Long-term wrap-up: Omar says goodbye to his BMW 135i

Long-term wrap-up: Omar says goodbye to his BMW 135i

2012-bmw-m135i-in-qatar

It is said that all good things must come to an end. My time with the BMW came to an end when I accepted a new job in Kuwait. With the rules there prohibiting expats from importing cars, that meant the only course of action was to (very) reluctantly sell my beloved blue pocket rocket.

Before getting to the economics of the sale there isn’t too much else to add from an ownership perspective other than the fact that car continued to put a smile on my face with every single drive right up until I handed the keys over to the new owner. With the super grippy Michelin Pilot Super Sports wearing down nicely the car was becoming more and more “playful” in it’s handling which just added to the smiles per miles factor.

It did require some warranty work on the engine as a sensor failed causing the engine to go into limp home mode to protect itself. The garage diagnosed the problem fairly quickly but car stayed with them for a week as the part had to be ordered from Germany. Once repaired it was back to it’s usual snap crackle & popping self, much to my relief.

So the last point to discuss is the economics of ownership. The BMW cost QR 210,000 new. I sold it for QR 115,000 2 years later after 16000 fun-filled-but-too-short kilometres. Depreciation was heavy but it has to be said that I sold the car at the height of the oil price crash when companies in Qatar were laying off considerable numbers, hence the car market was flooded — very much a buyers market. In a more buoyant economy I would have expected to get at least QR 20000 more for it. That said – the fact that I was able to sell the car in a matter of weeks for an okay price while other people couldn’t even get offers on Mercedes-Benz crossovers is a testament to its (niche) appeal. Other than the depreciation, the car was very cheap to run with the only significant costs being insurance and petrol — everything else was covered by the 5-year warranty and service pack.

You might think that at the end, as I watched the new owner drive away in my beloved car, my foremost thought would be about significant depreciation I’d just suffered, but that wasn’t it at all. Instead all I could think was that it sounded even better from the outside than it did from the inside. It was that sort of car — the faults (minor or otherwise) just seemed to melt away and instead what you remembered were the high points; that magnificent engine, the exhaust note, the machine gun-like bark from the exhaust on downshifts and the light inertia-free handling. Every time I think about the M135i, it takes almost every ounce of self control I have not to rush down to my nearest BMW dealer and put in an order for another one (or even a BMW M2!).

Original Mileage When Bought: 70 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 16,000 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 15.0 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: QAR 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: QAR 0

Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: QAR 1475

Read all 2013 BMW M135i long-term updates

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Comments

  1. Sad to hear that. As car enthusiasts I know how it can be such an emotional moment when you let go your beloved car.

  2. As car enthusiasts I know how it can be such an emotional moment your car.

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