[BeeDrill]

Funny to see how the demographics have changed on this poll since this morning. 25 - 30 was slightly ahead and now the 30's are pulling away. Although I feel like 30's was the demographic that BMW was aiming for with this car. Not to say that's what you have to be to buy it. Interesting.

[wjones14]

Just for fun, I went to the Mustang forum to find this same poll. Couldn't find it, but I did find it in the Camaro 6th gen forum. Interestingly, doesn't look much different than this forum.

Under 25 90 19.27%
26 - 29 70 14.99%
30 - 39 126 26.98%
40 - 49 88 18.84%
50 - 59 60 12.85%
60 - 69 26 5.57%
70+ 7 1.50%

[BeeDrill]

Originally Posted by wjones14

Just for fun, I went to the Mustang forum to find this same poll. Couldn't find it, but I did find it in the Camaro 6th gen forum. Interestingly, doesn't look much different than this forum.

Huh... that's interesting. I guess they are similar cars in a lot of ways if you think about it. Thanks for sharing.

[Monsieur_G]

25 and my first BMW

[moke]

I'm going to suggest that maybe older drivers aren't as active on forums.

[ibeam81]

Will be 57 in July. Picking up my M235i at the Performance Center on April 25.

[doccyber]

Good to see some senior drivers here. This car is being enjoyed by many.

[Mosstradamus]

33
I've had the car for a month and love it!
Estoril Blue
Dakota Leather Black Interior

[virtguy]

39 and my 6th BMW

[TMatt]

25, black grilles, EB reflectors, black mirror caps, and m performance diffuser here

[qnet]

47, my second BMW (first new one) and I love it.

[csg]

turned 30 on monday! picking the car up at the end of the month

[gbugarin]

50

[BMW GENIUS]

21 years young!

[Amack]

29

[supernova72]

Must admit a bit surprised someone in their 30's (or younger) can afford to buy a $50K car. I waited until I was 55. Wonder how many chose car over buying a home?

[omega145]

Not really too surprised at those in their 30s. I'm 34 and have my own home and the 235. The 16-24 age group is much more surprising but then again, those are probably the ones who are well off because of their parents.

[MrBucket]

Originally Posted by supernova72

Must admit a bit surprised someone in their 30's (or younger) can afford to buy a $50K car. I waited until I was 55. Wonder how many chose car over buying a home?

You could afford a home back in the day on a fairly reasonable salary, that is definitely not the case for my generation.

[Xiaoxi]

Originally Posted by supernova72

Must admit a bit surprised someone in their 30's (or younger) can afford to buy a $50K car. I waited until I was 55. Wonder how many chose car over buying a home?

I thought about home ownership and it just doesn't seem like it would have much economic utility compared to a BMW

Here's a not-so-serious-but-still-kind-of-serious comparison:

F22 / F87:
- goes places
- most likely last great BMW offered in manual
- brings joy on a regular basis, many great memories involving this car
- financing while young = building credit = able to buy house later
- ownership / enthusiasm a great topic of conversation with my boss / older successful people = networking device

House:
- stationary
- requires a ton of maintenance, which is not good for my OCD
- much more expensive than a BMW. cost to utility ratio not nearly as good. Not into having many rooms, etc. I like minimalism / simple. Not planning on having kids.
- requires good credit which is not possible without establishing a perfect record of paying installments to BMW Financial Services. There is no other way. The game is rigged.
- poor return on investment after factoring in ALL irrecoverable costs (and there are many). the same money put into a well balanced ETF portfolio and retirement accounts would yield greater return. You can also build equity by saving the difference of mortgage - rent (usually hundreds lower)

So as you can see, the BMW is clearly the better use of money.

[jmwilson125]

Originally Posted by omega145

Not really too surprised at those in their 30s. I'm 34 and have my own home and the 235. The 16-24 age group is much more surprising but then again, those are probably the ones who are well off because of their parents.

Haha parents didn't even know I bought it untill I asked them to drop me at the dealership to take delivery. They took it suprisingly well as they are both fairly frugal school teachers (retired now)

May not have been the most wise financial decision of my life, but it certainly won't be one that I'll forget or regret. I am 24 now and will be coming up one one year of ownership in September.

[supernova72]

Originally Posted by Xiaoxi

I thought about home ownership and it just doesn't seem like it would have much economic utility compared to a BMW

Here's a not-so-serious-but-still-kind-of-serious comparison:

F22 / F87:
- goes places
- most likely last great BMW offered in manual
- brings joy on a regular basis, many great memories involving this car
- financing while young = building credit = able to buy house later
- ownership / enthusiasm a great topic of conversation with my boss / older successful people = networking device

House:
- stationary
- requires a ton of maintenance, which is not good for my OCD
- much more expensive than a BMW. cost to utility ratio not nearly as good. Not into having many rooms, etc. I like minimalism / simple. Not planning on having kids.
- requires good credit which is not possible without establishing a perfect record of paying installments to BMW Financial Services. There is no other way. The game is rigged.
- poor return on investment after factoring in ALL irrecoverable costs (and there are many). the same money put into a well balanced ETF portfolio and retirement accounts would yield greater return. You can also build equity by saving the difference of mortgage - rent (usually hundreds lower)

So as you can see, the BMW is clearly the better use of money.

Interesting analysis on the home being a "poor return on investment". in 2015 my home value out performed any investment I had. S&P was down 1% and my home value went up 10% (live in Seattle WA).

People are getting into fistfights making offers for homes here. Some are cash offers. Amazon.com has a big influence on it (headquarters 5 miles from my home).

But yea, I can justify the M235i solely based on the fun factor alone

[Xiaoxi]

Originally Posted by supernova72

Interesting analysis on the home being a "poor return on investment". in 2015 my home value out performed any investment I had. S&P was down 1% and my home value went up 10% (live in Seattle WA).

People are getting into fistfights making offers for homes here. Some are cash offers. Amazon.com has a big influence on it (headquarters 5 miles from my home).

But yea, I can justify the M235i solely based on the fun factor alone

Kind of misleading to be limiting S&P to this year. Consider the growth over the equivalent of a 30 year mortgage.

I'll contend that a ROI on a house can be pretty good if you're in the right place at the right time. But then again, the markets that have people fighting over it are the ones out of reach for the newest generation.