Car depreciation

[Stevey101]

Hello everyone

So I’m looking at purchasing a BMW F83 M4 Competition. Now I’m considering buying it out right straight sale as don’t really want to mess about with finance if I don’t need to.

Now the question I’ve got is. How much would this car depreciate on average over 2/3yrs? I would only be doing 5/6k a year miles in it, I’m looking at buying one that’s done 30-40k miles only and let’s say I keep it in top condition with full services etc.
How much on average would it depreciate by with these factors?

Thank you, obviously I know no one can 100% say but I’m just talking on average a rough estimate as obviously I don’t want to be losing like 8/10 grand on it.

Thank you

[Road2Ruin]

The best suggestion, I can think of, is look at similar spec on Autotrader against new price. Obviously the sale price on Autotrader will be higher than you will get. I think your hope of not losing £8/10k is unlikely.

[Stevey101]

Road2Ruin said:

The best suggestion, I can think of, is look at similar spec on Autotrader against new price. Obviously the sale price on Autotrader will be higher than you will get. I think your hope of not losing £8/10k is unlikely.

Why would the sale on Autotrader be higher? Is Autotrader known for been more expensive as that’s where I’ve been looking. Where is the best place to look? As if I can help it I’d rather buy off a dealer than a private seller as you’re more covered.

[stef1808]

I’d budget for a 6-7k depreciation hit over 3 years

[Stevey101]

stef1808 said:

I’d budget for a 6-7k depreciation hit over 3 years

Thank you

[brillomaster]

Autotrader ads are quite expensive, so tend to be more dealers selling, at a premium price because of the 'warranty' they'd have to offer.

Private sellers are more likely to use FB marketplace or eBay, cheaper to place an ad.

As for depreciation, look at what similar older cars are selling for on autotrader, but be aware the price a dealer is asking for a car will be a good couple of thousand higher than what you'd get when you trade yours in - dealers want to make a profit!

[ScoobyChris]

Stevey101 said:

Why would the sale on Autotrader be higher? Is Autotrader known for been more expensive as that’s where I’ve been looking. Where is the best place to look? As if I can help it I’d rather buy off a dealer than a private seller as you’re more covered.

I read that he is suggesting that you look at what cars of the age you are looking to sell at (eg 4/5 year old) are going for currently and how that compares to new price to see the percentage depreciation. Obviously when you are selling, you will get less (as a private sale or trade in) than a main dealer selling...

Chris

[Road2Ruin]

ScoobyChris said:

Stevey101 said:

Why would the sale on Autotrader be higher? Is Autotrader known for been more expensive as that’s where I’ve been looking. Where is the best place to look? As if I can help it I’d rather buy off a dealer than a private seller as you’re more covered.

I read that he is suggesting that you look at what cars of the age you are looking to sell at (eg 4/5 year old) are going for currently and how that compares to new price to see the percentage depreciation. Obviously when you are selling, you will get less (as a private sale or trade in) than a main dealer selling...

Chris

Chris, that's exactly what I was suggesting. Thanks.

[ChocolateFrog]

I don't know the specifics of that model but losing 'only' £8k over 3 years and 18000 miles on a performance car would be considered pretty good going by most people I would have thought

[Panamax]

As a very rough rule of thumb, cars of typical mileage and condition lose half their value every three years, although after about 5 years depreciation of sought-after cars will be slower than this.

[Stevey101]

brillomaster said:

Autotrader ads are quite expensive, so tend to be more dealers selling, at a premium price because of the 'warranty' they'd have to offer.

Private sellers are more likely to use FB marketplace or eBay, cheaper to place an ad.

As for depreciation, look at what similar older cars are selling for on autotrader, but be aware the price a dealer is asking for a car will be a good couple of thousand higher than what you'd get when you trade yours in - dealers want to make a profit!

Thanks for the info

Although I’ve just looked on FB/Ebay and they’re similar if not more expensive on there. I can get a 30k mile 18 plate m4 competition for 27k on AT but on fb/ebay they’re all 50-60k for same price.

[M138]

Someone once said to me if they’re willing to spend on an advert on Autotrader they were willing to spend on the car in their ownership.

[Sir Bagalot]

stef1808 said:

I’d budget for a 6-7k depreciation hit over 3 years

I initially thought 9/10K

I'd put the details though WBAC and see the difference between a 22 plate with 30K miles, and a 21 plate with 36K miles. That's your annual depreciation atm

[SV_WDC]

Just bare in mind that performance cars attract higher costs in almost every sense and if there's a depreciation concern from the outset, it'll likely detract from the enjoyment of it.

I've seen this before where friends end up finding reasons NOT to drive their car as they're habitually concenered with the depreciation everytime they're putting more miles on it. Not that anyone wants to lose money, but best to budget for the 'worst case' scenario & approximate your appetite to that loss.

[njw1]

Personally I'd just factor in the depreciation as part of the running costs and not worry about it, or, buy an older model that isn't going to depreciate much further.
Obviously the older car many need more money spending on it but would be cheaper to buy in the first place.

[MustangGT]

Stevey101 said:

Hello everyone

So I’m looking at purchasing a BMW F83 M4 Competition. Now I’m considering buying it out right straight sale as don’t really want to mess about with finance if I don’t need to.

Now the question I’ve got is. How much would this car depreciate on average over 2/3yrs? I would only be doing 5/6k a year miles in it, I’m looking at buying one that’s done 30-40k miles only and let’s say I keep it in top condition with full services etc.
How much on average would it depreciate by with these factors?

Thank you, obviously I know no one can 100% say but I’m just talking on average a rough estimate as obviously I don’t want to be losing like 8/10 grand on it.

Thank you

The big question is will you buy private or from a trader? If a trader you can say goodbye to £2-3k as soon as you buy it. Then expect the normal depreciation. If you plan to trade it in/WBC/Motorway it when you want to sell you can say good bye to another £1.5-2k at that time plus the 2-3 years of normal depreciation. For an M4 Competition, looking at Autotrader, I would think you are probably looking at £5-8k for 2-3 years as normal depreciation, so buy from the trade and sell to the trade you are probably looking at £8.5-12k in depreciation across 2-3 years. Dependent on age of car and mileage when buying it.

[Stevey101]

SV_WDC said:

Just bare in mind that performance cars attract higher costs in almost every sense and if there's a depreciation concern from the outset, it'll likely detract from the enjoyment of it.

I've seen this before where friends end up finding reasons NOT to drive their car as they're habitually concenered with the depreciation everytime they're putting more miles on it. Not that anyone wants to lose money, but best to budget for the 'worst case' scenario & approximate your appetite to that loss.

That’s actually very true. Tbh more I look at it anyway, if I got finance I’d be paying £4-5k deposit and £3-5k in just interest anyway. So even if it did depreciate by £10k for example it would probably be better off then doing finance.

The only issue I’ve got now I’m currently in a finance pcp with C200 coupe 69 plate and I’ve got about 15k to pay off on it so would be handy to use that in a finance deal and then use equity towards deposit. It’s just all a ball ache