[HyeWarrior]

Curious to see what you guys would recommend for my situation here...

I'm currently 25 working in a city 22 miles away in stop and go traffic. My round trip commute during the week is about 50 miles a day factoring in the gym and errands. I have an opportunity to transfer to a different branch of my company and make slightly more money. However, the round trip commute is probably gonna jump up to 75 miles a day, but this is with virtually no traffic either way (cruise control commute).

I JUST bought my N55 in November which currently sits at 55k miles. I'm planning on going off to grad school in a year and a half (PA), but I just want to work as much as possible until then because I can't work during my studies. Ideally, I will be off to school some time in June or July of 2017. But I'm estimating putting about 20k miles on my car in a year if I drive it everyday to my new job.

I don't plan on selling my car any time soon, I love it. But I'm seriously considering possibly getting a cheap beater car for commuting in the next few months, I wouldn't want to spend anything more than $2.5k. I know I can sell the car for close to what I pay after I'm done with it, and this would help keep the value of my 135i even though I'm not planning on selling it. Again though, that's $2.5k right out of pocket.

But then I figure, why not just throw that $2.5k at other things like paying off my 135i slightly quicker or other bills? Fuck it, drive the hell out of my car, if things go wrong, I'll fix em, and just drive this car until the wheels fall off.


Thoughts? What do you guys think? Beater or fuck it and drive as much as possible and enjoy it.

[leopard print]

In my opinion cars are meant to be driven. Even though your commute is pretty far distance wise, you said there is virtually no traffic. That's a plus in my book to be able to daily drive a fun car with no impeding traffic.

[KwlAznKid]

tough situation for you, i initially came in here to tell you that e92s are no exotics and meant to be driven but after reading your post i do think you have some justification for a beater. i think it really depends on your budget, i mean that's another car to insure, pay fees for, etc.. if after all those fees it still makes sense for you then i would say go for it and put less miles on the e92

[rohitsja]

Think its more of a personal financial decision you need to take yourself. For all you know your beater can put a big hole in your pocket on maintenance alone and then you have registration, insurance, taxes, annual state inspections (if applicable) and all that.
I do have a beater for the same reason but i sometimes think I end up putting more money into it than I should just because I want it to drive good too and look good. The E92 raised the standards for me so I don't feel like driving around in a car falling to pieces just to save miles or money so I end up putting money into the other one as well, that's just me. I don't think I am saving money either way, miles yes but that's about it. Good luck.

[leopard print]

Also, I know you said you plan on keeping the N55. But after you graduate grad school you'll probably be making more money and can afford something more expensive/different. If you decide to get something else at that point you'll be kicking yourself that didn't enjoy the N55 while you had it.

[fun ticket]

Originally Posted by leopard print

Also, I know you said you plan on keeping the N55. But after you graduate grad school you'll probably be making more money and can afford something more expensive/different. If you decide to get something else at that point you'll be kicking yourself that didn't enjoy the N55 while you had it.

This.....you bought the car because you like driving it. So drive it and enjoy it and save your $ for the next one.

[lens]

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

Curious to see what you guys would recommend for my situation here...

I'm currently 25 working in a city 22 miles away in stop and go traffic. My round trip commute during the week is about 50 miles a day factoring in the gym and errands. I have an opportunity to transfer to a different branch of my company and make slightly more money. However, the round trip commute is probably gonna jump up to 75 miles a day, but this is with virtually no traffic either way (cruise control commute).

I JUST bought my N55 in November which currently sits at 55k miles. I'm planning on going off to grad school in a year and a half (PA), but I just want to work as much as possible until then because I can't work during my studies. Ideally, I will be off to school some time in June or July of 2017. But I'm estimating putting about 20k miles on my car in a year if I drive it everyday to my new job.

I don't plan on selling my car any time soon, I love it. But I'm seriously considering possibly getting a cheap beater car for commuting in the next few months, I wouldn't want to spend anything more than $2.5k. I know I can sell the car for close to what I pay after I'm done with it, and this would help keep the value of my 135i even though I'm not planning on selling it. Again though, that's $2.5k right out of pocket.

