So for the past few posts, I had been promising to talk about the depreciation schedule of the 350Z. However, my sales agent at the Nissan dealership had really jerked me around for 3 weeks, and finally on Friday, I got him to admit he hadn't even ordered my car yet.
This really angered me, and it caused me to rethink the Z. Frankly, my parents and friends have been telling me to look at other cars in the same range, and consider both insurance premiums and resale value. Thus, I began to look at the Audi TT, Infiniti G35, and the BMW 3 Series Coupes.
After looking at the 3 cars, I realized that the Audi TT was a little out of my range with options, and the G35 reminded me too much of the Z. So I went to my Nissan dealership, took back my deposit, and started shopping for BMWs.
There was only one 3 series coupe on the lot, so I took it for a test drive. Thankfully, it was automatic and came with the premium package, heated seats, and some other niceties. I liked the feel, and the outside just looks amazing in the jet black color.
We sat down for negotiations which initially involved me storming out of the dealership because the manager came over and tried to smooth talk and then belittle my understanding of how buying a BMW works. He made it sound as if paying sticker price was normal, and getting any discount was outrageous.
Anyway, 2 hours later, we called back and the real theatrics started. They started with the price they quoted me at the dealership and I countered with a number I was willing to pay cash for. They then bargained a bit, and after about 4 hours, my parents and I got a great bargain.
The MSRP on the vehicle was $42,000, and the first price they quoted me was $39,000 pre-tax. At the end of the day, we got an out the door price of $41,300 or a pre-tax and fees price of about $38,300 or a savings of $700. Thinking back, I laugh at the dealership manager's suggestion that I didn't know how to buy a BMW.Anyway, so now on the bigger story: how to pay and rationalize this purchase?
1) Payment is through a partial payment by me and a generous loan from my parents
2) Rationalization
a) Re-sale value: Looking up a few figures, I can estimate from comparable BMW 3 Series modes that the annual depreciation with be about 11%.
b) Insurance: About $25 / month cheaper than the Z due to 4-seater and lower HP.
3) Monthly payments are only about $100 more, but the insurance and re-sale value more than offset that difference
