Re: ...Car Lovers...
Shikra uncle,
I think your basic assumption is wrong. Accord generally holds its value much better than BMW. Resale value loss is compared to the original price. Brand new BMW 3-series is much more expensive than Accord, so if you compare their resale price, I am sure Accord lose less as a percentage. Ofcourse, due to higher original price, a 2-3 year old BMW 3-series will still cost more (in absolute dollars, ofcourse).
Now getting back to your question, do remember, luxury cars (e.g. Merc or BMW etc) are much more expensive to maintain compared to a non-luxury car (Toyota or Honda etc). Anything breaks, and the price difference of repair can be almost twice for a luxury brand. Good thing with BMW's is that atleast for the first 4 years, their maintenance is included in the price of the car, so the owners tend to take them to dealership for maintenance, which is a fantastic way of making sure the cars are reliable (IMO, Merc made a big mistake to take off maintenance from '05 models onwards) for the first four years. But after that, you are on your own.
BMW is a fun to drive car, with a lot of glamor and its a complete drivers' car. I presently drive a 740iL, and frankly won't like to drive anything else, but for someone with fixed or very limited extra-disposable income to be spent repairing the car on a frequent basis, I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy a used BMW. Plus, for $20k, I am not sure you will get a 2-3 yr old 3-series with navigation at all.
Abhi tou mein jawan hoon.