Hi,

First off, I'm not considering this because I dislike my car, in fact it's far from that as I will explain.

As I've mentioned on here before, I'm in the middle of a career change that has involved me going to school again (med school) in order to both financially and emotionally secure my future a little better. I've got a few years ahead of me on this path before I start to see any real return on the time/money invested and as such I'm after some advice on when I should part ways with my pride and joy.

I travel 450 miles a week back and forth to school now and bought a lovely BMW 135i to take care of this duty for me. I used to DD my 997 but at 20k a year, I just can't bring myself to do it. My 911 is an '06 CPO'd that I've owned since 18k miles in '08 til now where it has 43k miles. The warranty expires in 9/11 , and given that it sits in the garage all week, I'm probably not going to drop the money on an extended warranty after it expires.

I don't actually *need* the money from the Porsche, far from it in fact, it's just a sensibility thing and an effort to look to the future. Basically I'm toying with the idea of trading both the 135i and the 911 against a new M3 in a year or so's time so as to guarantee me free motoring throughout the remaining couple of years of medical school before I buy my GT3.

Now the question I pose to you is this : would you sell the car now before the warranty expires, bank the money and put it towards the GT3 fund a few years down the line? Or would you keep the 911 for another few years, given that it's probably not going to depreciate a lot more from where it is now and sell it when I come to buy the M3?

I await your thoughts and insights

Dave

 

I'm a big fan of doing what needs to be done to keep life as simple as possible.
Since you don't need to sell you have the luxury of setting a price you're willing to part with it for and waiting. I would think you'd get more with the CPO status still in operation however.

The economy seems to be on the upswing, for now, and used prices seem to be holding. In the end it's probably only a matter of a few $k give or take and you have to factor in the value of moving on and what that money could get you in other investment avenues.

 

One other factor to consider is reliability in a DD. It is my understanding that BMW has taken a huge hit, sadly, in recent years with regards to overall reliability, in contrast to Porsche.

I'm not saying specifically to dump the bimmer and keep the Porsche, but I sure wouldn't be opposed to that, either. You might look elsewhere for something to spend your $$ on if you sell the Porsche for overall cost of ownership AND overall reliability. Sure BMW has a great warranty (4-yr 50k) that includes not only oil changes but brakes, but your car is useless to you as a DD when it's in the shop for repairs.

As Hella-Buggin said, I too am a fan of doing what is necessary.

 

Dave,

I have no car advice for you, as I was only driving a Suzuki when I was in med school.

Study hard, very hard, and it will pay off at the end.

 

I have an 08' M3 and the car has been flawless. As a daily driver it is a lot of fun but not as a Porsche replacement. I would bank the money towards a GT3 instead of getting a new M3. The depreciation is brutal and the interest over four years can add up.

 

I think anyone in their 20's needs whatever money they can save --no matter how much they already saved . Most of them haven't saved so he's ahead of the masses .
Sadly --the majority are still dreaming when reality paints a scene more like this ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3YeeCPOLac

 

I just traded my M3 for a turbo.
The bimmer was great, but I spent a fortune in repairs.
Save your money while in school, then treat yourself afterwards !

 

This kills me! Sad and true............

 

Dave –

There are almost endless ways to go about your situation. And at the end of the day there is no one on here other than you that can advise you on what will make your heart happy.

An M3 is a nice car but it won’t replace the feeling you get from the Porsche you have now. But depending on the type of person you are and your attachment level to the P-car that may not matter much. The 135i is a sweet little ride as well.

I am a terrible example as I spend way too much on my car and have little to show for it elsewhere in my life standings. Saving is the number one smartest thing you can do, and congrats to you…it sounds like you have done quite well so far on that front.

For me there would be loads of things I would have to think about. A small list is:

- Do you have a family (any type or size) that will need to rely on your car
- Do you have an active social life that requires more car
- Do you have the money to support an out of warranty Porsche that you daily drive..a lot
- What impression does it give that a med student drives a BMW and a Porsche
o I know this is not huge but something worth thinking about
- How attached are you to YOUR current car
- What are your future car plans (looks like a GT3 but anything else?)

