iCarData: The Best Time To Buy/Sell - BMW 330e M Sport (F30)

One of the most popular BMW models of recent times is the F30 generation of the BMW 3 Series, which came with a variety of different powertrains over its near-decade production run. Locally the F30 was offered as a 316i, 318i, 320i, 320d, 328i, and 335i for the pre-facelift variants and was later streamlined to the 320i, 330i, and 330e for the post-facelift model.

Among all of these variants, however, there has been one that has stood head and shoulders above the rest for its sheer popularity, and that’s the BMW 330e. A strong reason for its success is owed to aggressive hybrid or energy-efficient vehicle incentives offered by the Malaysian government at the time, which in turn made it a highly competitive mid-sized luxury sedan.

The specific variant of the BMW 330e we’re looking at today is the M Sport, which was the higher of the two trim levels offered and went on sale officially at the start of 2017 for an official retail price of RM 258,800. However, according to our data, there were significant price reductions at the time due to deals and offers which resulted in an average selling price of RM 220,799.98. 

Here’s the breakdown:
Vehicle variant: BMW 330e M Sport sold new in 2017

The 330e M Sport was one of the most popular variants of the F30 generation BMW 3 Series thanks to the excellent value it provided as a high-performance hybrid sedan. For this comparison, the depreciation is calculated based on the average selling price when new of RM 220,799.98 (vs list price of RM 258,800)

2017 BMW 330e M Sport (F30)

As often is the case with buying pre-owned cars, you can avoid big hits in depreciation with the trade-off being that you don’t get that brand-new car smell. That being said, you can be even more clever with the age of the car you choose as depreciation doesn’t tend to be as linear as you’d expect.

In the graph below, you can see that in the first year or so, the depreciation isn’t particularly wild for the BMW 330e. Part of this is because many units were sold as pre-owned and were technically already one year old on paper, which in turn influenced their values. This is also why the second year of ownership sees a much larger hit in depreciation.

Beyond the second year, the depreciation tapers off quite significantly, and between the fourth and fifth year you see a 1.69% drop in car value. However, take this with a grain of salt, as used car market prices are currently holding extremely strong. Due to the significantly long wait times that usually come with new cars, the value of used cars have increased in response to the recent higher demand

There is also the coincidental fact that 2019 (the second year of depreciation for the 330e M Sport) was the year that the G20 3 Series was launched, succeeding the F30 3 Series outright. Even so, depreciation for the F30 tapers off fairly significantly after this launch year which indicates strong holding power.

This is even more impressive when you consider the fact that the 330e is a plug-in hybrid model, which means that it has to deal with the Malaysian market’s apprehension towards hybrid vehicles due to fears of maintenance issues and running costs. 

With all of this data in mind, the best time to pick up a 330e M Sport would be in the third year of depreciation, and it would be fine to keep it even beyond the fifth year of depreciation as there doesn’t seem to be a significant increase or change in depreciation at that point. That being said, bear in mind that BMW’s plug-in hybrid electric vehicle battery warranty programmes span 8 years or 160,000 kilometres, so you may not want to fly too close to the sun before you sell your 330e M Sport on as the next buyer may take this into consideration.

For some great deals on a used BMW 330e M Sport (F30) with a 1 year warranty & no hidden fees, check out Carsome. If you're not happy with your purchase, bring your car back within 5 days to get a full refund. More info here.

If you're looking to sell your car, we have a solution for you too. Trade-in your car with carsome.my and get up to an RM1,500 discount voucher for your next upgrade