Quote:
Originally Posted by hamo26
I will have to agree with Red Bread about the car not being able to appreciate in price, especially when you take into account inflation. One of the reasons why entry level german cars have a high value is because they don't get outdated every 4 years like a lot of japanese or american cars. some will argue that civics change models every 4 years and have a good resale value, but this is because there is a high demand and market for what cars like civics are good for (ie. mileage, durability, maintainence etc..)
I am going to return my e90 325i at the end of this month. And it was a tough choice for me to decide with either the MB c300 or the 135i. I have decided to go with the 135i mainly because I am a loyal bmw customer and also because the Merc's performance is no where close to the 135i. But one big factor that caused me to chose the 135i is because it is a newer model(assuming that if i were to sell the car after financing it for 5 years, it would still have a good value since there would be 1 year left before the model change) and also because the supply of 1 series is lower than the supply of Merc C classes, which makes the car hold a better value. But if the 1 is going to be outdated in 3 years, i can forsee a pretty shitty second hand value when i am done financing this car. And lets face the truth, no matter how much we love our bmws, its just human nature to want the newer model with better technology/look/performance. And there is no doubt that in 5 years, our e82's value will drop more than it should if a new model is to come out. it is fact that a cars value is a lot lower once the new model is introduced.
I can still change my mind and just lose the deposit, even though i won't since i can't think of a better car to buy within this price range. But im pretty shocked/upset if bmw does decide to change their 6-7 year cycle tradition.
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All of this goes out the window if the next gen 1'er doesn't offer the same performance. i.e., if 1-series goes the way of the 3-series and starts sacrificing performance in order to capture more market share, then the first gen 1's will indeed be sought after.