We can't really, since it's only been available for about a year... You have a pretty good idea with this purchase. When was it built?

You could look at the depreciation for leases. There are threads on here including the residual value for the various i4s. That will give you what BMW FS thinks they'll be worth...

 

Thanks. Will try that. I appreciate its somewhat unknown but I guess I'm just used to ICE and afraid of the unknown.

 

I look at it this way: in a few years, the kinks will be out and there's so little to go wrong over a longer term that I think they'll have a longer life so should retain reasonable value. But, it's all a roll of the dice right now...

 

Indeed. I’m just a bit green in all of this EV stuff. But from what I can tell so far as the overall range on the i4M50 seems as good as most comparable cars.

 

It's quite good, I agree. Impacted mostly by temperature and then speed.

 

Cars have depreciated more in the last two months than the entire prior year. At least here in the US.

The i4 M50 only started deliveries last year. So nobody knows how much it will depreciate over the next several years.

It's likely it will take a hit when the Neue Klasse i3 comes out in 2026. But maybe not if that car has something about it people hate.

The only question worth asking is are you happy paying that price today?

 

Well, regarding price. I configured a new one with identical spec just now. It comes out at £79,000 (UK Pounds). So I feel £61,000 for same car one year old with £3500 miles is ok ? Any thoughts ?

 

I think you're getting a deal...

 

Considering how new the model itself is and what the car market is like, no one really knows.

 

I am not buying this car thinking about finances. There are advances being made every day on battery and motor tech that could make these cars obsolete in 2 years like a gaming computer.

This car is purchased for emotional reasons. Might want to check out an i3 or a Leaf ect for a more money conscience vehicle.

 

To put it in perspective with real numbers, the residual value on a 3 year, 15,000 miles a year lease is 50%. Not the best compared to ICE models which are 52-53%.

it’s hard to tell what people will pay for these years from now though, we’re all taking a gamble here. This isn’t an investment, it’s an expense for me at least. I’m enjoying my purchase

 

I think if you are worried about this you should not buy.
dont’ buy a car if you have to go into debt!!!!
economics 101

 

I thought it was never use your own cash if you can avoid it.

 

Thank you. I guess it’s just fear. The car is twice the price of my first house. Mind you I’m a bit long in the tooth 👍

 

There are some on the forum who have multiple expensive cars. Personally I have never spent anything close to this on a car. I like a nice car, and can afford one, but they seem such a waste of money. Normally I would buy a car that was a year or two old and save myself all that initial depreciation but if you wanted a decent EV a year ago, that wasn't really an option. My original budget was c.£50,000 and I was going to get a Polestar2 but when I got to drive in one, I wasn't £50,000 happy! Expanding my sights and checking down the back of the sofa for loose change, I ended up here. At least I was fortunate to get my M50 at the original price (c.£70,000 with most of the options).

I've already said that I think that it is a great price and a big saving for only 3,500 miles. You don't get to spec it yourself but I could make a few compromises to save £18,000! Going EV (this is my first too) can be a bit scary but this forum is a great place for information and tips, so have a good browse. I think it is a lovely car and get a lot of pleasure from driving it. The EV aspect has been a breeze but I do few long trips and can charge at home. And in the end, if you find it isn't for you, buying at that price, I can't see you loosing much if you decided to sell it six months down the road.

 

£61k for that? I'd take their hand off if I hadn't already bought my car. Have they said why it's up for sale?

 

Hmmm... I wonder if it has DAPP...

 

It must have Dapp and lots of other things, it is a £79.000 car meaning it’s got £6.000 worth of options will probably have 20 inch wheels too. A year ago the car price started at £63,000 now it’s £71,000, still great value at £61,000 with a low mileage!

 

It’s a 72-73k car from new. Same price as a new M60 only higher spec and lower performance.

 

I think that the i4 has far too high second hand price for now because of very long delivery times of new cars and that there are not a lot of them on the market.

 

As others have pointed out, the initial rarity of the i4M50 due to productions issues and shortage of certain components plus a miscalculation by BMW of the popularity of the M50 compared to the E40 caused an unusual lack of depreciation and there were cases where M50 s were selling for a premium over list both here in the UK and also in other markets. Those days are long gone and it is not too difficult to get a new M50 both here in the UK and on other markets. My view is that the M50 will depreciate quite heavily from now onwards and I think we are beginning to see the effects of this in the depreciation over the last couple of months. You only have to see what is happening with the Porsche Taycan. I just did a quick valuation of my i4M50 on Parkers (I have more or less every option and the valuation was pretty shocking) If I compare the depreciation on my M50 to other cars I have then it does not come out of that comparison too well.

