Tell me about the 330e...

West

West

West

Soldato
Joined
22 Dec 2004
Posts
9,173
Location
Rugeley, Staffs
Hi Folks,

My works lease scheme is coming up to the 2 year point and a lot has changed in my personal circumstances requiring me to have a larger vehicle (Mainly 3 step kids!) so i need something bigger than my current F56 Mini Cooper S.

I've never been a particular fan of BMWs because admittedly, I didn't like the interiors (MINIs have some similarity.. however as you all know they're quite quirky)

I will be having the vehicle again through my works least scheme and with it being Electric it does seem to work out reasonably around the £480 mark with the M Sport Trim and quite a few added extras.

Just wondering if anyone on here has actually had any practical experience with these and without a permanent charging source how worthwhile it is having the E-Drive.

I have considered a few other motors incuding the full Petrol but in its estate guise... it isnt available through the scheme as an estate.

Any help appriciated
 
£480 a month? That absolutely ISN'T reasonable. Not sure what 'scheme' you are on but doesn't sound like its offering you a good deal in this case.

There were personal lease deals on this car kicking around at under £300 a month a month or so ago.

You can do much more with £480 a month than drive a 3 Series. Or you can drive a 3 Series for much less than £480 a month. Do not assume that just because its on a 'work scheme' its the best value option.
 
(i'd also like to point out.. the newer interiors seem to be quite nice! hence why i'm now looking at them.. just weighing up if its worth having the Electric version over the petrol version!!!)

Also... my lease scheme includes all costs, Tyres, Servicing, Tax, Insurance etc.
 
No experience with the car, however I cant help but think with 3 kids you need to be looking at 5 series, E Class, Superb size of cars.

The 3 series although bigger than the mini will soon feel very small once filled up!
 
Sorry Fox, forgot to include the above..all I do is add gogo juice... don't pay a penny to upkeep unless it's something the driver has done!
 
West said:
(i'd also like to point out.. the newer interiors seem to be quite nice! hence why i'm now looking at them.. just weighing up if its worth having the Electric version over the petrol version!!!)
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The interior of the current 330e is exactly the same as the interior of the 2012 3 Series. It's probably comparatively speaking the weakest 3 Series interior yet.

Also... my lease scheme includes all costs, Tyres, Servicing, Tax, Insurance etc.
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Which still isn't going to cost £480 a month - servicing is £500 for 5 years. Tax is negligible. Insurance is what, 400 quid a year?

The deal sounds awful!
 
I currently have 4 points on my licence, so can only imagine it will be a bit more than that, whilst with this i'm insured on my works insurance.

You say that though Fox, it includes absolutley everything, I don't even need to put tyres or do the brakes, it's absolutley all in...

If I may (as I know you have experience with leasing in the past) do you believe this to be a particularly bad deal??

Sorry.. I would be using quotes but using works Citrix and it's a pile of pants!
 
Lets go through this then and see if it works out. Presumably this is for 3 years?

Brakes: £0. You are unlikely to need brakes in 3 years from new.
Servicing: £525 for BMW Service Inclusive though frankly in only 3 years it'd probably be less, but we'll use that figure.

Road tax: 330e has nil road tax. It's free.

Tyres: At most you'll need 2 tyres over 3 years of average use. £300.

Insurance: £500?

So, non-depreciation costs are £2325 or £64 a month.

So the question really remains whether £420 a month is a good deal for the car itself. Which it really doesn't sound like to me. That's £15,000 to use a 330e for 3 years. There are much better value car choices out there than this. There are people on Pistonheads's leasing Golf R's for thousands less than that.
 
If your work lease terms are 2 year only then you are paying heavily for the ability to have a new car every 24 months ( based on the quotes I have had at my place, where we can choose 2/3/4 year terms)

If you want to pay hundreds of pounds a month in pay (and tax) for the ability to do that, then it's probably not that bad a deal for a works scheme, as long as you understand what you are paying for compared to what you could have in your bank account for going with a longer scheme or opting out.
 
Which extras have you put on? Surely this is a vital part of the calculation.

(and Fox, calm down a little :p :)).
 
Well then its just bad value . and you probably have additional undeclared costs in refreshing early.

Your mileage is low enough that personally buying a car can be significant better value, i did exactly this 5 years ago, and dont regret it one bit
 
I have got quotes before to exit existing works lease deals before and even with 1 month to go they were insane, i dread to think what coming out 1 year early would cost.

Unless his work is picking up the tab, or he is palming the car off on someone else, he would probably be net better off just keeping the car and buying a 2nd/3rd car for the household.
 
West said:
Sorry Fox, forgot to include the above..all I do is add gogo juice... don't pay a penny to upkeep unless it's something the driver has done!
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Still sounds expensive, using the estimator on my works scheme the total out of pocket cost for one of these a month is coming in at about £280 for a higher rate tax payer.

And that's everything included (maintenance, insurance, company car tax etc) bar fuel, unlimited mileage etc, for a 2 year lease.
 
Ev0 said:
Still sounds expensive, using the estimator on my works scheme the total out of pocket cost for one of these a month is coming in at about £280 for a higher rate tax payer.

And that's everything included (maintenance, insurance, company car tax etc) bar fuel, unlimited mileage etc, for a 2 year lease.
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That sounds like mostly the tax on a company car rather than the actual lease cost?
 
mbmbmb said:
Yeah that sounds too cheap to me and tax rate has no impact on cost of a lease.
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It does when it's a company lease, lease is taken out of salary pre-tax so you have to pay the BIK.

So they pay you the allowance regardless, then you choose if you want to use it on a lease through the company with the lease cost taken pre tax, or just do your own thing but pay the usual income tax on the allowance.

I have the spreadsheet up infront of me now, BMW330e M Sport, 2 year lease cost £354.91. So taken pre tax that actually costs 40% tax payer £212.40, but you are then liable for the BIK which is only £61.13 apparently.

£212.40 + £61.13 = £273.53 out of your pocket each month.
 
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