[A15X]

Hi all,

My car is due for a change in April next year and been thinking about what to replace it with. Although I really like the car I’m missing having a petrol car over a diesel...basically messed up and should of bought a 440i over the 430d!

My current car is on a PCP and although affordable the high payments are frustrating and think I could get much more car for what I’m paying.

Although my mrs thinks it’s mad buying the same car again there is nothing on the market which I really get excited about, I’d love another boxster but having a 2 year old and likely another child over the next 2 years doesn’t make sense so need the 4 seats and I love having a convertible so the 4 vert really ticks allot of boxes.

Affording an M4 is no problem I’ve seen some nice used examples around the 30/35k mark which id likely fund 60% cash 40% low interest loan as I’d like to get away from PCP’s. My concern is running the car, fuel, servicing insurance etc.

I do around 10k business mileage and around 4/5k personal mileage. Can any existing owners give me an idea as to what their running costs are?

My current car is costing around 530 per month on the PCP 80 per month on insurance and around 170/200 a month on fuel bearing in mind I get that back due to business mileage covered.

[A15X]

Anyone??

[robbiep]

440i real world figures will average about 30mpg.
M4 figures will be more like 25mpg.
You don't say what you're currently getting in economy for the 30d. Probably 40mpg, would that sound about right ?

Yes, I know someone is going to be along, saying about how they got 42mpg from an M4 on a 120 mile run - through roadworks at 50mph. But those are a pretty good guesstimate.

Servicing will be 2 or 3 times as expensive.

Insurance ... best you can do is get a quote for a car that you see for sale !

[lethbridge]

My view is that an F8X is affordable unless you do high miles when it will start to hurt. So it is a car where your question is valid as opposed to some where if you need to ask you shouldn't be getting one. I'm averaging 27mpg out of mine (obviously not driving it to be economic but equally not remotely ringing its neck all the time) - that's DCT - manual will be less. Servicing is quite a bit more on the major service (c. £1000) but not massively different on the minor (from what I have heard - I've got a service pack). Insurance is going to be pretty similar to what you pay now I would think (though yours sounds expensive so an M car may exacerbate that) - it will be more but not massively so and the kind of difference you can probably iron out if you shop around. Tyres wear well considering 450hp - I'd probably expect to get close to 20k out of mine - not massive difference in cost if you are used to paying runflat tax. So on the miles you mention I would think the biggest difference in cost will be in fuel. FYI I'm in the camp that thinks Shell vPower is a waste of money and ideally put Tesco 99RON in (which is around same price as standard diesel I think). Just be aware earlier F8Xs are more nervous/snappy/twitchy regardless of your tyre choice so you really want to be getting a CP and the newer the better which have these issues sorted (some are software which can be updated anyway). DCT is not as smooth as an auto if you expect to use it as an auto and again earlier ones can be fairly aggressive. For the full M experience get an M Performance exhaust on it - forget those that think F8Xs don't sound good - I reckon with the MPE it is about the best sounding sub £100k car out there and most people that hear mine on full chat agree - there are plenty of mods to think about like PCW which also serve up good results. Finally you'll want to consider a warranty if you are buying an older car - things don't often go wrong from what I can see (compared to say an M5) but when things go wrong it can get very expensive.

Ride comfort wise... with everything set in comfort it is pretty good and there's no drone on motorways - biggest noise is from the MPSS/4Ss but they are poor for noise regardless of the car - you really want full leather to ensure the interior feels special...

[Rukka]

I ran an M4 CP for just over 12 months. Came from a 440i and 435d before that.

The M4 returned 23.5 mpg over 15k miles versus 28.5 for the 440i and 37 IIRC for the 435d for my particular use pattern.

Never changed the tyres on the M4 - were still good after 15k but they cost about £250 a corner when needed.

Servicing was £290 for the RIS, £400 for the second (I didn't need it when got rid but got it priced) - the main service at around 35k miles is about £1200 (includes spark plugs which is a big job on these)

Brakes - were still showing 80k (I kid you not) till needing pads.

Insurance wise, I paid £340 a year for the 440i and the M4 was £100 a year more. Bit of a lottery though insurance as everyone's circumstances are different.

Hope that helps.

Rukka

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Rukka

I ran an M4 CP for just over 12 months. Came from a 440i and 435d before that.

The M4 returned 23.5 mpg over 15k miles versus 28.5 for the 440i and 37 IIRC for the 435d for my particular use pattern.

Never changed the tyres on the M4 - were still good after 15k but they cost about £250 a corner when needed.

Servicing was £290 for the RIS, £400 for the second (I didn't need it when got rid but got it priced) - the main service at around 35k miles is about £1200 (includes spark plugs which is a big job on these)

Brakes - were still showing 80k (I kid you not) till needing pads.

Insurance wise, I paid £340 a year for the 440i and the M4 was £100 a year more. Bit of a lottery though insurance as everyone's circumstances are different.

Hope that helps.

Rukka

Hadn’t realised you had got rid of the M4, Rukka - what have you got now? Mind you don’t seem to keep anything long so maybe I shouldn’t be Surprised!

[Tengocity]

I only my M4 at the weekends now so averaging 21-23 compared 25-27 when I was using as a daily.

I would be very happy doing your kind of mileage, especially as claiming majority with work.

Servicing as mentioned already and insurance for me is looking like £700 though that is modified cover and also includes 5 track days.

I would avoid an early car and try to stretch for a comp pack, but if you get a pre April 2017 car then I think you'd save a chunk on road tax.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Hadn’t realised you had got rid of the M4, Rukka - what have you got now? Mind you don’t seem to keep anything long so maybe I shouldn’t be Surprised!

+1 and good to see you around the place Rukka

[Rukka]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Hadn't realised you had got rid of the M4, Rukka - what have you got now? Mind you don't seem to keep anything long so maybe I shouldn't be Surprised!

Haha - I thought 16 months was a long time

Fell out of love with the M4. The grief I had with the first two rejections sort of took the shine off ownership a little bit but it turned out not to be a great car for me and my usage. I found it very noisy and tiring to drive.

I actually ordered a Cayman 718 but then cancelled after having one for a full day. Again, very noisy inside and the engine sounds like a bag of spanners.

Bought a TTS in the end and loving it so far

[Rukka]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

+1 and good to see you around the place Rukka

Been around reading thanks mate but not posted much. So as not to derail this thread any more I'll put a post up in the OT section with the new motor on if anyone's interested

[Wills2]

M cars aren't cheap to run and used ones will cost more either with the purchase of the extended warranty or by you putting money aside to underwrite yourself.

If the OP is worried about putting fuel and servicing it then I wouldn't bother as you won't enjoy the car or end up skrimping on looking after it.