 

My e40 uk lease with bmw directly (well Alphabet, owned by BMW AG) has the depreciation rated marginally lower than the equivalent ICE 4 and 3 series (If you do the math and some sensible assumptions). Of course that’s also how bmw steer the market but it assured me on the lease approach

 

I just checked BMW Austria's leasing T&Cs for an e40: Residual value after 4 years / 60.000 km is approx. 40 percent.

 

Don’t believe any of that nonsense, that’s just the leasing company pitching the price so they make a profit at the end of the lease. Imagine you leased a Tesla model 3 with a list price of £37,000 in 2019, then after 4 years it’s worth £15,000, have you seen a 4 year old Tesla for that kind of price? If the BMW i4 follows that it was £52,500 last year so in 3 years time will be worth £21,000, that’s just not going to happen. After 4 years these cars are still going to be selling around £35,000 with less than 40,000 miles on if you can find one!

 

I still say if your primary concern is a financial one why would you buy anything more expensive then a leaf +. My leaf is a very practical car that makes way way way more financial sense then the BMW ever will. It is comfortable, peppy, and has plenty of range, and costs maybe half of the BMW if you get one 2 or 3 years old.

I think that your primary concern is something like luxury or fun, and depreciation is a secondary or tertiary concern that you should let the kid in you stomp into the ground hard until it is no longer recognizable.

Solid state batteries are on the way folks, do not kid yourself that our toys will be worth half what we paid in 4 years. In 2026 the 2023 i4 will be like a 2015 leaf is to a 2018 leaf.

my primary concern is the rate of depreciation

 

That is your opinion. I tend to disagree but there are plenty of folk on here worried about the poor efficiency of the car when doing short journeys in the cold. That is solely a concern about a few pounds worth of electricity. Now I worry about the big pounds (depreciation) not the little pounds (how inefficient the car is on short journeys). But each to their own.

 

I mentioned this thread to my SA and mentioned how I felt battery tech could make the car worthless in 3 to 5 years. He pointed out that the battery modules are swappable, and the battery warranty. If you live in a CARB compliant state you get the 8 year 100k battery warranty, and if tech does improve you could in theory have the new battery tech installed.

 

I mentioned this thread to my SA and mentioned how I felt battery tech could make the car worthless in 3 to 5 years. He pointed out that the battery modules are swappable, and the battery warranty. If you live in a CARB compliant state you get the 8 year 100k battery warranty, and if tech does improve you could in theory have the new battery tech installed.

Actually in California and other CARB compliant states it's 10/150.

Tanzanite over tartufo full individual leather with carbon trim.

 

My take is this on depreciation is this, an automobile is THE WORST INVESTMENT you can make. You just hope you pick a car that won’t lose all of your money. I’ve been buying and leasing cars for over xxxxx years. Don’t want to reveal my age!!! But trust me, I’m very experienced. The only car I owned back in the day was an L82 Corvette. Dr it very carefully for 3 years and actually broke even. I bought my M50. Plan to own it for about 4 to 5 years and move on to the next generation BMW. If my car is worth 1/2 of what I paid, I’ll be thrilled. You don’t buy cars to make money. i bought mine, not to save money on gas, not to make a profit, hopefully not lose everything but have fun with one of coolest, fastest and best looking cars on the street. BMW FOREVER. I spent 80k all in with warrantIes to protect my tires, wheels, interior etc. Hopefully when I trade it in 4 years for the EV 540 or X5 or X3 I’ll get half, i know I’m dreaming But you never know .

 

My take is this on depreciation is this, an automobile is THE WORST INVESTMENT you can make

Incorrect, it’s an expense, not an investment. Cheers!

 

While I think we can all acknowledge that the I4 is a beautiful car with a fantastic ride the question remains how will BMW and the I4 community protect and enhance the resale value. It's depreciation is significantly high. (I have not compared it with the combustion engine). Will depreciation improve as the electric market penetrates more of the sales. For instance, what is the resale market like in Norway or China where electric cars are ubiquitous?

To do this are there specific steps we would like to see BMW implement. For instance, will they replace batteries with improved ones at affordable prices? (After all the cost of batteries is decreasing). Will they support high residual values when leasing? Will they (or used car market engines track use of batteries for used cars, so that owners who "overcharge" will pay a penalty when trading it in or come off lease? Should this be part of the selling specifics when a car is listed?

 

It's depreciation is significantly high.

Because this is market driven, I can't see how BMW or the broader i4 community can mitigate values in the used marketplace. If you have a lease, you're already somewhat mitigating it because at the end of the term you can exit gracefully, no? If you choose to buy, you gotta go in with a clear head that luxury purchases have a pretty steep depreciation curve that won't be mitigated by some program or policy, honestly. Luxury purchases are bought on emotion and resale values are emotionless. There was a time when a used 2yr old Tesla Model 3 was being sold at close to their original sales price but that was clearly a market anomoly and maybe that's tweaked the view of resale values somewhat too.

