[temeculaguy]

sdcellar, congrats on the purchase but mostly congrats on using the greatest metric of homebuying, your payment’s relativity to your current rent. Close to rent is good enough usually, same as rent is great but less than rent is fantastic. Having the mindset that you are not investing, you are merely fixing costs and hedging inflation will make this move a sound one. Good work, look forward to the details, moving normally sucks but I found that buying after renting for a while makes the move less painful, not quite fun but close. More like satisfying, because as you finish each portion of the move, you get to say to yourself “I’m not going to have to move that again for a very long time.”

[temeculaguy]

sdcellar, congrats on the purchase but mostly congrats on using the greatest metric of homebuying, your payment’s relativity to your current rent. Close to rent is good enough usually, same as rent is great but less than rent is fantastic. Having the mindset that you are not investing, you are merely fixing costs and hedging inflation will make this move a sound one. Good work, look forward to the details, moving normally sucks but I found that buying after renting for a while makes the move less painful, not quite fun but close. More like satisfying, because as you finish each portion of the move, you get to say to yourself “I’m not going to have to move that again for a very long time.”

[temeculaguy]

sdcellar, congrats on the purchase but mostly congrats on using the greatest metric of homebuying, your payment’s relativity to your current rent. Close to rent is good enough usually, same as rent is great but less than rent is fantastic. Having the mindset that you are not investing, you are merely fixing costs and hedging inflation will make this move a sound one. Good work, look forward to the details, moving normally sucks but I found that buying after renting for a while makes the move less painful, not quite fun but close. More like satisfying, because as you finish each portion of the move, you get to say to yourself “I’m not going to have to move that again for a very long time.”

[temeculaguy]

sdcellar, congrats on the purchase but mostly congrats on using the greatest metric of homebuying, your payment’s relativity to your current rent. Close to rent is good enough usually, same as rent is great but less than rent is fantastic. Having the mindset that you are not investing, you are merely fixing costs and hedging inflation will make this move a sound one. Good work, look forward to the details, moving normally sucks but I found that buying after renting for a while makes the move less painful, not quite fun but close. More like satisfying, because as you finish each portion of the move, you get to say to yourself “I’m not going to have to move that again for a very long time.”

[temeculaguy]

Your technical explanation explains the economics of what I’ve notice, that the flagships fall off a cliff for resale value at about 4-5 years. The 6 and 7 are in the 90-100k range new, the 3 and 5 are are half the price, at about 5 years old, the price differential is 10k or less. Your explanation sheds light as to some of the reasons why and why more than one dealer/broker have tried to explain that the flagships cost more to maintain and have more problems. I appreciate the input, I may go another direction. Sometimes I wish they would make a four seat corvette.

Ren, I know the dealer service is overpriced but even from independant mechanics, I was hearing about exponential price markups for the higher end models, (ie. brakes on a 6 series cost double that of a 3), it seemed unique to german cars. How did you like your porsche? The 911’s hold their value fairly well so they are out of my price range, the boxter has great reliability ratings but just two seats so that only leaves the cayanne as being able to fit my needs and price range. I’m not sure I love the cayanne as far as how they look, so they haven’t been on my radar all that much. Even the $400 you mentioned for the oil change/routine service, I can’t get past the fact that the same service on a lexus/infiniti/acura would cost under $100, but none of them get me all that excited. Since I’m looking at used, more than just oil changes are likely in my future. The left and right side of my brain are in an all out war on this damn car issue.

[temeculaguy]

Your technical explanation explains the economics of what I’ve notice, that the flagships fall off a cliff for resale value at about 4-5 years. The 6 and 7 are in the 90-100k range new, the 3 and 5 are are half the price, at about 5 years old, the price differential is 10k or less. Your explanation sheds light as to some of the reasons why and why more than one dealer/broker have tried to explain that the flagships cost more to maintain and have more problems. I appreciate the input, I may go another direction. Sometimes I wish they would make a four seat corvette.

Ren, I know the dealer service is overpriced but even from independant mechanics, I was hearing about exponential price markups for the higher end models, (ie. brakes on a 6 series cost double that of a 3), it seemed unique to german cars. How did you like your porsche? The 911’s hold their value fairly well so they are out of my price range, the boxter has great reliability ratings but just two seats so that only leaves the cayanne as being able to fit my needs and price range. I’m not sure I love the cayanne as far as how they look, so they haven’t been on my radar all that much. Even the $400 you mentioned for the oil change/routine service, I can’t get past the fact that the same service on a lexus/infiniti/acura would cost under $100, but none of them get me all that excited. Since I’m looking at used, more than just oil changes are likely in my future. The left and right side of my brain are in an all out war on this damn car issue.

