645 Values / Best time to buy

[isv]

Hi,

I've been tempted for ages and now that values appear to be falling I want to treat myself to a 645 (or possibly 630) coupe. I'm trying to get a handle on what I should be looking to pay. I want a 2005 or newer coupe auto with < 40,000 miles budget has to be well below £20k (£15k would be ideal)

A couple of BMW dealers I looked in had different responses when I enquired. One has a Jan 2005 645 with 36k miles asking £23999 and without much pushing said they'd take £5k off with no part-ex. Another dealer has one of a similar age with only 28k miles asking £21k and they wont budge below £20k. Both dealers claimed they were losing money on the cars. I called a small independent dealer with a late 2004 car with 38k miles - asking £19999 and they said they'd take £16k cash. Next I called a private seller (asking £24k for a 40k mile car!) and he got abusive when I suggested he'd need to revise the price to compete with dealers. I didn't bother calling any other private sellers after that... All of the cars above seemed to be loaded with options (inc. pro sat nav which I don't need).

Then, for comparison, I visited www.wewillbuyyourcar.com to try and get a feel for bottom trade valuation - they will offer £12765 for a 36k Jan 2005 car with sat nav in pristine condition. I guess their values must be based on CAP and they then bid below bottom book in order to get a profit when they resale a car back to the trade? Either way, it made me wonder if current trade/auction prices are way below the prices dealers offered? I'm happy to buy from auction and wonder if anyone has a feel for what current auction prices are for 645s? I'm in no rush, what do you think will happen to values in early 2009?

Alan.

[POORCARDEALER]

isv said:

Hi,

I've been tempted for ages and now that values appear to be falling I want to treat myself to a 645 (or possibly 630) coupe. I'm trying to get a handle on what I should be looking to pay. I want a 2005 or newer coupe auto with < 40,000 miles budget has to be well below £20k (£15k would be ideal)

A couple of BMW dealers I looked in had different responses when I enquired. One has a Jan 2005 645 with 36k miles asking £23999 and without much pushing said they'd take £5k off with no part-ex. Another dealer has one of a similar age with only 28k miles asking £21k and they wont budge below £20k. Both dealers claimed they were losing money on the cars. I called a small independent dealer with a late 2004 car with 38k miles - asking £19999 and they said they'd take £16k cash. Next I called a private seller (asking £24k for a 40k mile car!) and he got abusive when I suggested he'd need to revise the price to compete with dealers. I didn't bother calling any other private sellers after that... All of the cars above seemed to be loaded with options (inc. pro sat nav which I don't need).

Then, for comparison, I visited www.wewillbuyyourcar.com to try and get a feel for bottom trade valuation - they will offer £12765 for a 36k Jan 2005 car with sat nav in pristine condition. I guess their values must be based on CAP and they then bid below bottom book in order to get a profit when they resale a car back to the trade? Either way, it made me wonder if current trade/auction prices are way below the prices dealers offered? I'm happy to buy from auction and wonder if anyone has a feel for what current auction prices are for 645s? I'm in no rush, what do you think will happen to values in early 2009?

Alan.

You have no chance whatsoever of getting a low mileage 05 car for £15K. As for "wewillbuyanycarnonsense", forget it for valueing prestige cars.
The cars will continue to drop in value, but you have to be realistic.....you are attemting to buy at thousands below trade price.

[isv]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate your insight. What do you think an 05/54 645 Auto < 40k will fetch at auction currently? I've been offered one for £19k from a BMW dealer is that a good deal?

[POORCARDEALER]

No problem.........you just might buy one for £16K at auction, but it could be a bit risky as it would obviously have no warranty (maybe an hour after the auction for a major mechanical problem, but check prior to bidding)...Presume the car from BMW would be well prepped with a years warranty, that warranty would cost about £1200.......so after you pay the buyers premium to the auction around £600/700 on a £16K car, you may be better off with the BMW car and the back up it brings.....

If you do bid on the auction car, ask how many owners, as often they have had plenty (thats why they are in the auction), last serviced, tyres, number of keys, etc..........good luck

[Aeroresh]

You also have to consider that although such cars can be had relatively cheaply, they will still continue to depreciate and a horendous rate until they are pretty much worthless.

Today's £20k 645i will be worth £10k trade next year and so on.

[pgilc1]

Aeroresh said:

You also have to consider that although such cars can be had relatively cheaply, they will still continue to depreciate and a horendous rate until they are pretty much worthless.

Today's £20k 645i will be worth £10k trade next year and so on.

Yes and no. I would imagine one will be worth £5K in three years time, so thats £15K over three years, or £5K per year, which isnt out of the way.

The trick would be to buy it and drive it, rather than try to buy on a whim and sell in a year.

My 535d Sport was £23K in June, but i'd say trade price is now about £15K. This is only an issue if i flog it now - i plan to keep it for a few years so it will even out to hopefully something more reasonable.

