Hopefully new M3 owner

[KFN]

@Phidalgo:

Here's my two cents (normally I don't dispense advice, but you asked).

Granted, I was not a very mature 18 year-old, but if I had an M3 at that age I would not have seen my 19th birthday. I simply did not have the car control skills or frontal lobe to handle that kind of horsepower, and frankly I still don't. I'm over twice your age and man enough to admit I'm not man enough for this car yet - hopefully some track time will take care of that. Maybe you're already accustomed to fast cars, but to me this car is a handful anywhere near the limit, even compared to my M Coupe and that car was tail happy as hell.

In my youth I spent far too much money on cars. I often wish some adult had just walked up, slapped the back of my head and demanded to see my investment portfolio (I would have produced a bag of crappy hand tools).

So my advice is this: First, if you don't already have one, get yourself a Roth IRA immediately. Then find a performance car that leaves enough money left over so you can attend a couple of CCA driver schools per year and the associated tires, brakes, upgrades, etc. Something you can wrench on yourself. My first thought is e30 325is, but I'm sure there are other good candidates in that price range. Remember, the price of a performance car is just the cost of entry. As others have mentioned, the maintenance costs on the M3 are steep (think $300+ brake rotors - each).

Sorry if this sounds preachy, and I don't mean to stomp your car dreams, just trying to be that aforementioned "adult."

Best of luck to you, and let us know what you end up with. As fellow enthusiasts we are on your side.

Cheers,

Kristian

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by M3414

Budget for:
$1,500 new set of tires every year
$3,000 insurance, that is conservative estimate for an 18 year male
$300 oil change every 5k miles DIY
$2,000 everything else, fluids, miscellaneous stuff, things breaking, needing to be replaced, this is more of an average, probably more if something major happens

that's $566.66 a month, assuming you pay cash up front

this.

btw $300 is the annual cost of a 5k oil change interval. For a car out of warranty and maintenance, you'll probably spend about $2k on any given year for replacement parts, fixes, and maintenance items, and I'm including cost of tires.

Your most expensive part of ownership would be insurance. Get a M3 VIN, and call it into your insurance company and get a quote. Pro tip: sit down first before receiving the answer.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by KFN

@Phidalgo:

Here's my two cents (normally I don't dispense advice, but you asked).

Granted, I was not a very mature 18 year-old, but if I had an M3 at that age I would not have seen my 19th birthday. I simply did not have the car control skills or frontal lobe to handle that kind of horsepower, and frankly I still don't. I'm over twice your age and man enough to admit I'm not man enough for this car yet - hopefully some track time will take care of that. Maybe you're already accustomed to fast cars, but to me this car is a handful anywhere near the limit, even compared to my M Coupe and that car was tail happy as hell.

In my youth I spent far too much money cars. I often wish some adult had just walked up, slapped the back of my head and demanded to see my investment portfolio (I would have produced a bag of crappy hand tools).

So my advice is this: First, if you don't already have one, get yourself a Roth IRA immediately. Then find a performance car that leaves enough money left over so you can attend a couple of CCA driver schools per year and the associated tires, brakes, upgrades, etc. Something you can wrench on yourself. My first thought is e30 325is, but I'm sure there are other good candidates in that price range. Remember, the price of a performance car is just the cost of entry. As others have mentioned, the maintenance costs on the M3 are steep (think $300+ brake rotors - each).

Sorry if this sounds preachy, and I don't mean to stomp your car dreams, just trying to be that aforementioned "adult."

Best of luck to you, and let us know what you end up with. As fellow enthusiasts we are on your side.

Cheers,

Kristian

Yep, agreed on all points. I'm also going to sound like a preachy 30+ year old. If you don't have a retirement plan/account set up already, you have your priorities in the wrong place regardless of age.

