Poll: Salary to afford a new E46 M3?

Originally Posted by EdCT

It's not a matter of "k", it's "iq" and pick one.

Seriously dude, what a dumb question!!

There are so many factors: do you live at home with mommy and daddy, do you take trips, do you save money or just piss it away, do you have a girlfriend....

Just asking a question like this shows your priorities are, to put it kindly, out of whack.

Ed

True. There are many factors wich will dictate whether you can afford an M3. I am an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army, and I own an e46 M3.

here is an answer I can live with.

http://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/i...story=20041110

Monthly car expenses (payment, insurance, gas, repairs, etc.) should not exceed 20% of your monthly gross income

I sell these and I am 27 and have an 05 M3 ZCP so I see the young kids come in all the time. We lease 80% of M3's and average payment with no money down is around 900 a month. BMW Fin says you need to make around 75k a year to afford the payment, if you asking if you can afford it or how much you need to make than you should not get it. you never want to strap yourself for a car, buy or lease a 330 or 325 or a CPO one, nothing wrong with that, doesn't matter if you live with mommy or daddy who cares just remember these cars are a specialtiy car, and if you have to change your life style than pass.

Originally Posted by warhog1978

I sell these and I am 27 and have an 05 M3 ZCP so I see the young kids come in all the time. We lease 80% of M3's and average payment with no money down is around 900 a month. BMW Fin says you need to make around 75k a year to afford the payment, if you asking if you can afford it or how much you need to make than you should not get it. you never want to strap yourself for a car, buy or lease a 330 or 325 or a CPO one, nothing wrong with that, doesn't matter if you live with mommy or daddy who cares just remember these cars are a specialtiy car, and if you have to change your life style than pass.

I wasn't asking if "I" could afford it; I know I definitely can. I was just asking for opinions on what people felt the average salary required in general would be to purchase something of this value.

I agree with your numbers above though, 75k+ seems like it should be the bare minimum to consider this car (for a regular single wage earner that isn't putting a ton down). Leasing is a little different than buying though. Thanks for the 80% feedback though, I didnt realize that 80%+ of all M3's were leased, that's definitely news to me.

Consider a house before a $60k 3-series. My wife and I own a nice house each make over $100k and no kids. It wasn't until I was in this situation could I justify buying a new M. Also, leasing is extremely foolish unless you own a business.

Originally Posted by Hit_Apex

Consider a house before a $60k 3-series. My wife and I own a nice house each make over $100k and no kids. It wasn't until I was in this situation could I justify buying a new M. Also, leasing is extremely foolish unless you own a business.

If my wife and I both made over 100K a year and didn't have any kids to worry about I'd be driving something a *little* more expensive then the M3. You either have some serious debt or worship money in the bank if with 200K/year and no kids you can "justify" an M3.

How about a REALIZED income of 25-30k?

BTW, Moderato, how is '06 STi? Is it much improve over '05?

i waited until i could comfortably buy it with cash

Originally Posted by TracerHawk

I didnt realize that 80%+ of all M3's were leased, that's definitely news to me.

I didn't either, and that's a pretty sad statement if it is actually true. I wouldn't be surprised if a big chunk or majority of them are in the southern california area.

The car should be a maximum of half your salary, or else you're in debt.

I dont believe i'm hearing this....do you guys know the cost of m3's in Uk..Then theres running costs,insurance and the deaded fuel costs...

You people are so lucky that you car doesnt cost a mortgage...

Answer to you poll.....you need to be pretty minted to have one here

I wonder what percent of 5's and 7's are leased...

Originally Posted by Moderato

If my wife and I both made over 100K a year and didn't have any kids to worry about I'd be driving something a *little* more expensive then the M3. You either have some serious debt or worship money in the bank if with 200K/year and no kids you can "justify" an M3.

That may be P-car territory back East...but we live in the Bay Area so my wife and I "settled" for one M3 each.

I guess I could get a Carrera S but that would seriously reduce the length and frequency of our Vegas and Tahoe escapades.

Originally Posted by De_UnKnOwN_1

dont forget maintenence

and all the gas, becuase this car was not made to be fuel friendly

(sorry if spelling is off somewhere)

Free maintence. 4yr 50K miles or so the commercials claim. An 05 is still new... for another month. Wow, that would make a great christmas present... for myself

Divide your salary by 3, that's the price of the car you should get !

Multiply your salary by 3, that's the value of a mortgage you should undertake for a new home assuming 20% down, no PMI and a reasonable interest rate (i.e. under 6.5%).

