Dear All,
I am looking to buy a car for a small family and have a price range around 25'000CHF, I plan to put some money down and lease the rest for 4-5 yrs. Then I will sell the car.

I like Honda's and realize they dont loose too much value here, it seems pretty linear for the entire life of the car where as a BMW will loose 10% of the first turn of the key, and goes down to 50% value in just 4 yrs. I found 3yr old Civics (all base models, normal km's) at around 20,000 CHF while you can buy a BMW318i that is just 5 yrs old at this price! All calculations are based on 15,000 km's of driving a year.

Why do BMW's loose so much value? Is there any reason to prefer a 3 yr old Civic (a nice car, but pretty dull) over a 5 yr BMW 318i or 318d? At the end of five years, it seems I will get the same return on the car after selling...

Finally, can you compare cost of ownership for the two cars here in CH?

THANKS IN ADVANCE

come on bmw fans!

Not sure how you are searching but I have found a new Civic 1.8 for 22500 ( http://www.autoscout24.ch/AS24Web/De...1&page=1&row=7 ).

are you sure this is not an accident car or something? I checked a lot of Civics today and they lose around 10-20 % after 1 year usage, around 15000km...

You can get a decent Subaru Impreza for that money, if you're after proper driver appeal and space for the kids and shopping. Bomb proof reliability and inexpensive parts / maintainance, too. Switerland's made for Scooby Doos.

i like subaru's but i havent seen one in ages here, which makes me think it may be hard to buy/sell one here in CH, plus difficult to maintain because of lack of parts, quality service etc. Do you own one? how is your experience regarding these?

Not many in the cities as they don't have the badge cred a German marque brings, but they're common in the country and every Dorfli has a dealer. I used to drive an Impreza and loved every second of it. 5Series BMWs, Audis, Mercs and yes even a Civic in days past but the Impreza trumped for giggles, value for money and envious stares.

Be wary of thrashed turbos / exBoy racer body kits, and consider ugly looks and cheapo plastic trims as necessary evils for a car that will make you smile each time you reach a bend. Heavy 318i Beemers pale in comparison, but will please those seeking a heavy door clunk. Just wait for servicing costs with them, though!

In answer to your original question, I'd plumb for a civic above an over weight and under powered BMW.

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what do you say about a legacy diesel?

I know a few impreza owners who would disagree with your bomb proof reliability and inexpensive parts quote especially if you go for a turbo'ed version.

Let me guess: One with golden rims?

legacy diesel, guys, legacy diesel...what do you say about it?

seems pretty popular here in switzerland (for a japanese car)

Sounds like the Basel of cars to me: Boring and ugly, but somehow people end up in it.

boring and ugly? not so if you are looking for a family wagon! i dont consider vw passat or honda accord wagons quite exciting either, at least the subaru has AWD and the diesel version has an air scoop

And actually is even a passat by far prettier than a Subaru and I do include the airscoop models



If you are on a budget that does not allow the E 63 AMG T... why not a Skoda Octavia RS. This is the current one, but I find the older models still more exciting than a Subaru family mover.

Get yourself a Saab 9-5 2.0T Aero Sportcombi. Solid, reliable and decently priced.

By the way if you're leasing for 4-5 years with your requirements, look at new. It'll probably work out fine if you a) look after the car and b) choose a car where residuals and cost price work well.

Leasing 2nd hand over that time may be more expensive. Lease 3-4 years and chop the car in - your big risk is your km count. Insurance takes care of the rest.

bmw/mercedes/audi at that price range doesnt seem to be an option. and, come on, passat is pretty dull and boring compared to a subaru. skoda? no, thanks...

You'd just need to compromise on age or km. this is a country with a 120kmh spped limit, so the engines of the high performance cars can last for a long time... and you knwo you'd prefer this to a Subaru diesel:

http://www.autoscout24.ch/AS24Web/De...6&page=1&row=7

did you notice this on that ad?

Verbrauch
in l/100 km 21.8/10.4/14.6 (St/Land/Tot)
anyway, my experience with audi/VW is that they are very unreliable and expensive to maintain. i once had a golf in the US that almost died on me because of engine issues mediated by electrical problems.

What do you expect? It's a two ton car with a bi-turbo and 450 hp... and I'd bet that nobody ever made those 10.4 litres.

I am on my second Audi now and I cannot agree. I guess they are expensive to maintain in the US as all parts need to be imported, but here the parts are easier and cheaper to get than anything else and there is not mechanic that doesn't know the cars inside out.

P.S: I am leaving the country in two months and need to sell my 2004 Audi A4 1.8T sedan... but I guess that's not the one for you then...

I might remember to remove your groan later... once I've calmed down a bit