<prompt> Human: BMW HUD DashboardAbout a year ago, I posted the same thread on rdataisbeautiful and rpersonalfinance about the true cost of owning by BMW 328i. You can find my post hereThe thread brought on a ton of great discussions and comments. Looking back, I feel like I dropped the ball on the data the visualizations. I missed out on two key aspects:nbsp;1. The data wasnt beautifully presented2. I missed out on a couple of key expense categories - Fuel and Tolls3. I didnt incorporate Depreciationnbsp;So, I wanted to provide an update on the cost of owning my BMW 328i. Here is the background on the car the data collection methods: nbsp;1. I purchased a 2007 328i on 08132010 for 21000 with a downpayment of 5000 at 42000 miles2. The fuel, loan, insurance data has been aggregated using Mint and expenses like registration, repair have been tracked using excel3. I have owned the car for 8 years now and it has 128000 miles. The data has been updated to 6120184. I did not get extended warranty on the vehicle.nbsp;Here is a brief introduction into the various categories: Loan - Money paid towards owning the car. I made a bulk payment early 2015 for 1500 Gas Trips - The money spent at gas stations. This includes gas expenses, air freshners, filling air. Now, these expenses are hard to track and I used mint to pull the information. The money spent at gas station might have been spent on chips and gum as well, and there is no way for me to know now. And so while the gas trip number may not be exact, but it is pretty close. I always use Premium-93 grade. Repair - All the money spent at a mechanic. Sigh. Includes brakes, water pump, window regulator fixing. Any money given to a mechanicrepair shop Insurance - Money spent towards insuring the car Registration - All the costs related to renewing car registration. Accident - I had a fender bender in 2013. I paid my deductible of 500 and since then Ive had no accidents thank god! Tolls - Money spent on EZ Pass, Express Tolls Ticket - I had one ticket more than 5 years ago and one parking one towing ticket. Parts - These are all the parts that I have purchased for the car Air filters, wipers. Any trips to Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts is in this category Emission - Costs towards getting the car certified to drive Coverage - Yes this is 0 amount. This is all the expenses that I was covered for. This includes - multiple tire rotations, windshield cracks, car getting towed. Everytime that I have received a bill, but my insurance has covered it. It is important to note that I would have had to pay for it if I was not insured. For example a windshield repair bill would have an amount of 125 but then a subtraction of 125 as well. Depreciation - This is hard to track. Online calculators say that it is 15 every year. I decided to leave this bit out because I didnt have recorded data for it.nbsp;Information on the visualization. I wanted to create a way to have my car information available easily and updated quickly. I have been using Tableau lately and thought its pretty cool to show interactive data.nbsp; Data has been plotted using Tableau and presented in a Dashboard format. Tool tips help dive into visualizations more and present accurate amount for the expenses. All dashboard items are automatically recalculated when I update the datanbsp;Dashboard Information1. Expense Time Line - Monthly total expense tracker2. Info Section - Tells various KPI for the car and information on the car expenses3. Annual Breakdown - How much did I spend this year on the car and the mileage at the end of the year. Unfortunately, I did not record mileage on 1231, so it might be OctNovDec last recorded mileage that year4. Expense breakdown pareto chart5. How is the current year coming along?nbsp;Lessons for people who want to buy a BMW 328inbsp;0. Become mechanically inclined and ready to work on your car or keep an emergency fund of at least 10001. The first few years are the most expensive in the life of the car. I was shelling out close to 8000 annually on the car. This included monthly payments, fuel, repairs everything!2. I said this before - but be ready for expensive repairs of 1000 every 8-10 months. My last expense was a starter replacement for 1000. So keep an emergency fund for this car!3. I love driving my car. It is such a pleasure driving a BMW. I hate driving a cheap car every time I get a rental. The car was such a treat to drive in the mountains of CO and Blue Ridge mountains in WVVANC.4. The car is cheap to own now barring a random spike. 5. I am glad I dont have monthly payments now - but looking back, buying a BMW was a great decision because I was 24 and I could afford it. Now, after marriage - I dont see myself buying a German car. I want peace of mind and thats something that a German car does not give you. When I look at my wifes Camry and her maintenance costs, I wonder -- is it worth it?6. I need to decide 0 When is the right time to sell the car? Not having monthly payments is awesome. There is something great about being debt free. 7. I could never lease a BMW 328i and deal with paying a ton of money every year. The most expensive years were my first 3 years. New cars cost more in registration, insurance. And you are never loan-free. nbsp;I hope this helped folks planning to buy the BMW 328i. This kind of information is not available and while every car varies - it is good to see the complete picture. Ill try to address as many comments as I can.nbsp;  <response>: I bought my 2006 325i in 2012 with 93k miles on it for 9600 plus shipping and tax . Its still running strong today currently 170,000 miles I have had to replace the electronic watercoolant pump, thermostat, radiator hoses, battery, tires, oil seal gasket, and a few other things but all and all its been a great car, I paid in cash so I dont have a car note. 