M4 PCP advise

[shadowedition]

New member here.

Hi all, just wanted some advise on the following PCP deal I've been offered by my BMW garage:
£499pcm 48 months
£5k deposit
10000miles PA
2.9% APR

The deal is great considering my current 420i I got on PCP 3 years ago at £450pcm.

Just wanted to ask what people thought about the running costs of the M4. I initially looked at used M3s and M5s (F10) but was put off by the talk of people saying that a 2015 M car could be hefty in terms of repairs and so on. My dealer noticed that I was happy to spend this much per month and seized on the opportunity to lure me into a brand new M4.

So i haven't agreed to the deal. My monthly income is between £3k-5k/mo, expenses probably amount to about £1000/mo. I'm really excited about getting an M4 but I'm also conscious of the fact that a new car gets boring after about 4 weeks of driving it, and i'm completely on board with that which is why I'm not jumping into this deal. My 420i M Sport isn't too costly as my place of work is fairly close to home - obviously the yearly services were about £500 and car insurance is £700/year.

Just wanted people's advise on what they think about PCP'ing a brand new M4 - i expect to pay about £1500/year for car insurance (which sucks given I'm nearly 30) and of course the fuel costs are going to be much worse. But as it's brand new and under warranty are there other things I should be aware of before purchasing?

BY THE WAY - I'm PCPing because i have no intention of owning the car and PCP allows the flexibility of a voluntary termination at no extra cost after 50% of my payments have been made. I'm happy to incur the costs for the sake of convenience.

Last thing if anybody can help me - there are some pretty spicy deals on 2015 M5 F10 models with <20k miles. Is it a bad idea to consider those?

Thanks all!!

[FTW]

I too have been looking at these ///M car deals and have been tempted.

Double check your VT point as I calculated it to be around 3.6 years not at 50% of the payments. I’ll add that I’ve never done a PCP so I’m happy to be educated.

The next generation of M cars doesn’t excite and I think I’ll go for an M2 Comp which is a good balance of usability and sporting credentials. 400bhp, manual, RWD, isofix, big brake option. What competitor comes close?

Edited by FTW on Friday 7th August 19:11

[Deep Thought]

Just remember that

• amortised you're paying £603 a month across the 48 months to drive the car, not £499 a month (because of the £5K deposit its hiding that)
• If you've no plans to keep it, nigh on £29,000 is a lot to spend on initial deprecation / interest charges for a car you dont plan on owning
• £603 a month will likey break £1,000 a month once you factor in fuel, insurance, maintenance, servicing.
• That might be fine for a brand new M4 at your door, but 3 years in it wont feel quite so appealing.
• It will soon be superceded. Again, fine if you're happy with that.

BUT, if you're happy with that, other than ensure you're getting the very best deal you can, then great

[Deep Thought]

FTW said:

I too have been looking at these ///M car deals and have been tempted.

Double check your VT point as I calculated it to be around 3.6 years not at 50% of the payments. I’ll add that I’ve never done a PCP so I’m happy to be educated.

The next generation of M cars doesn’t excite and I think I’ll go for an M2 Comp which is a good balance of usability and sporting credentials. 400bhp, manual, RWD, isofix, big brake option. What competitor comes close?

Edited by FTW on Friday 7th August 19:11

Its definitely not 50% of payments made, like 3.5 years ish but havent checked the detail.

[PrinceRupert]

You give your income and expenses, but not your level of savings. That is much more important. If you have zero savings and a small pension, it would imho be madness to spend 35k to drive an M4 for 4 years. If you have hundreds of thousands in savings then it is a different story.

[shadowedition]

No, it's definitely once you have completed 50% of payments you can do a VT. I checked beforehand and it's the law (in the UK that is)

[PrinceRupert]

shadowedition said:

No, it's definitely once you have completed 50% of payments you can do a VT. I checked beforehand and it's the law (in the UK that is)

It isn't. It is 50% of the total finance. Which is payments + balloon.

[PrinceRupert]

See https://www.confused.com/car-finance/finance-optio...

[shadowedition]

PrinceRupert said:

You give your income and expenses, but not your level of savings. That is much more important. If you have zero savings and a small pension, it would imho be madness to spend 35k to drive an M4 for 4 years. If you have hundreds of thousands in savings then it is a different story.

Definitely not hundreds of thousands. Besides I didn't think it was really that relevant. I have a decent job that will allow me to afford the costs that they've laid out to me. I posed this question to ask about any added costs that the dealer doesn't mention that people might be aware of.

[shadowedition]

PrinceRupert said:

It isn't. It is 50% of the total finance. Which is payments + balloon.

This makes sense. Salesman worded it in a snakey way. Appreciated!!

[PrinceRupert]

shadowedition said:

Definitely not hundreds of thousands. Besides I didn't think it was really that relevant. I have a decent job that will allow me to afford the costs that they've laid out to me. I posed this question to ask about any added costs that the dealer doesn't mention that people might be aware of.

Well presumably you provided your income and expenses as you wanted comment as to whether or not you could afford to spunk 700+ a month on an M4.

