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I am about to take delivery of an A6 SLine SE estate 2.0 tdi
Molgrips approovz of dis chois.
The lease companies can offer cheaper deals on BMW's at the moment as there getting 3 years worth of free servicing from BMW, so when they sell a company a fully maintained lease package, they can afford to knock a few quid off as there not going to have to pay anything towards the service costs over the typical 3 year term.
Also on the 1 and 3 series BMW are moving away from run flat tyres and so replacement tyre costs are going down.
And BMW assist offer a 3 year breakdown package which keeps costs down again as there not paying so much to the AA / RAC.
Plus some of the BMW's are tax friendly.
Making it a good deal for BMW, the lease companies and the company car driver.
I had a SAAB 9-3 Sportwagen for a number of years on personal lease; what I paid didn't even approach depreciation tbh
thing is, it probably comfortably beat the depreciation the lease company took, as they'll have paid 20-25% under book for 40 of the things..
Timing is key - i had a 911 that i paid 1/5th of its original price for (all receipts were with it and original sales receipt was $224,000), my RS4 was 50% of it's original price after 18 months now selling for same as I paid generally.
I'll never buy a new car ever.
Look at the prices of the previous model 5 series, the big petrols are not expensive cars now and still have a lot of life in them.
As others have said, co2 etc make lease beemers very attractive to the "business user"
And they look nicer and less plasticky than mercs.
I've, in the past, owned beemers. I've had 530d estates, 330d sport estates and an m3 of all my cars they've been an absolute pleasure to own and drive. I've had many a pleasurable drive around europe in them..
Got a few mates who work in 'sales'....BMWs are the choice of the aspirational office worker everywhere....usually in grey too.
They are nice cars but there are lots of nice cars out there....its funny when i've been to one of these mate's place of work and see the car park full of them....or Audis a few years ago when they were all the rage....and before that it was the new Mini....you get the idea, a lot of new cars on the road are fleet vehicles and people in that kind of stifling environment are always desperate to follow fashion even when it means they all have the same cars!
For me a good car is one that doesnt break....and BMW havent been anywhere near the top of any reliability lists for some years now....the last list i saw 8/10 of the top manufacturers were from the far east.
They are nice cars but there are lots of nice cars out there....its funny when i've been to one of these mate's place of work and see the car park full of them....or Audis a few years ago when they were all the rage....and before that it was the new Mini....you get the idea, a lot of new cars on the road are fleet vehicles and people in that kind of stifling environment are always desperate to follow fashion even when it means they all have the same cars!
You can't hide it you know.
Hide what?
Why drive a BMW ? other cars will do the job cheaper.Personally I cant think of anything worse to spend money on than a penis extension ,that and not having any money to buy one
I am about to take delivery of an A6 SLine SE estate 2.0 tdi
And woopee for you
I collected my C200 Merc last week. Very pleasant it is too. Its averaging over 50mpg so far, it is comfortable and my wife and son like it.
Its not that much on the tax (Company car) because the emissions are low and the fuel savings over my previous company car (Vio dualiner) will balance it out.
All i was bothered about was that i could fit my bike in the boot and i can 🙂 Couldnt swallow paying £350 for folding rear seats.
I have driven VW's, fords and volvo's over the years and this is by far the nicest car i have driven on a daily basis.
Am i pleased i have a new car on the drive that i like to drive - Yep
Am i bothered if somone else prefers to run used - Nope
WOuld i buy a new car if i had to fork out £30k of my own money - nope
Its just the way things are and you run with it.
5lab - agreed, but until I can buy a car at cost and in bulk its the best way surely? 😉
Never mind BMW's. they're not that far out of reach. Should you desire. What amazes me is the number of high end range rovers being driven around by 'yummy mummy's who clearly aren't on the way to work. So hubby has probably got the BMW/merc as a company car. But thats a **** of a lot of money for a second car that's basically just doing the school run
MF - are you sure it's an A6 SLine SE? One or the other surely.
thegreatape - Member
MF - are you sure it's an A6 SLine SE? One or the other surely.POSTED 3 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST
SE in this context is Special Edition, which gives met. Paint and some other bits (parking sensors, bigger wheels) for a couple of hundred quid, so it works out better value than a standard s-line.
It's BMWs not BMW's fer ****'s sake. GET IT RIGHT.
The plural of car is cars not car's so why should it be BMW's?
If you aspire to a lifestyle accessory affordable by only 1% of the world's population, at least learn to punctuate.
My 328 touring cost me £300 🙂
Cheers, Rich
It's BMWs not BMW's fer ****'s sake. GET IT RIGHT.
The plural of car is cars not car's so why should it be BMW's?
If you aspire to a lifestyle accessory affordable by only 1% of the world's population, at least learn to punctuate.
Ooooh get her! Actually, it is perfectly acceptable to use an apostrophe to separate the s to indicate
plurals when the word is an acronym or abbreviation.
mastiles_fanylion - Member
I am about to take delivery of an A6 SLine SE estate 2.0 tdi - it is costing less on a lease than a medium spec Mondeo or Insignia - £270 a month. Look around and some good deals are available.
