Z4M running costs advice

[philip27]

Thanks once again for all the feedback.

All in all, I reckon mine costs me the following, monthly:

Tax - £45 (rounded up)
Insurance - £80 (you can all f**k off with your cheap insurance )
Servicing - £40 (oil service each year or big service every second year)
Consumables - £100 (I've replaced brakes and tyres, everyone has to at some point)
Fuel - £82 (at 4,500 miles per year), or £20 p.m. more than a 3.0i would cost
Warranty - £70 per month (ish), can't remember how much a year costs

Total per month - £417. Thank god there's no finance on top, or it would be like a second mortgage :lol:

Seeing it broken down like this puts into a good perspective the temptation is growing it's a huge amount of car for the money.

 

[mr wilks]

There can't be a definitive answer to the question :? Certainly Adamskis imo is extreme of routine M costs based on a 12 month period
Insurance , fuel & service / repairs will all be vastly different dependent on car usage & miles covered :? + warranty is a subjective matter that some insist on & some couldn't care less about

Anyone setting out down the M path with a eye on the financial side should focus on the obvious biggies when looking at a certain car , this is regardless whether high or low miler , namely

whereabouts in the service regime the car is ?
What condition are the discs & pads in ?
tyre make & condition ?

If the above all falls well then no reason why a £150 service shouldn't be your one yearly expense
If the above falls bad then your wallet could be lightened to the tune of £2000

Obviously component replacement cannot be counted for as it may never happen as with finance as some will be cash bought & some will be 000,s per month

Anyhow interesting topic for sure

Adamski / £417 per month @ 4500 miles
mr wilks / £175 per month @ 4000 miles

feel free to add your own figures but i suspect a figure in between would be the norm

 

[Darren Slone]

It's useful to look at the costs over the period they'll be happening too I think. With your 8k miles per year, you're looking at rougly 6 years per full cycle of the servicing schedule so in 6 years you'll have (with my rough current prices using an indy):

• 3 x brake fluid = £240
  )

• 
  
  Just highlighting this, seems quite steep to me, my guy charged £26 for a brake fluid change
  
  My total for oil service, BF and MOT was £208.99 inc vat last August at 42,996 miles.
  
  Labour £57.50
  Engine Oil, proper M oil £45, he has an E46 M3 and buys quite a lot of it.
  Oil filter ££9.50
  Injector Cleaner £6.99
  BF Change £26
  
  Good money imo, he's not a BMW Specialist however he's owns a proper garage, works on everything from Transits to Astons, my car is 8 yrs old and has been out of the dealer network even before I ownded it 4 yrs ago, there are some great guys out there who won't lift your leg, I'd go for recommendation everytime

 

[MrPT]

Adamski / £417 per month @ 4500 miles
mr wilks / £175 per month @ 4000 miles

feel free to add your own figures but i suspect a figure in between would be the norm

Mine is closer to yours (£194/mth instead of £290/mth) if I exclude all the stuff the forum has made me buy over the past couple of years:

Aux lead
Minijack cable
Stubby
Cup holders
ZHP
OBD2 scanner
Wheel brush
Rubber mats
Tyre Tread Gauge
Slime 473ml
Clear 3rd brake light
Stainless tips
4" door speakers
Panel Tools
CDV removal
Torx multi-tool
Speakers
MSFW buttons
Cruise control bits
Dust caps, cc r-fit
Wheel refurb
Cabrio Shield
Dust sheet, wet & dry
Tax disc holder
Bluetooth audio bridge
USB cig lighter plugs
Sound Generator parts
Heated electric sports seats
Dremel bits
Gtechniq C4 trim restorer
Tower caps, connectors for seats
Bits for electric seat refit
Philips H7 X-Treme Vision 100% Kit
Bluetooth adaptor
Spare alu trim
Piano black dashboard hydro-dip
LED light kit
Spacers

 

[mmm-five]

Here's my PH Garage running costs/service/maintenance blog/summary.

 

[mr wilks]

Adamski / £417 per month @ 4500 miles
mr wilks / £175 per month @ 4000 miles

feel free to add your own figures but i suspect a figure in between would be the norm

Mine is closer to yours (£194/mth instead of £290/mth) if I exclude all the stuff the forum has made me buy over the past couple of years:

Aux lead
Minijack cable
Stubby
Cup holders
ZHP
OBD2 scanner
Wheel brush
Rubber mats
Tyre Tread Gauge
Slime 473ml
Clear 3rd brake light
Stainless tips
4" door speakers
Panel Tools
CDV removal
Torx multi-tool
Speakers
MSFW buttons
Cruise control bits
Dust caps, cc r-fit
Wheel refurb
Cabrio Shield
Dust sheet, wet & dry
Tax disc holder
Bluetooth audio bridge
USB cig lighter plugs
Sound Generator parts
Heated electric sports seats
Dremel bits
Gtechniq C4 trim restorer
Tower caps, connectors for seats
Bits for electric seat refit
Philips H7 X-Treme Vision 100% Kit
Bluetooth adaptor
Spare alu trim
Piano black dashboard hydro-dip
LED light kit
Spacers

I hope that list is kept in your head & nowhere that mrs PT is likely to find it that's quite comprehensive & very impressive

 

[mr wilks]

Here's my PH Garage running costs/service/maintenance blog/summary.

Good read , esp the average consumption , pretty impressive for the performance
Insurance seems excessive though:? is it including warranty ?

