Running costs for a second hand BMW 640d

[rlg43p]

I am an avid watcher of the "best PCH deals" thread here, constantly wondering whether I should take advantage of one of the great deals, or whether to stick to my usual second hand purchasing strategy.

Taking advantage of the great PCH deals means that you end up in a new car, with perfect predictability of costs and a relatively stress free experience. However I do quite a high mileage (around 21,000 p.a. over the last two years), so this has tended to put me off PCH. Additionally I like the idea that I can change my car whenever I want and not being tied into a 24 month contract also appeals.

Anyway I have just sold my car and considered what it has cost me over the last two years and thought I would share the information for those that are interested.

So two years ago I bought a BMW 640d SE for a very good price of £20,700 and have just sold it for £13,100. Typically in the past I have lost only about £2k per year in depreciation so, for me, this car has cost me quite a lot more than previous ones I have owned.

This spreadsheet lists all the costs I can remember (except fuel and insurance). Some costs would be incurred on a PCH (e.g.: the servicing costs) and some wouldn't (e.g.: you would probably get away with one set of tyres rather than two - which is what I have assumed in this comparison).

So I have inserted a column in the spreadsheet to include/exclude the costs for the PCH comparison - so I put a "Y" in this column if I think that the cost would also have been incurred if I had been running a new car on a PCH (e.g.: if I did 42k miles on the PCH I would probably have had to pay for the 2 services and I would have bought two sets of wiper blades but I wouldn't have needed to replace the set of brake pads).

I spent money on an extra set of wheels for my car but I have ignored these costs because I think they are irrelevant to the PCH comparison as they are a purely discretionary expense.

I have only incurred about £500 in interest costs on a loan to buy the car. £990 would be more like it if you borrowed the entire purchase price (3.6% APR) .

So this is my take on the costs - if anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet so they can play with these figures then just let me know. If anyone thinks I have left anything out or that this comparison is fundamentally flawed then I am happy to take the feedback.



So I conclude that if I was to choose to run a car on a PCH I would have to see what I could afford with a budget of £432 per month (for 20k miles p.a) and decide whether I would be happy with that car.

[Tony33]

It is small money but would the service costs for a new car be the same as your secondhand one, i.e. would you incur some of the bigger services with higher miles?

[imdeman87]

rlg43p said:

So I conclude that if I was to choose to run a car on a PCH I would have to see what I could afford with a budget of £432 per month (for 20k miles p.a) and decide whether I would be happy with that car.

I reckon you could get a good spec Audi A6 or a very high spec Volvo S60 for around £400 on a 3+23 term with 20k mile pa. You might be able to squeeze in a maintenance package for that price too which would mean you can increase your monthly budget on the PCH.

If you wait for the right deal - you'll probably get even more bang for your buck.

Interesting thread. Cheers.

[rlg43p]

Tony33 said:

It is small money but would the service costs for a new car be the same as your secondhand one, i.e. would you incur some of the bigger services with higher miles?

I would have thought that the £927 I did spend on servicing would probably be more that I would spend on a new car, but not by much. Hence I have just assumed they would be about the same.

[T16OLE]

I bought a used 640d 2 years ago and also do circa 22k pa, I have put together a very similar cost comparison between a HP & Lease over a four year period.

I’ll post it up.

Interestingly. To lease say an Audi S4 (twice) came in at roughly the same amount than to finance my 640d over the same period.

I also took into consideration road tax differences. I’m
not clear as to whether road tax is or isn’t included on
Lease deals.

I pay £80 per month for the insured BMW warranty (luckily - beacause ive has about £12k of warranty repairs undertaken FOC).

I’ll be Leasing next time as I’d have two new cars in the period and by which point the 640d will be 9 years old

Edited by T16OLE on Sunday 14th January 16:55

[Yipper]

Leasing (PCH) a brandnew 640d SE for ~21k mpa costs about £800-1200 a month + maintenance. For that specific model and that big mileage, buying outright nearly-new makes more sense.

[dave_s13]

T16OLE said:

I bought a used 640d 2 years ago and also do circa 22k pa, I have put together a very similar cost comparison between a HP & Lease over a four year period.

I’ll post it up.

