Quote Originally Posted by Smokey Bear View Post
Dergside - You're not exactly the run of the mill BMW owner looking for a cheap way to tick the box of owning a BMW with a nice get out clause at then end when they decide they want a change.
I think I'm flattered

I'm probably more of a skin flint than you think. Perhaps the difference is that I try to look at the total cost of ownership, rather than getting caught up on the individual costs and look for a risk management strategy. I'm willing to pay a bit more in road tax, etc. to offset depreciation, VRT or another of the big ticket costs over the life of the car with me. I'll also pay a little over the odds for some cars to get the condition, provenance and service history that improve my chances of avoiding having to spend big on things going wrong through neglect or abuse. Where I focus is, with some exceptions through the years, on low mile, historied 6-10 year old cars that have done the greatest part of their depreciation but have the capability to provide a few years of service for the 20-25k miles I do a year while still leaving a bit of life at the end of my tenure for the next guy. The 630 is an example, 90% depreciated from original price when I bought it, but about 30-40% used up. After the €100k the first guy dropped in depreciation the price of 6 months tax a year when its on the road pales in to insignificance.