Selling the car...

System

Garrlor wrote: »

I would be saving approx £20 p/m on insurance, which pays for a servicing plan for the BMW to cover 3 services over 3 years, and the 3 MOT's it would require. I think that I can get away with running this car for 3 years with the mileage I do and not have too many issues (hopefully!). This is probably the biggest draw for me, as I only use the car for shopping trips (1 every 10 days with our meal planning), trips to a local park (12 mile round trip to work the car a little) on a weekly basis and a bi-monthly 150 mile round trip to visit family.

Ideas?

Yes, the BMW is a really poor choice. You're going to end up spending MORE to run it than you currently do and that's where the money you would have left over after the sale of the current car and the purchase of this would go. BMW 3 and 5 series are notoriously hard on the front suspension and at 144k you're going to likely end up having to pay to fix it. The service plan covers the costs of servicing it, it doesn't cover repairs. It isn't a "covers everything", it literally gives you oil and filter changes, vehicle inspection and MOT. Anything breaks and you're paying to repair that.

I am looking at the 3 series tourer as it has enough space for my 2 kids in car seats with room for my other daughter to squeeze in when she is here. As I have to fit 2 car seats in with room in the boot for a pushchair and shopping etc. Hence why I'm not looking at a focus or a fiesta.

The BMW 3 series tourer doesn't have the room behind the rear seats you think. BMW 3 series are actually quite small inside. My niece has the same model you're looking at and its tiny compared to my Mondeo. A Ford Focus hatchback would do what you need to do, a Mondeo definitely would.

fatrab

A quick search on Autotrader for estate cars under £4000 throws up loads of options that would be far better than the BMW you have in mind. I've listed some that stood out below. By better I mean cheaper to run, lower mileage (so less probability that it'll need as many repairs), more economical etc etc

2007 Skoda Fabia 19247 miles £3395 - possibly slightly small but reliable and look at that mileage!
2008 Ford Focus 66463 miles £3350 - cheap to repair & run
2009 Peugeot 407SW 40,000 miles £2675 - probably the best size:value ratio you will find.
2009 Vx Astra 45674 miles £3195 - cheap to repair & run
2008 Vx Vectra 51000 miles £2295 - huge load space, cheap to repair & run
2007 Ford Mondeo 82,000 miles £3295 - reliable, comfortable, spacious, dirt cheap to repair.

Or just to throw in an rank outsider:
2008 Vx Zafira 34000 miles £2995 - 7 seats!!

It sounds like you are making excuses to justify the BMW purchase. You need to understand the difference between wants and needs. If you are serious about moneysaving you will forget about the BMW. Keeping the credit card as an emergency back up just doesn't seem like a great plan. Get the debt cleared and build up and emergency fund, that's a good plan.

Best wishes

Garrlor

Thanks for the input Rab!

Believe me, I am not trying to justify the purchase of a BMW, it is just the best estate for the best money in the area. I would be happy with a focus or an astra, if you cojld fit more than one shopping bag in the boot lol! I have been scouring autotrader for cars up to an hour away from our house, as i feel that is probably a reasonable limit to go and see the right car.

When we bought the C Max we were running 2 pushchairs so it was the perfect car, and it helped with the big declutter in the house! I am in no rush to sell it, as its costing me next to nothing to run at the moment due to how little I drive it. I am happy to move to something smaller, or at least similar sized than an estate if needed (octavia, insignia, mondeo) and in the right bracket. My only stipulation to the wife is that it must be comfy to drive, as my last car used to give me terrible pain even with a quick trip to the shops!

Im not fussed at either petrol or diesel either. My shopping trips are 3 times a month, and that is my shortest drive in stop start traffic really. Going to see the BMW with my friend later on today, to ahave a good look at it and the service history. Having chatted to a few friends with higher mileage cars like BMWs and Volvos they have had some good advice for me. Service history is the most important thing.

Oh, and i just saw a 2011 3 series tourer with 155k miles... ouch lol! Apparently impeccable service history and all invoices mind you, with 1 owner....

:rotfl:

Pixie5740

I'm another one who doesn't think that buying the BMW is actually going to save you any money.

How big is your search radius for a replacement car? To give you an idea I once travelled from Aberdeen to Derby to pick up a new (to me) car because the car was the exact specification I had been looking for an the cost of travelling between Aberdeen and Derby was significantly less than buying something more locally that didn't tick all my boxes.

As someone else asked earlier? Do you really need a car? Would it be less expensive to hire a car as and when you need one to visit family and get your groceries delivered? You say you live in a semi rural area so do you really need to make a 12 mile round trip to the park? Surely there are plenty of open spaces for the children to run around in?

If you insist that you need a car I think it's foolhardy to sell your 12 plate C Max and replace it with a 2008 BMW. I genuinely don't think you will save any money and sometimes with cars it's better the devil you know. Besides 8 months of knuckling down to pay off your credit cards really isn't that long.

fatrab

Garrlor wrote: »

I am looking at the quickest fix to maximise my debt repayment.

Ideas?

This is quoted from your opening post.

I'm afraid I'm going to be blunt with you here. You've asked for our thoughts on the matter and almost every single response on here is telling you that the BMW is a bad idea. That goes against what you wanted to hear. If you though we were all going to say "Yes go for it, great idea" then I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree. There are a lot of very savvy moneysavers on here and there are some very knowledgeable people from a vehicular background and it doesn't take either of them to spot that buying a high mileage BMW is not a good way to save money!

So what if you need to travel 2 hours to get the right car? If it saves you thousands of pounds in the long run is it not worth it? All the cars I listed are estate cars, there's plenty of boot space in all of them.

"You can have results or excuses, but not both."

You're going to go and do what you want. On this forum you'll see the term LBM - Light Bulb Moment. You haven't had yours yet.

I hope it all works out for you, I really do.

Best wishes, Rab.

Garrlor

Hmmm, I have found a Mazda 6 Sport Estate for £3295, 2.0 Diesel with 115000 miles. I need to check up on its service history etc, but it seems to tick every box that I need ticked. I have owned a Mazda in the past, and the only things I have had to buy have been a Battery, Brake pads and disks and a couple of tyres. Really reliable cars.

I am also tempted by the petrol versions, as long as they are sub 70K. Should give me up to 3 years of trouble free motoring I would think. To be honest as well, the Saloon versions should give me more than enough room for my brood. Thoughts on this one?

buglawton

Garrlor wrote: »

Thanks for the input Rab!

Believe me, I am not trying to justify the purchase of a BMW, it is just the best estate for the best money in the area. I would be happy with a focus or an astra, if you cojld fit more than one shopping bag in the boot lol!...
:rotfl:

I once gave a sofa away on Freecycle. They guy turned up with a Focus estate. I took one look and said I didn't think he'd manage it. We slide the sofa in... and it completely disappeared bar 3 inches. He nearly managed to close the boot! But in the end tied the boot.
Easy assumptions will always be challenged on MSE!