A mate of mine just got one of them on a similarly excellent deal. I must have a gander down the local Audi garage.
I am about to take delivery of an A6 SLine SE estate 2.0 tdi - it is costing less on a lease than a medium spec Mondeo or Insignia - £270 a month. Look around and some good deals are available
Yup just put in final details for next car and Audis come back cheaper than Fords as the resale value is much better. Should be here in March with some luck.
Why did I order what I have? Well I like my cars I could run around in a second machine but I earn good money so I like to reward myself in various ways and one of those ways is a nice car. It has nothing to do with looking good in front of others it's just I like cars. Some people spend way more on bikes than I do but that's what they choose to do.
Don't own a car, but can someone tell me the answer to a question that has been slightly intruiging me?
How much is a drivers side wing mirror for a Mercedes C-220? Seeing as i punched one off a car after the drver tried to drive over me to get to the lights. (I did try to headbutt him through the window but couldn't get through.. :oops:)
Just to add my twopeneth worth, my bro in law has spent the last few weeks heavily researching his next personal contract hire car (or whatever it's called) and had come up with the conclusion you get audis and mercs far cheaper than beemers! His current alfa is £310 a month (ridiculous if you ask me for something he'll never own) but has found several mercs and audis 50/70 cheaper, mostly on e class and the 6 series audis.
How much is a drivers side wing mirror for a Mercedes C-220
About £150 plus labour and paint, so anywhere from £300 to £500
After over a decade of cars from the VAG group I recently bought a 3 year old 325D Touring as I fancied something a bit different (for me) and a bit bigger.
After I flog my Leon it'll have cost me about £6k.. and I think I got a lot of car for the money. It's silky smooth, still does 40+mpg and makes my 500+ mile/week commute a lot more relaxed - money well spent IMO!
Oh, and it's not black, or grey, or silver... 😛
Its not some thing I worry about because its each to their own etc etc. However when you work it out say a £25k car, which wont get you much BMW these days... on 0% finance thats just under £700 a month over 3 years which to be fair is affordable if you are on a big salary and think cars are worth paying alot of money for!
If you want to get really picky you can look at all the BM's, Mercs etc etc parked on the drives of houses that are relatively low in value. If its a company car you can then go down the lines of thinking, well surely if they are in a position where they get a nice company car, then they should be able to afford a bigger home? Then again its all each to their own and people can spend their money as they like. I think the majority of the population would think its stupid spending £3k on a mountain bike!
Mastiles thats a good deal, I bet its only a business deal though or I would be selling the wifes car and getting one for her!
You will find quite a lot are company cars on basic spec for the status symbol of having a BMW.
What is the status symbol of having a BMW? You automatically come across as a ****?
Anyone in the SE who wasn't on the property ladder 10 years ago is f***ed as far as I can see. Me and my missus dream of a 3 bed!
We've got a 3 bed semi in the SE. £240,000 it cost. I earn about £25-27,000 (hourly paid so it varies) Mrs PP a bit more.
If we wanted we could afford a BMW too, no bother. But we plough all our spare cash into either savings or the house. Last year we chucked £12,000 (not credit either) at a kitchen, and we've just bought a £5000 motorbike, for instance.
The only debt we have is the mortgage, and there's money in the bank for holidays etc
I suspect that a lot of people are up to their eyeballs in debt to pay for stuff like this. Buying a BMW on a Vauxhall wage. Holidays and Christmas paid for on credit cards..... Keeping up with the Jonses, I think they used to call it.....
I'm more struck by the ammount of cars sat idle on drives, nearly everyone a top end car.
But my take is that they are lease or company. I can see some starter homes down the road, and I wouldn't be generalizing if I said every car was a Mini or series 1 or 3 BMW and a good few A6's
I'd say never judge people by their cars. A lot are on credit and I know salesmen that change jobs for the cars ( the ones that think it's classy to wear cufflinks)
What is the status symbol of having a BMW? You automatically come across as a ****?
Not within certain circles you dont - people obviously like them
I'm extremely pleased that people keep buying expensive cars.
My Discovery cost me £10k - it was 5 years old, and whoever bought it paid £46k new. Apart from insuring it, and fuel at 30mpg, it's cost me £300 for a suspension compenent in the 10k miles I've driven. It's £200 or so for a service.
Assuming I don't do anything stupid with it, it'll still be worth £8k two years hence, when I'll swap it out. Ownership costs (excluding fuel & insurance, but including servicing/parts - new cars tend to have this covered for 3 years etc) over 3 years/35000 miles would be around £85/month or 8.5p mile.
There's no way that I could get a new Disco for anything close to £85/month, so I'm happy with my choice.
I used to have a colleague ten yours younger than me who was highly disgruntled that he was forced to drive a poxy Audi A4 like all the other reps. He once said to me "I will not be satisfied with anything less than a beemer on my drive." His problem was that he had a caravan at Abersoch, which is the Welsh posing resort for rich builders and footballers from Cheshire and he judged people by the car they drove; he even said to me once: "They're all nice people; they drive BMWs, Mercs, Porsches.... lovely cars...."
