F80 M3 or F82 M4 Costs

Hi All

I know this is a topic that some will say if you have to think about you can’t afford it but stick with me.

Long story short my wife accidentally gave me permission to buy one if I give her my current car. F31 320d. She said it, she can’t take it back now.

In terms of purchasing a good used one I’m comfortable with those costs. It’s the other ongoing costs I’m not sure about. I know I can afford it but do I want to put hard earned into fuel, parts etc, I’m not 100%. I have a fast bike for thrills.

Forgetting car payments here what are your experiences of the cost of running these cars?

Here’s what I’ve worked out for 15k miles/year on a 6 year old car.

Fuel = £4261. @ 1.75/ltr
Tax = £310
Tyres = £400
Servicing = £300
Insurance = unknown. Current car is £380/yr. is £600 feasible?

Total monthly cost = £490.

Is this accurate about right?


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I just did an insurance quote. £630 for a standard car. Not too bad but I have over 20 years driving ex and clean license.


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I’m generally easy on cars. I usually achieve at or slightly under the combined cycle mpg on my daily driving so I’ve budgeted @ 28mpg. Insurance is fine. I probably have been a bit light on servicing and tyres alright.

Monthly running cost is more like £550. That’s about £250 more than my current car. I’ll also be financing for a year or two so that’s another £350/400. Total is £900-950 month.

That’s considerably more than I’m out at present as my current car (and wife’s) is paid for and costing just £300/month to run. Wife’s car is due a change which would be around £350/month anyway hence purchase price is not really an issue. So to sum up it’s whether I’m comfortable spending £250/month more than I actually need to. Hmm.

This won’t be a long term ownership thing. It’s really just to scratch an itch and move it on to buy something a little more sensible after a year or so.


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Sounds like you are making some sensible calculations for the upcoming purchase. When I bought my F32 440i an F82 was also in the running, I could afford to pay the monthlies, but I just couldn’t justify the additional expense of actually running one for 12k miles a year. The salesman at Barons stated that used M3/4s often have 2/3 owners after a couple of years, he stated that the finance deals to buy them (PCP/lease) were very numbers friendly, but then the running costs were too much.
If you can and the numbers add up, why wouldn’t you?!!

 

Yes, typical of me, not diving in head first and possibly loosing out on the experience .

Until I ran these calculations I didn’t appreciate how much it costs these days to run even a basic 320d such as my own.

Incidentally how much do you think the 440i costs you to run ex purchase price and depreciation?


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Hi have you driven one ?
We only have one life , 30 years of regret or 2 years of an empty wallet , they are and always will be desirable cars so if you change your mind once bought you will be able to sell it on .
I ended up buying a Porsche Boxster S which although is a lot older it feels so much more nimbler than the others , maybe keep your current car and look for a toy that you dont have to use every day .

 

Thanks, I don’t believe in warranties. Yes some may pay off but the financial risk is not biased towards the warranty company. I have enough to cover most incidents. £1k/annum is a lot for piece of mind.


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If you buy from a main dealer the risk for the first year are covered by them and can be continued for the term of the car , buying privately may save some money but increases the risk .

 

No, but it’s been a dream for years but I’m now in the financial position to afford it. It’s just a question of if it’s worth spending the extra for a nice car. I have a nice bike for fun. Will having all this power on tap be frustrating if I can’t use it?


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That is kind of the way I’m leaning. They appear to be holding values at present probably due to slow supply of new cars. It won’t matter if it depreciates a bit as I expect the market to change at once. I would be selling my wife’s car to assist with the purchase which is worth £10k at present prices but a few years back would only be worth £6k.

My 320d is going nowhere, it’s just far to good a car in terms of everyday practicality, comfort, condition and so far reliability so she will get that.


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I wouldn’t run one without a BMW warranty but that is me. Allows me to sleep at night if a turbo seal fails, crank hub spins or engine goes pop.

28mpg average is optimistic, budget around 23mpg. Don’t buy one to only allow yourself the odd foot to the floor because of the cost.

Big service is around £900ish so £300 is light. Even engine oil service is circa £400 these days.

My advice is buy if you can put the calculator away. Drive it because you want it, not because the calculator says you can.

Employ the man maths calculator and all will be well!!!!

 

I forgot to add that I couldn’t care and don’t think of the costs. ///M ownership is pretty irrational. A 320d does everything brilliantly and is all you could ever want or need. You buy an ///M because “why not buy an ///M” lol.

 

I’ve not done a true breakdown of the costs to be fair. The idrive is showing 35mpg overall since so picked the car up in Oct 2020. I’ve done approx 15k miles in that time.
Tax is heavy as it is still in the post £40K new bracket, will be for another year. I pay it monthly, think it’s around £44 a month.
I’ve paid for a big service (but got a 20% dish count) so was “only” £500ish. Also a brake fluid change and MOT at £129.
Not replaced any tyres as of yet, hoping to get away without before it goes in Oct/Nov (have a new G22 M440i on order).
I also renewed the warranty back in Nov last year, £345 is very much with peace of mind.

A great, great car. The B58 engine is a work of automotive art, powerful, smooth and reasonably economical for its size. Have loved pretty much every minute of the ownership so far.

 

Long term average mpg on my F80 is just shy of 22mpg, mostly local so would improve with more motorway runs.

I tend to use the Mini more often than not these days. Drove the 74 miles to Tamworth this morning and managed 57mpg in 'Green' mode

 

I have done the sports cars like most people on here, 3 Porsche's (2 of them 911) 1 E63 V8 Merc all returned around 20 mpg on super unleaded. Would I do it again........nope the main reason is a soon as the roads are damp / wet then all the power gets you nowhere. My 330Xd F34 will leave you in the damp or wet and to be honest its embarrassing for the sports car driver. I had it done to me many a time so wouldn't go there again unless the car was xdrive / 4 wheel drive + I have 100nm more torque on a standard M3. Map the 330d lump and that adds another 50nm, drive it like you stole it and it still returns 38mpg.

 

The very best power / speed / performance / economy combination out there at this time I would say…
What’s not to enjoy…


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38mpg
Have I missed something…??


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