Between 2 similar BMW's, is it worth shelling out an extra $3,000 for one with 20,000 fewer miles?

I'm in the auto industry and I have some good insight into this. If you're looking at this from a value position, take the $3,000 and divide by 20,000 miles. You get $0.15 per mile. Assuming that the car has average miles (12K per year), then it makes sense to pay for the lower miles. When you lease a BMW, the lessor charges $0.20 per mile when you go over miles. Leasing companies have a great pulse on the depreciation values, so $0.20 per mile is a good estimate.

Here are things that throw the analysis off - things to keep in mind.

1. Condition of the cars - The lower mileage car should be in better condition (mechanically and cosmetically).

2. Maintenance completed - Make sure both cars are up to date - maintenance costs are pretty high for BMW's - higher for awd models (xi).

3. Mileage - If you are looking at a high mileage car (Over 60,000), be careful - as the car nears 80,000 miles, they get hard to sell. Also the value drops sharply.

4. Don't go by blue book value (KBB) on cars that are not near normal miles. As a test, run a blue book on a 100,000 mile car and a 400,000 mile car. It doesn't make sense if you are looking at either low or high mileage extremes.

5. If you trade in your car and it has mileage below the aveage on blue book, you do not get additional money for your car, even though blue book says it is worth more. Keep this in mind as you look at the mileage on the cars and how many miles you plan to drive.

One of the most important things is to look at the overall picture and go with what your gut feeling is. If you are too excited, you will not make a good decision. Remember that the seller will also try to influence your decision, so you need to write the pros and cons and balance them yourself.

I wish you good luck with your new BMW. I own a 540i and I love the car! I've just held it a bit too long and the maintenance costs are getting high.

Greg

BMW is NOT known for great reliability. They're better known for being very expensive to maintain. If your worried about spending an extra $3k you shouldn't be looking at a beemer. The dealer's maintenance department can eat that much up easily, and will. When I was driving a beemer i never got it out of the shop, whether service or repairs for less than $800. That's why I found a sucker and unloaded it.

Absolutely. 20000 miles are a lot of miles. But also look at the general condition of the car. Interior, seats, have it raised look beneath the car to see signs of deterioration....

it is relative sometimes and there might be an older car with higher mileage in better condition than a newer one that has not received proper maintenance....

good luck and have fun shopping for your dream car

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I wouldn't worry about the miles too much. But from a value standpoint, it matters if we are talking about 30k miles vs. 50k miles or 120k miles and 140k miles...

Check the values with the different miles on www.kbb.com so you know what the market will bear.

I wouldn't get the more expensive one. The money doesn't balance out with the mileage to make it cost effective.

its worth it, BMW quality is pretty bad i've seen my mechanic so frequently he sends me christmas cards