[swanny71]

Been watching used prices closely for a year or more and they have definately slipped recently.
Decent Approved used M135i's can now be had for around £20k and make for a clever purchase (assuming you don't need to use BMW used PCP finance).
I reckon anything above about £25k and you might be better off buying new.

 

[ScoobyChris]

I was in a similar position and would have been happy to buy a 135 but, being a BMW, it was impossible to find one with all the options I wanted and with the amount of money on the table, I think I'd have regretted compromising on the car I wanted for the sake of a few grand. That said, I'm still awaiting confirmation of a build date so am currently regretting not compromising and having one on my drive now

Chris

 

[Johnsmith]

A car will for ever be a money pit. Regardless of whether you buy second hand or new eventually you are all spending money for nothing at the end of it. Not 100% sure what an 8 year old 135i will be worth in the future so dont berate me if this is incorrect but to try and explain my point of view. Get a 14 plate 135i now for 20k, 4 years later probably worth about 8 so you have lost 12000 + inerest in the period. Where as pcp im paying about 300 a month 500 depost for 48 months so 15000ish. Yes ive spent more but ive had a brand new car with warranty, no mot and less chance of needing major repairs.

 

[ScoobyChris]

Get a 14 plate 135i now for 20k, 4 years later probably worth about 8 so you have lost 12000 + inerest in the period. Where as pcp im paying about 300 a month 500 depost for 48 months so 15000ish. Yes ive spent more but ive had a brand new car with warranty, no mot and less chance of needing major repairs.

But the big difference is that the 12k plus interest has bought a car whereas the £15500 spent on PCP has "rented" a car. Assuming you hand it back, you'll have nothing to show for that money and be spending another 15k over the next 4 years ... and the next 4 years ... and the next 4 years...

Chris

 

[Johnsmith]

Get a 14 plate 135i now for 20k, 4 years later probably worth about 8 so you have lost 12000 + inerest in the period. Where as pcp im paying about 300 a month 500 depost for 48 months so 15000ish. Yes ive spent more but ive had a brand new car with warranty, no mot and less chance of needing major repairs.

But the big difference is that the 12k plus interest has bought a car whereas the £15500 spent on PCP has "rented" a car. Assuming you hand it back, you'll have nothing to show for that money and be spending another 15k over the next 4 years ... and the next 4 years ... and the next 4 years...

Chris

If you want an 8 year old car thats fine. Most wont so you sell it take the 12000 loss and put the 8 towards a new car and then lose it in depreciation again on the next one

 

[swanny71]

A car will for ever be a money pit. Regardless of whether you buy second hand or new eventually you are all spending money for nothing at the end of it. Not 100% sure what an 8 year old 135i will be worth in the future so dont berate me if this is incorrect but to try and explain my point of view. Get a 14 plate 135i now for 20k, 4 years later probably worth about 8 so you have lost 12000 + inerest in the period. Where as pcp im paying about 300 a month 500 depost for 48 months so 15000ish. Yes ive spent more but ive had a brand new car with warranty, no mot and less chance of needing major repairs.

Even with TRL's discounts you can't get a new one for £500 deposit + £300/month anymore. Minimum deposit is now £1000 and that's for a zero spec, white, manual 3 door doing only 8000 miles/year.
Add in some colour, a half decent spec and your at £1000 + £350/month = £17,000+ for 4 years.
I very much doubt a 14 plate with reasonable mileage will be at £8k in 4 years time.

Not berating you or knocking buying new, but the maths doesn't add up in that example. Unless of course a buyer has to use BMW PCP in which case it's all about the monthlies I guess and new v used APR's might give different numbers.

 

[swanny71]

A few other thoughts.
Modern cars do not suddenly fall to bits and need changing at 3 or 4 years old.
BMW approved cars come with 12 months warranty which is easily extended and very reasonable priced.
On a 4 year PCP you'll need an MOT and to pay for extended warranty if it's a concern.

 

[Johnsmith]

Cheers for not berating. I suppose im just relating to my personal experience of second hand car buying which has never worked out well. I get a bit bored of cars, hoping this wont happen with the 140i but now i have a wife and child i probably wont have much choice. Anyway usually i get a loan buy a second hand car and in 2/3 years when im fed up i sell it and just about cover whats left on the loan so again i found myself left with nothing.

Perhaps if i ever saved money i would think about buying second hand but the monthlies on a 20000 loan are about 446 per month.

Btw i did get a pretty basic 140i and it was 500 deposit 300 a month. Not sure the deals are still around.

 

[swanny71]

Great car and deal, enjoy when it arrives

 

[OneTwenty]

I was in a similar position last year.

Decided I wanted an E92 M3 and had roughly £30k to spend which was £6k for my old 120d and then a bank loan of £24k which worked out around £450/month on a 5 year loan IIRC.

After looking at some M3's and realising they were a bit rough for that sort of money I stumbled across the M235i (I knew about the M135i but not the 235 at that point!!).

I was hooked and decided to buy a 1 year old M235i for around the £30-32k mark. I went to my dealer and asked him to start looking, but as I wanted a mega spec it was difficult to find one. I then learnt about the huge discounts on here and after doing the maths of buying a 1 year old M235i over 5 years vs buying a new M240i the difference was nothing and I could choose everything I wanted.

I factored in all the costs of buying both methods including the fact that a new M240 was cheaper to tax over a 6 year period, less MOT, less tyres etc etc. Once the 4 year PCP is up I will owe £15,500. I still have the £5,500 from selling my 120d so will then just get a bank loan for £10k which will buy the car out over 2 years. The monthly cost stays the same ironically. So the cost of an M240i over 6 years is about the same as buying a used 1 year old M235i over 5 years but I get a new car with all my options on.

