[fl335i]

Well after the realization that having two cars is just too much hassle and money I've been faced with deciding which of my two BMW's to keep and use for daily use. And when I say daily use, it's not just typical 15k/yr. I use my personal car for a lot of work travel too, which total ups about 35k/yr work and personal. Hence why I have an '03 530i for work. Long story short I love my 530i M sport 5 spd manual. Just flat out one if not the best car I've ever owned. Perfect size cabin and trunk, fun to drive, ergonomics, quality of material etc. Literally my favorite car. But looking at things financially I need to pick one car and make it work to get ahead. If I drove a newer Camry or Mazda 6 or fusion I would be making money off the work lease program and just buy a new car every 4yrs. SO. After going back and forth on which to keep and which to sell I think I've decided to keep the 335i and sell the 530i. The 530i has 114k, is 10yrs old now and still has a laundry list of items that would need to be fixed if I made it my only primary car. IMO. And I made a spread sheet with mileage, and age depreciation, repairs etc. and in 2yrs & 70k from now it's the same cost to drive my 335i which is mint vs. continuing to fix up the 530i. But the repairs also cost time and effort, which is not on a spread sheet, and I still would still have a 10-12yr old car. So I wouldn't be saving much if anything by keeping the older car and selling the newer car. I either take the hit in depreciation or repairs. At least with depreciation I'm headache free and can enjoy my weekends.

The reality is I want a 5 series but a newer 5'er is too expensive to drive for DD & work purposes. It's either an older 5'er or a newer 3'er. Big, nice and old. Or smaller newer 3'er. Just the way the math works out.

Or I just sell both BMW's and buy a new normal car. Mazda 6, Accord, Fusion Etc. That way I have a brand-new car and can still make it work on paper. I still have a CPO warranty on my 335i until Aug 31 2013. I bought it in '10 with 36k from the dealer, I'm the 2nd owner and it's an '07. So at this point keeping it and driving it is a cost-effective option. it's a 6yr old car that has 45k miles, and been garaged it's entire life. It looks like it just rolled off the assembly line. So I'm losing my arse just letting it sit around anyway. A new(er) 2012 or 2013 family sedan would just make things easier and simpler in terms of repairs, maintenance and such vs the 335i. But the extra bit is worth it in my book. I'm going to keep my 313's for the track and fun weekends. I have a set of '10 185's I'm going to put some regular tires on and those will be my daily driver wheel/tire combo. Much cheaper to buy 225/45/17 tires vs staggered 18's. And damaging the 313's will hurt me. Opinions? Thoughts?