Although I didn't keep detailed records like you, I don't think my total cost anywhere near as much as you spent. I also drive a lot fewer miles. Its amazing how quickly price per gallon went from $4.77 to $2 in 2008. That was a crazy year.
Justin
Perhaps. I would say that I spent at least $2000 on mods & unnecessary stuff. Before doing any of this, I had estimated that I spent $8-10k on the car in purchase price & maintenance+mods alone. It turns out that I spent less.
Remember, the $18k number includes gas & insurance. Figure out how many miles you have put on the car, estimate your average MPG and guess at the average gas price you have paid. Gas costs add up.
Here was a little comparison I did on BFc between my car & my GF's.
Purchase price has so much to do with the cost of ownership.
If you amortize it all out, a new car can be really good, or really bad financially. It depends on what you get, and MAINLY on how long you drive it for. Now, if you cannot do your own maintenance then shop fees can start to kill you with a used car, especially an E30. Also, I totally understand that some people would prefer to have a new car that doesn't require any really serious maintenance for a very long time. Based upon what I have seen of
some new cars though, you still get murdered by regular service stuff that you have to do under the threat of losing your warranty.
By comparison, my GF bought a new Civic LX in 2003. It was partially financed, and the sticker price was $15000. It is all paid off now, and since she had a pretty good interest rate, I think that the total cost came out to like $17000. Her insurance is $1000/year, and at 6.5 years that's $6500. I would estimate that she has spent $1000 in maintenance...it is a good little car. Total mileage is 130k, and with her driving I estimate she pulls 33mpg in her commute. That makes for 3940 gallons of regular gas at an average of say $2.60. That is a total of $10244 in gas.
Total expenses: $17000 + 6500 + 1000 + 10244 = $33744
Length of ownership: 6.5 years
Cost per mile with gas + maint only: $0.09 ($0.22 for 318iS)
Cost per mile, including everything: $0.27 ($0.32 for 318iS)
Annual operating cost
excluding purchase price: $2576 ($3700 for 318iS)
Annual operating cost
including purchase price: $5191 ($4145 for 318iS)
So, excluding the purchase price, her Civic costs way less to maintain & operate. If we had both purchased our respective cars on the same day, and our annual costs including purchase price remained constant (purchase price at start, annual op cost excluding it: me $3700, her $2576), it would take 13.3 years for me to have spent as much money, cumulatively. It turns out that we recently moved, and her commute is like 1/4 of what it used to be, so her op costs are a lot less now lol.
Anyway, it is not really too surprising that an old BMW costs ~30% more to operate, excluding the purchase price. Granted, my maintenance costs would be like half if I hadn't modded stuff & reupholstered it. Still, an older car, even one that is a money dump, seems pretty darn economical. Very few people hold on to a car for more than 5 years, let alone 13.
Topic: My E30 318iS Ownership Cost Analysis [DATA] (Read 3843 times)