You should be aware that with a 4year pcp you will own the car out of warranty for a year (subject to paying for an extended warranty).

Edit: also are you absolutely certain you will have the job and salary you currently have for four years? Four years is a long time. My life was very different four years ago than it is today...

[PrinceRupert]

shadowedition said:

This makes sense. Salesman worded it in a snakey way. Appreciated!!

Salesman are sneaky like that I suspect it confuses a lot. It means that with most cars you won't be able to VT till near the end of the PCP agreement.

[jjr1]

shadowedition said:

New member here.

Hi all, just wanted some advise on the following PCP deal I've been offered by my BMW garage:
£499pcm 48 months
£5k deposit
10000miles PA
2.9% APR

The deal is great considering my current 420i I got on PCP 3 years ago at £450pcm.

Just wanted to ask what people thought about the running costs of the M4. I initially looked at used M3s and M5s (F10) but was put off by the talk of people saying that a 2015 M car could be hefty in terms of repairs and so on. My dealer noticed that I was happy to spend this much per month and seized on the opportunity to lure me into a brand new M4.

So i haven't agreed to the deal. My monthly income is between £3k-5k/mo, expenses probably amount to about £1000/mo. I'm really excited about getting an M4 but I'm also conscious of the fact that a new car gets boring after about 4 weeks of driving it, and i'm completely on board with that which is why I'm not jumping into this deal. My 420i M Sport isn't too costly as my place of work is fairly close to home - obviously the yearly services were about £500 and car insurance is £700/year.

Just wanted people's advise on what they think about PCP'ing a brand new M4 - i expect to pay about £1500/year for car insurance (which sucks given I'm nearly 30) and of course the fuel costs are going to be much worse. But as it's brand new and under warranty are there other things I should be aware of before purchasing?

BY THE WAY - I'm PCPing because i have no intention of owning the car and PCP allows the flexibility of a voluntary termination at no extra cost after 50% of my payments have been made. I'm happy to incur the costs for the sake of convenience.

Last thing if anybody can help me - there are some pretty spicy deals on 2015 M5 F10 models with <20k miles. Is it a bad idea to consider those?

Thanks all!!

Advice

[Muzzer79]

500 quid a month to have an M4 sounds great, but the fact it’ll be superseded by the new model in 5 mins time and you’re tied in for that long would annoy me.

Looks like one of those deals which feels fine for 6 months to a year, but you’re then trying to get out of.

[Venisonpie]

Very attractive deal, for a little more you can get a competition £5499/£549.

As others have said it might feel a bit of a burden after a few years.

[shadowedition]

Venisonpie said:

Very attractive deal, for a little more you can get a competition £5499/£549.

As others have said it might feel a bit of a burden after a few years.

Where’s this offer?

Yeh I completely agree which is why I’m not jumping on the deal and figured I’d get the advice of people who’ve owned/know the costs of running an M4. The car game is a brutal game if you’re into cars lol

[shadowedition]

PrinceRupert said:

Well presumably you provided your income and expenses as you wanted comment as to whether or not you could afford to spunk 700+ a month on an M4.

You should be aware that with a 4year pcp you will own the car out of warranty for a year (subject to paying for an extended warranty).

Edit: also are you absolutely certain you will have the job and salary you currently have for four years? Four years is a long time. My life was very different four years ago than it is today...

Yeh I spent 8 years at uni to do the job I’m doing so pretty much have no choice lol

I’ve signed 4 year PCPs in the past and honestly don’t really regret it - not once have I got in my car and thought oh ffs. And the last 4 years I’ve been paying £450/mo on my 4 series - before that I had a 1 series at £330.

A brand new financed M4 will work out £50 more pcm on finance and my current 4 series probably works out about £600 per month to run and I’ve been ok with that.

[Venisonpie]

shadowedition said:

Where’s this offer?

Yeh I completely agree which is why I’m not jumping on the deal and figured I’d get the advice of people who’ve owned/know the costs of running an M4. The car game is a brutal game if you’re into cars lol

Sytner, if you look on Autotrader all the dealers are offering similar on brand new comps. If it were me I might be tempted to wait until the end of September when the deal finishes. It will be the end of the quarter for dealer targets and bonus payments from the manufacturer so any residue cars might be up for a cheeky offer. You'd need to be flexible on colour/ spec though.

[Terminator X]

Normally under PCP you don't get to the halfway point (where the car can be handed back) until most of the "monthlies" loan has been paid back eg in this case it will probably be close to the 48th month. Long time for the OP to hold a car if a regular car changer!

Plus new M4 is due out shortly so surely this one will tank in value straight away making it even harder to get rid after just a few months if the OP gets bored. New M4 looks ste though imho with that massive front grille

TX.

[Deep Thought]

As per the general consensus, i'd spend the extra and get a Competition variant.

I'd also look at an M2C as those are rated well. M4 seems very big for no good reason IMHO.

Also as i said in my first post, dont forget to factor in your deposit to give your amortised monthly figure. £499 a month is ok but £603 a month amortised over the four years shows the real picture.

The biggish deposit is hiding the real monthly cost.