Why does the year of a car matter so much?

[James Bond]

I recently totaled my BMW 325i - It was a 2002. I'm out looking around for a replacement, and today I stumbled onto a 2000 328Ci. This thing only has about 40,000 miles on it at the moment, and is pretty cheap.

These two cars have the same body style (except the one I'm looking at now is a 2-door).

I find myself wondering why value depreciates so steadily with the year of a car, when milage seems to be the main attribute in a cars "lifeline".

Any thoughts?

Edit:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/mzinz/BMW328.jpg

 

[Ns1]

people are stupid?

 

[Arkaign]

That's a pretty early E46, and they were buggier than later models. The 328 is definitely a step up from the 325 though. I had a 325i 2003 Auto, and it was a bit underpowered for the weight.

An 8+ Year old German car is going to be a fraction of it's original price in almost any situation. Only 40k miles on that example sounds like a very nice find.

Car prices are somewhat arbitrary, so the low cost on that one is chiefly determined by the fact that it's so old. It's kind of like if you found a '96 Ford T-Bird V8 with 15k miles on it. Even though the car might be basically brand-new in terms of wear/tear, the fact that the model/year commands such paltry $$ means that it would have to be sold at a very low price, though maybe slightly higher than the average for that year/model/options.

I think you're on the right track, and that's a good deal as long as there are no issues (flood damage, wreck, missed maintenance windows, etc), and are prepared for BMW maintenance costs. Have you considered looking at G35s? The new G37 has substantially reduced the price of used G35s, and a 6MT G35 is a decidedly more robust car than a 328. The 330i is a closer match to the performance offered.

 

[Thump553]

There are changes every model year, some cosmetic, some substantial.

Are their are components that do deteriorate over time. Ford now reccommends replacing tires every six years regardless of mileage. We had to replace the tires on my elderly father's car a while back because of rot and seperation caused by age. Paint, if the car is stored outside, definately ages.

But I buy cars with the mindset that I will own them until junkyard time, so model years actually matter very little to me.

 

[ViviTheMage]

oddly, changes are made yearly...mechanically, and electronically. I think they (almost all car makers), really just keep the engines and chassis stuffs the same. Kind of like how they release 'different' PS3's. The older ones are a bit buggier, then the newer ones, hardware and software wise.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Once they reach a certain age the miles do really start to matter and add a good bit to the price.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

just because a 2004 car looks identical to a 2005, they are different cars. sometimes, the changes are cosmetic, minor mechincals, or options. sometimes the 2004 will have a serious flaw that is corrected in the 05. do your homework.

 

[James Bond]

Hi guys - thanks for the input!

It looks like the 328Ci was only made that one year, so I guess I'll have to compare it to the 325s.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Well, like our Expedition for an example, the difference between the 2005 model and 2006 model was the transition from the 260hp 2 valve 5.4L V8 to the 300hp 3 valve V8. Asthetically there were opening rear windows, which looked identical to the 2005's. Other than that the trucks were near identical. But obviously there was a serious power difference, as well as slightly higher fuel economy on the 2006 model.

 

[Dman877]

My father had 1999 323i and one of our neighbors had a 99 328i. Both of them developed serious brake issues in the 60k range. I know my dad had to replace his brake rotors at least three times and no one could figure out why they were so screwed up.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: Thump553
There are changes every model year, some cosmetic, some substantial.

Are their are components that do deteriorate over time. Ford now reccommends replacing tires every six years regardless of mileage. We had to replace the tires on my elderly father's car a while back because of rot and seperation caused by age. Paint, if the car is stored outside, definately ages.

yup. sometimes the changes are significant. take a 02' maxima and 03' maxima for example. same style, different engine. the 03' is a few grand more.

 

[Shawn]

mileage shouldn't be the only thing you take into consideration when buying a car. just because this car might have less mileage doesn't mean that it doesn't have 2 more years worth of UV damage done to the paint and interior from the sun. it depends if it was garage kept or not.

 

[James Bond]

Thanks for the advice - Depending on what the dealer says about an inspection, I'll probably end up picking it up.

 

[GoatMonkey]

On top of what the other guys said, a low mileage older car tends to indicate a car that is used only for short trips which would mean that the car usually never gets a chance to warm up. So, it could have more wear than the mileage indicates. Also, it would mean that the car could be sitting for long periods of time between starts and at that point there would be less oil still lingering in the engine during startup, causing more wear.

Edit: Also, the warranty will have lost more time on an older car assuming it's still under warranty at all.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Old BMWs are money pits. The more they age, the more they will cost you in maintenance and upkeep.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey
On top of what the other guys said, a low mileage older car tends to indicate a car that is used only for short trips which would mean that the car usually never gets a chance to warm up. So, it could have more wear than the mileage indicates. Also, it would mean that the car could be sitting for long periods of time between starts and at that point there would be less oil still lingering in the engine during startup, causing more wear.

Edit: Also, the warranty will have lost more time on an older car assuming it's still under warranty at all.

Yup, a far higher percentage of the miles driven are on a cold engine. A 40,000 mile car could even have more raw cold miles than an 80,000 mile car. I drive my car nearly 40,000 miles per year, but it only gets driven about 1 cold mile per day because the car never cools down after the first morning startup. Compare that to Mrs. Trophy Wife, who might put 10 cold miles on her BMW per day because she is in and out several times per day for tiny trips to the nail salon and shoe store and the car never warms up. I'll take 100 warm miles over 10 cold ones, any day.

It's either that or it's someone's weekend car, in which case all those miles were brutal thrasher miles.

I look at condition, year, and solid maintenance records before looking at mileage.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey
On top of what the other guys said, a low mileage older car tends to indicate a car that is used only for short trips which would mean that the car usually never gets a chance to warm up. So, it could have more wear than the mileage indicates. Also, it would mean that the car could be sitting for long periods of time between starts and at that point there would be less oil still lingering in the engine during startup, causing more wear.

Edit: Also, the warranty will have lost more time on an older car assuming it's still under warranty at all.

Yup, a far higher percentage of the miles driven are on a cold engine. A 40,000 mile car could even have more raw cold miles than an 80,000 mile car. I drive my car nearly 40,000 miles per year, but it only gets driven about 1 cold mile per day because the car never cools down after the first morning startup. Compare that to Mrs. Trophy Wife, who might put 10 cold miles on her BMW per day because she is in and out several times per day for tiny trips to the nail salon and shoe store and the car never warms up. I'll take 100 warm miles over 10 cold ones, any day.

It's either that or it's someone's weekend car, in which case all those miles were brutal thrasher miles.

I look at condition, year, and solid maintenance records before looking at mileage.

It's actually not the warming up, but the lubrication, as far as I know. It just happens that you can tell how much lubrication has happened by how hot the oil is.

How long does your car take to warm up? My WJ is "warm" within a mile, maybe two

 

[Jumpem]

Here in northern NY the issue is rust.

I avoid used cars because of it. A new car will get tiny rust spots it's first winter from stone chips in the paint. Usually touch up paint will take care of it. But I would expect a car around five years old to start having real rust problems.