The $80K Conundrum
Then I started thinking.....which probably isn't the brightest idea when considering an $80K car purchase. An (almost) four year old car that stickered for ~$110K is now going for $80K. Any way you slice it, $80K for a four year old car which will be my daily driver is a lot of dough. For a unicorn like the e63 wagon, that might very well be worth it. But then I thought...what else could I get with $80K that would certainly be acceptable.
Three cars come to mind, all would be new vs. used:
M3: I've owned many, many BMWs in my life and currently drive an X5. My wife drives an X5 diesel. There have been three BMWs I sold that I still wish I had - my 2001 740 sport, 2006 M3 convertible, and my 2003 M5. Today's M3 is just about as large as my M5 was and is very cool. Who could complain about driving an M3?
X5 v8: I could get the v8 in the best car color around (carbon black), the adaptive M suspension, some other stuff, for around 80K.
S6: Though it's no longer the V10, the S6 is still pretty good, and I would still argue that Audi makes the best interiors of anyone.
I've also looked at used X5 Ms but they seem to come with odd color combos.
I sold my 2009 E550 for the X5 primarily for two reasons - the E550 was set up to drive really, really fast in a straight line but not so good in the corners, and I needed the cargo space for my hockey equipment as well as my son's.
If BMW made an M5 wagon, it would be done and done. Of course, BMW doesn't bring the 5 wagon to the states and doesn't make an M5 wagon in Europe either. I could of course wait until the e61 M5 wagon hit 25 and import it, but that won't be until 2035 at the earliest. The M550d wagon is very cool but again, not for us in NA. I've always loved wagons, one of my BMWs was a 2008 535 Touring. But I want the oomph factor, which is why I started the hunt for the e63.
Which brings me back to the conundrum. Is it better to spend the $80K on something new or spend the $80K on the used wagon? Driving something as rare and powerful as the 63 would be pretty special, any of the above cars would also put a smile on my face (provided the adaptive M suspension on the X5 lives up to the hype). There is also the hockey equipment problem, which comes close to disqualifying the M3.
Thoughts?
Good luck!
Did you get the one in Louisville?
est. of 120 wagons sent to NorthAmerica ..who know how many are really out there.
im in San Diego n have only seen 1 around n its Black n Black.
GOOD LUCK on your HUNT.
very well worth the wait finding such a UNICORN of a gem.
Did you get the one in Louisville?
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est. of 120 wagons sent to NorthAmerica ..who know how many are really out there.
im in San Diego n have only seen 1 around n its Black n Black.
GOOD LUCK on your HUNT.
very well worth the wait finding such a UNICORN of a gem.
But agree - i live in the Bay Area and have only seen a 14+ AMG wagons - love the unicorn.
good luck to OP - it took me a while to find mine - both times
I actually bought my car because I don't put a ton of miles on it and I felt like it had a decent chance of holding it's value moreso than many other types of cars in its class. (the added storage was just a side benefit)
Instead of looking at total cost of car, I looked at it as a cost per year metric. (Just ignoring the opportunity cost of money I can't invest because I bought this thing)
The yearly cost of depreciation was less than the depreciation in my mind of some brand new similarly priced cars so build a few models and see what you think. All this doesn't hold up though if you pay 80k for it before the new ones debuts
I actually bought my car because I don't put a ton of miles on it and I felt like it had a decent chance of holding it's value moreso than many other types of cars in its class. (the added storage was just a side benefit)
Instead of looking at total cost of car, I looked at it as a cost per year metric. (Just ignoring the opportunity cost of money I can't invest because I bought this thing)
The yearly cost of depreciation was less than the depreciation in my mind of some brand new similarly priced cars so build a few models and see what you think. All this doesn't hold up though if you pay 80k for it before the new ones debuts

I am coming to the conclusion that, as of now, it would probably be best to wait until the 2018s come out to see what happens with 2014-2016 pricing. Or, it may very well make sense to look at a 2018. At a minimum, as time marches on more 2015s and 2016s should start showing up as leases expire.

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