[Mike02z]

Originally Posted by turbojg

One can easily spend $10,000 on a 2-3 week vacation and after it is over all you have is the memories. Money only has value if you spend it.

I agree 100%. My wife and I are home bodies. We don’t take trips, we don’t spend money dining out or going to shows or concerts. I enjoy just owning my M4 and driving it on weekends. If I decide to sell early I’m fully aware of the depreciation and honesty don’t care. Why keep something you don’t enjoy just because you don’t want to lose money? I’ve never been a huge saver. My Dad is 92 and will still squeeze a Quarter until the eagle screams. Why? All his savings will go to his children. My feeling is I enjoy life and don’t worry about what others think and am not looking to save a ton of money just so when I die someone else gets it. I’d likely be a millionaire if I did not have an obsession with cars for the last 35 years but I don’t regret any of those purchases just so I can look at my savings growing for someone else. Some people get joy out of saving. Not me.

[vbb]

Originally Posted by turbojg

Money only has value if you spend it.

If you buy what you really want in the first place you won't have to worry about swapping it out in 2 years.

Great "car guy" logic and an argument I've made several times myself. Those that argue against spending unnecessarily on a depreciating asset don't get it. The joy of the ownership is worth it. Full stop.

I've already replied a few times in this thread, but I like the quoted response the best. Buy what you want.

[BryanCO]

Originally Posted by vbb

Great "car guy" logic and an argument I've made several times myself. Those that argue against spending unnecessarily on a depreciating asset don't get it. The joy of the ownership is worth it. Full stop.

I've already replied a few times in this thread, but I like the quoted response the best. Buy what you want.

Agree. But, at least for me, this is a sliding scale. What does ‘really want’ mean to each of us? Certain options are a must. But new vs used isn’t a big deal. Some colors, options, etc. are fine. I don’t chase perfection as that seems to lead to frustration, less satisfaction. And just because we get what we really want, that certainly doesn’t mean we won’t swap it out when something else more desirable and within our affordability range comes along…

[turbojg]

Mike02z - My wife and I feel the same way about leaving lifelong savings behind. We enjoyed life as we lived it. We had some savings for retirement so we could continue our (working years) lifestyle through our retirement but most of the money beyond what was needed for bills we spent. We did so many things during our lives that it would take pages to list them all. My M4 is a "TOY" for me as I have another vehicle for daily driving. I went into buying it with the same idea as you that depreciation was the last thing on my mind. What it costs me to own for as long as I do is what it costs.

[road rage richie]

Originally Posted by turbojg

My opinion is... If the main purpose of the vehicle is transportation look for something with a low depreciation but if the main purpose is fun then just buy what you want. One can easily spend $10,000 on a 2-3 week vacation and after it is over all you have is the memories. Money only has value if you spend it.

If you buy what you really want in the first place you won't have to worry about swapping it out in 2 years.

I agree 100%. Took 2 week vacations to Europe the last 2 summers which were amazing and the kid loved it but I have been dozens of times and I was willing to give one up this summer which would be about 2 years depreciation.

The G80 is INSANE, so much fun AND I have not even had break-in yet. So worth it. M3 road trip vacation this summer!

Also I work from home and this wont be changing! My direct commuting costs (parking, commuter train + subway) and my indirect costs - eggs at the diner by the station every day, lunches and dinners in the city was more than the nut on the MONSTER. My rationalization is FREE CAR for working from home!

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by itsmabs

I was recently looking to pick up a used g80. The prices blew my mind. One in particular was 2 yrs old with 30k miles but only about 11k off of original MSRP. I just didn't see that as a deal. I can't imagine this continues to be true, but so far they at least seem to be getting resold at a much higher price than I'd normally expect. Just ended up ordering one the way I wanted, the incentive to go used wasn't there.

i noticed this... there is minimal incentive to go 2 years old now... which is bizarre there are far more of them produced than the f80 in the first 3 years... I have also noticed... dealers are sitting on some of these cars for a VERY long time. I have also seen used M4 RWD Comps discounted 10k in a matter of 2 months.

[turbojg]

Originally Posted by BryanCO

...And just because we get what we really want, that certainly doesn’t mean we won’t swap it out when something else more desirable and within our affordability range comes along…

I think we all have to realize that there will always be new models with new features. That is how companies entice people to upgrade. How we deal with that is important. We can spend a lot more money and upgrade every year to just have the "latest and greatest" or we can be satisfied with what we have. After all we were happy when we bought it and if we weren't aware of the new model we would still be happy with what we have.

