Should I trade in my scion tc? (2005)

[theother]

Originally Posted by cee4

The scion was paid off in 5 months. I thought BMW"s were reliable

Since the Scion is paid off keep it as a second vehicle (if you can) ..
BMW's are pretty reliable, but they are very expensive to repair/maintain. Hey what about a used Acura TL?

[NJGOAT]

Originally Posted by cee4

The scion was paid off in 5 months. I thought BMW"s were reliable

They are, with proper maintenance. How handy are you? The reason I ask is that while parts can be had at "normal" costs getting those prices usually requires you to do the work yourself. If you are going to be relying on a BMW dealer or repair specialist than maintenance costs can be much higher. For instance, doing you own oil and brake changes can save quite a bit versus relying on the dealer.

However, let's just assume that the prices for maintenance are the same.

On the fuel side, the BMW in xi AWD trim gets about 2 MPG less combined than the tC. Pretty minor difference. However, the BMW is going to require premium, versus regular in the tC. Over 25k miles it breaks down like this:

The BMW will use 1,190 gallons of premium at ~$3.80 per gallon = $4,523.

The tC will use 1,086 gallons of regular at ~$3.50 per gallon = $3,804.

So, the BMW will cost you about $700 more a year to fuel, or roughly $55 a month.

On top of that you are laying out or financing $10k. Let's assume that you keep the BMW for 3 years (that would pretty much mean dumping it at the 120k mark). That works out to roughly $277 a month over 36 months assuming you're not paying interest.

Over that same time period probably the only "odd" expense is going to be the 100k service on the tC. That will cost say $500 (being real generous there). We could also just budget a major repair (say transmission) at $1,500. So, $2,000 more in possible maintenance that the BMW might not have.

If we project costs over 3 years (assuming insurance and other maintenance e.g. oil, tires, etc. are the same):

BMW - $10k to purchase, $13,569 to fuel = $23,569 or $654 a month.

tC - $2k in additional maintenance, $11,412 to fuel = $13,412 or $372 a month.

So, the question really comes down to this. Are you willing to pay $282 more a month to drive the BMW vs. keeping the Scion? The total nut difference is roughly $10k over the 3 years. What else could that money be doing? At a 5% return, that $10k could be almost $12k in 3 years. If you keep the BMW less than 3 years than the difference/expense is even greater.

You posed this as a financial question, so I am giving you financial answers. It all comes down to whether you think you are going to get $282 a month of joy out of driving the BMW vs. the tC. From a financial standpoint, it's a horrible choice. However, not everything is about the dollars and cents, but that's only a choice you can make.

[johna01374]

No. Keep the Scion. It will be more reliable and cost less in the long run. The last thing you want is a BMW that you're going to put a lot of miles on.

[IonRedline08]

I go through cars like crazy.... and I will tell you... I regret getting rid of my 05 Scion tC more than any other car.

Keep it. If you decide to get rid of it... sell it.. the market is very solid for those

[X-Greensboro Resident]

Originally Posted by NJGOAT

Well since you framed the question as "what would be better financially" then the answer would be to keep the tC until the wheels fall off. The entire transaction with the BMW is a poor choice financially. You are taking on $10k more in debt for a depreciating asset. You are losing money on the tC trade as you are most likely in a negative equity situation if you took a loan on it. The BMW is worse on gas and costs more to maintain. Chances are the BMW will also be more to insure.

Of course, that doesn't change the fact that you seem to like the BMW more in which case you need to ask yourself if the cost is worth the experience you will buy with the BMW.

Another solid post!

Keep the Scion... it makes financial sense! BMWs are great cars but expensive to maintain and repair... Everything is more expensive from tires, brakes, premium gas etc etc....

[bmwguydc]

BMWs are relaible, especially the smaller (325/328) 6-cylinder RWD models. The Ms are among the most reliable, overall, I have found. The AWD models are more expensive to maintain, and suffer a fuel economy penalty, not to mention being slightly less reliable than the tried-and-true setup. The key is the maintenance, and you don't know what has/has not been done to the BMW in question, and I'm guessing it's not CPO, which gives you a warranty and allows you to purchase extended coverage through BMW.

That particular BMW is about 5 years old, and while it has low mileage, it is AWD. If it were CPO, I might be more inclined to recommend looking at it.