And I'm talking about multiple retirement accounts/types:

1. 401k from your work
2. Roth IRA
3. excess funds invested in traditional brokerage/investment funds/mutal funds
4. rainy day fund
5. standard checking for daily/weekly/monthly expenses


If your #5 is the same as #1-#4, then you've got to reprioritize. A lot of personal financial savvy people have at least all these, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, there's so much other stuff people do:
6. off-shore bank accounts (to "hide" money for liability purposes, mo money mo problems)
7. 529
8. trusts
9. HSA
10. side business/equity holdings in businesses/passive income sources





My first car was an Evo 8 back in 2004, while I could afford it, in hindsight, it was a horrible financial decision, and that car cost less than a used M3 to maintain.

[phidalgo12]

Originally Posted by M3414

Sound like you are going to be financing it, add an extra $500ish

Budget for:
$1,500 new set of tires every year
$3,000 insurance, that is conservative estimate for an 18 year male
$300 oil change every 5k miles DIY
$2,000 everything else, fluids, miscellaneous stuff, things breaking, needing to be replaced, this is more of an average, probably more if something major happens

= 566.66
Payment: $500
=1,066.66/month

btw where can I get a part time job like yours that pays me over $2,100 a month because you said you had expenses to

I work in an accounting firm and did some taxes this season Future auditor here

[Beemdog]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

Your most expensive part of ownership would be insurance. Get a M3 VIN, and call it into your insurance company and get a quote. Pro tip: sit down first before receiving the answer.

The insurance part is a bummer-- they really tax the younger guys in this regard. When I was 24 and in the dealer buying a Porsche 911, I almost backed out when I got the insurance quote. But the insurance guy revealed it would drop by nearly half when I turned 25, and that was a 'go' for me to get the car. At a younger age I would have passed on it...

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by Beemdog

The insurance part is a bummer-- they really tax the younger guys in this regard. When I was 24 and in the dealer buying a Porsche 911, I almost backed out when I got the insurance quote. But the insurance guy revealed it would drop by nearly half when I turned 25, and that was a 'go' for me to get the car. At a younger age I would have passed on it...

ha! Around age 26 I sold my Evo 8 and purchased the M3. My insurance got cut in half. Stupid Evo drivers killing themselves....

[phidalgo12]

Thanks guys for all the inputs it's really good to finally hear out other car enthusiast since I don't know many, I want the m3 because it a dream car and it felt like it could become a reality... I will reconsider my choice but what cars would you guys recommend I was looking into something relatively modern (2006-) and revolved around performance with a nav if possible

[RoshDawg]

Originally Posted by Ashley Schaeffer BMW

You should only buy an M3 if you clear $200k /yr after taxes.

Lol 200k after taxes? That's about a 320k salary in CA. That's the top 1% braket.

Good rule of thumb is your house should be 3x your salary. Car should be 1/2 your salary. Of course that doesn't mean you should spend half your paycheck on the car. but you have your parents helping you so that changes things.

[Rupes]

Originally Posted by phidalgo12

My monthly rate is half my paycheck after all my expenses are paid so financially I feel fine and I hope it never comes to the event of me getting into an accident but that's why I came to this forum to see living cost with the car excluding gas. On average how much should I expect to spend on the car per year and on what would also be helpful... And thanks for not being rude and bashing on my dream to own a m3 because of my age

Dude, spending half of every dime you make on a car is a bad idea. Especially an out of warranty BMW.

Some would say life is short. I say life is long. Save that money now and buy a new M3 in a few years from the interest / savings you accumulate. I know this will never happen, but it really is the right decision. Oh well, best of luck!

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by phidalgo12

Thanks guys for all the inputs it's really good to finally hear out other car enthusiast since I don't know many, I want the m3 because it a dream car and it felt like it could become a reality... I will reconsider my choice but what cars would you guys recommend I was looking into something relatively modern (2006-) and revolved around performance with a nav if possible

perhaps a STi or Evo would be better, something even cheaper like a BRZ or Focus SVT should also be consider (all preowned)

[KFN]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

perhaps a STi or Evo would be better, something even cheaper like a BRZ or Focus SVT should also be consider (all preowned)

Second those choices - maybe R32 as well?