Doing more than that means your eyes are likely bigger than your wallet or your brain.

Of course, there are lots of assumptions here but this is my baseline.

I think this poll would have totally different results over at e46fanatics. Anyone care to post it?

Originally Posted by jetstream23

Divide your salary by 3, that's the price of the car you should get !

Multiply your salary by 3, that's the value of a mortgage you should undertake for a new home assuming 20% down, no PMI and a reasonable interest rate (i.e. under 6.5%).

Doing more than that means your eyes are likely bigger than your wallet or your brain.

Of course, there are lots of assumptions here but this is my baseline.

That's pretty conservative compared to what the bank will tell you... not that they have any interest in it.

When house shopping, we got a pre-approval letter from the bank in case the buyers were worried about the deal falling through. It was ridiculous how much money they were willing to lend us. I think we bought something 1/3 the price, which presented a problem... the buyers asked to see the letter but the amount was on there. As we're negotiating, the amount on there was the last thing I wanted them to see.

My personal opinion with a luxury purchase is you purchase it cash or should have the cash ready to purchase it.... leasing / borrowing should be a tax or money opportunity advantage if that is the route you take .. otherwise there are many other cars out there at different price points that are very nice .. it's good to have your priorities in check $$$ wise .... why live ghetto rich just to drive a nicer car if you can't back it up ... sorry, if that's not what you wanted to hear .. but it's only an opinion...

Originally Posted by BayAreaBMWFan

You need to make the salary/dependent to account for the variables.
A single guy making 60K can easily plunk down the $700-800 a month to lease the M3.
A married guy making $150K will have to think twice.
Throw in kids and your survey is meaningless.

You can say that again.

Originally Posted by TracerHawk

Lets keep it simple guys. I bet less than 1% of M3 owners live with Mommy and Daddy, what a dumb statement. What a dumb statement Ed. It doesnt have anything whatsoever if MY priorities are out of whack, I'm just curious what others view as an acceptable range to be able to afford an M3? Simple enough? Fair enough? Sheesh.

I agree, there are many independent factors like if you have a wife/kid/family to feed, if you have a second income, etc etc etc. I mean for a regular, single, 1 income earner man or woman. IF you were single and wanted to get an M3, how much salary would say you should have to afford this car. I don't mind the gas/insurance/maintenance aspects. I figure if you can afford the car, you can afford what goes with it in terms of costs.

I liked the rule of thumb suggested that your annual income should be twice the cars value, thats a good general barometer I think.

Thanks for the votes on the survey. Just opinions guys, no need to stress.

in LA I see PLEANTY of KIDS that drive M3's and I am sure STILL live with mommy and daddy

i agree with the rule of thumb, my personal opinion only. but i try to always go by your car loan at most should be 1/2 your annual gross salary. it's just a rule of thumb.

Originally Posted by throwbacklids

i agree with the rule of thumb, my personal opinion only. but i try to always go by your car loan at most should be 1/2 your annual gross salary. it's just a rule of thumb.

half your salary for a car loan?!!!

Originally Posted by liuk3

half your salary for a car loan?!!!

I think he meant that the amount loaned should not exceed 1/2 of your annual income, meaning if you want to borrow $55K for a car, you'd better make over $110K in income.

It used to be that a more reasonable rate would be about 1/4-1/3rd your annual income, but with the lower interest rates lately that rule has basically gone out the window.

Originally Posted by The HACK

I think he meant that the amount loaned should not exceed 1/2 of your annual income, meaning if you want to borrow $55K for a car, you'd better make over $110K in income.

It used to be that a more reasonable rate would be about 1/4-1/3rd your annual income, but with the lower interest rates lately that rule has basically gone out the window.

yeah, i guess my perspective is skewed a bit more conservatively 'cause my folks are so averse to unnecessary debt. it just seemed kinda excessive to me (using your example) to take out a $55k loan when you're making $110k. with those kind of numbers, a guy making only $110k could be easily be driving around in a late-model porsche. if i needed to take out a loan that big, my mom would tell me to go buy a perfectly good and reliable toyota.

Originally Posted by liuk3

yeah, i guess my perspective is skewed a bit more conservatively 'cause my folks are so averse to unnecessary debt. it just seemed kinda excessive to me (using your example) to take out a $55k loan when you're making $110k. with those kind of numbers, a guy making only $110k could be easily be driving around in a late-model porsche. if i needed to take out a loan that big, my mom would tell me to go buy a perfectly good and reliable toyota.

bad american, buy buy buy