Tactical BMW Purchase... Good idea?

TS7

TS7

TS7

Soldato
Joined
16 Feb 2010
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East Mids
Hi, bit of background as I don't think I've shared much about what I drive (more so as I don't think many would be interested).

I have owned a 2008 2.5 Petrol Auto Jaguar X-Type for the last 3 years. I love it. It has all the features I want:
- Full Leather
- Heated + Electric + Memory Seats
- Bluetooth Telephone Connectivity
- Sat Nav
- Front and Rear Parking Sensors
- Auto Lights + Wipers
- Auto Dimming Rear View (not essential but is nice to have).

I've done about 25,000 miles in the 3 years I've owned and I've not reset the trip computer in that time - on last check the average was 19mpg. The ancient Ford 2.5 engine mated with the rather lazy automatic gearbox has not been great for fuel economy. The tax is also £500 a year. None of this has been of any concern to me.

However, I'm now almost 90% certain I'm going to go ahead with a job that's a 130 mile round trip commute each day and will be for 12 months.

I'm considering a rather tactical purchase. Something like this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707187482899?model=1 SERIES&radius=100&price-from=3000&postcode=sl38ey&sort=sponsored&make=BMW&advertising-location=at_cars&price-to=6000&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&page=1

I have no desire to drive a 1 series, nor a white 1 series, nor a white 1 series with a diesel engine, nor a white one series with a diesel engine and a manual gearbox.

However my thinking is. 5k spent on the car. It should do about 50mpg + and in 12 months time when I come to sell it (based on what similar spec cars are going with about 120k on the clock) it will still be worth over 4k... and WHITE BMW 1 SERIES WITH A DIESEL ENGINE should shift pretty easily and quickly given what the general public perception is.

Of-course there's no accounting for something going wrong with the BMW which will cost, but it would have to be something catastrophic to make it an overall more expensive proposition to doing the same commute in the Jag (for which something could also go wrong on top).

Thoughts?
 
your plan seems ok, but you have also got to take into consideration that the government has said what the plans are for diesel cars on the future. For all we know they may tax them to high heaven or ban them from city centres cause the value of them to drop meaning you lose out. If i was doing those miles i would certainly have a diesel.
 
Your proposing to ditch a car you love for one you don't, that's going to cost you an outlay to buy (and hopefully won't break) to buy yet keep for 12months?


Sounds pretty daft to me, I'd prefer the commute in the Jag I think, you like it, it's a known quantity and should do a bit better than it's currently doing mpg wise on a longer daily run.

You don't like diesel, manuals, white one series BMW's yet think swapping your automatic large engine Jag you love is the ideal solution for a long distance commute?

Erm, ok!
 
Scania said:
Your proposing to ditch a car you love for one you don't, that's going to cost you an outlay to buy (and hopefully won't break) to buy yet keep for 12months?


Sounds pretty daft to me, I'd prefer the commute in the Jag I think, you like it, it's a known quantity and should do a bit better than it's currently doing mpg wise on a longer daily run.

You don't like diesel, manuals, white one series BMW's yet think swapping your automatic large engine Jag you love is the ideal solution for a long distance commute?

Erm, ok!
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But the jag would cost around 9k per year just in fuel costs doing 130miles per day 33,800miles per year..(That worked off only a 5 day week at 20mpg and £5.40 per gallon)

Someone please correct me if i got this wrong...
 
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Stick with the jag as its a known quantity and, more importantly, AUTO. A long commute with a manual is just a grind. X-Type is just a mondeo in a fur coat (I've owned 2 of them) so I hope you're using independents for servicing and not paying the franchised dealer premium. Swapping for a 1-series is a downgrade however you look at it.
 
That thing is truly miserable. It's an ES. I wouldn't want to do 5k a year in it let alone 33k!!

You won't get a nice 2010 BMW diesel for £5k.
 
chaparral said:
But the jag would cost around 9k per year just in fuel costs doing 130miles per day 33,800miles per year..(That worked off only a 5 day week at 20mpg and £5.40 per gallon)

Someone please correct me if i got this wrong...
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It won't average 20 mpg on daily long journeys unless it's driven like a complete plum.

If he's going to sit at 100mph the whole way it probably would only return 20 mpg but then in that circumstance he would struggle to get 50+ from the BMW
 
Kenai said:
It won't average 20 mpg on daily long journeys unless it's driven like a complete plum.

If he's going to sit at 100mph the whole way it probably would only return 20 mpg but then in that circumstance he would struggle to get 50+ from the BMW
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Even if it does 25 to 30mpg it going cost him an arm and leg in fuel costs with that amount of mileage per year
and then there the high maintenance costs of doing that kind of mileage in a 9 year old Jaguar..
 
chaparral said:
Even if it does 25 to 30mpg it going cost him an arm and leg in fuel costs with that amount of mileage per year
and then there the high maintenance costs of doing that kind of mileage in a 9 year old Jaguar..
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It's going to cost an arm and a leg regardless, he's driving 33,000 miles a year. For one year only though.

The question is would he save enough to cover off any depreciation on a base spec 1 series over a year and make it worth binning a car he actually likes and has what sounds like all the toys on it?

9 year old Jaguar Ford :p maintenence running costs wise it won't be too far removed from the Mondeo it's based on.
 
chaparral said:
But the jag would cost around 9k per year just in fuel costs doing 130miles per day 33,800miles per year..(That worked off only a 5 day week at 20mpg and £5.40 per gallon)

Someone please correct me if i got this wrong...
Click to expand...

He's currently paying £2250 on fuel per year (roughly), but I'd bet that the Jag will do better than 20mpg on a 130 mile daily commute with a bit of attention and careful driving. If he can manage the quoted 27mpg or better (which isn't unheard of from a quick google with people getting 30+mpg on motorway journeys), it'd only cost him an extra £3800-£4500 which will be cheaper than swapping to an entirely new car with an entirely new set of potential expenses.
 
