Four BMW Models Among Most Traded-In Cars Within the First Year

Everyone knows by now that buying a new car comes with both pros and cons, but what’s certain is that cars do take a blow in terms of value as soon as they’re driven off the lot and that doesn’t exclude BMW models.

Research performed by iSeeCars.com wanted to see just how often and how long it takes owners of various brands and models to grow tired of their cars and trade them in. In the case of three BMW models things didn’t look so good. According to their findings, the BMW 3 Series is the most re-sold model in the US within just one year of ownership, with about 8 percent of new cars being sold before the 12-month reference period is up.

Coming up in second place is another BMW model, this time the 5 Series, with 7.1 percent of the new cars being traded in after less than a year of ownership. The third BMW model on this list is the BMW X3 which came in sixth overall with a trade in percentage of 3.9 percent followed by the 4 Series which came in seventh overall with the same percentage. Other German cars on the list include the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class which came in third and eighth overall.

But what causes people to give up their luxury German models after spending so little time behind the wheel? Well, it’s not an accident, that’s for sure, as the brands themselves are encouraging people to change their cars for a couple of reasons, as explained by Phong Ly, CEO of iSeeCars.com.

“While some might be surprised that these luxury brands top the list, these auto manufacturers offer their dealers incentives to buy new cars to use as loaner vehicles, which are then sold as used when they are still under a year old. This is a marketing strategy with a two-fold purpose. It puts brand-new models in the hands of current owners when they bring their cars in for service, increasing the likelihood that they will buy another car from that brand. In addition, it essentially increases the brand’s new car sales, which help to give them the ability to claim the title of ‘top luxury brand’, something that BMW and Mercedes-Benz compete for every year.”

Taking a closer look at the cars that are actually being re-sold, reveals yet another possible reason why people are giving them up. Most of them are entry-level models with lower-priced trims. That could indicate that, having been bought by customers who were doing their first foray into these luxury brands, the cars didn’t actually live up to the expected level of luxury the customers had in mind.

Nevertheless, all this does come with a bright side as well. Prices of the traded-in models usually drop significantly, translating into a profitable proposition for prospective CPO customers. For example, the BMW 4 Series drops about 17.3 percent in price after the first year while the 5 Series loses even more with an average of 18.2 percent.

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