Nobody wanted to touch it as the front end has to come off for almost any job and in the end i just sold it at a loss with a sour taste in my mouth

Fast forward a few years and here i am looking to get an m4 but obviously very cautiously and wanting to be in a good position to avoid that kind of situation again as it gutted me

I certainly wasnt in the best postion when i brought that but iv knuckled down and saved and invested so i feel i should treat myself now

[cerb4.5lee]

Here's my engine bay too.

Not quite as clean as that now though!

[rotarygoth]

I had an F82 for 3 years as a daily driver (about 9k per year), replaced it last January with a G80 as I needed the extra doors. The F82 was faultless, yes it was a bit thirsty, but no reliability issues. Main dealer servicing wasn't offensive. Tyres can be pricey and insurance is worth shopping around as prices vary significantly.

[A4 lee]

cerb4.5lee said:

Here's my engine bay too.

Not quite as clean as that now though!

Can i see some more photos of the car as this and the sakhir orange are the 2 im edging towards

[A4 lee]

rotarygoth said:

I had an F82 for 3 years as a daily driver (about 9k per year), replaced it last January with a G80 as I needed the extra doors. The F82 was faultless, yes it was a bit thirsty, but no reliability issues. Main dealer servicing wasn't offensive. Tyres can be pricey and insurance is worth shopping around as prices vary significantly.

From all the research iv done its a very positive experience for most owners and another reason i feel the m4 is the right choice for me,a dying breed that i may never be in a posistion to get again

[cerb4.5lee]

A4 lee said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Here's my engine bay too.

Not quite as clean as that now though!

Can i see some more photos of the car as this and the sakhir orange are the 2 im edging towards

Here you go.

[A4 lee]

Lovely mate ! What blue is that ? Its not the san morino is it