How do you afford an E89 Z4? I really want one!

[XYZ]

Hi guys, I've been posting on here about buying a Z4C. Truth be told from day one when it was launched the E89 shape has been my dream car. Even more so than a Boxster, which is what I wanted a few years back.

I have always been Miss Sensible with money and looked at spending about £16k for my next car. Before I have to think about kids and family responsibilities I want to get one more 2 seater sports car out of the way and if I'm honest my dream would be an E89.

PCP to me seems like a complete and utter waste of cash. You pay monthly and don't end up with a car at the end of it, unless you pay the extorionate baloon payment. My current car was financed via a private loan a few years back, and at least once the final payment was made I had equity still in the vehicle and the option to still keep it. I have been running it for a further year loan free now, which is nice.

What I would like to know is how are you affording to run these new shape zeds? I'm curious to know how many people here have bough on loan, PCP or with outright cash. Why did you pick the method that you picked?Do you guys not worry about job security? I'm wondering whether I'm being too hard on myself and acting like Miss Scrooge as well as Miss Sensible. To be fair me and my partner earn a decent wage and without kids in the equation we could afford it, just not sure which route to take. We would not be paying in cash, so it would have to be PCP or loan.

Another question I have is how does the 2.5 engine in the E89 compare to the 3 litre engine in the Z4C? Will the 2.5 be cheaper to tax and run, and what is the performance difference like? Also what would the difference in insurance been? I'm coming from an MX-5 by the way. I know the E89 is what I want. Just need to justify it as I'm sure loads of people would think I'm mad spending that kind of cash on a car!

Thanks guys.

 

[aquazi]

Could you live with your Mx-5 for another year? Next year the E89 will 3 years old.. so I recon you shoul dbe able to pick up 3 year old for close to the 20k mark.

Persoanlly i have always bought my cars outright... just means i have to save up before i buy them.... but atleast it works out cheaper and without any on going financial commitment beside the running costs.

I know people who pay upwards of £600 pm for their cars under PCP... thats close enough to my morgage costs!!

 

[mikedav]

PCP to me seems like a complete and utter waste of cash. You pay monthly and don't end up with a car at the end of it, unless you pay the extorionate baloon payment. My current car was financed via a private loan a few years back

This is a fundamental (and common) misunderstanding of PCP and why / where you use it....

1. PCP spreads the cost of the car over it's useful life. The monthly payments should match your depreciation over the time you own the car. When you reach the end of the agreement, if you still want it you can pay off the balloon and own it outright. The balloon is usually the value (or less) of the car at that point. It's not in a finance companies interest to set it higher than that, because instead of paying it off you would hand it back, and they would have a car worth less than they are owed....

2.If you wish to get out of a PcP you simply phone for a settlement figure, which will be the amount borrowed + interest to that point - payments made. In principal that means if you settle after a week, you pay a weeks interest. Don't forget though that cars depreciate regardless of how they are paid for, and both types of buyer are going to take a big hit if they get rid early...

As an example, take a Z4 @ £30,000 with a £12,000 Balloon. The buyer of that car can pay as he uses it rather than advance, and he does not pay for the bit he doesn't use (its life after 3 years when its sold to someone for £12k). Take a house someone knows they will rent for 12 months; why would he lay out 36 months rent in advance and then sell the last 24 months on to someone else if he doesn't have to? If he had paid £30,000 cash, he's still going to lose money every month in depreciation. While its sat on his drive, he cannot use the money for anything else (which drops every day).

PcP therefor has its uses for the right car / situation.... but the balloon / interest rate etc all need to be right

Edited multiple times for clarity because the post was too bloody long

 

[tjlazer]

I think you'll find pcp is the other way around these days with the balloon generally lower that the anticipated value as BMW lost a shedload of cash in the crunch bas people returned their cars where the balloon was considerably better than the actual value. The gfv is no longer so attractive as a result. Not sure what the current apr rates are but there seem to be a few good new car deals but definitely secondhand is sensible and finance is available if you've gotta have it. Just make sure you have a pot set aside if you go down that route so you have all the options at the end of the term and don't need to refinance which is where you will really start to lose.
Edit: mikedav stepped in whilst I wrote this, hopefully my comments still of use!

