New M4 or Pre Reg/Used?

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Well my circumstances have changed in the last few weeks and I now need a 4 seater not a 2 seater so my purchase of an R8 is off.

I currently have a 340i Touring and it seems the logical step for me is M4. To me the M3 isn't aggressive enough with the 4 doors so an M4 should be perfect.

I know you can get about 10k off list new but there are plenty around in the late 40's and pre regs at £49,995 so whats the better option.

BMW are at 3.9% finance new and 5.9% used/demo/pre reg so the pre reg demo route will surely be cheaper unless 0% came back on the table.

I plan to keep the car for two years.

What would you do?

Any thoughts or advice, deals known etc would be helpful. I know about the jct600 pre reg list but any others?

My preferred spec is Tanzanite with a light interior (silverstone or opal). Is silverstone grey or more cream, hard to tell in pics?

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The back seats wont be used apart from occasionally but I need folding rear seats to take a mountain bike every now and again.

I want a step up from the 340i so I thought this fits the bill nicely.

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Smuler said:

I tend to agree, as per this thread's comparison pictures. Plus it keeps the iconic badge

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...

Back to the original point, I'd use the pre-reg prices as a benchmark and try and push dealers who presumably have first quarter targets to meet for better than that 10% discount then you get a new car exactly as you want.
However, I didn't understand the point on finance as the new seemed lower than used, so better in my probably humble (and likely dumb opinion)?

No dumb questions here mate. What I was getting at was is it worth the extra for new to get the overall life cost down. 3.9% on 52k will be probably more expensive than 5.9% on 46k as an example and not by much. Is it worth it, I am not bothered about spending 5k for the exact spec as they are all good spec and I am not that fussy.

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I have seen this one that looks perfect for £46995, this was showing 10 miles until I enquired and the dealer principal is driving it so it’s now on 3k and has been updated.

https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/201707187476794...

My point ref the pricing was more about paying 5k ish to jump in a new one , am not that bothered to be honest but I take your point, not very clear my end, sorry.

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911gone said:

I opted for a 10 month old 420d last month so I didn't have to pay the road tax supplement from year 2. Probably not such a worry when you are looking to spend a wedge on an M4 though!

Can I throw you a curve ball....

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Thanks but done the V8 thing with Audi before my 340.

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PorkInsider said:

Smuler said:

interstellar said:

I have seen this one that looks perfect for £46995, this was showing 10 miles until I enquired and the dealer principal is driving it so it’s now on 3k and has been updated.

https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/201707187476794...

My point ref the pricing was more about paying 5k ish to jump in a new one , am not that bothered to be honest but I take your point, not very clear my end, sorry.

It's a bl**dy minefield this. IF I understand correctly this car has this full merino individual leather which when I try and spec it on the discount sites requires a number of extras including Harmon Kardon to be added!!

Thus the best Broadspeed (in the example) discounted price for a base M4 DCT in tanzanite with this leather with the bits you have to add, is £55k

Therefore, you are potentially making a decent saving and that's excluding any extras it has

BTW, this looks like the interior I saw on the Tanzanite; not quite my taste but I'm pretty confident it'd be better than anything silver/grey.

That car doesn’t have full leather.

Looks to me like the only option it has is H/K.

Edit: and the CF trim, obviously.

Edited by PorkInsider on Sunday 14th January 22:17

Is it rare on these not to have the leather dash at £1075. I certainly wouldnt spec it for that much.

The options on it are

HK
Black painted wheels
Privacy glass
opal leather individual
heated steering wheel
CF trim
speed limit display
reversing camera
Head up display.

not sure I would want anything else if I built it myself? Is there common items missing here?

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PorkInsider said:

On the subject of M3 or M4, I much prefer the look of the M4 myself.

I know people talk about the arches on the M3 but it’s just that they’re more noticeable as the car isn’t as ‘fat’ as an M4 other than the arches.

Approach an M4 from behind on the motorway, for example, and they look far more impressively wide and squat than an M3 in the same scenario.

It’s all about personal preference though...

If you click these images they should be gifs with the 3 and 4 series overlaid with the M3 and M4.

Edited by PorkInsider on Sunday 14th January 23:16

Thank you for that, that’s very clever. M4 for me.

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joedesi said:

Interesting thread as Im in the same boat as you.

I learnt the hard way to be very careful on ever buying new due to the level of depreciation in the first 18-24 months

Financial discipline/control is more important (to me now) than having the latest toy/status symbol. Been there done that.

Nothing wrong with buying expensive cars - just let someone else take the initial hit.