[Someone?]

Dont over think it, you only live once, at worse you have to sell it down the line, i say DO IT, Lifes short and a lot of the best times are when your young.

[M3414]

Originally Posted by phidalgo12

I work in an accounting firm and did some taxes this season Future auditor here

If your going to be a future auditor, I assume you are going to school in order to get your CPA, so money use it towards college

[AWe90]

Originally Posted by Ashley Schaeffer BMW

You should only buy an M3 if you clear $200k /yr after taxes.

With the median household income in the US at $52,000, I find it very hard to believe that the average M3 driver earns $265,000 a year. I know the M3 is by no means an average car, but get real.

Also....there is a LOT of discussion in this thread about needing 3, 4 or even $5,000 annually to maintain an M3. I thought these were "relatively reliable" cars as indicated on many other threads throughout the forum. What gives people??

[mirinbrah]

Originally Posted by phidalgo12

I work in an accounting firm and did some taxes this season Future auditor here

Fellow auditor here. I hope you like working a lot because you won't have much time to be driving the car during busy season

In all seriousness, I don't think its a great idea but if you're already set on it, go for it.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by AWe90

With the median household income in the US at $52,000, I find it very hard to believe that the average M3 driver earns $265,000 a year. I know the M3 is by no means an average car, but get real.

Also....there is a LOT of discussion in this thread about needing 3, 4 or even $5,000 annually to maintain an M3. I thought these were "relatively reliable" cars as indicated on many other threads throughout the forum. What gives people??

I've owned my M3 since 2010, and I spend nowhere close to $1k a year (including tire costs, but not counting gas). And I'm not skipping maintenance schedules either. I just try to DIY whenever I can, and always find cheaper prices for parts.

[phidalgo12]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

I've owned my M3 since 2010, and I spend nowhere close to $1k a year (including tire costs, but not counting gas). And I'm not skipping maintenance schedules either. I just try to DIY whenever I can, and always find cheaper prices for parts.

I would love to work on this car but I heard it's nearly impossible with all its computers... What website do you use and what things do you do on your own?

[Rewted]

Originally Posted by AWe90

With the median household income in the US at $52,000, I find it very hard to believe that the average M3 driver earns $265,000 a year. I know the M3 is by no means an average car, but get real.

Also....there is a LOT of discussion in this thread about needing 3, 4 or even $5,000 annually to maintain an M3. I thought these were "relatively reliable" cars as indicated on many other threads throughout the forum. What gives people??

Can only speak for myself, when I suggested $4000~5000 in savings, that wasn't an annual sum. More so a fund set a side to dip into and replenish as need be. The idea being if something major goes wrong the money will be there to fix it. Common sense, people!

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by phidalgo12

I would love to work on this car but I heard it's nearly impossible with all its computers... What website do you use and what things do you do on your own?

not true at all. Some things require programming, which you can also do yourself. But the standard bolt-on bolt-off work can all be done if you have the right tools:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=208

Here's the source for pricing:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...ight=OEM+parts

[spiderspider]

buy a used manual civic. get your M3 when you get your CPA license.

[avol3xo]

I'll weigh in, I started off with a 94 Civic MT at 17 and I drove it like crazy, then graduated to a 2004 Accord Cpe 6MT, drove it for 8yrs, got a 335i and drove it for 2, just picked up an M3. I'm so happy I started where I did. If the 335i was my first car I probably would have wrapped it around a pole, not to mention the appreciation of working up to this car. Now 29yrs old

[Agent-GHQ]

I hate to rain on your parade kid but at that age driving an M3 you are most likely to wreck your car. Statistically, post teens are more likely to be involve in a car wreck.

I'd get as much pussy as you can for $30k or invest in your education! 😉