[nosonyx550]

I have a 2013 550 Msport, 15k miles. Car is only worth 48k??? Really. What a disappointment.

[ferrarif1]

Since you chose not to share any details of where that number came from, let me state that the Manheim auction value for an "average" condition/options 2013 550xi with 15000 miles is $54,900.

There were 6 sold recently with an average selling price of $54,100 and 18k miles.

[mike@x-ph.com]

BMWs do not hold their price very well.
Its mainly because the maintenance cost

[r3amir]

More expensive the car, more money to lose, doesn't matter BMW or not

[Noggie]

Was this a trade in deal?

If selling prices are like FerrariF1 say, approx 54.000, a trade in of 48.000 is not that far off.
Dealer has to take into account a technical check of your car, to have it cleaned and prepped for the showroom. a "risk" budget in case something has to be fixed. then there is a layover margin in case the car does not sell in 6-12 months. and then the profit margin.

I asked for a trade in deal on a 2003 325Ci I had back in 2007.
Trade in offer was 24% below expected sales price.
Sold the car on my own 3 months later for 3% below expected sales price.

I just bought my -12 F11 M550xd with 17.000miles at 70% of the new price, and I think the dealer still had a decent profit on the car, so the loss for the first owner was probably a bit more than 30% in the 1,5 year he had it. It sat at the dealer for 6 months depreciating before I bought it.

[martin mustang]

It is down to your business with the dealer in question, when my dealer offered me ridiculous trade in on my E60, after questioning why I was getting better offer from other Dealers I never did business with, they offered to beat them on offer to keep me, I was 3k better off. So the moral of the story always shop around, and use the best offer to get even better ones, of course this is down to many factors, so you just have to try!

[pillpusher84]

Originally Posted by nosonyx550

I have a 2013 550 Msport, 15k miles. Car is only worth 48k??? Really. What a disappointment.

What did you expect? You are looking to sell a "newer" car in the prime of the depreciation phase (first 1-2 years) ... you always take the biggest hit in this period.

I assume this is trade in on a stripped 550 M-Sport @ $48k ... but in any event not really surprised

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by nosonyx550

I have a 2013 550 Msport, 15k miles. Car is only worth 48k??? Really. What a disappointment.

1. What was the original MSRP? Two cars can be separated by $25k of options.

2. Was this a dealer trade offer? If so, you're always going to be heavily low-balled.

3. The worst depreciation happens in the first few years of ownership. You'd have to be crazy, rich, or desperate to flip a car like this after 1 year. The loss will be large, and that has nothing to do with BMW specifically.

[Seattle135is]

Originally Posted by nosonyx550

I have a 2013 550 Msport, 15k miles. Car is only worth 48k??? Really. What a disappointment.

Region plays a major role as well - I consigned a '11 550 Sport with 29k miles - sold for $46K in Seattle - I got $44k in my pocket and a my posting on the same a few weeks ago praised the resale value.

[///SAL]

I never buy cars over 50k, it anit worth it

[omaralt]

I just checked my 13 550i m sport and executive packages (msrp of $74K) and trade in is $49k and private party is $52k. I have 12k miles and the car is under a year old (august 2013). Thankfully I leased but it is eye opening that the car would depreciate so much in under a year

[Stormbitch]

The value of your car means nothing - the only barometer is what people are paying for them on Auto trader or what ever you have. 54 - 48 is actually about right if you bought it new... lesson learned. If you bought it used... then someone at a dealer is having a laugh. Never listen to any traders valuations.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by omaralt

I just checked my 13 550i m sport and executive packages (msrp of $74K) and trade in is $49k and private party is $52k. I have 12k miles and the car is under a year old (august 2013). Thankfully I leased but it is eye opening that the car would depreciate so much in under a year

The 1st year hit is large. Again, nothing to do with it being a BMW either. It's all percentage-based, and obviously the larger price of the car, the bigger the drop. But that's why you don't flip cars, either. Keeping them for 3 - 6 years is usually the right decision as you hit the sweet spot of extracted value and resale.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

The 1st year hit is large. Again, nothing to do with it being a BMW either. It's all percentage-based, and obviously the larger price of the car, the bigger the drop. But that's why you don't flip cars, either. Keeping them for 3 - 6 years is usually the right decision as you hit the sweet spot of extracted value and resale.

Same here in the UK, financial suicide to trade too early. Really needs 5 or 6 years to get best value from a new motor. Or buy nearly new and save a decent figure. I bought my 535i (from a BMW dealer, ex BMW UK HQ car) 14-months old, 6,000 miles, for less than 60% of new list.

HighlandPete

[martin mustang]

Auto Express completed an experiment once in London, buy checking the value of brand new cars the very next day after delivery with the very same dealers, even small nissan micra lost up to 30% value the very next day, so BMW is not the issue, it simply down to buying new, this my 7th brand new car, 5 of them using finance, but my last 2 cash, I plan to hold on to my F10 for a while it simply nuts to trade my 2011 now, and yes the chances my next one will be a new one i just have to hold on to this one for a while to limit the damage to my pocket.

[SonicEndeavor]

The 5 series about average in terms of depreciation (3 out of 5 stars) according to ALG which is the industry standard for depreciation.
https://www.alg.com/insights/depreciation-ratings/

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Same here in the UK, financial suicide to trade too early. Really needs 5 or 6 years to get best value from a new motor. Or buy nearly new and save a decent figure. I bought my 535i (from a BMW dealer, ex BMW UK HQ car) 14-months old, 6,000 miles, for less than 60% of new list.

HighlandPete

That's honestly the way to do it - buy NEARLY new, so someone else (poor sucker who flipped a 1 year old car or less) takes the biggest depreciation hit. I've kept my previous BMWs for an average of 6 years a piece. I've been very happy with the resale.

[Boulder Bill]

Always hard to find the right deal on a "slightly" used vehicle. I bought my car with 1,500 miles on it. First owner put 350 miles on, then the sales manager added 1,200.

There was some risk I suppose (since I bought it sight unseen), but 20,000 miles later, it appears to have been a good deal. I'm not sure what kind of beating the first owner took, though it must have been bruising. But I paid $68,000 on a $82,000 sticker. This included roughly $2,000 for shipping from Boston to Colorado. Manuals were very hard to find!

I'm sure I still took a huge depreciation hit in the first year of ownership. But nothing like I would have taken had I bought new. Generally, I think the sweet spot for a used car purchase is 10,000 to 20,000 miles. Then hang on to it for a few years!

[BavariaExclusive]

Well you don't buy cars as an investment. They depreciate in value by the hour. If u were expecting a rate of return then I can see why you're so disappointed.

[Sum1.]

It's worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Think that's bad? All these mods we do will net nothing.

[i_max2k2]

I have found that the car's sweet spot is to buy it less then 15kmiles and less then 1 yr used with 2 yrs of CPO added, normal annual depreciation out of the way, then keep it for at least 6yrs (5 of which will be in warranty!).

[mness]

Hmm, I wouldn't have believed it, but edmunds.com came up with 47k trade-in, and 52k dealer retail for a stripped 550 (since you don't say what you have, but I checked the 19" wheels and SAT options) with 15000 mi and "outstanding" condition.

For comparison, my 2013 535 with similar mileage (but I included my options which added 6-8k to the edmunds price) came back 45k trade, 50.5k dealer retail, pretty darn close to your 550.

So how exactly did you get your number?