my white Z4MC - should it stay or should it go?

amagangan

New member
Last year I bought my pride & joy, alpine white Z4M Coupe, that I'd been trying to find for ages. I bought it with the intention of keeping it for a long time, on the educated gamble that it may well one day become a future classic.

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I got it in June 2010 at 9,200 miles, it's now at just over 10,000. Anyway I'll be relocating to the USA soon, and I'm torn about what to do with it... should I

- sell it here in the UK and take the hit? I was planning on waiting 5-6 years before doing that...
- take it with me? seems that may be an expensive option if I have to pay import duties etc.
- leave it in the UK? in "professional" auto storage. Not sure if that's an economic option given I'll need to keep it insured, taxed etc.

what would you do?

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Depends how long the move to the us will be... Will you be coming back during holidays when you need a car and whether you need A car in the us..... All questions I've asked myself before expat assignments. If you decide to sell before you go sell early as the vultures don't half arrive in the last few weeks before leaving ... Knowing your going and with some silly offers.
 
if i owed 23k on a car that i wouldnt be driving then no way would i keep it.... its a lovely motor but whats the point of paying for something you cant use.... its like paying your mortgage and not having a house... OP youve answered your own question here bro... sell the thing, there are not many very low mileage z4ms now so im certain you'll get good money for this 08 model ;-)

its a lovely car though i can see why your torn.

byron
 
It's a gorgeous car, tough decision mate, but selling it is the best option...
 
I'm sure if you do the maths then if you sold it now cleared the finance and then returned in a just a year, even if you paid over tp price you'd save £000's in buying it back after you back out depreciation, finance charges, storage and insurance. Not even considering the worry of it.
 
Burn it claim your insurance the bugger off to USA before there catch up with ya :rofl:

or

Surly you must no some unsavory characters in the big smoke get them to nick it again claim the insurance,hide it away for a couple of years and when you come back strip it for parts and make another shed load of money.

On a serious note sell it and get another one in USA. :thumbsup:
 
@zermattv maybe 3 years in the US, could be more. Will be coming back for work but won't need a car while in UK... will definitely need a car in California...

@beedub, @c10jeeper yes I think you're right... probably best to sell it & take the hit... less of a hit long term and it will free up the cashflow to buy something stateside ("while in Rome", may as well get a big shiny muscle car)

thanks guys - sometimes u just need some assurance that u making the right choice!

@jonnyfive lol
 
Sell it. Being white it should sell quicker than most even if it is tough shifting performance cars right now...
 
I'll help. Give me a small nominal fee per week and I'll garage it and drive it occasionally just to make sure it doesn't seize up... :evil: :driving:

Lovely looking car, afraid selling it seems the only option to me - and then as said - buy one in the States!
 
In line with all the feedback, i would also suggest selling and walking away now. With £23k owed on BMW finance, it's gonna cost you in excess of £3.5k (say 7.5%) over 4 years on finance charges alone before layering all the other added costs of storage insurance etc.

Since you're moving over to the US, look over on Zpost.com, the seem to have a few coupes going for c$23-30k - converted to sterling you're talking £14-20k. So if your reason for wanting to keep the car is shear excitement that this car brings then sell this car and get one in the states - financing is considerably cheaper too.

Alternatively, if this was an investment then the question to ask is will this car be worth over £30k (breakeven :| ) in 5 year time??
 
The cost of taking it into the US may not be as high as you think, as it was made there after all and may not have to go through the (unjustified) cost of the federalisation route that you do when importing cars that were never sold in the US in the first place (e.g. lots of e34 3.8 M5s were privately shipped to the US, but incurred fees of $10k-$20k to get them to the owner).

Personally I'd sell it, and it should sell easily with that spec and mileage - you might even get some interest from BMW dealers.
 
amagangan said:
Last year I bought my pride & joy, alpine white Z4M Coupe, that I'd been trying to find for ages. I bought it with the intention of keeping it for a long time, on the educated gamble that it may well one day become a future classic.

- sell it here in the UK and take the hit? I was planning on waiting 5-6 years before doing that... still owe almost £23K on BMW finance

I'd say its worth £25k to the right person, look at PH prices range from £18k to £23k - no white ones nor mileage that low.
 
i will look after it for you for the next 3 years, free of charge

i will also occasionally drive it around the block to free off the brakes
 
amagangan said:
flatout said:
I'd say its worth £25k to the right person, look at PH prices range from £18k to £23k - no white ones nor mileage that low.

cool - thanks will give PH a go
Good man

amagangan said:
- sell it here in the UK and take the hit? .. still owe almost £23K on BMW finance
You may wanna conceal this fact from the vultures out there
 
mate leases in California are half what they are here........and all service inclusive and warranty for 5 years.....
 
Saw it on Piston heads for a couple of days & then it disappeared.......did it sell or did you change your mind? I was rapidly gathering cash together :-(
 
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