[AlanQS]

People (and guys in particular) will sometimes find themselves "rationalising" what a good idea it is to spend a large sum of money on something they want.

After having the car nearly a year and reading up on the cars (particularly in these forums) I have a firm idea of what I would have really liked so here's the rationale for getting it.

I should have bought a 325i - creamy smooth 6 cylinder engine in comparison with a much less powerful 4 cylinder diesel. I really would have preferred all the options I do have plus individual paint, individual full merino leather, sat nav and bluetooth, Logic 7, privacy glass, rear blind, sports seats and lumbar control. individual wheel and individual trim and steering wheel heating - I think that's all.

Many of us would retrofit things we missed if we could get them for the same price as the options list so using that list I am going to put a value on the extra I would have for paying for a new car.

Rationalisation one is that it would cost about £17k to change. Number two is that the creamy six cylinder in lieu of diesel would be worth £1,000 to me. Add the extra cost of the new options from the list and the total is just under £11,500. This leaves just over £5,500 unaccounted for.

Now, I haven't actually lost £5,500 because I am getting something for it. It's not the engine or the options, they have been allowed for already. So is it just a straight loss? No. I do get something. Instead of a one year old car, I have a new one. I have 15,000 miles less on the clock and I have an extra year's warranty. That may not be worth £5.5k but it does have a reasonable value.

Therefore, on this basis, trading in a one year old car need not be the disaster it is usually deemed to be!!

Experience tells us that all the above is utter bull but apart from a couple of factual errors (which in turn can be partly rationalised away) it strikes me that it's not immediately apparent why it's bull.

I can think of a few other objections as well but I can rationalise them as well.

If this hasn't bored you too much, feel free to add your critique

[beemerbird]

Alan, does rationalise mean 'justify' per chance?

You have certainly put forward a very strong argument imo. Traditionally, as we are talking about cars here, I fully understand your ref to guys, but passion about something is passion nevermind what sex you are, so the simple answer is...............just bloody go out there and buy the one YOU want. I've traded two cars in now that were not quite a year old. The first I took a hit tbh but it got me on the BMW ladder and the second, in hindsight I got rid of at the right time! Besides you have massaged the above figures beautifully.

Surely there is no price to be put on emotional satisfaction Alan.......does that sound rational enough.

[trixman]

That is some damn fine male rationale there Alan, now go eat some meat and bathe in the warm glow that is the 'emotional satisfaction' justification that beemerbird so kindly laid on the table.

(and quickly, before you actually get the urge to reach for a calculator and a copy of glasses!)

[AlanQS]

Helen, the reason I accentuated males was that it is all too common a thing to hear a husband telling his wife why spending x amount of money is actually a good idea when said wife is playing the role of the conscience the husband does not possess.

Here are further rationalisations.

1. Come the day, it won't be £17k to change but more like £18.5k Once you are on the cusp, explaining away another £1,500 is child's play!

2. The options value I put on the new car included a theoretical £1,000 for the heart of the car - the engine - and also priced the electric seats - £590, the advanced cruise control - £100, the twin exhaust tips - £100, the lights and wiper gadget - £95, and an allowance of £175 for the external chrome trim. The rationalisation is that this is the cost if I had specified them on the 320, it's the price I would have happily paid to get chrome trim if it had been available, and of course the value to me of the engine. In reality, if I had picked the 325i in the first place, the difference in price would only have been £600 for the lot! (And not nearly £2,000)

At the end of the day, the real loss is, in fact, the difference between the trade in value and what I paid for the car - and it ain't £5,500!!

[NFS]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

People (and guys in particular) will sometimes find themselves "rationalising" what a good idea it is to spend a large sum of money on something they want.

After having the car nearly a year and reading up on the cars (particularly in these forums) I have a firm idea of what I would have really liked so here's the rationale for getting it.

I should have bought a 325i - creamy smooth 6 cylinder engine in comparison with a much less powerful 4 cylinder diesel. I really would have preferred all the options I do have plus individual paint, individual full merino leather, sat nav and bluetooth, Logic 7, privacy glass, rear blind, sports seats and lumbar control. individual wheel and individual trim and steering wheel heating - I think that's all.

Many of us would retrofit things we missed if we could get them for the same price as the options list so using that list I am going to put a value on the extra I would have for paying for a new car.

Rationalisation one is that it would cost about £17k to change. Number two is that the creamy six cylinder in lieu of diesel would be worth £1,000 to me. Add the extra cost of the new options from the list and the total is just under £11,500. This leaves just over £5,500 unaccounted for.

Now, I haven't actually lost £5,500 because I am getting something for it. It's not the engine or the options, they have been allowed for already. So is it just a straight loss? No. I do get something. Instead of a one year old car, I have a new one. I have 15,000 miles less on the clock and I have an extra year's warranty. That may not be worth £5.5k but it does have a reasonable value.