[isv]

pgilc1 said:

Aeroresh said:

You also have to consider that although such cars can be had relatively cheaply, they will still continue to depreciate and a horendous rate until they are pretty much worthless.

Today's £20k 645i will be worth £10k trade next year and so on.

Yes and no. I would imagine one will be worth £5K in three years time, so thats £15K over three years, or £5K per year, which isnt out of the way.

The trick would be to buy it and drive it, rather than try to buy on a whim and sell in a year.

My 535d Sport was £23K in June, but i'd say trade price is now about £15K. This is only an issue if i flog it now - i plan to keep it for a few years so it will even out to hopefully something more reasonable.

Perhaps the best approach might be to buy from a BMW dealer after all and get them to put a strong GFV on a PCP?... that way I can hopefully protect myself against any powerdive in residuals over the next few years (I probably wont want to keep it for more than a couple of years anyway).

BTW - talking of values... my missus has asked if she can have a 730D for the school run We called in a BMW dealer on the weekend and she saw a 06 plate 730D that was up for £19.5k and the dealer (who spotted the opportunity pretty quickly) offered it to her for £16.5k. That's a hell of a lot of car/gadgets for the money - and (as the salesman explained to her ) - that's not far off what her current 2.0 diesel Golf cost me. Certainly has got me thinking...!

[pgilc1]

isv said:

pgilc1 said:

Aeroresh said:

You also have to consider that although such cars can be had relatively cheaply, they will still continue to depreciate and a horendous rate until they are pretty much worthless.

Today's £20k 645i will be worth £10k trade next year and so on.

Yes and no. I would imagine one will be worth £5K in three years time, so thats £15K over three years, or £5K per year, which isnt out of the way.

The trick would be to buy it and drive it, rather than try to buy on a whim and sell in a year.

My 535d Sport was £23K in June, but i'd say trade price is now about £15K. This is only an issue if i flog it now - i plan to keep it for a few years so it will even out to hopefully something more reasonable.

Perhaps the best approach might be to buy from a BMW dealer after all and get them to put a strong GFV on a PCP?... that way I can hopefully protect myself against any powerdive in residuals over the next few years (I probably wont want to keep it for more than a couple of years anyway).

BTW - talking of values... my missus has asked if she can have a 730D for the school run We called in a BMW dealer on the weekend and she saw a 06 plate 730D that was up for £19.5k and the dealer (who spotted the opportunity pretty quickly) offered it to her for £16.5k. That's a hell of a lot of car/gadgets for the money - and (as the salesman explained to her ) - that's not far off what her current 2.0 diesel Golf cost me. Certainly has got me thinking...!

I had seen 06 730ds for around 18K on AUC, but at £16.5K thats an amazing bargain. I bought my 05 535d back in June, but i would have bought a 730d over it all day long at that price. Wow!

[isv]

pgilc1 said:

isv said:

pgilc1 said:

Aeroresh said:

You also have to consider that although such cars can be had relatively cheaply, they will still continue to depreciate and a horendous rate until they are pretty much worthless.

Today's £20k 645i will be worth £10k trade next year and so on.

Yes and no. I would imagine one will be worth £5K in three years time, so thats £15K over three years, or £5K per year, which isnt out of the way.

The trick would be to buy it and drive it, rather than try to buy on a whim and sell in a year.

My 535d Sport was £23K in June, but i'd say trade price is now about £15K. This is only an issue if i flog it now - i plan to keep it for a few years so it will even out to hopefully something more reasonable.

Perhaps the best approach might be to buy from a BMW dealer after all and get them to put a strong GFV on a PCP?... that way I can hopefully protect myself against any powerdive in residuals over the next few years (I probably wont want to keep it for more than a couple of years anyway).

BTW - talking of values... my missus has asked if she can have a 730D for the school run We called in a BMW dealer on the weekend and she saw a 06 plate 730D that was up for £19.5k and the dealer (who spotted the opportunity pretty quickly) offered it to her for £16.5k. That's a hell of a lot of car/gadgets for the money - and (as the salesman explained to her ) - that's not far off what her current 2.0 diesel Golf cost me. Certainly has got me thinking...!

I had seen 06 730ds for around 18K on AUC, but at £16.5K thats an amazing bargain. I bought my 05 535d back in June, but i would have bought a 730d over it all day long at that price. Wow!

There seems to be quite a few AUC 730Ds on 06 (or newer) for < £20k.

This one has an asking price of £16.9k with 21k miles - that's before any haggling:
http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/bmwauc/car_details/0,,1...

[pgilc1]

isv said:

pgilc1 said:

isv said:

pgilc1 said:

Aeroresh said:

You also have to consider that although such cars can be had relatively cheaply, they will still continue to depreciate and a horendous rate until they are pretty much worthless.

Today's £20k 645i will be worth £10k trade next year and so on.

