M3 - Cost to own (including depreciation costs)?

[FrankTheTank]

I am a bit on the fence about buying a new M3 and being a spreadsheet guy, I love to try and figure out the true cost to own a car per year. There are some older posts on here for maintenance costs (which seem to be very small or $0 over the first few years) so that leaves me with:

1) depreciation costs
2) insurance costs
3) electricity costs

The big elephant in the room is depreciation. With the used car market being so crazy right now, it is hard to use current prices and traditional depreciation models (KBB, Edmunds, etc.) seem to assume a Tesla depreciates the same as every other EV which I don't think is fair/accurate. People pay a premium for a used Apple product vs. a used Dell product and I thin the same holds true for a Tesla (at least for now).

Anyone worked on these numbers recently or should I start from scratch? Thank you.

 

[Shelburne]

Since turning in my leased Volvo S60 and getting my M3LR last September, my insurance rate actually went down a few dollars a month. But your experience may vary based on where you live, how many miles you drive and what company insures your car. Electric costs vary depending on where you live, on what time of day you charge the car, and also the temperature range. Also, the cost to charge at Tesla Supercharges varies depending on where the Supercharger is located. So I don't think you can get any sort of "global" statistic on insurance costs or electricity costs

 

[cougar1968]

1) I can’t speak to the depreciation because here in CA used Tesla’s are selling for the same price as new ones.

2) my insurance went up about $70 a month, however, I came from a Honda Accord which are generally cheap to insure. Obviously this all depends on location, driving record, coverage etc.

3) I’ve only had my M3 for less then a month and have not received an energy bill yet. I have solar though and will report back with an update.

 

[Jeremy3292]

As a CPA myself I am definitely a spreadsheet guy. Progressive has by far the best insurance rates, $100 a month for very good coverage here in Greenville, SC. Was a Geico guy for years and they are literally 3x the cost of Progressive.

I generally ignore depreciation when buying a new car as everyone knows new cars lose value rapidly once titled. So I would say if you’re buying a new car and concerned about the resale value you’re looking at it from the wrong lens.

As far as maintenance, I am hopeful there won’t be much based on what I have seen on these forums. Cabin air filters and tires basically from what I can tell. You might go through tires quicker than an ICE car.

Electricity costs are immaterial IMO at $0.13 per kWh where I am. If your electrical provider offers cheaper rates at off peak hours even better, mine does not. I also have access to L2 chargers at work in the garage, you may as well.

 

[ODWms]

Funny. I left Progressive, and went to Geico specifically because Geico’s price was so much better. All this depends upon so many factors, it probably isn’t very helpful to glean other people’s personal experience from a website. Most likely it’s more useful to directly compare the same coverages from different companies utilizing your own specific data/circumstances.