BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament

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Wed 12 Oct 2016 21:48
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - Grease_monkey

I'm in the process of buying my first home at the grand age of 33. My Landlord dropped a bomb shell in July when renewing my tenancy agreement that they will be selling the house at the end of my 6 month tenancy agreement extension which has forced me into buying a house sooner than I planned. April 29th this year I brought my BMW for cash as I had saved for the car I wanted (I wanted a auto BMW 1 series) I'm now having to make the very difficult decision whether to keep the BMW or P/X it for something more sensible like a Ford Fiesta Zetec S Black and get some cash back from it. This has got me thinking, has anybody else found themselves in my position?

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Wed 12 Oct 2016 22:07
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - 72 dudes

Not been in that position but three things strike me immediately:

- you saved for the car you wanted. At some point in the near future you will regret getting rid of it.

- the BMW will have depreciated far faster than you think and the money you free up as a result will be far less than you expect.

- the running costs of the Fiesta Zetec S will not be significantly cheaper than the BMW. Any amount you may save on insurance, road tax and servicing will be tiny in the grand scheme of things.

Keep the 1 series.

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Wed 12 Oct 2016 22:20
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - Ethan Edwards

That said you should always but always shop around at every renewal. Once again I got a cheaper price this year with the same cover. With a major household name company. All you need is perseverance.

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Wed 12 Oct 2016 23:07
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - Happy Blue!

I agree with 72dudes. The chances are the cash you will get back will be very modest. Best to save quickly (maybe rent for another six months in another proeprty before buying?).

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Wed 12 Oct 2016 23:33
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - SLO76
I have BMW to thank for having been mortgage free since the ripe old age of 36.

It was a nearly new E46 2.0 Coupe I bought (saved up same as you) back in 2004 with 15,000 miles that sickened me off motors for years. It was never away from the dealers workshop, a real boomerang car. Not content with costing me a fortune in repairs it also hoovered the best part of £11,500 off me through depreciation over the four and a half unhappy years I had it.

I replaced it with a 9yr old Toyota Avensis a neighbour was selling for £1250 and enjoyed the next 2yrs of hassle free low cost motoring before selling it to a friend for £850. Bought and sold a series of old runners since and suffered pretty much zero depreciation, with a small loss on one balanced by a wee profit on another. Not once have I been stranded, in fact the old (largely Japanese) bangers have been more reliable than any of the newer cars I've had.

Sell your BMW, buy a cheap runner for £1,000 and pour every spare penny into your mortgage to pay it off early, every pound you pay is money in the bank minus the interest of course but renting property and buying pricy metal is an absolute waste of money.
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Thu 13 Oct 2016 00:00
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - bathtub tom

Totally agree with SLO76.

I had 'nice' cars (Vitesse, Cortina GT) when I could afford it, but sensible (Maxi, Princess) when the family came along and subsequently cheap ones, but no mortgage.

I've now a Yaris, although I could afford something exotic, because I got it out of my system ( It's surprising what a 1.3 Yaris can do, if only it had wider rubber).

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Thu 13 Oct 2016 10:57
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - SteVee

I think it's difficult to say without knowing more about your choices.
Since you bought a diesel, I assume you're going to be doing a substantial mileage - and that might be much easier in the car you've saved for and still like. As above, changing it might not save you much money.
Can you claim mileage in your job ?

If you really can't get the finances together to buy the house without selling the car, then I would sell it - the house is a much better investment than a car (a car is a financial liability).

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Thu 13 Oct 2016 13:39
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - Grease_monkey

The money for the house buying is already there and waiting (inheritance) My BMW is more of a weekend car due to the relative short distance to work, I use the bus for work. Where I'm buying a house, there is a train station 3/4 mile up the road. I work on the railway and therefore get free travel.

The one thing I love about my BMW is the auto gearbox, it's a absolute gem of a gearbox.