And don't forget, you only live once so pull the trigger!!

 

[swanny71]

Totally agree mate as 8-10 year old Focus Mk2 ST's seem to be up for 7k - 9k, how much they actually sell for I know is a different matter.

Back on topic, looking at the 2nd hand values it appears that if you are buying a 2-3 year old M135i it makes sense if you can finance with cash or a cheap loan, if you are buying a 6 to 12 month old one it doesn't seem worth the price the dealers want for them as you can buy new. So I agree with the up to 25k 2nd hand sort of makes sense although I would probably say 22k-23k.

Yep, in my head up to a max of £25k used via cash/cheap loan makes sense, above that or needing to use PCP then you might as well buy a new 140i.

 

[talltomt]

Great to see the various calculations etc and see I'm on the right lines. For me I think 18-20k used as low mileage and decent spec as I can find will work best. An LCI would be nice but 2014 looks most realistic. Can't wait to get in a 'performance' car again after too many years of perfectly civilised but dreadfully dull Audi A4 avant (it is atleast a petrol).

 

[samjtillers]

APR is much higher on used than it is New remember.

It's not exactly 'nothing' to show for it - you've been driving around in a brand new car for 3 years.

You're in a strong position with a 375 company car allowance (just make sure there's no clause regarding what you can use, such as a g/km cap), and good savings.

As Will said though, you can pcp with a small deposit and get monthlies which will all but be covered by the car allowance. Also don't overlook you're only locked in until 50% of the Total Repayable (due to CCA) anyway which could be around month 30-35 of a 48 month.

It is on PCP, yes. But you can borrow up to £20k with Sainsburys for as little as 2.9% right now. That's 2% lower than the new APR.

And after 3 years or however long the PCP is, yes you've been driving around in a new car for that period of time, but you don't actually have anything material to show for it except for a ~£14k hit to the wallet. A used M135i bought for £20k will almost definitely (hopefully?!) be worth more than ~£6k in 3-4 years.

I do agree with you about the company car allowance though. In this instance it would mean you could drive around in a brand new M140i and be 100% covered by your allowance, even after adding a fair few options.

Every car is a money pit regardless, just depends what pit you want to fall into

 

[ns4137]

If anyone is looking to sell their m135i please PM me as I am on the look out for one.

 

[talltomt]

If anyone is looking to sell their m135i please PM me as I am on the look out for one.

Join the queue..!

 

[toontastic]

just to chuck in my two cents after having just decided to go down the AUC route over PCP. I know I could buy new but I'm one of those that just can't bring myself to do it, and this will be my third car I have picked up 18-36m years old. If you are patient, keep an eye on the ads, then the right car at the right price/spec will turn up. The 370z I'm getting rid of will have lost only £5k in 3 years of ownership..

What I would say is to make sure you go over all the 'perishable' items on a AUC and really squeeze the sales guy to get them replaced/renewed as condition of taking the deal. This way you can effectively have very similar running costs to a new car by having a 12m warranty and then paying £800 for a couple of years extra warranty. I'm picking up a 14 plate on Friday and am getting 4 new MPSS, laser wheel alignment, 2 alloys refurbed, new front pads, service/mot done. If you are not careful it's easy to have a £1k bill on replacement parts in the first 12m....

On a side note, I don't get the rationale against PCP that says you hand the car back and have nothing to show for it after 3 years, that's now different when you buy and then sell 3 years later, have you got something more to show in this scenario ?!

 

[nickb]

I was in the same boat in December just gone.

I was toying with the idea of buying a new M140i from TRL but he had no allocation left so ended up buying a quite well spec'd 2014 64 plate M135i from a local BMW dealer.

As a AUC with only 8,500 miles I thought it was decent value at 19k.

That sounds like a very good price. I was recently looking to get rid of my half decent spec 64 plate M135i and jump into an M140i but am still £2500 in negative equity. They offered me £17500 (wbac offered more) but the settlement is £20000 ish and I have done 30k.

Good luck with the search. If anyone wants my normal mileage M135 in good nick for a sensible price let me know otherwise I will happily keep it and get another when it makes financial sense in possibly a year.

Edited - numbers were wrong

 

[Yegap]

It is on PCP, yes. But you can borrow up to £20k with Sainsburys for as little as 2.9% right now. That's 2% lower than the new APR.

And after 3 years or however long the PCP is, yes you've been driving around in a new car for that period of time, but you don't actually have anything material to show for it except for a ~£14k hit to the wallet. A used M135i bought for £20k will almost definitely (hopefully?!) be worth more than ~£6k in 3-4 years.

I do agree with you about the company car allowance though. In this instance it would mean you could drive around in a brand new M140i and be 100% covered by your allowance, even after adding a fair few options.

Every car is a money pit regardless, just depends what pit you want to fall into

+1 will always lose money what ever car you buy tbf.. Bar the odd classics

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree. But I guess if you can save a few grand on interest here or there and show room depreciation it doesn't hurt!!

 

[Johnraiders]

There's a chance I'll be selling mine, if I can swing to an M3, won't know for about 30 days.
5 door, E Blue, 10k, M135i, I got a bit carried away on the options !
Waiting to hear what dealer will offer....might help me get a better price on M3.

Thanks

John

 

[mick.86uk]

Great to see the various calculations etc and see I'm on the right lines. For me I think 18-20k used as low mileage and decent spec as I can find will work best. An LCI would be nice but 2014 looks most realistic. Can't wait to get in a 'performance' car again after too many years of perfectly civilised but dreadfully dull Audi A4 avant (it is atleast a petrol).

If you can up your budget a little.

In the classified section, the Mineral Grey 65 plate m135i with under 4000 miles seems like a steal at offers over 21k.

Quite well spec'd as well.