The problem that a lot of companies face as products reach their maturity is how to entice people to buy a new model each year. This is the reason so many companies are turning to annual subscriptions. These companies want a steady income every year as they run out of these"new features". I won't be surprised in the least if one of these days the car companies turn to the same tactics and you will no longer own your car but you will lease it from the car manufacturer. If you want to continue using that car you will have to pay the annual subscription fee. I think we all have to rebel against this new way of doing business.

I used to be one of those people who had to have a new phone every model year to have the "latest and greatest" but have broken free from that "addiction" and am now happy with what I have till it stops working. I have stopped looking every year at the new models. Been saving a lot of money that way and am able to use the money I save to buy different things that can make my life easier or happier. My 3 year old phone still makes and receives calls just as well. But hey, if having the "latest and greatest" is that important to you and you have the money to support that addiction, knock yourself out!

[Bimmerfun82]

Originally Posted by turbojg

I think we all have to realize that there will always be new models with new features. That is how companies entice people to upgrade. How we deal with that is important. We can spend a lot more money and upgrade every year to just have the "latest and greatest" or we can be satisfied with what we have. After all we were happy when we bought it and if we weren't aware of the new model we would still be happy with what we have.

This is profound, and I could learn contentment for sure.

From a business perspective - growth and profitability (demand and pricing) - BMW has always been about this incremental improvement and tiering range. And it has worked well for decades. I think what we are seeing with Tesla is the implosion (short term, possibly) of demand given their idiotic pricing approach - massive increases and then massive decreases) and lack of incremental improvements within the series of vehicles. A 7 year lifecycle with no significant changes within that period means people won’t trade up or trade in. Software has value - but we’re seeing that value drop as well with a $100/mo drop in the FSD subscription price. If you want to do a business case on what not to do with price and customer loyalty, this is the perfect one to look at. BMW has maintained its approach and it continues to work well. But if they strip the product down to a screen or screens with software as value, they may see an impact with this approach.

[Mike02z]

Originally Posted by turbojg

I think we all have to realize that there will always be new models with new features. That is how companies entice people to upgrade. How we deal with that is important. We can spend a lot more money and upgrade every year to just have the "latest and greatest" or we can be satisfied with what we have. After all we were happy when we bought it and if we weren't aware of the new model we would still be happy with what we have.

The problem that a lot of companies face as products reach their maturity is how to entice people to buy a new model each year. This is the reason so many companies are turning to annual subscriptions. These companies want a steady income every year as they run out of these"new features". I won't be surprised in the least if one of these days the car companies turn to the same tactics and you will no longer own your car but you will lease it from the car manufacturer. If you want to continue using that car you will have to pay the annual subscription fee. I think we all have to rebel against this new way of doing business.

I used to be one of those people who had to have a new phone every model year to have the "latest and greatest" but have broken free from that "addiction" and am now happy with what I have till it stops working. I have stopped looking every year at the new models. Been saving a lot of money that way and am able to use the money I save to buy different things that can make my life easier or happier. My 3 year old phone still makes and receives calls just as well. But hey, if having the "latest and greatest" is that [...]

I could not have said it better!

[Lupeskew]

I am of the mindset that I have always worked to give experiences for me, my wife and kids rather than just buying things. Is your kid going to remember some iPhone, laptop, xbox, etc in 20 years you bought them when you are all sitting around chatting about the past? I think not. However, my 4 kids, oldest is 24 youngest is 16 and my wife still talk about vacations we took, whether it was an RV trip or flying somewhere. Weekends going fishing together etc. My M4 is similar in my though process. I never went into my purchase thinking about depreciation. Cars always do. But, I did know that it would create memories for us. Cars and Coffee trips, BMW drives with the club, tossing the key to one of my kids, or just going out for an ice cream on a beautiful night. All of these are memories and are priceless( at least to me) Don't get caught up in analysis paralysis and get something you can afford and enjoy and don't look back.

[omaralt]

i'll make this easy for you.

do you need a backseat? get the M3
will this be a daily and you DONT need the backseat: get the GTS 4.0
is this a weekend car? GT4

[Montaver]

If you don’t want to lose money, hard to beat GT Porsches assuming you buy well and don’t overpay initially. My 981 GT4 I owned for 2.5 years and 15k miles, and sold it privately for exactly what I bought it for. My 718 GT4 I owned for a year did 4k miles, and traded it in for $5k less than I paid. With not having to then pay the tax on the G87 M2 I traded it for, I was essentially flat. GT cars are like watches in a lot of ways, you can get in and out of them fairly easily. NA Ferrari market is somewhat similar, but really GT Porsches are quite unique in this respect. Caveat is the initial cost of entry is high, and neither of the GT4 cars you can buy new. My advice would be buy what you want, the g8x is a fantastic platform but it’s quite a different experience from the GT4 and has different strengths depending on your use case.