 

[XYZ]

Aquazi - I could wait until next year.

Mikedav - I think it makes sense if you hand the keys back after the 3 year period. I would want to own the car if I'm going to be paying interest, therefore I'd probably want to take it out on a loan. The baloon payments seem astonomical, and the interest you're paying is overall higher.

 

[mikedav]

Aquazi - I could wait until next year.

Mikedav - I think it makes sense if you hand the keys back after the 3 year period. I would want to own the car if I'm going to be paying interest, therefore I'd probably want to take it out on a loan. The baloon payments seem astonomical, and the interest you're paying is overall higher.

tjlazer is right that these days - especially at BMW dealers - the balloons are very low now and the monthly payments much higher. Too many fiance firms got burned by people handing back cars that depreciated faster than expected when things turned bad. Besides, don't forget that if you buy that car at three years, old, it will be at least the balloon payment, probably more. The only difference is you have been driving it for the three years before, too.

PcP interest is marginally higher than personal loan interest but shouldn't be much...barter hard or use a broker for the best rates. Dealers usually start at at stupid APRs but can be forced down to more sensible levels.

 

[cj10jeeper]

I'm not criticising them per se (although have seen my daughter in one from Mini should as she'll have it around her neck for 6 years in total)

The advantage of the PCP is that it gets you into a car that you really can't afford to buy now, by rear end loading the payment structure, but what is missed by most people is that interest is charged from day 1 on the baloon payment too, thus vastly inflating the real cost of the 'loan' over the term

Also missed is that when you get to the end of your PCP perriod you either have to trade in and get on the treadmill again, or take out finance for another extended period to pay off the balloon as few people can or do save during the period to pay that amount, nor can they settle early.

while for financially astute a PCP can be made to work for the majority it's an expensive game.

 

[mikedav]

Also missed is that when you get to the end of your PCP perriod you either have to trade in and get on the treadmill again, or take out finance for another extended period to pay off the balloon as few people can or do save during the period to pay that amount, nor can they settle early.

It depends on what your ultimate goal is though. If its 'own a car outright' and you have cash, then yes PcP is daft. But for many people its 'I will spend £300 a month to have a car under three years old on my driveway, for life'. Don't forget on a new car, maintenance costs are far lower too and that offsets some of the interest cost. There are so many variables....a top spec Vectra will be more per month than a 5 Series, for example, because it depreciates like a lead balloon and has no residual value. If you pay an extortionate interest rate, it ends up costing a fortune, etc etc.

It's swings and roundabouts basically, it depends on your motives and there is certainly no 'one' way to pay for a car.

 

[ZermattV]

Another vote for keeping the mazda .. 1 more year.

If you look at the what car guide depreciation guide a new Z4 2.3 will lose 16k over the next 3 years .... any method of finance has got to cover this loss in value.

Wait a year save a decent deposit and buy a 1 year old E89 Z4 2.3 which has taken the first big hit in depreciation.

 

[XYZ]

Another vote for keeping the mazda .. 1 more year.

If you look at the what car guide depreciation guide a new Z4 2.3 will lose 16k over the next 3 years .... any method of finance has got to cover this loss in value.

Wait a year save a decent deposit and buy a 1 year old E89 Z4 2.3 which has taken the first big hit in depreciation.

Wouldn't you recommend on buying a 3 year old one? As there will be loads of lease and PCP cars coming on the market then. Why go for a 1 year old one then and not now?

 

[Breaker]

I didn't even mean to buy an E89!! Took my last Z4, a 3.0si Coupe in for a service and the dealership had the one I ended up buying parked outside for sale. It was a well spec'ed ex-BMW car. It was advertised at a price that gave a good saving on new. While I waited for my Z4 to be serviced, the dealer let me take it out for a drive with him. Was impressed. He said to come back in around a weeks time, because if it hadn't been sold his manager was going to drop the price again! They wanted to get some E89s out on the road as a mobile advert I guess.

