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Roughly half the admittedly-interesting responses on this long thread are quite puzzling.
This is the "Frugal Living" C-D section. Granted, I don't spend tons of time here and don't live frugally by any rational measure, nor am I a spendthrift idiot. I maintain an upper middle class lifestyle, by-choice, which ain't cheap in monthly burn in an area know for expense (Eastside, Seattle area).
That-said, the question was NOT "are they great to drive." Owning two BMWs, 100K miles between them, I could not agree more they are an exceptional driving experience vs. many or most craptastic ordinary economy cars on the road today. I had a lot of rentals of mostly American cars this summer, I know how it (still) is.
Equally unarguable: on the average, and by that I mean going to the data, they cost more to repair and parts are expensive. And they break down more often than top-quality brands. Refuting that does not compute; screw anecdotes.
Fun and games are no part of frugal living. Few would live frugally unless they had to, I assume, though it may be second-nature to some personalities and I respect that, too. My dad was about an 8/10 on that scale, I can with-difficulty be about a 6, so I do get it.
Frugal is about efficiency, along with its companion thrift and stablemate practicality. Granted that, no frugal person would buy a BMW-anything at any time for any sane reason (by their reckoning).
PS, Op/Ed:
Bottom line: they'd have a Land Cruiser in the driveway and drive it until Judgment Day, which is about how long they last. 200K miles is "barely broken in", they are hands-down either "the" or among the very top of the toughest, best-built, well-tested, and truly frugal street-legal vehicles for sale in the world today. Period. I would never pay c. $90K new for one, but there is a reason that's what they cost compared to, say, the Forerunner. There's a car (truck) that begs to be bought CPO or 5-10 years old at 3/4 initial cost, if you'll keep it forever.
PPS: I love my current Porsche 911, and the Turbo before it. It is, however, retarded money. Maintenance is thus far low on the latest (non-existent outside of a $179 oil change), but will cost retarded money if something breaks. Resale will be damn good, 911s are great for that, but still retarded compared to cost of entry. I get all that, but see "not frugal", above. That's my choice.
Not sure why half the responses here are justifying squat RE BMW; that dog simply does not hunt, period.
My “bad,” - I didn’t realize that this is a “frugal living” section.
And/but, how/why are we discussing “talk me outta buying a BMW” in “frugal living??” BMW’s are a lotta things but ‘frugal’ ain’t one of ‘em. You can buy a Honda etc. for half the price and it’s fine for going point A —> point B - the cost per mile driven is approx $half of a BMW - this is the definition of frugal seems to me
BTW, for those who proclaim “BMW’s are expensive to maintain” my experience is the opposite: my wife has driven 2 BMW’s for a total of 10 years. Me too. So, 20 person years of driving BMW’s and not 1 $ has been spent on repairs. We also haven’t had one single warranty issue. Could be my experience ain’t the norm and/or we’ve just been lucky. ‘Lucky’ works for me
BTW #2: I’m NOT justifying the cost of a BMW! - I don’t need to justify it! I’m simply saying that “we love our BMW’s and we’ll be buying #6 soon.....despite the cost”
You're in the frugal section of the site asking about a BMW? I think you know the answer. If you want one bad enough buy one of the newer ones and plan to spend about 25 grand. If that is too much money for you then forget it.
An older cheaper one is going to be an expensive headache to repair and maintain. That is why older/higher mile ones are relatively cheap.
Only issue is I moved back to a city that is very car-centric. For the past year and a half I've been back, it's worked out just fine because I work from home.
This is my first year tracking every single dollar spent in my budget using Mint and I've found I've been spending ~$220/month in ridesharing (i.e., Lyft rides). Not "too" bad IMO.
However, I have found that since moving back here without a car, I don't really see my friends much anymore, and I have been avoiding taking the 4-hour (one-way) drive home to see my mother because of the added cost of renting a car. It kinda defeats the purpose of me being back in this city to be closer to friends/family if I'm going to continue losing out on so much time with them because I don't want to spend $40 on just one 60 minute round-trip Lyft ride to see one friend or $150 for a weekend car rental to see my mother in the neighboring state. As this could add up fast, I basically keep my ridesharing expenses only to places very close (grocery stores, doctor appointments, occasional meeting up with friends that isn't too too far).
With all of that said, I am nearing closer and closer to the decision of buying a car. For years now I was set on an Accord Coupe (think 2008-2010 models) and a budget under $10k. ($5k-$9k?) But it's looking like I could get a BMW around the same year for around the same price. I love the looks of those cars and I figure since I've never had a car payment ever and will also purchase this car cash, why not get what I really want? The other part of me says this is just an itch and leaning into "keeping up with the Joneses" territory which I have been avoiding for years like the plague. I think part of me wants a little 40th birthday treat for next year as well-I've been telling myself I could always sell the car and downgrade later if I want.
Being happy with less is very important to me. In a general sense, I am but I'm sure some can relate to the feeling I'm having about this. The Accord is obviously the better decision due to upfront costs but also moreso because I understand BMWs are horribly expensive maintenance-wise...and I know nothing about cars TBH. So. I could use some reminders of the importance of making the right/most frugal decisions when it comes to a major purchase like this one.
buying a BMW isn't keeping up with the Jones's anymore because the BMW isn't anything special anymore. Back in the 1980s the BMW was an elite car because of its advanced technology but today all cars have that technology.
buying a BMW isn't keeping up with the Jones's anymore because the BMW isn't anything special anymore. Back in the 1980s the BMW was an elite car because of its advanced technology but today all cars have that technology.
Correct. Hardly any automotive company develops technology by itself. They buy off the shelf technology from Siemens, NSK, and others and then under license tweak it for themselves.
If you are a computer "freak" today, cars are your thing. You could start a company in your garage and with a single board computer and some sensors create something that a billion dollar company is willing to license off you.
As I’ve said, I love our BMW’s. I travel a lot on biz and it’s usually via airplanes. I use Hertz. I don’t know much at all about the technology of cars - I hardly know a torque from a fork.(Kinda proud of my ignorance, BTW!)
What I DO know is there is no comparison in driving a BMW verses a Honda/Camry etc. A BMW is simply more responsive and fun to drive whereas a Honda etc. is boring/slow.
Someone on this thread complained that “since this is a “Frugal Living board then BMW’s shouldn’t be mentioned since they’re NOT frugal.” I beg to differ!
20+ years ago my “vehicle requirements” were inexpensive, reliable, inexpensive to maintain. That’s when I started buying Camry’s.
10 years ago my “vehicle requirements” changed. “Fun-to-drive” was my main requirement. So, $frugal guy that I am, I had many options including BMW, Porsche, Corvette etc. BMW is less expensive that these, so, this proves that I’m a $frugal guy!
If your “vehicular requirents” don’t include fun-to-drive then clearly obviously a Honda etc. is fine.
BTW, I leased my first BMW because I was thinking that the novelty etc. would wear off. It didn’t, so I bought it, and bought 4 more in the following years. I haven’t been bored ever NEVER not once driving my BMW - just the opposite - it’s always fun!
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