 

[Z4M-2006]

27.3 mpg is very good....

I take it that your doing a lot of miles on the motorway to rack up the miles you do ?

Mine is 23.7mpg currently,has risen a bit since the warmer weather came...But mainly commuting with odd run out..

Best i have seen was 33mpg on a nice steady run....

 

[Adamski]

Adamski / £417 per month @ 4500 miles
mr wilks / £175 per month @ 4000 miles

feel free to add your own figures but i suspect a figure in between would be the norm

Given that fuel and VED (road tax) ALONE are £125 per month, I'd love to see your explanation of £50 per month covering insurance, MOT, servicing and consumables

Unless of course your car doesn't get inspection services and doesn't use tyres or brakes?!

 

[Adamski]

On fuel - mine shows 26.4 mpg on the computer, which is around 24/25mpg calculated

I think the point I was making is that £175 per month won't really cover everything

 

[mmm-five]

Good read , esp the average consumption , pretty impressive for the performance
Insurance seems excessive though:? is it including warranty ?

Yes, it includes the BMW warranty - which is of course an insurance policy - and my European breakdown, and my modified road insurance with business/Euro use.

Most (90%) of my mileage is my motorway commute between Liverpool & London - but it's not usually a steady run, so doesn't get brilliant economy.

I think my fuelly data shows a max of about 32.5mpg and that was for a steady 70-100mph for about 250 miles to the 'Ring one year. Unfortunately the next 4 tanks of petrol returned about 12mpg, so balanced it out.

 

[Mad Professor]

Hmm best not think about such vulgar issues ,escpially when I literally have thrown money at my TVRs .

 

[mr wilks]

Adamski / £417 per month @ 4500 miles
mr wilks / £175 per month @ 4000 miles

feel free to add your own figures but i suspect a figure in between would be the norm

Given that fuel and VED (road tax) ALONE are £125 per month, I'd love to see your explanation of £50 per month covering insurance, MOT, servicing and consumables

Unless of course your car doesn't get inspection services and doesn't use tyres or brakes?!

Yep £125 month for VED & fuel
Insurance is £340 yr so £28 month leaves me £264 yr or £22 a month for "consumables" which are what exactly ? Wiper blades & reg plates ?

Im giving you the figures for my car not anyone elses ,
it had Ins1 carried out 1000 miles ago , discs & pads are all good so nothing due there to break into my budget
Brake fluid is due next month which i will be having done along with a coolant change at my BMW indy £50 max leaving me £214 for a interim oil change at 12 months which wouldn't be due but i would still have it done
Feel free to point out anything else i should be braced for other than component failure but that's a game of chance that is played with any used car
I think my figures are reasonable :? Sorry if they offend you

 

[Adamski]

Not offended at all. Just reckon £50 per month is a little optimistic. But hey, if this time next year you managed to keep to £50 or less, you'll have done extremely well.

You've only recently bought yours though, right?

 

[CornishRob]

It all depends on when you buy in the cycle.

If you only do a little mileage and buy just after an inspection, you could have 4 years without a big service. Maybe £300 in oil services in 4 years plus a brake fluid change. Same for tyres and brakes, they can last for years.

So could could be looking at minimal service costs and it's just fuel, VED and insurance.

Not saying they are cheap, but not bad value for the performance!

 

[mr wilks]

It all depends on when you buy in the cycle.

If you only do a little mileage and buy just after an inspection, you could have 4 years without a big service. Maybe £300 in oil services in 4 years plus a brake fluid change. Same for tyres and brakes, they can last for years.

So could could be looking at minimal service costs and it's just fuel, VED and insurance.

Not saying they are cheap, but not bad value for the performance!

Nail on head :wink: it really doesn't get any simpler & that isn't just M motoring the above works with all cars , forget the "must have" spec & do the footwork throught the paperwork , any extras that are included are a bonus

 

[mr wilks]

Not offended at all. Just reckon £50 per month is a little optimistic. But hey, if this time next year you managed to keep to £50 or less, you'll have done extremely well.

You've only recently bought yours though, right?

Yep not had it a week yet but don't see that as any relevance to potential costs :?
I view the M just as any other high performance car ive owned .
I bought what i considered the best car within my budget that imo will cost the least in expenditure on service & maintenance as i know these costs soon add up .
There were others i considered but they needed cash spending on top of the ask price :wink:

 

[Adamski]

My point being if you come back in a year's time and can honestly say you're 100% within budget I'll take a flight on the piggy...

 

[MrPT]

I hope that list is kept in your head & nowhere that mrs PT is likely to find it that's quite comprehensive & very impressive

It's in "the cloud", which everybody knows is the safest place on the interwebs.

 

[beanie]

I think i must spend £50 on fuel each time I take it for a good run, which is usually a few times a month.

Anyway, all this number talk has got me wondering.

I've had mine for nearly 2.5 years and 11000 miles and so far it's had

Oil service £150
Front discs and pads £320
Full set of tyres £650
Interim oil change £120
Brake fluid change £40
MAF sensor £35 (used OE)
Spark plugs £60
Valve shims and tool £40
Vanos filter £5?

£1420 for the running and consumables which is about £47 a month. Insurance and fuel is down to the individual so I won't bother calculating mine.

The numbers get less favourable once my looming inspection 2 is done but then I'll be good for another 2 years going by the book so it will balance out again.

Seems ok really and if you buy a car recently serviced and not needing tyres and brakes then you could almost half my costs :? Bargain!