[temeculaguy]

Your technical explanation explains the economics of what I’ve notice, that the flagships fall off a cliff for resale value at about 4-5 years. The 6 and 7 are in the 90-100k range new, the 3 and 5 are are half the price, at about 5 years old, the price differential is 10k or less. Your explanation sheds light as to some of the reasons why and why more than one dealer/broker have tried to explain that the flagships cost more to maintain and have more problems. I appreciate the input, I may go another direction. Sometimes I wish they would make a four seat corvette.

Ren, I know the dealer service is overpriced but even from independant mechanics, I was hearing about exponential price markups for the higher end models, (ie. brakes on a 6 series cost double that of a 3), it seemed unique to german cars. How did you like your porsche? The 911’s hold their value fairly well so they are out of my price range, the boxter has great reliability ratings but just two seats so that only leaves the cayanne as being able to fit my needs and price range. I’m not sure I love the cayanne as far as how they look, so they haven’t been on my radar all that much. Even the $400 you mentioned for the oil change/routine service, I can’t get past the fact that the same service on a lexus/infiniti/acura would cost under $100, but none of them get me all that excited. Since I’m looking at used, more than just oil changes are likely in my future. The left and right side of my brain are in an all out war on this damn car issue.

[temeculaguy]

Your technical explanation explains the economics of what I’ve notice, that the flagships fall off a cliff for resale value at about 4-5 years. The 6 and 7 are in the 90-100k range new, the 3 and 5 are are half the price, at about 5 years old, the price differential is 10k or less. Your explanation sheds light as to some of the reasons why and why more than one dealer/broker have tried to explain that the flagships cost more to maintain and have more problems. I appreciate the input, I may go another direction. Sometimes I wish they would make a four seat corvette.

Ren, I know the dealer service is overpriced but even from independant mechanics, I was hearing about exponential price markups for the higher end models, (ie. brakes on a 6 series cost double that of a 3), it seemed unique to german cars. How did you like your porsche? The 911’s hold their value fairly well so they are out of my price range, the boxter has great reliability ratings but just two seats so that only leaves the cayanne as being able to fit my needs and price range. I’m not sure I love the cayanne as far as how they look, so they haven’t been on my radar all that much. Even the $400 you mentioned for the oil change/routine service, I can’t get past the fact that the same service on a lexus/infiniti/acura would cost under $100, but none of them get me all that excited. Since I’m looking at used, more than just oil changes are likely in my future. The left and right side of my brain are in an all out war on this damn car issue.

[temeculaguy]

Your technical explanation explains the economics of what I’ve notice, that the flagships fall off a cliff for resale value at about 4-5 years. The 6 and 7 are in the 90-100k range new, the 3 and 5 are are half the price, at about 5 years old, the price differential is 10k or less. Your explanation sheds light as to some of the reasons why and why more than one dealer/broker have tried to explain that the flagships cost more to maintain and have more problems. I appreciate the input, I may go another direction. Sometimes I wish they would make a four seat corvette.

Ren, I know the dealer service is overpriced but even from independant mechanics, I was hearing about exponential price markups for the higher end models, (ie. brakes on a 6 series cost double that of a 3), it seemed unique to german cars. How did you like your porsche? The 911’s hold their value fairly well so they are out of my price range, the boxter has great reliability ratings but just two seats so that only leaves the cayanne as being able to fit my needs and price range. I’m not sure I love the cayanne as far as how they look, so they haven’t been on my radar all that much. Even the $400 you mentioned for the oil change/routine service, I can’t get past the fact that the same service on a lexus/infiniti/acura would cost under $100, but none of them get me all that excited. Since I’m looking at used, more than just oil changes are likely in my future. The left and right side of my brain are in an all out war on this damn car issue.

[temeculaguy]

Slightly off topic question for you flu, since you know more about bmw’s than anyone I know. I’m car shopping and bmw is one of 5 vehicle on my short list. It’s not for my daily driver, so milege and maintenance isn’t a huge consideration, but the cost of maintenance on bmw’s scare the crap out of me. I had a mercedes in the past and it had the same problem, everything cost 2-3x what it would on another car. I couldn’t get a $40 costco battery, I had to pay $120, headlights, same delio.

Is there a cheaper way around this, are certain mechanics and dealers just jacking up the price or do the parts cost that much more? I was talking to one salesman who was clearly trying to steer me into a 5 series, instead of a 6 or 7 and he alledged the maint cost on the 7 and especially the 6 was almost double that of the 3 and 5. Does that make any sense to you or was he full of crap?

I’m a big dude, 6ft, 200, the c class and 3 series are just uncomfortable. I like ragtops, the 6 convertible circa 2004/5 at about 30k is my #1 choice. MBZ clk ragtop is a little smallish but still has a reasonable backseat. The mbz cls is also a beauty, I’d go hardtop for a cls, cause it looks like a 6 but has 4 doors. The smart 30k would go certified pre-owned on a lexus or infiniti and the absolute smartest for me would be an acura TL because they actually have an acura dealership in town, but I don’t want to be smart.

