New or Used: A Flip of the E36 Coin

Danny writes:

Dear Sajeev and Steve,

This is not necessarily a purchase conundrum, but I hope that you’ll help me anyway. I’m currently the owner of a lovely, well-kept 1998 BMW 323is Coupe (E36) that comes very close to fulfilling every automotive need of a frugal 24-year old single guy living in a big city—it looks good, it’s a blast to drive, it’s economical to run, and it’s pretty comfy to boot.

I picked it up about a year ago for just over 4 grand, and put about $1900 into it (a new set of Yokos and the replacement of a troublesome driveshaft). I’d love to keep the car into old age (it turned 130k on the clock yesterday), but two things give me pause. One: as much as I love the car, I don’t know if keeping it around will be worth the cost of upkeep (I’m mechanically savvy, but my “garage” is a cold pad of publicly-owned asphalt on a city street). Two: in all likelihood, I will be leaving my current city to start graduate school this fall (and will have no need for a car there).

I would hate to get rid of it—it’s been a joy to own and drive, and I know that if I sell it now, I’ll never be able to make back the money I put into it. I could conceivably leave it with a family member, and resume our relationship after I graduate, but that might not be worth the hassle. So what’s a fella to do?

There’s no doubt about it, E36s are sweet and you aren’t keeping yours. No matter when you sell, you’ll never get your “investment” back from it. So go ahead and do it now, considering the time value of money and your needs in college. The only way I see things differently is if you answer these questions with a yes:

Will you move on, grow up, progress as a human being and regret not having this car around as a future project? Will you piss away far too much money finding another version of your true love a decade (or more) from now? Are you as nuts as me with my Fox Body Fords?

Steve Answers:

This is more of a coin flip. You need to first figure out what your family is willing to do. Would they be willing to drive it once every couple weeks for perhaps 20 miles or so? The cost of insuring this vehicle will go down dramatically if you arrange to have a low mileage policy with your insurance company. I know that USAA does this and I’m sure others do so as well. This is what I did when I flew around the country liquidating vehicles and it worked out.

I would estimate your costs may run right around the $1500 range if you have it driven on occasion. Storing it on blocks would be a lot less. But you have to find a place for that. Not an easy thing to do if you live in a county or city that prohibits it. I would ask yourself a simple question if the storing option isn’t available,. Am I willing to spend $65 a month for the next two years to keep this car? That’s a question only you can answer.

Need help with a car buying conundrum? Email your particulars to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com , and let TTAC’s collective wisdom make the decision easier… or possibly much, much harder.