Did that. The price was silly for a nearly new car. Did a deal and got a bit more and the rest is history! I bought my last Z4 the same way, ex BMW car. Never buy new again!! :wink: 1 1/2 years in and I would still almost get what I paid for the car if I sold it now looking at the BMW second hand search (also there aren't that many on there now either!!)!!

I traded my old Z4 (which I owned outright) put a bit of money down and had the rest on a 3 year BMW straight finance deal, of which I have now paid off (only had the finance because it wasn't a planned purchase!!).

 

[cj10jeeper]

mikedav - I think we are in violent agreement here as it all depends on what you're trying to achieve.

For the £300 per month for life person it can work, for the own the car I want it's unlikely to. what's most important is people decide what they are trying to achieve in the purchase and go with it.

Strangely I'm looking at changing my X5 and Mrs CJ is concerned if we don't have at least a 4 seater, so woudl have me swap to a new one. Frankly the numbers make buying an Aston Martin and hiring a 4 door saloon/taxi/van to move lerger items/people work much better over 4 to 5 years.

 

[ZermattV]

Personally I've always got best value on a 1 year old cars .. you get the majority of the depreciation out of the way (9k on a 2.3 Z4) and you then have only 1 years worth of AUC warranty to add on the end of 3 years of ownership.

why not now ... it allows some time for the car type to become less new which will help in reducing prices further and you have a decent deposit saved plus the mazda. The Mazda is a great car and is probably worth hanging on for another 12 months

 

[T-J]

:?

 

[Taz]

I had just paid of my mortgage and was used the mortgage payment going out, i therefore thought its now 'ME' time so i treated myself to a car on PCP, I have the view that when my PCP is up the car will be worth ore than the ballon, I will then just get another loan

Financial this is probably all wrong, but hey ho I ain't that bothered

PS Mine is an coupe not the E89

edit: if i was not blowing my money on the car i would probably be a drunken bum by now

 

[Anonymous]

Depends on so many things, your salary, your outgoings etc etc....personally I don't drink, don't smoke and don't have any children either - to some people all of the previous 3 can cost them a £1000 a month - thats a good lease payment on an Aston Vantage to me - hence why I have always had the nice cars and change them once a year - even on a 5K in, 3 year lease, on a 40K car, you can get it to below £500 a month - I will swap it in, in the next 6 months, and will start again with another £5K in.....

I owned my RRS outright, sold it last week, and will use that towards my next lease on a bigger car as well as the E89......it's my one passion/vice in life - I won't start on the £200 or so I spend on cleaning products every few weeks!!

 

[pvr]

I had to look up what PCP meant ...

 

[Trut01]

PCP is a recreational drug called phencyclidine that can be injected, smoked or snorted. Otherwise known as angeldust. I strongly advise all forumites to igone Nickm & Tazx's advice and refrain from buying cars "on PCP". Stick to regular garage purchases like mars bars and lucozade when you're high...

 

[a11y]

PCP is a recreational drug called phencyclidine that can be injected, smoked or snorted. Otherwise known as angeldust. I strongly advise all forumites to igone Nickm & Tazx's advice and refrain from buying cars "on PCP". Stick to regular garage purchases like mars bars and lucozade when you're high...

So, when you see cars with fecking annoying "Powered by Fairy Dust" on the back, it could mean something else entirely??? Fairy dust? Angel dust?!

 

[Trut01]

Trut01 wrote:
PCP is a recreational drug called phencyclidine that can be injected, smoked or snorted. Otherwise known as angeldust. I strongly advise all forumites to igone Nickm & Tazx's advice and refrain from buying cars "on PCP". Stick to regular garage purchases like mars bars and lucozade when you're high...


So, when you see cars with fecking annoying "Powered by Fairy Dust" on the back, it could mean something else entirely??? Fairy dust? Angel dust?!

:lol: Yeah, who would've guessed the correlation between bimbos and drug addicts. I can just see a "Fairy Dust" sticker on the back of Nickm's apline white 35i :lol: :lol: