Keep the E36?

[.RJ]

I have talked some about selling the E36 - initially I didnt plan on doing this anytime soon, but an acquaintance made an offer on the car, and while that didnt work out it did get me thinking that maybe I should get rid of it. It does have quite a few quirks and nagging issues that piss me off, but at the end of the day I really enjoy driving it, and its paid for.

Part of my motivation was that I thought I would be unemployed for a while, but thankfully that is not the case and I start working a new job on monday - however I do still need to bail out my lease in atlanta, move back to nova, and find another place to live, so thats going to eat up some funds out of the race budget. If I sell now, i can free up a big chunk of $$, drive the Integra for a month or two, and buy something else later - I realize that i'm playing shell games with my bank account(s), but I dont have any debt at all, so financing $10k or so on a daily driver doesnt bother me.

So, my options, as I see them....

1 - I can keep it and honestly do nothing with it and hope it stays as reliable as it has been - it will need a few dollars to take care of some minor issues (maybe $500) and no reason I cant just keep driving it through the end of the year if not longer.

2 - Fix all the things that are currently pissing me off, and make it look nice, and add a few items that will make it more enjoyable to drive. This would include some paint work, replacing the headlights/housings, most of the suspension bushings and front control arms, rebuilding the shifter, trans mounts, some bigger swaybars, etc - total cost, about $2500 - I'd need do the work over a few months and probably keep the car for at least until the end of next year for this to be cost effective.

3 - Sell it and buy an M3. The problem with this is, while its a much more fun car to drive it will still have all the same issues as my current E36 (bushings, cooling system, electrical gremlins, etc). I would need to wait 4-6 months for this to happen, but get out of the car as the resale on these continues to tank

4 - Sell it soon and buy........ ???? Something else? I've thought about a 96+ 328is (better car than the 325), or 99 miata, something like this: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=170706034">http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=170706034</a><!-- m --> . Getting into a newer car (or a mazda/honda/acura) will all but eliminate all the busted shit I need to deal with, and without an interior that is falling apart like my 325. For a daily driver this isnt such a bad thing since I will be ripping apart my integra soon, and i'd rather not have to work on the daily driver.

[white_2kgt]

Sell it and buy a tow truck, race the teg.

--chad

[.RJ]

I'm not towing anytime soon - not worth it, and I have absolutely no desire to drive a truck every day My tow vehicle = $300 in the glove box + my AAA card

[JohnC]

Point #1 - Cars are *never* cost effective.
Point #2 - You left "Buy an FD and fuck it all" off of the voting choices.
Point #3 - Buy an E36 M3 and be done with it. If it doesn't work out, then at least you had an M3 (top of the line) and you won't make the BMW mistake again.

[Dragon]

Just buy the M3 and be done with it.

[.RJ]

you won't make the BMW mistake again.

Well, I'm very leery of making the "BMW mistake" twice. In a row.

And there's also the resale problem with M3's also.... they keep tanking. Good for now - bad if I want to sell later. I'm pretty sure you wont end up with an M3 under $15k. Either buy one thats had the work done, or buy a $12-$13k car that needs $2-3k in work to bring up to date.

[JohnC]

you won't make the BMW mistake again.

Well, I'm very leery of making the "BMW mistake" twice. In a row.

Well, twice in a row w/ BMWs isn't really that bad considering most of your previous car purchases.

[.RJ]

This is true.

Also, insurance on an M3 is going to be a pretty steep hike over the 325is... which was a significant increase over the accord. Maybe I need to find another insurance company... but I really dont want to pay over $150/mo for 2 cars and an M3 would certainly bump me over that.

[Andy]

2 - Fix all the things that are currently pissing me off . . . . to be cost effective.
.

In my limited experience, I don't think these two particular goals are possible. I would guess more than half of the guys in this club currently have things pissing them off about their car and 'cost effective' is buying a Corolla, it's definitely not fixing up a BMW

[Maengelito]

Point #2 - You left "Buy an FD and fuck it all" off of the voting choices.

[Chris]

keep the 325, do a few maintenance items, and keep our heads from asploding!!

[.RJ]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.roadfly.org/bmw/classifieds/cars/detview.php?view=31353&sortby=_YEAR&dir=ASC">http://www.roadfly.org/bmw/classifieds/ ... AR&dir=ASC</a><!-- m -->

I'm going to cave soon.... white m3 =

[Feersty]

M3, SWEET edition....Git R Done.

[JackoliciousLegs]

ooooOOOooo those are the light wheels too!

[.RJ]

Thats what I have on my car now.... those arent the "LTW" wheels. And they sure as hell arent light!

[JackoliciousLegs]

I thought those were the light ones that came with the M3s stock.... hmmmm

[BLINGMW]

I knew you and your puny 17's wouldn't last long down here in da ATL! Run home little boy!! :lol:

Hang onto the bimmer for a little while, fix the cosmetic issues, don't put any more $$ in it than you need to, and then decide. I guess that's choice #1. Fixing the bumper and such is going to be well worth it for the resale value, and since you're not in a hurry now, you can put it up for sale if that's still what you want and actually get more than lowball offers. Then you can buy another integra and see if you can get them both stolen in one day up there! :wink:


(give up on the M3 if you can't learn to love the 325!)

[.RJ]

(give up on the M3 if you can't learn to love the 325!)

It'd be a lot easier to love if it had more power and some sort of diff that put the power to both wheels! :lol:

[G.Irish]

My vote is keep the 325. Why go spend more money on a M3 so you can have a car payment again, which would be just as much as the payment you had on the R? More money to be spent on insurance too. Why do you need more power in you daily driver anyway? You have more power than you had in your Saturn, then your Accord. So you're going to buy a M3, but then what will you need next, a Corvette? The 325 is plenty fast and if you want mo' fast put a chip, I/H/E and some cams in it.

On top of that consumables, upgrades, and entry fees will pile up for the Integra. Not that you couldn't swing it but it'd be easier if you were not spending more money on the M3.

You have the opportunity to operate with a healthy amount of margin in your budget. Do the sensible thing and take it. Matter of fact, if you keep the 325 it'll leave you plenty of money to get a bike with pimp gear to match.

[Dragon]

Do the sensible thing

I'm sorry what was that, this is an unfamiliar concept on this forum.