Why so many low mileage examples on the market?

[MVDsF30]

Hi all, thanks in advance for your advice.

I'll try and keep it short. Ive been a BMW guy since I had E36, still have a heavily modded E46, E53, F10, F30 (335) and now F01.

Interested in a 2018 F80 in S.O., Comp and Exec. package w/ DCT. Looking at this because its towards the end of the run and hopefully most of the bugs have been worked out of it. I have been doing a lot of reading. I guess my main concern is I see a lot of M3 / M4s for sale that have very or relatively low miles under or around 10k. Why are people getting into these cars and getting out of them so soon after. I've seen it with custom order or cars with 1-2 k and willing to take a loss to break a lease or sell the car. Curious to find out some of the reasons from you guys before I find out the hard way.

Thanks again.

[ntg44]

As an owner for 2 years, all I can say is this is probably the most rock solid M3 since the e36, at least if you keep it stock tune. If I had to complain about the car, it would be the following:

Exhaust note: not great, but not bad either. I’d liken it to “cool” sounding, if you keep the stock exhaust with valves open. Engine definitely has a motorsporty sound, but the exhaust can buzz a bit under WOT, but luckily you can’t hear it from inside the cabin. With active sound off I think it sounds pretty good.

Traction control tuning: way too aggressive. Cuts power way too early, and makes the car feel jittery when flooring it. MDM is better in warmer temps, but first gear will still give you trouble. But turning off TC really surprises me with the amount of grip, and as long as the wheel is pointed straight and road is dry, the car doesn’t exhibit that jittery behavior, but it’s not the safest to drive with TC off if you have a heavy foot like me.

Power delivery: very non-M traditionally speaking. Huge torque spike at 3000 rpm, and kinda loses steam after 6000 rpm, even though redline is at 7600. Still fastest to shift at redline, but the peaky power feeling just isn’t there like the N/A M engines.

There might be other gripes, but the above are what I’d say concern me if you held a gun to my head. But despite this, the car is still incredible to drive, and much of the above can be improved. I’d say if you’re interested to at least drive one on a spirited trip to get a feel for just how much they affect your driving experience. I know I plan to keep mine a long time.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by MVDsF30

Hi all, thanks in advance for your advice.

I'll try and keep it short. Ive been a BMW guy since I had E36, still have a heavily modded E46, E53, F10, F30 (335) and now F01.

Interested in a 2018 F80 in S.O., Comp and Exec. package w/ DCT. Looking at this because its towards the end of the run and hopefully most of the bugs have been worked out of it. I have been doing a lot of reading. I guess my main concern is I see a lot of M3 / M4s for sale that have very or relatively low miles under or around 10k. Why are people getting into these cars and getting out of them so soon after. I've seen it with custom order or cars with 1-2 k and willing to take a loss to break a lease or sell the car. Curious to find out some of the reasons from you guys before I find out the hard way.

Thanks again.

Partially because the F80/F82 lease are generally very good in comparison to it's competition, even now. It's perfect for those types of people that likes to hop in between performance cars often year after year and there are quite a lot of them online. Most of them tries to sell them privately to get as much out of it as possible and not CarMax or something.

If you look at a C63(s), Giulia QV etc those are at least +$400 more per month generally. Eventually the F80/F82 depreciation will plateau but that is going to happen after the M4 is also done in production (another year.)

P.S. A Benz C43 lease is almost as much as a F80 M3. Just to give you an idea.

[clubracer6]

Seems like the used market is swelling. My Autotrader saved search continues to grow every day that I look. Waiting for my car to sell before pulling the trigger on one. I think the deals will continue to get better. But to your point, yes, many sub 10k mike 17's out there.

[aBMWfan]

High production numbers, competitive leases. Hope there are more aftermarket solutions down to road for a number of things

[MannyS]

There are many people that have low mileage M cars because they are weekend cars only or a toy sitting next to another toy car in the garage. My wife swaps out her M cabrio about every 20-30 months and the cars usually have <10K miles. Our adult daughter is the lucky one because she gets mom’s “old” car.

[boglehead]

I never really understood the garage queen mentality. At the end of the day it is a 4 door sedan and not an exotic sports car.

As OP has noticed, it does make for a low mileage used market. Which is good for those looking to get into a car 1-2 years old.

[SMGCFP]

I'm in between garage queen and DD. I drive it in the rain, and exclusively from April until mid December. These cars are not fun to drive when it's cold. I could put snows/winter tires on, but then I'm in for rims too, because I'm not going to roll on 20's with winter tires. The potholes here are pretty bad. I have 25k in 33 months of ownership.

It's not an exotic sports car, but when the roads are slush covered or the pavement is 10 degrees, what's the point of driving the car? Taking sweeping exit ramps at 90 MPH with no body roll and extreme grip is fun. When it's cold, the tires don't stick so you have to drive slower, which I can do in my X2.

[robopp]

Originally Posted by SMGCFP

I'm in between garage queen and DD. I drive it in the rain, and exclusively from April until mid December. These cars are not fun to drive when it's cold. I could put snows/winter tires on, but then I'm in for rims too, because I'm not going to roll on 20's with winter tires. The potholes here are pretty bad. I have 25k in 33 months of ownership.

It's not an exotic sports car, but when the roads are slush covered or the pavement is 10 degrees, what's the point of driving the car? Taking sweeping exit ramps at 90 MPH with no body roll and extreme grip is fun. When it's cold, the tires don't stick so you have to drive slower, which I can do in my X2.

Dedicated snow wheels are a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a ‘winter’ car.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

total noob question... so if i gripe the steering wheel with both hands firmly and am only going straight. I can drive with traction control off and floor it....i got slight "agoraphobia" after i spun out on the highway

[R3dliner]

A lot more F8x cars produced than E9x's. Reason why E9x prices are still strong and F8x prices are on the decline.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

also to note...the prices will eventually find the bottom of the depreciation curve...i think a lot of people are freaking out because; the market is saturated right now and they are in the peak of depreciation.

[SMGCFP]

Originally Posted by robopp

Dedicated snow wheels is a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a ‘winter’ car.

Wasn't going for cheaper. Plus, if I need to make a Home Depot run or after I play soccer (where the parking lot is all gravel) I can use the X2. I'm not a fanatic about taking care of the car but I try not to park it in field type lots (think fairgrounds) or throw lots of cargo in it.

I was honestly back and forth on the snow wheel thing and then a guy who works here who has an M3 did the wheel thing. I didn't like the way it looked. Not saying it's wrong. The post asked why all the cars have low mileage, and I offered my response. I wasn't trying to debate whether or not you should drive the car in the winter, I was explaining that I don't, and that may be why some of these cars have lower than expected mileage.

[Flacht3]

Didn't read the thread but I'll give my story.

I put 2,500 miles a year on my M4. Sold it 2 years in with 5,000 miles. By all means, it's a "low mileage example" but I think you find many situations with these cars where people don't drive them much and/or get bored.

I don't commute to work, so it was my weekend car. It was fun and I love the M cars but I got to a point where it didn't feel special enough as a weekend car (don't get me wrong, I still loved it) and I didn't have enough use for a daily driver. So I sold it, hopped into more of a true "weekend car" and the next-guy got a great, babied, low-mileage M4 at a major discount.

That's probably true for many folks here. Whether it's the desire for a new car every 2-3 years, having multiple cars and not commuting in one car consistently, etc.

Doesn't mean they're bad cars. They're great cars...if they fit what you're looking for. In my case, I found something to better suite my needs.