If it were my money Id be looking at a low mileage 2016 comp pack with all the important suspension revisions - you will still have a years warranty on it and can extend if you wish

You will still have a great car and a great time with money left over to invest elsewhere

Good luck

J

You are not wrong but there isn't much different in price. I want an AUC from BMW so the price differences aren't massive unless you are picky on colour , for example there is only a couple of grand between a car I like and a car 18 months older which isn't enough for me to compromise.

If I just wanted to get an M4 and wasn't too fussed on colour then that is the way to go for sure.

I do keep looking for the older cars 16 plate etc so lets see what comes up.

By the way is it just me doesn't like the look of the Comp pack car, I think the wheels are awful, the seats are better but the wheels look naff to me.

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joedesi said:

If it were my money Id be looking at a low mileage 2016 comp pack with all the important suspension revisions
J

Were comp pack cars and non comp pack cars affected here, how do you know it its got revised suspension if that's what you are talking about?

Thanks in advance.

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The other thing I wanted to ask was someone somewhere mentioned that there was a change in the mapping at some point in time on this model which helped with getting the power down better.

Does that ring a bell to anyone?

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squirdan said:

comp pack has different dampers, ARBs etc. or at the least, different damper control software calibration

generally though it seems BMW have been making small changes through the years

I agree re CP wheels, but they could be easily swapped

You can spec the black 19's as a no cost option on a CP car. Would this be a bad move come resale having 19's not 20's?

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squirdan said:

have spent the past few weeks crawling over websites, new advert etc and having a few conversations

the only M3/4 that i've had on my short list that have actually sold have been 17 plate cars with c. £17k discount to list and good spec. A Silverstone blue one at Blue Bell that had 100 miles on it, and a grey one mega spec at BMW M Keynes with 10k miles.

There are clearly loads of overpriced cars out there

In the end I bored myself and was also in danger of becoming obsessed with tiny details that actually prob make no difference on a multi month ownership

All the dealers told me (unsurprisingly) that CP cars are more sought after. Trouble was, I just prefer the look of the 19 inch wheels, and I can only imagine my kids poking me in the back through those holes in the seat.

As my starting point was a 440i and what i was looking for was a fast comfortable and stealthy car, the ultimate performance and handling wasnt really the thing for me. I started looking at convertibles and read a couple of reviews that said actually, combination of softer ride and ability to put the roof down, these are really nice cars. Albeit of course not as good as a hard top in a quantifiable performance sense but perhaps as good or better as a fun car.

And - the conv has different seats.

Net net just dealt on a 17 plate M4 cab, black + silverstone full leather incl dash, CP car, HUD, HK, LEDs, revcam, DCT, CF trim and comfort pack. 19 inch wheels. List was £73k and I've paid £49,707. Its got 1000 miles on it and they are doing the running in service incl in the price.

GFV is £31k in 3 years time and 24k miles. Which IF it were true would be c. £6k a year depreciation which seems about par for the course for any half decent car i've owned.

Feels therefore a good buy. or at least, I've convinced myself of that!

Congratulations, that sound like a great deal, Photos please when it arrives!!

edit, assume its this one?

https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/201706206600779...

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nw942 said:

Is 0% APR still available on new/pre-reg cars or was that only for a short period of time last year?

Nope, 3.9% on new and 5.9 on pre reg/ demo cars

Edited by interstellar on Tuesday 16th January 19:59

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Well, finally I had a chance to look at some cars today.

I have a problem! I need to put a roof rack on it sometimes for my mountain biking hobby I do plenty of and you can't put in on an M4 with a carbon roof!!

There are no holes for the fittings. Someone on a forum somewhere has drilled the carbon and found the thread underneath but I need to investigate it as no doubt my warranty would be void and I am not going that route.

99% of cars have this so I need one with a sunroof (only a handful available and none to my taste) so it seems an aggressive new car deal is what may be needed which is more than I wanted to spend.

Other than that may need to wait for a sunroof car to come available but could be a long wait.

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Smuler said:

I thought the same, get an old banger for the bike; but then thought he’d probably thought of that

Was amazed there were as many as 9 with sunroof on AUC Database. Do the M4s back windows open ?

I have but a van is no good for me unless I spend a load of money on it as I travel for events.

There is no way I am driving a £1500 van from Poole to Snowdon for example.

Looks like I would have to wait or order new. the residual value doesn't change on BMW finance so I could just give it back at the end if it wasn't worth more.

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A tow bar is not an option on the M4. Some guys in the states have done it but again I dont want to mess with the car as its not ap[proved by BMW and warranty is void.

I need to put 3 bikes on the top sometimes so a sunroof car it needs to be I think.

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ftypical said:

In what way is a van not ideal to transport 3 bikes to events, given that it also gives you a dry workspace, changing area and place to sleep???

It might seem a solution to some but I would rather drive an m4 than an old van and use it not sit it on the drive, life’s for living.