Interestingly. To lease say an Audi S4 (twice) came in at roughly the same amount than to finance my 640d over the same period.

I also took into consideration road tax differences. I’m
not clear as to whether road tax is or isn’t included on
Lease deals.

I pay £80 per month for the insured BMW warranty (luckily - beacause ive has about £12k of warranty repairs undertaken FOC).

I’ll be Leasing next time as I’d have two new cars in the period and by which point the 640d will be 9 years old

Edited by T16OLE on Sunday 14th January 16:55

Any problems with the headlamps failing? I've seen two now out and about with a headlight out and there's a thread on the BMW section about it.

You'd think it'd be a trivial fix but you can't repair them and a new headlight is getting on for 2k!!

[rlg43p]

dave_s13 said:

Any problems with the headlamps failing? I've seen two now out and about with a headlight out and there's a thread on the BMW section about it.

You'd think it'd be a trivial fix but you can't repair them and a new headlight is getting on for 2k!!

Headlamp failure seems to be confined to early versions of the adaptive LED lamps from what I have read.

[T16OLE]

dave_s13 said:

Any problems with the headlamps failing? I've seen two now out and about with a headlight out and there's a thread on the BMW section about it.

You'd think it'd be a trivial fix but you can't repair them and a new headlight is getting on for 2k!!

Nope. Mine just has the Bixenon not the LED lights.

Nothing major really, egr cooler, leak on diff, two seat frames at £1500 each plus 8hrs labour per side etc. Most of which were niggles in fairness but nice to have them sorted.

I was comparing owning it to lease say an Audi S4 Avant.

I was quoted £285 inc vat per month for a 335d GT on an 18k pa 9+23 deal before buying my 640d.

I’m quite committed to the 640d the amount I’d loose selling now would be huge (per month) than it I ran it for another two years or so.

[Taaaaang]

Yipper said:

Leasing (PCH) a brandnew 640d SE for ~21k mpa costs about £800-1200 a month + maintenance. For that specific model and that big mileage, buying outright nearly-new makes more sense.

There are regular deals on these; they crop up now and again at about £600pcm if memory serves.

[rlg43p]

T16OLE said:

Nope. Mine just has the Bixenon not the LED lights.

Nothing major really, egr cooler, leak on diff, two seat frames at £1500 each plus 8hrs labour per side etc. Most of which were niggles in fairness but nice to have them sorted.

I was comparing owning it to lease say an Audi S4 Avant.

I was quoted £285 inc vat per month for a 335d GT on an 18k pa 9+23 deal before buying my 640d.

I’m quite committed to the 640d the amount I’d loose selling now would be huge (per month) than it I ran it for another two years or so.

There was a problem when i first got mine with all the offside lights failing. This was fixed by the supplying dealer. Other than that I have had no repairs at all.

Since August 2007 and previous to the 640d I had a 525d M Sport (E60), two E90 330d M Sport and a 120D SE. I did about 40k miles in each car and none of them have required any repairs - only servicing.

Despite what people have said earlier I don't think a budget of £430 per month would get me anything interesting on a 20k mpa contract.

[j4ck100]

Jesus £1300 on a warranty for 2 years?

Seems incredibly expensive. Were there any claims on this in the period?

Always believe it's better to self insure i.e. put money away each month. Unless the car you are buying has known-quantity problems that regularly occur.

[T16OLE]

j4ck100 said:

Jesus £1300 on a warranty for 2 years?

Seems incredibly expensive. Were there any claims on this in the period?

Always believe it's better to self insure i.e. put money away each month. Unless the car you are buying has known-quantity problems that regularly occur.

Yes, as above, I`ve had around £12k of repair work under the AUC & Insured warranty.

How`s the war chest now?

I`m not of the same opinion, many of the repairs I probably wouldn`t have had done if were my money, this leads to a car with niggles which bug me.

It also provides peace of mind knowing I only have to pay for service items & the warranty as mentioned, lots of this repair work is dealer only work and are very very expensive.

It`s £960 year too!!

[rlg43p]

j4ck100 said:

Jesus £1300 on a warranty for 2 years?

Seems incredibly expensive. Were there any claims on this in the period?

Always believe it's better to self insure i.e. put money away each month. Unless the car you are buying has known-quantity problems that regularly occur.