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Thu 13 Oct 2016 16:41
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - gordonbennet

I also agree with SLO76, pay any mortgage off as fast as you can, especially now that interest rates are so low, many of us worked our cotton socks off through high interest rates for years, peaking at around 15% (thankyou prudent government of the day, not) in order not to become one of the thousands of people who lost their homes.

There is no more liberating day than the one you pay that mortage off, from that moment no one has you by the cobblers.

Edited by gordonbennet on 13/10/2016 at 16:42

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Thu 13 Oct 2016 16:55
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - mikem004

I agree also.

Bricks and mortar take precedence over a tin can on wheels.

I would put any spare money into paying down debts and mortgage, rather than buying a new car.

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Fri 14 Oct 2016 02:00
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - Avant

I think we'd all agree that this wouldn't be the time to buy a new car - but in your case you've already got it.

Don't do anything in a hurry unless you are certain you need cash immediately. I'd suggest keeping the BMW for now and see how the sums work out when you've bought the house. That'll depend on how far your inheritance goes towards the cost of the house.

The 118d isn't an extravagant white elephant, and as others have said, you won't save all that much by PX-ing it for something else unless you settle for a banger.

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Fri 27 Apr 2018 17:25
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - marysmith

It's much better to donwgrade you car and plough as much money into paying off your mortgage. The interest in mortgages are probably only going to go up in the not so distant future while your car (whichever make of model it is is going to continualy depreciate) - so you're better going for a lower cost car. When buying your house you may get away with stamp duty taken off with new regulations but do consider all other costs involved such as conveyancing fees, solicitiors and removal companies, etc.

(Link deleted - advert suspected.)

Edited by Avant on 27/04/2018 at 18:30

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Sat 28 Apr 2018 07:52
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - drd63

So OP, you're selling the BMW to free up case for a house purchase. You either go the whole hog with this as others have suggested and buy a shed but just buying the Fiesta isn't going to free up a significant chunk of cash in the greater scheme of things. On the other hand cash is so cheap at the moment you could just borrow more!

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Sat 28 Apr 2018 11:10
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - Alby Back
Within reason, do what makes you happy. Life is way too short to always take the sensible road. You won't live any longer ( although it might feel longer if you never take a risk ) ;-)

Your car will feel expensive now, but in the great scheme of things it isn't really, and if it gives you pleasure, then that's important too.

All work and no play etc...
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Sat 28 Apr 2018 11:35
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - badbusdriver

"So OP, you're selling the BMW to free up case for a house purchase. You either go the whole hog with this as others have suggested and buy a shed but just buying the Fiesta isn't going to free up a significant chunk of cash in the greater scheme of things. On the other hand cash is so cheap at the moment you could just borrow more!"

"Within reason, do what makes you happy. Life is way too short to always take the sensible road. You won't live any longer ( although it might feel longer if you never take a risk ) ;-)

Your car will feel expensive now, but in the great scheme of things it isn't really, and if it gives you pleasure, then that's important too.

All work and no play etc..."

You two do realise this is an 18 month old thread (resurected by someone trying to sell something)?, i think whatever the OP decided to do has probably been done by now.

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Sat 28 Apr 2018 11:54
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - Alby Back
Oh yeah, right enough, he's 35 now then. Probably got sprogs and a Zafira by now.
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Sat 28 Apr 2018 19:54
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - drd63

Crickey, doesn't time fly!

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Thu 3 May 2018 22:33
BMW 1 series 118d M Sport Auto - House buying predicament - brettmick

In 1998 we were getting married and to get the deposit to buy our first house sold the wife's two year old (and only owned for 6 months) Clio, replacing it with a bit of a heap.

That car will now be worth £500? The equity in our house (after a few moves) is 100 times (add two zeros) and with the mortgage close to completion we could choose more or less any car we want (but haven't, choosing to do things like going to Australia for August instead).

You can't live in a car and it's a heavily depreciating "asset". No argument for me which to choose.

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