Saki GT

So basically you are trying decide between these options:

1) Spent $35k
2) Spend $50k
3) Spend $50k
4) Spend $2.5k and $25k, or $28k.
5) Spend $2.5k and $20k, or $23k.
6) Spend $40k.



I'd buy the Miata because they are a blast, or the Golf R - discount is nice, they are fun cars, and they won't be available in 2020, meaning depreciation will be less.

Hertz Donut

Fix the 328, keep it as a thrasher and buy something fun to keep in the garage. As @TheDonEffect says there's a certain joy in having a car you don't care about. Up until last year I had a 1996 Holden Commodore (a Buick L36-powered RWD 4-door built in Australia) that I'd owned for nearly 20 years that I could happily braille-park, lend to my mother-in-law, carry cut-down trees in and so on. Car park dents and scratches just added more character. Not a straight panel on it and everything leaked but it kept moving so I kept using it. Only turned it into Coke cans because everything else on the road was becoming safer and it wasn't.

TheDonEffect

Lol I thought I was the only person that said parking by braille.

vader1

Just got back from a totally crappy day. Left to drive to my BMW dealer, thought I would unlock my credit which I put a hold on due to the morons at Equifax, and it would not let me do it. The account I set up does not let me log in. Grrrrr........ An hour on the phone to Mumbai and off I go. Headed down to the rural dealer, took a rock in the windshield. Cracked. Then about 60 miles out into the sticks, ran into a real pshcyo jerk in a Chevy who was about 70 years old and apparently crazy.


Got to the dealer, about 90% sure I am pulling the trigger on a Lapiz Blue Golf R, liked it a lot. About 40% I keep the current 328i now with a freshly cracked windshield, and order a M240i for Euro pickup next spring. They can order it now and fix the price but keep the manufacture date out until next June as I don't have time to get to Munich before winter hits, and I am already headed for a driving trip to Austria in a month anyway.

I really like the Golf, I LOVE the 240i with a stick in blue with brown leather. Golf is the smart play, M240i is the really want but costs about $20k more in my scenario because I have to keep my trade, insure 3 cars, and it is more expensive than the golf, but even so, they qouted me a great price on the M240i. Same sales guy I had on the first BMW, he spins the computer screen around and shows me their invoice price with euro discount and adds $1500 for the dealer. I love working with them. He is the sales manager now, and they have a M4 CS on the showfloor, an M5, they also sell Audi and had RS3 and TT RS. He offers to let me drive whatever I want, just for fun, but I decline just out of bashfulness. The TT RS looked like it would have been fun though. After getting hit with a rock on the way down I figured I would have done something to split the carbon roof on the M4 CS.

Also drove the new M340i with almost 400 hp. Man that thing moves when it builds up a little boost. Pulls like a freight train. Much nicer steering and suspension than the F30 generation and damn, that engine is fine, but lots of dough. The tech is cool and all, but I don't care about that stuff.

Gonna cancel my Tesla appointment, just does not do it for me.

ealand0001

I used to do this, but as I get older having more than one vehicle is becoming much less interesting to me.

To the OP, buy the newest, nicest car you can “afford” (only you know what that is) and drive it for another 6-7 years. It’s not the most economical solution, but that seems like what you did with this car and you seemed to have enjoyed it. I personally would dump the beemer when the extended warranty is over, at the latest. I’ve owned a couple...will never own out of warranty.

vader1

My two biggest problems with getting what I want are garage space and snow. Lots and lots of snow. Went for the Golf R. It is not flashy, but I get to fly under the radar, have some fun and when I feel like it in a few years, void the warranty with a flash to make the car kind of silly. I can drive the Cayman on weekends.

I would still like a third car for cheap that is a RWD manual, like a Miata or M240i but I will lay in the weeds a few years until there are some mid-mile examples on the used market for next to nothing, then I can scoop one up if I still have the urge.

I would like to tinker with cars in my retirement. Become sort of a ghetto Wheeler Dealers type who finds and interesting car, fixes it up and drives it for a while, sell it and do it again. If that desire sticks with me I will get a lift for the garage. Or maybe just a lift and a miata to prep for track weekends. If not then I will find another hobby, but golfing a couple times a week does not do it for me.

rwheelz

Man I hate golf. I never understood why people enjoy it so much when there are so many other/better things to do for entertainment.

Great choice on the Golf R. Post pics and driving impressions. Manual or DSG?

vader1

DSG, Lapiz Blue. I wanted a stick, but everybody complains about clutch failure in those. Same clutch as GTI and C&D roasted one in one of their tests of a GTI. There are upgrades to stonger clutches but saw a couple threads about crank walk with tunes and upgraded clutches so just went DSG. It will get a tune somewhere down the road, but I want to use up a bunch of warranty time first. Maybe at 40,000 or so.

s.hasan546

Good call. I love my DSG GTI. It's even better once you get the apr tune for the transmission. Didn't get it yet, but will soon with the stage 1 tune.
The manual cars have much weaker transmissions if you are planning on tuning it eventually.

1nate7

Congrats, I would love a Golf R in Lapiz blue. I picked up a 2017 GTI Sport when they were clearing them out 2 years ago and it's been a fantastic daily. That 6/72 warranty is awesome but there is no way I'd make it that long after seeing the difference a tune made on my GTI. I just recently picked up a Cobb Accessport and went with a Stratified flash and DSG tune. I chose Cobb because of tune flexibility, flash at home, gauges/data logging, and resale value. DSG tune makes a huge difference, no more shifting to 6th gear at 45 mph.