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Old 07-16-2018, 07:43 AM   #1
John V
No more BMWs
 
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8
Location: Glenwood, MD
Posts: 14,753
I'm waffling on selling the Boxster

I think I'm getting old.

When I was 12, I looked through car magazines and ogled over Ferraris, Lamborghinis and the like, realizing that I'd probably never own one.
By the time I was 15 (1993) and getting close to driving, I started ogling over the new cars that were closer to being attainable, but still well out of reach (third-gen Mazda RX-7, E36 BMW M3, C4 Corvette, Gen4 Camaro).
When I turned 16 and had a license, I realized I could afford an older version of one of those cars, and in fact went and bought one (second-gen RX-7 turbo).
When I graduated college, the cars I wanted when I was 15-18 were attainable, so I bought one (E36 M3). And I've kind of stayed in that lane for the last 17 years. I've been fortunate enough to own a lot of cool (in my mind) cars for not a lot of money. Buy used and cheap, enjoy, sell slightly more used and for about the same money.

I've kind of reached the point where I'm just not that interested in having something fast on the street, and am not that interested in having three vehicles to serve specific roles. I've got the Ram, which isn't going anywhere until I lose interest in racing (and I really like having a truck). I've got the Mazdaspeed, which is fully depreciated (and then some) and probably nearly worthless on the used market ($5k?). And I've got the Boxster, which only gets driven on nice days and is probably worth on the order of $30k. I keep looking at the Boxster and thinking, "selling this gives me enough money to finish the RX-8 and put another $10k in the retirement fund, plus decrease our insurance load, plus have one less car in the stable that needs maintenance." It's really tempting. It took us forever to find a car specced out like we wanted it, but... it's just a car. And while I love it (it is a truly phenomenal car), I've had it four years and I'm ready for the next thing, or ... nothing.

Then there would be the really smart thing - sell the BMW (the competition car, which by all rights will be replaced by the RX-8 once it's finished). But that's sticking around for a little while longer so I'm taking it off the table for consideration right now.

So I'm thinking of a few scenarios.

1) Sell Boxster. Drive Mazdaspeed. Finish RX-8, bolster investments. The smart move, but which leaves me with a car that is getting pretty old. I just did a bunch of work on it, but guessing what else a 200k mile car will need on any given day is a crap shoot.
2) Sell Boxster. Sell Mazdaspeed. Buy a new GTI. Move the needle significantly on the RX-8.
3) Sll Boxster and Mazdaspeed and get a really cheap, slightly used "basic transportation module" like a Mazda3. This is what my brother did, and it's a very smart play. Really low insurance costs. Awesome fuel economy. Near zero maintenance. Still pretty fun to drive with a stick (I actually really like his) and engaging enough on the road. Cheaper than a GTI, both in initial cost and cost / time to keep running.

No real point to this post other than to organize my thoughts. Criticize away.
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