Warranties are a bit of a waste for me because I put 5k mi a year on a car and I keep them a while. I still need 4 seats. What would you do, would you buy a 5 y.o BMW with say, 50k miles on it, what are your thoughts on the 6 series? I saw a great 6 convert for less that 25k that had a 100k miles on it, so tempting but scary at the same time, i really dont like spending thousands at the shop for stuff that would cost a few hundred on any other car.

[temeculaguy]

Slightly off topic question for you flu, since you know more about bmw’s than anyone I know. I’m car shopping and bmw is one of 5 vehicle on my short list. It’s not for my daily driver, so milege and maintenance isn’t a huge consideration, but the cost of maintenance on bmw’s scare the crap out of me. I had a mercedes in the past and it had the same problem, everything cost 2-3x what it would on another car. I couldn’t get a $40 costco battery, I had to pay $120, headlights, same delio.

Is there a cheaper way around this, are certain mechanics and dealers just jacking up the price or do the parts cost that much more? I was talking to one salesman who was clearly trying to steer me into a 5 series, instead of a 6 or 7 and he alledged the maint cost on the 7 and especially the 6 was almost double that of the 3 and 5. Does that make any sense to you or was he full of crap?

I’m a big dude, 6ft, 200, the c class and 3 series are just uncomfortable. I like ragtops, the 6 convertible circa 2004/5 at about 30k is my #1 choice. MBZ clk ragtop is a little smallish but still has a reasonable backseat. The mbz cls is also a beauty, I’d go hardtop for a cls, cause it looks like a 6 but has 4 doors. The smart 30k would go certified pre-owned on a lexus or infiniti and the absolute smartest for me would be an acura TL because they actually have an acura dealership in town, but I don’t want to be smart.

Warranties are a bit of a waste for me because I put 5k mi a year on a car and I keep them a while. I still need 4 seats. What would you do, would you buy a 5 y.o BMW with say, 50k miles on it, what are your thoughts on the 6 series? I saw a great 6 convert for less that 25k that had a 100k miles on it, so tempting but scary at the same time, i really dont like spending thousands at the shop for stuff that would cost a few hundred on any other car.

[temeculaguy]

Slightly off topic question for you flu, since you know more about bmw’s than anyone I know. I’m car shopping and bmw is one of 5 vehicle on my short list. It’s not for my daily driver, so milege and maintenance isn’t a huge consideration, but the cost of maintenance on bmw’s scare the crap out of me. I had a mercedes in the past and it had the same problem, everything cost 2-3x what it would on another car. I couldn’t get a $40 costco battery, I had to pay $120, headlights, same delio.

Is there a cheaper way around this, are certain mechanics and dealers just jacking up the price or do the parts cost that much more? I was talking to one salesman who was clearly trying to steer me into a 5 series, instead of a 6 or 7 and he alledged the maint cost on the 7 and especially the 6 was almost double that of the 3 and 5. Does that make any sense to you or was he full of crap?

I’m a big dude, 6ft, 200, the c class and 3 series are just uncomfortable. I like ragtops, the 6 convertible circa 2004/5 at about 30k is my #1 choice. MBZ clk ragtop is a little smallish but still has a reasonable backseat. The mbz cls is also a beauty, I’d go hardtop for a cls, cause it looks like a 6 but has 4 doors. The smart 30k would go certified pre-owned on a lexus or infiniti and the absolute smartest for me would be an acura TL because they actually have an acura dealership in town, but I don’t want to be smart.

Warranties are a bit of a waste for me because I put 5k mi a year on a car and I keep them a while. I still need 4 seats. What would you do, would you buy a 5 y.o BMW with say, 50k miles on it, what are your thoughts on the 6 series? I saw a great 6 convert for less that 25k that had a 100k miles on it, so tempting but scary at the same time, i really dont like spending thousands at the shop for stuff that would cost a few hundred on any other car.

[temeculaguy]

Slightly off topic question for you flu, since you know more about bmw’s than anyone I know. I’m car shopping and bmw is one of 5 vehicle on my short list. It’s not for my daily driver, so milege and maintenance isn’t a huge consideration, but the cost of maintenance on bmw’s scare the crap out of me. I had a mercedes in the past and it had the same problem, everything cost 2-3x what it would on another car. I couldn’t get a $40 costco battery, I had to pay $120, headlights, same delio.

Is there a cheaper way around this, are certain mechanics and dealers just jacking up the price or do the parts cost that much more? I was talking to one salesman who was clearly trying to steer me into a 5 series, instead of a 6 or 7 and he alledged the maint cost on the 7 and especially the 6 was almost double that of the 3 and 5. Does that make any sense to you or was he full of crap?