If I had to guess the possible return (if done correctly) on the money from the Porsche now could be of decent size. So getting rid of the car now could make more financial sense if you are not emotionally attached to it.

I am sorry this doesn’t help much. There are just sooooo many questions that have to be asked and pondered over by yourself. If I come up with anything else I will be sure to post it.

 

Thanks for the advice so far guys, it's excellent so keep it coming!

I should clarify a couple of things too I suppose as I missed them out of the first post.

I wasn't considering buying a brand new M3, more one that was 2 years old and still had warranty remaining so as to remove some of the depreciation. I bought my 135i for an amazing price used, it's an 08 with 40k on it now and as such I'd be selling it when it hits or before 100k and the extended warranty expires, hence the thought of trading them both against the M3.

I don't believe I'll lose an awful lot more on the 911 over the next couple of years but I could be wrong. My heart tells me to hang on to it but my head tells me that after 6/7 years, it could start to become a bit of a liability and given I would need at least some return to trade up to a GT3, I can't let that happen.

These are not the only cars in my family, my wife drives a new RX350 so it's not of great concern what I end up getting or getting rid of. She loves the BMW but the Porsche is too "manly" for her now it has the aerokit on it.

As I said, the 911 just sits in the garage now and does about 5k year, whereas before it did 15k-20k. I'd like to think this will soften the blow of maintenance somewhat but hey, we all know these things can surprise us.

Targa Tim, believe me I'm working hard, I'm top of all my classes and setting university records right now, this is probably the *only* time I've pushed myself this hard; normally I just get through things so easily but this time I felt I needed to go for the 100%, not the 95%.

I'm extremely attached to my 911, I've been a car lover all my life and thanks to my Dad's rather exotic car collection, the bug really bit me too. I suppose worst case, I can always fly back to the UK to play with the .2 RS if I miss it that much!

 

I'm on the "simplify" bandwagon along with the rest.

I too just went back to school -- working toward a PhD in Bioengineering. I left a lucrative corporate life to invest in this new direction. (Though I do consult 15 hours week at a healthy hourly rate to help offset the graduate student stipend).

Notwithstanding I did just buy a Ferrari 360, I'm in the process of simplifying my other cars and so I'm selling my 997.2, '87 Targa and bought a used, 2009 VW CC VR6 as my DD.

It was a bit tough going from DD's such as a 550 HP Mercedes C63, the 997, etc., but the VW is nice, safe and blends in nicely as a student.

My choice for the VW was not purely financial, it was really about simplifying. I could have picked up a used M3 (or similar) but I like how my VW gets me where I need to go with some comfort and style.

With that said, I do *need* a toy (ergo the 360). So if you're anything like I am, why not sell the Beemer, keep the Porsche as a weekend/evening toy, and get a more nondescript, used DD?

Oh, and my 2010 GT3 was an incredible car. It's my vote for you when you're ready.

 

The cost of the 135i being used from 2008 probably make is a smarter idead to hold tight for now. Drive the cars as you have been. And then sell/trade for the GT3 you want. You could go nuts and sell and invest but since you like your Porsche and dont NEED to sell it...dont.

 

Cars are depreciating assets (except for a few rare collectors cars) so the 997 will be worth less in a year or two than it is now. Sell one or the other and invest the money until you are ready to buy what you want.

 

I'm not terribly worried about what fellow students think because of what I drive, I'm a little older than my classmates and I've been very fortunate and worked hard to get where I am. I'm very modest and certainly wouldn't flash the 911 around inappropriately!

The GT3 is very much in the future, I'm talking 5 years at least until I'm working again and can afford that. I think part of my thinking for the M3 is so that I at least have something fun to tide me over. That said, I LOVE my 135i, I'm so impressed with it, maybe I should just keep them both for now, sell them both in 3 years and buy another used one, keeping the money from the 911 sale and bank it.

 

Exactly. It all comes down to how you will feel being Porsche-less for a few years. As well as if you are financially stable enough to hold onto both cars while in school.

There may be no reason to let go of the Porsche and the 135i for an M3 if you are happy with the current cars and can afford to have them.