Talk me in/out of an upgrade?

[Fffrank]

I've driven almost every sports/supercar available. I daily an E46 M3 and love love love love it. For the money that I paid 4 years ago it's not only the best driving car but is now worth more than I paid for it ($14k) even though I've put 60k miles on it.

A friend has one for sale. Same car as mine, different color but instead of 110,000 miles it has 30,000 miles.

I can easily sell mine for $18k and I can buy his for $28k. I see it as removing 70k miles off the clock for $10k. Which is COMPLETELY worth it.

Except..... My current car doesn't seem to be depreciating very much. It's cheap and easy to maintain and hasn't given me many issues at all. I put tires and brakes on it and drive the shit out of.

And when I think of spending $30k on a car I start to consider the other options..... Mostly AMGs or a clapped out 911 or an S4 wagon.

I get excited that the other options are different. But I don't think any of them will ultimately be better.

Smash me with some wisdom??

[OEMaddict]

If your car is already well maintained, I don't see any reason to spend $10k on the same car, IMO you're not getting "more car" for that $10k. Would you be driving 15k miles a year on the 30k mile car as well?

[Icecream]

If you really can sell yours for 18k and get his for 28k, it is pretty much a no brainer. A clapped out 911 is just sad, S4 wagon is comparing apples to bacon and you're only looking at high mileage AMG's for 28k, wouldn't be worth it to me but ymmv.

[Estoril]

Its foolish to think that mileage is more important than proactive maintenance. The overwhelming majority of M3 owners are just sitting around waiting for something to fail before they spend a dollar on the car. Just sliding by on the cheap.

[mtpktz]

PM'd.

[Icecream]

Its foolish to think that mileage is more important than proactive maintenance. The overwhelming majority of M3 owners are just sitting around waiting for something to fail before they spend a dollar on the car. Just sliding by on the cheap.

Yeah but you can't deny 30k is pretty much new unless it was left out in texas sun and never had an oil change it is hard to have any "neglect" with those miles. Plus, you'll easily spend 10k getting the basics up to par on a higher mileage one never mind misc rubber trim (door seals are a grand alone), under panels, liners, carpet paint work etc. Heck I'm tempted to buy it if the owner would kindly PM the details.

[lemoose]

Yeah but you can't deny 30k is pretty much new unless it was left out in texas sun and never had an oil change it is hard to have any "neglect" with those miles. Plus, you'll easily spend 10k getting the basics up to par on a higher mileage one never mind misc rubber trim (door seals are a grand alone), under panels, liners, carpet paint work etc. Heck I'm tempted to buy it if the owner would kindly PM the details.

No kidding here.... now that my car is finally mechanically sorted and im getting into fixing all the texas heat related wear issues.... its certainly racking uo fast. Im often tempted into getting into a low mileage example even though mines got the big three items addressed already

[Fffrank]

Would you be driving 15k miles a year on the 30k mile car as well?

Covid has changed my commute but I'm likely to still be putting on 10-12k/year.

[Fffrank]

Yeah but you can't deny 30k is pretty much new unless it was left out in texas sun and never had an oil change it is hard to have any "neglect" with those miles. Plus, you'll easily spend 10k getting the basics up to par on a higher mileage one never mind misc rubber trim (door seals are a grand alone), under panels, liners, carpet paint work etc. Heck I'm tempted to buy it if the owner would kindly PM the details.

That's what I'm thinking..... The 30k mile opportunity is likely worth $40k given the BAT market. It's 1-owner in showroom condition with a 6mt. So I'd be putting $10k in but still ending up with considerable equity.

[old///MFanatic]

If you’re going to buy and baby it or sit on it then I would say yes. Otherwise don’t see the reason in spending another $10k for lower miles on a car you’re going to “drive the shit out of” like current M3.

[m3nt0s]

If you’re happy with the current M3, why switch? Save the money and hang onto it for future preventative maintenance, unplanned maintenance, or mods. Not seeing an actual reason to switch to any new/different car in the opening post.

[Mr.wReckless]

If you’re going to buy and baby it or sit on it then I would say yes. Otherwise don’t see the reason in spending another $10k for lower miles on a car you’re going to “drive the shit out of” like current M3.

Got to agree with this.

Better the devil you know... I'd stick with your own car if you're dailying it.

Regards

[OEMaddict]

Covid has changed my commute but I'm likely to still be putting on 10-12k/year.

If that’s the case, not worth it. If there’s only 30k miles on it now, the whole point of buying one with low miles would be to keep it that way. It sounds like you already purchased your car a few years ago at 50k miles and put in 60k miles in 4 years; if you only had 60-70k miles now your car would be worth a lot more than 18k. Just keep driving yours; if you buy the 30k car, keep your current M3 and put miles on that unless you want your 28K purchase to be a 18k purchase in 4 years.

[01SG]

I don't know, 28k sure sounds like a deal for that mileage. I bet the RACP would be cheap to fix too, considering it likely hasn't failed at all yet. Throw in any other initial costs and it still appears a great deal to me. A lower mileage car is always a lower mileage car, you can't replace everything, within reason.

Of course, people can destroy a car in 30k miles. But if it's your friend and you're familiar with it, I don't see what could go wrong. Factoring in that you can get a decent price for your current car, I'd buy the other one.

[Fffrank]

Thanks all for the feedback. Still conflicted but -- the way I figure it my current car has been going up in value or staying worth about the same even as I add miles. That's probably not the case with the low-mileage example (although with the way the used market has been.... who knows!?) Either way -- I'm a driver, not a collector.

When I start to think of spending $30k on a car I can't help but dream of a big body AMG or a Panamera Turbo. Completely different cars than my E46 M3 but when I do tend to upgrade, I usually pinball in a completely different direction. I'm not sure switching it up to a different color is going to leave me feeling fulfilled. If it was phoenix yellow or supercharged I'd trade a limb..... but..... I I don't think this is the one.