I’m a big dude, 6ft, 200, the c class and 3 series are just uncomfortable. I like ragtops, the 6 convertible circa 2004/5 at about 30k is my #1 choice. MBZ clk ragtop is a little smallish but still has a reasonable backseat. The mbz cls is also a beauty, I’d go hardtop for a cls, cause it looks like a 6 but has 4 doors. The smart 30k would go certified pre-owned on a lexus or infiniti and the absolute smartest for me would be an acura TL because they actually have an acura dealership in town, but I don’t want to be smart.

Warranties are a bit of a waste for me because I put 5k mi a year on a car and I keep them a while. I still need 4 seats. What would you do, would you buy a 5 y.o BMW with say, 50k miles on it, what are your thoughts on the 6 series? I saw a great 6 convert for less that 25k that had a 100k miles on it, so tempting but scary at the same time, i really dont like spending thousands at the shop for stuff that would cost a few hundred on any other car.

[temeculaguy]

Slightly off topic question for you flu, since you know more about bmw’s than anyone I know. I’m car shopping and bmw is one of 5 vehicle on my short list. It’s not for my daily driver, so milege and maintenance isn’t a huge consideration, but the cost of maintenance on bmw’s scare the crap out of me. I had a mercedes in the past and it had the same problem, everything cost 2-3x what it would on another car. I couldn’t get a $40 costco battery, I had to pay $120, headlights, same delio.

Is there a cheaper way around this, are certain mechanics and dealers just jacking up the price or do the parts cost that much more? I was talking to one salesman who was clearly trying to steer me into a 5 series, instead of a 6 or 7 and he alledged the maint cost on the 7 and especially the 6 was almost double that of the 3 and 5. Does that make any sense to you or was he full of crap?

I’m a big dude, 6ft, 200, the c class and 3 series are just uncomfortable. I like ragtops, the 6 convertible circa 2004/5 at about 30k is my #1 choice. MBZ clk ragtop is a little smallish but still has a reasonable backseat. The mbz cls is also a beauty, I’d go hardtop for a cls, cause it looks like a 6 but has 4 doors. The smart 30k would go certified pre-owned on a lexus or infiniti and the absolute smartest for me would be an acura TL because they actually have an acura dealership in town, but I don’t want to be smart.

Warranties are a bit of a waste for me because I put 5k mi a year on a car and I keep them a while. I still need 4 seats. What would you do, would you buy a 5 y.o BMW with say, 50k miles on it, what are your thoughts on the 6 series? I saw a great 6 convert for less that 25k that had a 100k miles on it, so tempting but scary at the same time, i really dont like spending thousands at the shop for stuff that would cost a few hundred on any other car.

[temeculaguy]

Walter/Scardey, it’s actually quite simple, what you are doing without realizing it is the best hedge against inflation/devaluation. You are about to enter escrow while rates are around 4%, (for gods sake get a fixed rate) and you are buying property in an area where the prices are at a low or a norm, you are paying half peak and a fair price. You sir, are in the drivers seat on this one. This has happened before, it will happen again. We have had zero inflation for a while so we owe the gods some abnormal inflation, the pendulum will swing, just like it swung back in real estate, things find balance.

In the 1970’s my folks bought a house, a nice place for about 30k, their mort was about $400 (rates were higher then) and rent was about $300. 15 years later, I rented a cruddy apartment in a cheaper area for almost twice what my folks big house cost them, why? Inflation? Renters get hurt during inflationary times, renters have been having a great time for a few years now, rents have been stable, but that will likely change. Wages tend to go up at a slower pace, but they do catch up, the only thing that stays constant is a mortgage. This works for walter but San Diego is still one of the top ten worst places to buy compared to rents. Since the government cant get the prices of houses to rise, they can get the rents to go up and that will get people out from being underwater, it’s like the easy button at staples.

Is it a government conspiracy? Is it just the cycle of things? It doesn’t really matter, it will more than likely happen, having everything in cash is not the correct play if you think it will happen. Stocks benefit too, coomodities have a blast. If you fear something, get insurance for it.

Inflation/devaluation is not a “day trade” it’s an econimic fact and one that should be hedged against. You don’t need canned food and ammo, you just need to be defensive. I have a close friend who has been living in a South American country for about 20 years, they lived through hyperinflation and currency collapse, while owning a business. They made a killing during those times on real estate, their business lost money while their rentals became cash cows overnight. As an example, if I were to buy a 100k condo near my house that rents for 1k a month (something I’ve been exploring, but the prices have risen to 120k and the rent is the same, so I held off), if a 10-1 devaluation were to occur like it did in the country my friend lives in, I would still only owe the bank 100k, but rent would be 10k a month, it would be paid off in a year. I doubt we see anything like that, but if that is what you are afraid off, that is how you make it work for you. Stop seeing clouds scardey, look for the silver lining, it’s always there if you look.

[Author]

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