Therefore, on this basis, trading in a one year old car need not be the disaster it is usually deemed to be!!

Experience tells us that all the above is utter bull but apart from a couple of factual errors (which in turn can be partly rationalised away) it strikes me that it's not immediately apparent why it's bull.

I can think of a few other objections as well but I can rationalise them as well.

If this hasn't bored you too much, feel free to add your critique

All very persuasive.

My problem is that every time I look to change my car I work out the costs on an ongoing cost per month basis.

So I end up with various scenarios of cost for instance:

a. 2 Years of 330i plus 2 years of m3

a. 2 years of 330i plus retain car for 2 years

Then I work out the cost in terms of my final cash position (value - debt) and the money that I have put into the car over the term (deposit plus monthly payments).

The problem I have with this is that it's always cheaper to stick with my current car.

Your way of working it out is much better if you want to swap and I'd heartily recommend a straight 6 petrol engine

[AlanQS]

Indeed, your analysis is one that would stop most of us before we started. I am cheating in this instance because I don't have a car loan to clear first, otherwise my original rationale would have been total dreamland from the outset.

[beemerbird]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

Helen, the reason I accentuated males was that it is all too common a thing to hear a husband telling his wife why spending x amount of money is actually a good idea when said wife is playing the role of the conscience the husband does not possess.

Alan - totally agree, although when it comes to cars, roles are very much reversed in our house lol. As for a conscience...........fortunately my bloke actually has one........phew! Pity women whose blokes DON'T.

Prefer your first set of figures tbh though Alan - more rational.

[beemerbird]

Originally Posted by trixman

That is some damn fine male rationale there Alan, now go eat some meat and bathe in the warm glow that is the 'emotional satisfaction' justification

Sorry Alan but just have to say to trixman, I like your way of saying things.

[trixman]

Why, tarrrr luv



Oh, and Alan... do it, do it, DO IT... Go on, treat yourself, you know you deserve it. Even if you don't you should anyway.

[Porscha!]

Just do it the Porscha way - no rationale, that is so last year, to hell with the consequences .... BUY IT! Enjoy it and have loadsa fun

May as well have, one day you may not be so lucky with money, health etc. Live life to the fullest you possibly can if that includes buying things you don't REALLY need, so what?!

[willhollin]

Get a 335i Alan, you only live once.

[AlanQS]

That one comes under the rationalisation, "scrap some of the individual items and replace the 325 with a 335".

[trixman]

Originally Posted by willhollin

Get a 335i Alan, you only live once.

oohhhh, he pulled out the 'you only live once' line (Will, seriously, that should only be kept for very special occasions, when all else has failed and you really, really want it)

[beemerbird]

Originally Posted by willhollin

Get a 335i Alan, you only live once.

James Bond doesn't.

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by trixman

oohhhh, he pulled out the 'you only live once' line (Will, seriously, that should only be kept for very special occasions, when all else has failed and you really, really want it)

Life's too short to worry about it mate.

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by beemerbird

James Bond doesn't.

At the end of the day you are correct Helen.

[AlanQS]

If I had obligations and responsibilities only to myself I would have ordered it already...

if that was the case, I would be living on my own....

[willhollin]

Why not compromise a little and get a nearly new one. Dougie's 335i was less than six months old, loads of toys on and it had lost about 15k in that time. His was up for under 30k on the AUC site.

[beemerbird]

Good point Will

Could you sell yours privately Alan and go 'armed' with cash and haggle the dealers down.........great fun no?

[AlanQS]

Problem with that is there is no way I would ever find a used car that was the spec I really wanted - e.g. Blue Onyx with Champagne Merino leather. It also has to have Logic 7 or the individual system. I could live without the privacy glass, the lumbar control, and the rear blind but that is coming close to the limit for my spec of car. Any more deletions and it isn't the car I actually want so why spend the cash.

I was too cautious last year, my budget could easily have stretched another £5k without any pain later on. On top of that, one of my rationalisations trapped me!

One of the justifications was the car loan I had was only £200 per month less than the new car loan was going to be and since the old car was going to require a major major service that year, an M.O.T., it was out of warranty and there was a hint that the ECU was playing up, it did about 15 miles to the gallon less than the 320D, was double the road tax, would need new tyres, and with the mileage I was doing at the time, I was going to have to replace it in about a year anyway and I would have still paid out for all that maintenance. Blah, blah. Therefore, the net monthly outlay was only going to go up by a fraction of that £200 per month figure. So for not a lot more per month I was going to have this marvellous new car.

If I had picked the 325i that would have blown that "excuse" completely out of the water. So I didn't get it...

[trixman]

so... what your saying is, you shouldn't trust your own justifications? Otherwise you would have ended up with the car you actually would've preferred?

Cool. Use ours. Go get that used 335i!

[beemerbird]

Alan....decision time. What is most important to you a 325i specced exactly how you want it......or a used 335i with decent spec?