Kenai said:
It's going to cost an arm and a leg regardless, he's driving 33,000 miles a year. For one year only though.

The question is would he save enough to cover off any depreciation on a base spec 1 series over a year and make it worth binning a car he actually likes and has what sounds like all the toys on it?

9 year old Jaguar Ford :p maintenence running costs wise it won't be too far removed from the Mondeo it's based on.
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I don't do the whole swapping cars all the time thing. I stick with a car I like. However in these circumstances I'm struggling to justify how I could keep the Jag in the circumstances. I like it but I don't think I like it enough to pay that much premium on top to do the commute in.

Even if best case scenario I get 27mpg on motorway journey that's still pretty awful when done over 30,000 miles. It also has some form of 4 wheel drive which is always active so that worsens fuel economy also.

It's probably not worth a great deal already but I'd hazard that someone who's interested / enthusiastic would buy this one as it's probably one of the best examples about in addition the spec I listed above it has a full service history, immaculate interior and exterior and only 80,000 miles with almost new Goodyears. Taking it to 110,000 miles would probably diminish any such interest (as most people still have that whole 100,000 mile mark 'fear').

I think my 1 series idea is on the basis that depreciation should be very little as going by auto trader prices there's not much in the value between similar cars with 100k or 120k. I sell it after one year and buy something new that I enjoy again. I have no doubt that it won't be the best experience doing that many miles in a 1 series but it's only 12 months but if it saves fairly sizeable £ - 50mpg, lower insurance, lower tax etc and still 'desirable' in second hand market come resale time.
 
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Kenai said:
It won't average 20 mpg on daily long journeys unless it's driven like a complete plum.

If he's going to sit at 100mph the whole way it probably would only return 20 mpg but then in that circumstance he would struggle to get 50+ from the BMW
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I can get low 30's with my 2 ton 735i V8 without trying on a run, whats the point of swaping from something you like (albeit a bit juicy) to something you don't just for the MPG'ZZZ which, of course, are completely off set by buying the hated 1 series in the first place?

Keep the Jag and use it for what it was actually (arguably) intended for.
 
My last tank was nearly all motorway I managed 35mpg, and that's in a 13 year old BMW with a 3 litre petrol engine, whereas on my typical commute I get around 22-25mpg as its mostly urban
 
Scania said:
I can get low 30's with my 2 ton 735i V8 without trying on a run, whats the point of swaping from something you like (albeit a bit juicy) to something you don't just for the MPG'ZZZ which, of course, are completely off set by buying the hated 1 series in the first place?

Keep the Jag and use it for what it was actually (arguably) intended for.
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Your engine must be more frugal than mine as you definitely can't get low 30s without trying. I know it sounds like just a 2.5 but it is notoriously inefficient and the auto gearbox and the constant 4 wheel drive makes that worse.

Also unsure how MPGZZZ are offset by the purchase of 1 series? Yes I have to put more cash in but it's on the premise it will devalue very little. In the region of 1k or less in 12 months and with the mileage put on it. However I end up benefitting from double the MPG over those 30,000 miles, save 250 in tax, save on insurance. Then buy something I enjoy again in 12 months.

Sure it's a 7 year old BMW and something could go wrong but something would have to go pretty spectacularly wrong to make the sums not work in favour of this move? As its not like my 9 year old Jag would be bullet proof over the same period and miles.
 
I agree with you. Do it. As you say, assuming nothing disastrous goes wrong, it is a move that makes sense. It sounds like it will depreciate probably an amount similar to how your Jag would depreciate over the year / miles, but will roughly half the fuel costs over that period, as well as other saving is tax and insurance. I wouldn't listen to all the nay sayers on here about such a move. It is a sound move indeed.

As for the Jag, I did look at these a few months back. I fancied the 2.5 and the 4wd, and lazy auto box. Until I drove a couple, and realised just how horrifically slow they felt. I wasn't prepared for that at all. I thought the first one I drove must have been broken, it was so slow, so I hunted down another, only to find it exactly the same. I mean, I wasn't expecting a rocket ship. But I wasn't expecting Alonsos Mclaren either. It was a nice enough place to sit mind you, but I'm glad I steered clear after hearing 20 mpg was the norm for these.

I'd get shot while it's still desirable (mileage wise), make the savings on your fuel over the next 12 months, and put the savings towards a nicer car on the other side. Heck, the 1 series might be a hateful thing, but it's only 12 months versus thousands of pounds in fuel duty.
 
But he's going to spend more on fuel regardless of what he does. The question is whether it's more sensible to do so with a car that he knows and won't cost him much more than he's already spent or spend £5k on an 7+ year old BMW of unknown history and then have to shift it on after a year at a loss.

Have you factored in the huge mileage increase into your guesstimation of the depreciation, OP? Add in running costs (tyres, brakes, etc) and any of the entirely plausible component failures and you'll be even more worse off than if you'd kept the Jag too.

Of course you'll say that you have the extra running costs of the Jag but you already have an idea of what they are and what they'll cost. A chain petrol V6 is also going to be inherently more reliable than a modern turbo diesel.

It just doesn't make sense. Your Jag is going to be a much nicer place to sit for all those miles than an ES spec 1 series too.
 
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I don't know how much then engine has changed, but he will easily get 50mpg (more like 55+) if it's anything like the current 2 litre Diesel engines,

I've got a 320d and I cane the balls off it and never see less than 50 mpg.

I would agree however that he probably wants a higher spec car than the one in the OP, but the 1 series istelf isn't that hideous to drive, it's not like it's an Avensis or Insigina, which are properly awful.
 
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