Which one makes sense?

[rob hamilton]

buying a 2005 (05) M3 Convertible Fully Loaded, 30,000 miles for £25k Privately

OR

a 2006 (06) Same spec, 26,000 miles for £29k at an independent dealer

Likely values in 3 years?
Dealer v Private?
New model going to kill the value of the 06 car?

Which if any do you think makes sense?

Thanks...

[chris7676]

Which do you think ??? No, you dont get what you pay for if it's the same car but different price.

[carl_w]

2006 (06) Same spec, 26,000 miles for £29k at an independent dealer

A year newer for £4,000, balance of 3 year warranty until 2009.

[belleair302]

What is the history of the private car, which dealer or specialist
have looked after the car?

I would always buy the newer car, don't see the latest M3 killing prices yet over the previous model and it will take two years at least for owners to sell on having covered 20K or more.

Money from the specialist is pretty strong, maybe room to negotiate....cars are not flying off forecourts at the moment!

[eowen]

Indi wont gain you anything, so I'd look to buy the second one privately - should have warranty at that age anyhow.

[aabbaa1980]

put it this way.. if you buy the 2006 model in a years time it will be worth £4-5k less!!! You got that much money to waste?

furthermore, if you buy it private you can get your own warranty which will cost you less then £600!!!

End of the day, the M3 can have issues, and a warranty is a must...

good luck buddy!

[Ayrton4ever]

Likely values in 3 years? the newer the car > the higher the depreciation > the more money you lose per year

Dealer v Private? it depends how confident you are in spotting 'lemons' , if you are not very good you'd better off with the dealer OR go private + buy a warranty separately

New model going to kill the value of the 06 car? this applies to both cars, but the newer car will lose more £ per year

[Deutscher]

aabbaa1980 said:

End of the day, the M3 can have issues, and a warranty is a must...

The E46 is tough and reliable. There are no major issues. The warranty is expensive.

Buy a good car privately and take the risk, or buy from a main dealer if you want the 'as new' experience.