Chris Bangle, absolute genius or destroyer of BMW?

Chris Bangle is the absolute genius destroyer of BMW.

I think most of the new style is rather odd and it takes genius to do that and increase sales the way BMW have managed.

Actually, I don't like the insides anymore either. I love the classic BMW binnacle/dashboard and think back fondly to the E21/E23/E24/E28 etc. days of the angled centre console; those were the days, proper driver orientated design.

There was a time when BMW's were bought as a "Driver's Car". Nowadays it's seen as just another prestige/status brand.

Larzyh.

flyingalexf68 wrote: I know some owners seem too embarrassed to put the hood down. Like they're trying to show off or something. But I always put the hood down when I had the Z3. Even when it was 1 degree outside. Just so long as it's not raining.

Problem is that (IMHO) most men don't suit convertables.

Now sports-cars are different - when I had one, the hood was ALWAYS down - Especially when it was raining

flyingalexf68@Coasting; I'd say you local BMW salesman is really missing you. How much has that 645 cost him in lost commision. Glad you like the car though. Are you going to buy another one just to keep it fresh or will you have to go for something different? Man I wish I had your problems. [/QUOTE wrote: alex coasting can have our probs and we will share his, you can have the current 6er and i will have the replacement, seems fair

alex coasting can have our probs and we will share his, you can have the current 6er and i will have the replacement, seems fair

flyingalexf68 wrote: @Coasting; I'd say you local BMW salesman is really missing you. How much has that 645 cost him in lost commision. Glad you like the car though. Are you going to buy another one just to keep it fresh or will you have to go for something different? Man I wish I had your problems.

The 650Ci Sport is a possibility, but I've very little reason to change to one right now.  If I did, it'd be changing for changing sake.

There is an interesting excercise in depreciation with the 645 too.

Rule of thumb and pub comment would be to say people expect the 6 to depreciate like a stone.  Indeed I pretty much subscribed to that train of thought when I bought one.

However, when I have looked around out of interest and little more, I have been very pleasantly surprised.  Even Glasses Guide and below guide price was somewhat surprising.

See, it is of course all relative.  If you talk pound notes then it sounds like a huge loss.  However, if you talk percentage terms, which is the only real thing to do when talking about depreciation and the initial cash outlay, then the figures stack up surprisingly well.

People have a habit of comparing a PX or trade price to a list price and saying "Holy wotsit, thats a big loss."

However...

�62,225 or thereabouts was the list price with all the options (its pretty much fully loaded).

The price I paid was actually �55k.

Then, after getting to that price I used the installation of a top-end Tracker and 3 years free servicing to close the deal.  So I went away happy.

So in 20 months the car has cost me...nothing to service.  Nor will it within 36 months.

Then, if I were to trade it in now, and this would depend on what it was put up against, then I'd be looking at anywhere between �38,500 and �44,000.  Thats pretty irrelevant as the balance to change is all that matters, but I've given the figures to demonstrate a point.

So lets take the very bottom figure of that.  The least trade-in price I could expect to get on it.  �38,500.  That would indicate I'd have lost �16,500 on the car in 20 months. 

However..that means, presently, that the car is worth 70% of the price I paid for it.  After almost 2 years (and it'll not change much, if at all, over the summer months as the car recently went up in Glasses and is holding pretty much each month).

So if that trend were to continue, and if the figures were to slide even dramatically in late 2007/early 2008...by my worst calculations if I had it went it hit 3 years old (which is very unlikely) then I'd have a car that was worth 55% of its initial value. 

Now look at other brands and models.  Thats a very good figure indeed, would actually better the prices being realised by 3 year old E46 M3's right now!  I'd never had thought that, not in a month of Sundays.  By the way, yes I accept the fact that the Coupe, for whatever reason, doesn't seem to have held as well as the Convertible.  Its about 3-4% behind for some strange reason.

Anyway, the sun is out and its a belter of a day here, so sod it - I'm off out for some hood down joy.