E90 330i to M235i - is this man maths?

[L555BAT]

After 3 years of ownership and some recent small repairs, I thought to work out how much it's been costing me to own and run this car per year - 8k miles, excluding fuel. Further curiosity led me to work out the hypothetical cost for an M235i.

Is this realistic, or a case of man maths?

E90 330i (2006)
1272 depreciation (trade buy to Auto Trader estimated part-ex value)
472 insurance
315 tax
246 repairs
148 tyres (rears every 3, fronts every 4 - no commuting, lot of occasional motorway to the countryside)
136 servicing
94 loss of interest on cash at bank (7.5k@1.25%)
84 breakdown cover
50 MOT
= 2817 (235 monthly)

M235i (2015 with 30k, ~£20k)
2590 depreciation (based over 3 years on M135i prices 2015@30k trade buy £19k to 2012@60k to AT estimated part-ex £11230)
577 insurance
510 BMW warranty (£100 excess)
290 tax
100 repairs (up to warranty excess, guess 1/year)
220 tyres (rears every 2, fronts every 3)
205 servicing (guessed 1.5x the E90, at same independent)
250 loss of interest on cash at bank (20k@1.25%)
100 BMW warranty extra for breakdown cover
50 MOT
= 4892 (408 monthly)

£2075 a year extra, or £173 a month.

I'm thinking the depreciation might be off (and isn't guaranteed anyway), might have more repairs to pay the excess for, there might be ones not covered by warranty, and servicing might be more. Also owning the thing would cause the additional expense of road trips to the Alps

[Fox-]

You are going to lose significantly more than £3k in depreciation on a 2015 2 Series over 3 years.

[anonymous-user]

L555BAT said:

510 BMW warranty (£100 excess)

100 repairs (up to warranty excess, guess 1/year)
:

More than 1 repair a year I would imagine.

[L555BAT]

Fox- said:

You are going to lose significantly more than £3k in depreciation on a 2015 2 Series over 3 years.

Yes. As mentioned, the figures are yearly - see the bit in brackets for how I came up with the number.

[Smuler]

Absolutely what fox says re: depreciation.

Are you saying 24k miles for tyres (3 years at 8) that seems optimistic but then I do drive fast.

I would still say do it , if you want the car

[L555BAT]

Smuler said:

Absolutely what fox says re: depreciation.

Fox is right that it'll be a lot more than 3k over 3 years, but I'm not wrong in the first place as all my figures are yearly.

Using the M135i for an idea, as M235is don't go back far enough for a 3 year comparison:
2015 M135i with 30k is ~£19k dealer
2012 M135i with 60k is £11,230 part-ex estimated by Auto Trader
Difference £7770, or £2590 per year

Smuler said:

Are you saying 24k miles for tyres (3 years at 8) that seems optimistic but then I do drive fast.

I would still say do it , if you want the car

Rears last 3 years doing 8k (so 24k) for me on the 330i, I've guessed that fronts last an extra year (32k). Decent ones, nothing rock hard. No commuting, but unfortunately a lot of motorway miles (less tyre wear presumably) to visit people and go to places where there are nice roads. I've added it up now and it's around 5k a year of driving where a 218d would do

For the M235i I've guessed they wouldn't last as long - 2 for rears (16k) and 3 for fronts (24k) - due to the extra power and slightly narrower (245 vs. 255) rears.

[Smuler]

L555BAT said:

Rears last 3 years doing 8k (so 24k) for me on the 330i, I've guessed that fronts last an extra year (32k). Decent ones, nothing rock hard. No commuting, but unfortunately a lot of motorway miles (less tyre wear presumably) to visit people and go to places where there are nice roads. I've added it up now and it's around 5k a year of driving where a 218d would do

For the M235i I've guessed they wouldn't last as long - 2 for rears (16k) and 3 for fronts (24k) - due to the extra power and slightly narrower (245 vs. 255) rears.

Ah, so 9k depreciation that's more like it. Good analysis.

I'd strongly recommend Michelins for good wear and tear. Michelin Pilot sport 4, I found better than Supersports.
Not dissing the 330i, but the M235i, I'd call next level of performance should you factor in that you will drive faster, take it for more blasts.

As before, do it.

[STe_rsv4]

I went from an e46 330ci to a 2015 m235i convertible.
Forget the maths, it will only depress you if you worry about depreciation etc. Just do it if it feels right and you can afford it. I've never looked back

[cerb4.5lee]

Smuler said:

As before, do it.

Agree, and its a car I've fancied for a long time(also had a E90 330i).

[cerb4.5lee]

STe_rsv4 said:

Just do it if it feels right and you can afford it.

[LocoBlade]

I went from a 130i manual to a 240i auto and other than depreciation I'm not finding a lot of difference in costs to run. It's actually a couple of mpg better on fuel on my A road commute (about 10mpg better on the motorway) and tyres appear to be lasting well as currently at 13k miles and still got 4.5-5mm on all corners. Obviously no warranty or repair costs on mine as it was new last year but if you buy main dealer you'll get a year's warranty anyway as a minimum (and some have negotiated extensions into the deal) so can subtract that cost. You can also get stuff like breakdown cover for a lot less than £100/year so shop around, and over 3 years I'd have thought you'll be lucky to get away with only spending £750 on maintenance and repairs on the 330i unless you do all your own spanner work.

As you've worked out though, by far the biggest cost of a newer car is depreciation as you've worked out so if you're comfortable with it then crack on!