The problem with the lights on my 640 cost £2,000 to fix. £1000 was paid by the (3 month) RAC warranty the car came with and the remainder by the supplying dealer.

The trouble with the 640 is that if something does go wrong it can get VERY expensive very quickly.

[wemorgan]

Taaaaang said:

There are regular deals on these; they crop up now and again at about £600pcm if memory serves.

Once in a blue moon I've seen BMW 640d and Merc S350d @ £350 on a 9+23. But those will be 10k/yr.

Today the best I can see is this below, which amortises to £497/month.

https://www.contracthireandleasing.com/independent...

Audi A4 Diesel Saloon
3.0 TDI Quattro Sport 4dr S Tronic [Leather]

Personal Contract Hire
£399.83 Per Month, INC VAT
Rental Profile 9+35
Annual Mileage 20k Miles p/a
Initial Rental £3,598.47
Additional Fees £300.00

[RSTurboPaul]

As a mere peasant that has to run sheds because that's the only option financially, I think this thread offers a good explanation as to why high-initial-value Beemers (and similar) suffer such massive depreciation and end up being worth so little - £2k for a headlight? £12k in warranty-covered repairs? WTF?

I know one has to factor in bork costs to any purchase, but this level of pricing must surely wreck any chance they have of being worth much in the long term?!

Mind you, I guess the V10 M5 has very high potential bork costs yet is holding its value decently well - there must be a lot of people out there prepared to roll the dice... lol

[anonymous-user]

wemorgan said:

Taaaaang said:

There are regular deals on these; they crop up now and again at about £600pcm if memory serves.

Once in a blue moon I've seen BMW 640d and Merc S350d @ £350 on a 9+23. But those will be 10k/yr.

Today the best I can see is this below, which amortises to £497/month.

https://www.contracthireandleasing.com/independent...

Audi A4 Diesel Saloon
3.0 TDI Quattro Sport 4dr S Tronic [Leather]

Personal Contract Hire
£399.83 Per Month, INC VAT
Rental Profile 9+35
Annual Mileage 20k Miles p/a
Initial Rental £3,598.47
Additional Fees £300.00

Audi A4 is not comparable to a 6 series, other than they are both diesel cars. Maybe an A6, bit I find Audi on the whole rather naff.

Interesting to read, I lease one of my cars as it’s easier being in a foreign country, no way I would back in the UK, used cars are just too cheap it doesn’t add up for me.

[wemorgan]

I made no claims it's comparable, and as he's already admitted to, he's comparing apples with oranges (second-hand to new).
It was more to demonstrate the 'best' he could PCH today close to his budget.

My 2p: I think PCH makes even greater economical sense with higher mileage. Excess mileage rates or additional monthlies are very reasonable after the default 10k/yr. But if you must have a 640d, then buying second-hand is certainly cheaper than PCH.

[dave_s13]

RSTurboPaul said:

As a mere peasant that has to run sheds because that's the only option financially, I think this thread offers a good explanation as to why high-initial-value Beemers (and similar) suffer such massive depreciation and end up being worth so little - £2k for a headlight? £12k in warranty-covered repairs? WTF?

I know one has to factor in bork costs to any purchase, but this level of pricing must surely wreck any chance they have of being worth much in the long term. lol

But the prices quoted are at main dealer rates so wildly inflated. If you're on your own, like me!, You find a way to fix stuff much, much more cheaply.

Of course there's a lot more hassle involves.

The headlight thing is a bh though as I don't think there's a cheap way around that one.

[rlg43p]

wemorgan said:

I made no claims it's comparable, and as he's already admitted to, he's comparing apples with oranges (second-hand to new).
It was more to demonstrate the 'best' he could PCH today close to his budget.

My 2p: I think PCH makes even greater economical sense with higher mileage. Excess mileage rates or additional monthlies are very reasonable after the default 10k/yr. But if you must have a 640d, then buying second-hand is certainly cheaper than PCH.

You make the right assumption about my dilemma. I came very close to signing up for a Golf R estate when they were cheap. It would have been a similar monthly cost to my 640d and I liked the idea of a new car. In the end though I decided I liked the idea of driving a £65k BMW more - even if it was secondhand.