Maybe I'm overly simplifying it but are BMW owners really thinking about resale? If they are, don't they also agree that there would be a shellacking? So I guess the question should be rephrased, what is a reasonable, acceptable shellacking?

In my case, a '22 M50 is on the used marketplace at around $50k for moderate mileage -- that's nearly a $40k drop from MSRP [fully loaded] in 2yrs. Ouch. Will it hurt if I sell it at that price today....certainly, but I am not going to. I've kept my previous BMWs for at least 9yrs and amortized my costs for that period of time and have determined that I am willing to spend that for this car. If for some reason my budget (everyone should have one) is 1/2 of that, then it's not going to be this car.

 

I’d be surprised if BMW did anything. Once the car is sold, it’s not their problem any longer. If it comes back into the main dealer network then they may ‘low ball’ the Seller but make a profit on the sale. It’s not unusual in the UK for a dealer to offer £3k lower than they’ll sell it for as this covers the BMW Select Warranty policy that the new owner gets.

Changing batteries to a different type may not be that simple. The car is ‘type approved’ with particular systems and the battery change to a different type may be more than a ‘technical’ change and be classed as needing some form of re-approval. I agree battery costs are indeed decreasing however that will only impact owners with out-of-warranty failures, or accident repairs.

Classifying charging beyond 80% as ‘overcharging’ may be challenged in court as the manufacturer only ‘recommends’ not mandates the 80% limit. If they mandate it then the range reduction that results might be seen as grounds for laying charges for false statements about the cars performance/range.

 

Classifying charging beyond 80% as ‘overcharging’ may be challenged in court as the manufacturer only ‘recommends’ not mandates the 80% limit. If they mandate it then the range reduction that results might be seen as grounds for laying charges for false statements about the cars performance/range.

It's an interesting point. Putting aside the use of the word 'overcharging', wouldn't BMW be inclined to pay more for a car that had not routinely been charged beyond 80%? Put another way, would you not prefer to buy such a car?

Put another way, it's like the phrase, 'One careful owner' in used car ads.

 

BMW and other luxury cars have no interest in resale value except where it hurts them in leases. Getting old cars off the road is a good thing for them. Doesn't spoil the ideal image of their brand being new and cool. If you care about resale value buy a Japanese car.

Luxury cars have more accessories and newer technologies that can break. BMWs are really hard to work on and are not designed for easy repair, so the labor to repair will be expensive. Then there are the parts that are expensive. I don't think being an EV changes anything. Software and electronic modules are harder and less lucrative for 3rd party manufacturers. On the other hand they shouldn't break as often since there are fewer moving parts, so it is a wash.

The example I always give is an Alternator vs an inverter board. An alternator from ford, GM, and Mercedes are almost identical insides but have different mounting and physical attributes. So a 3rd party can take your core and put new insides in. On an inverter, there is often proprietary communication, proprietary software and manufactures can encrypt things to make it harder for 3rd party. Also every inverter can be a different design and form factor which on circuit boards can cost millions to change. Also more likely to get in a patent violation. I'm an EE that designed electronics in my past life.

If you keep your car long enough, you don't have to worry about resale value. That is what I plan to do. Being an EV, there should be fewer things that break and you should have years of enjoyment.

 

In the UK there used to be a dynamic where a BMW might depreciate 30% over 3 years, while a Ford/Vauxhall might depreciate 50%

So over 3 years the BMW costs less, despite the higher list price. This played out in lease costs (the lease companies are much smarter on this, a lot can be inferred from their pricing)

M50 as loaded by default gets more recovery of upfront cost than an optioned e40 - one reason I got an m50 was hardly cost more to lease than an e40 once the "essential" options ticked.

But electric cars have a different dynamic:

• all have horrid depreciation, this is because you can lease (in UK) an EV on salary sacrifice and get 40% off (60% off if you earn 100K+), so any EV instantly loses up to 40% as driven off the dealership (worse than the normal 20% v list which is offset by dealer discounts to maybe 10% real world)
• used buyers are scared of battery degredation. So I think this will favour e40 perception - if I need 250miles I'd be looking for a 300 mile range used EV so I can still get the range I need with 10% degredation.

Facts might be that battery deg is really low, but car buying is based on the heart, which over-prices some stuff, but also over-discounts others

 

Regarding battery state, the Eflow app can read the conditions of your individual cells and rate them by deviations in voltage and temperature among cells, give a total charging capacity, even tell how much the battery has been charged on DCFC.

It gives a battery report aimed at a prospective buyer giving a percentage of new condition by various measures.

Go ask your dealer what replacement battery cells cost and you could compute the book value of your battery.

Or ask an outfit like Kelley Blue Book what they are doing in this arena.

You should get a far more accurate valuation on your battery than you could on an ICE.