He approached the boss several times asking for a BMW and each time was told "If you don't like it, there's the door!" Eventually he gave up his well paid secure job here and talked himself into a job with a competitor who isn't doing very well, one of the conditions being that they gave him a BMW M3. Then we heard that he had bought a chalet at Vulgarsoch, which was at the end of his life and he and his wife had needed to take out a mortgage for £90,000 to buy the new chalet that they were contractually obliged to put on the site.
I can only conclude that BMWs are status symbols for muppets.
Global - Sorry I think you are wrong BM's are very good cars and I would have one tomorrow if I could, but unfortunately unless you can get one through a business it doesnt make economic sense.
I think that all the premium car manufacturers get a bad rep because at the end of the day sales reps etc aspire to them and see them as a status symbol etc etc, and couldnt afford to buy one for themselves, so it starts the I'm better than you penis envy thing, which is a shame.
They are all very good cars, but unfortunately very expensive to buy privately.
@nickf That's the sensible way to do it, buying the right car at the right age and condition for the right price. It's a bit of a balancing act, but not that hard to get right.
One mate had a stirng of BMWs and I was unimpressed/less than impressed with all of them - particularly a 525e which wallowed all over the place.
I saw an ex-work colleague the other day who has a new 5 series.
There is a road to Camberley (red road?) that has lovely sweeping corners and real flow - he doesn't like it as he feels out of control !!!
One night I was driving back on the motorway and it was teeming down with rain and aquaplaning was the order of the day. One BMW that passed me lost control and went into the central barrier and I saw about 3 other pulling over into the hard shoulder for some reason on my journey home.
Overrated status symbols in my view.
SE in this context is Special Edition, which gives met. Paint and some other bits (parking sensors, bigger wheels) for a couple of hundred quid, so it works out better value than a standard s-line.
I'm obliged.
"There is a road to Camberley (red road?) that has lovely sweeping corners and real flow - he doesn't like it as he feels out of control !!!"
Could just be that he prefers dull less entertaining cars like Audis that dont offer the same amount of feedback and driving entertainment.
Personally can't understand why someone would be happy shelling out anywhere between £250-£350 a month for what at the end of the day are some pretty mediocre new cars. BMW 316 or 318, Audi 2.0ltr Diesel Estate - hardly cars that set the heart racing are they? Dull, dull, dull. Automotive porridge? Struggling to get my head round it to be honest.
Why not spend the money on something nice to drive instead. Sure if you want a BMW for the same money as that new 318i you could have a 4-5 year old M3 Coupe and still have cash to spare to cover the extra fuel and insurance. For less than half the price of a boggo and boring new 2.0 A6 you could get a ten year old RS4 - a car that is no longer depreciating at all.
If cash up front is the problem then get a personal loan out to cover the purchase cost. The best thing is at the end of the loan period you will still have a car to sell or part-ex. With a finance package you are left with either a massive final payment, or nothing. You won't be limited to a poxy 10k (or whatever the leasing company dictate) miles a year either.
It's like when you compare it to bikes - what would you rather take to your local trail centre. A brand new Halford's special for £400, or for the similar money a 5-6 year old high spec but used Specialised, Marin, Orange, Santa Cruz etc. Sure you might have to replace the odd part now and again but think of how much more fun you will have.
SE in this context is Special Edition, which gives met. Paint and some other bits (parking sensors, bigger wheels) for a couple of hundred quid, so it works out better value than a standard s-line.
"Parking Sensors" - is this a 'must have' option? Surely you have passed your driving test at some point?
I'm getting a company car, and haven't got a clue what my choices are.
I last time worked for them was in 1996 and the first A4s had just come on the scene as company cars. What would the equivalent be today?
You won't be limited to a poxy 10k (or whatever the leasing company dictate) miles a year either.
You're limited to what you choose and pay for not what the lease company decides.
It's all about choices, some go second hand cheap £500 bangers, some go for second-hand executives for £8k that were once £40k and some go for a brand new £28k car. It's a choice and can't get why people feel the need to criticise others choices.
Is that the catch on lease cars, limited mileage?
GAP insurance? If you write the car off within three years, not only do you get the current value, but the GAP insurance makes up the shortfall so that the total amount you get back is the same as you paid for the car new.
I've lost count of the number of times people have slammed on their brakes in front of me trying to get me to run into the back of them, perphaps fianaces are tight or they fancy a new car....
"I've lost count of the number of times people have slammed on their brakes in front of me trying to get me to run into the back of them, perphaps fianaces are tight or they fancy a new car...."
... or they think you are driving too close 🙂
Is that the catch on lease cars, limited mileage?
Some are limited to 10k a year, but the biggest catch is you have to pay for ever tiny bit of damagae when you hand the car back. I've heard of people being charged £2500 for a respray when the car has only a few scratches and stone chips that you're always going to pick up no mater how carefull you are. The lease company won't get the paintwork done, but will pocket the money and sell on the car as is.