Yes and no. I would imagine one will be worth £5K in three years time, so thats £15K over three years, or £5K per year, which isnt out of the way.

The trick would be to buy it and drive it, rather than try to buy on a whim and sell in a year.

My 535d Sport was £23K in June, but i'd say trade price is now about £15K. This is only an issue if i flog it now - i plan to keep it for a few years so it will even out to hopefully something more reasonable.

Perhaps the best approach might be to buy from a BMW dealer after all and get them to put a strong GFV on a PCP?... that way I can hopefully protect myself against any powerdive in residuals over the next few years (I probably wont want to keep it for more than a couple of years anyway).

BTW - talking of values... my missus has asked if she can have a 730D for the school run We called in a BMW dealer on the weekend and she saw a 06 plate 730D that was up for £19.5k and the dealer (who spotted the opportunity pretty quickly) offered it to her for £16.5k. That's a hell of a lot of car/gadgets for the money - and (as the salesman explained to her ) - that's not far off what her current 2.0 diesel Golf cost me. Certainly has got me thinking...!

I had seen 06 730ds for around 18K on AUC, but at £16.5K thats an amazing bargain. I bought my 05 535d back in June, but i would have bought a 730d over it all day long at that price. Wow!

There seems to be quite a few AUC 730Ds on 06 (or newer) for < £20k.

This one has an asking price of £16.9k with 21k miles - that's before any haggling:
http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/bmwauc/car_details/0,,1...

They're literally dropping by the week - a fortnight ago the cheapest was £18.5K.

Jeremy Clarkson summed it up last night though on top gear, he said this past 20 years was like musical chairs - people just changed their cars whenever they liked but now the music has stopped and (unless you want to take a massive hit) you've just got to content yourself with what you've got.

[isv]

Certainly dropping... cheapest 06 730D with lowish miles now £15k from a dealer before haggling (and it is a SE):

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

Edited by isv on Tuesday 4th November 00:06

[phelix]

I would guess waiting till Feb and then the dealers will bite your arm off just to have you come into the showroom. It'll be at the typical quiet time for car sales plus people will still be reeling from their Christmas spending and the new road tax rates will be in the news again.

[Donut]

phelix said:

I would guess waiting till Feb and then the dealers will bite your arm off just to have you come into the showroom. It'll be at the typical quiet time for car sales plus people will still be reeling from their Christmas spending and the new road tax rates will be in the news again.

Urban myth is that.....

The best time to buy, is when the dealer has the car you want to buy, you should always buy the car and not the deal!

Every dealer has a monthly target so the same presure is applied every month so a sale is important regardless of when or at what time....

Find the car, be realistic and battle for the deal as Matt showed if you aren't happy walk away and maybe the dealer will reconsider or offer an alternative?

[dh5927]

where do you work donut?...sound like a nice chap to deal with...

[Donut]

dh5927 said:

where do you work donut?...sound like a nice chap to deal with...

Don't want to say on here but you can PM me if you require a BMW of the used Variety

Edited by Donut on Wednesday 5th November 13:53

[phelix]

Donut said:

phelix said:

I would guess waiting till Feb and then the dealers will bite your arm off just to have you come into the showroom. It'll be at the typical quiet time for car sales plus people will still be reeling from their Christmas spending and the new road tax rates will be in the news again.

Urban myth is that.....

The best time to buy, is when the dealer has the car you want to buy, you should always buy the car and not the deal!

Every dealer has a monthly target so the same presure is applied every month so a sale is important regardless of when or at what time....

Find the car, be realistic and battle for the deal as Matt showed if you aren't happy walk away and maybe the dealer will reconsider or offer an alternative?

Ok, so the end of Feb then!

[davidd]

dh5927 said:

where do you work donut?...sound like a nice chap to deal with...

He is a good chap to deal with (and he did not even pay me to say that)..

D

[Donut]

phelix said:

Donut said:

phelix said:

I would guess waiting till Feb and then the dealers will bite your arm off just to have you come into the showroom. It'll be at the typical quiet time for car sales plus people will still be reeling from their Christmas spending and the new road tax rates will be in the news again.

Urban myth is that.....

The best time to buy, is when the dealer has the car you want to buy, you should always buy the car and not the deal!

Every dealer has a monthly target so the same presure is applied every month so a sale is important regardless of when or at what time....

Find the car, be realistic and battle for the deal as Matt showed if you aren't happy walk away and maybe the dealer will reconsider or offer an alternative?

Ok, so the end of Feb then!

Honestly.......

Anything earnt this month will be paid for Christmas so every saleman will be busting there balls to get as much in as they can, to get as big a pay cheque as possible.....

So do it now if you can

[croyde]

Blimey! How much would that 730D have been new?

[pgilc1]

croyde said:

Blimey! How much would that 730D have been new?

£55K+ list price.