But then I figure, why not just throw that $2.5k at other things like paying off my 135i slightly quicker or other bills? Fuck it, drive the hell out of my car, if things go wrong, I'll fix em, and just drive this car until the wheels fall off.


Thoughts? What do you guys think? Beater or fuck it and drive as much as possible and enjoy it.

Preventive maintenance.

Replace belts, water pumps, fuel pumps before they go and you should be fine. Basically all the parts that have a history of failing, just replace them and do normal maintenance afterwards.

Just drive the living crap out of the car, it's meant to be driven all year long and you shouldn't degrade your driving experience by getting a beater (unless you have a ridiculous high HP car.....even so #yolo)

[Needbmwpartzz]

Drive and save.

[BMB063]

I would say given your situation, keep your car and save the extra $ you'd use for an additional vehicle for maintenance on your N55 when it needs it. I recently got a "winter beater" jeep grand cherokee. It's great having a second vehicle to beat on and do whatever with, but with fees, taxes, maintenance, insurance, registration - it's definitely more expensive to have two vehicles. Although I never care to put mileage on it. And what someone said above, eventually you can step into a more expensive car down the road when you make more money.

In the meantime, enjoy your car. Maybe do a couple small mods which usually results in falling in love with it all over again!

[Mr Tonka]

When i discovered that i could lease an Electric Ford Focus for ~$300 a month (my fuel bill for the E92M) i figured i could have sold the E92 for a lot more money if it had 15000 to 25000 less miles on it.

But then i would have been driving an electric ford focus everyday. Comes down to what's most important / fun for you. What it boiled down to for me was that i'd rather drive the M3 everyday even if it were for commuting than drive something that was less comfortable, worse stereo, zero performance, zero appeal, etc... So it cost me a hypothetical $2 to $5k when i sold the car with 80k miles. It was more fun looking at the M3 when going out to the parking lot, going to appointments in it, meeting customers with it.

[Nkc]

Drive the crap out of the 135. Gas is cheap and fuel economy isn't bad on your car.

If you're strapped for cash and need to sell the 135 for something more economical then that's a different story. Having another car isn't the answer here.

Save the $2.5k for rainy day car repair bills.

[F30lolz]

Insurance, registration fees are things you cannot recoup. As already mentioned, save the cash and enjoy the car.

[ASBSECU E93]

Drive the car, or get a low cost TDi and tune it (DPF delete and stage II tune from Malone).

The TDi will deliver a similar feel as the 135i, both in handling and torque for days - but it will deliver 50+ mpg with the right set-up as I outlined...

Right now - you could buy a used TDi for nothing because of the emissions scandal.

You might actually keep the TDi and move on from the 135i after grad school

[BMW F22]

In a similar position. Current commute is under 7 miles RT. I'm waiting to hear back from a new opportunity. If they offer me a job it'd be a 60 mile RT daily. That's just going to and from work.

Not sure if I want to add that many miles to the M235i. Also thinking of perhaps getting a reliable used car. For me it depends on how much more I will be making, how much more it would cost in gas, insurance, the cost of the beater car, etc. when all is said and done, it might not be worth it.

[The Wind Breezes]

How is a one series not already a daily driver? I'm thinking you bought the wrong car if you're posting this thread.

[M3 Number 86]

Depends if you want to keep the car for a while or not.

For me I'm not going to sell my car and build it into weekend and track car so I'll need to get a beater soon to keep the miles low as possible.

[Craigy]

Your car will depreciate regardless of if you drive it or not. If you drive it a lot, it will depreciate a little extra. You won't be saving a lot of value by making it your weekend car.

Personally I wouldn't want to let my BMW sit and depreciate while I suffer with a $2,500 beater everyday.

Enjoy your car.

[eluded]

I love beaters. I am now a 340i as one. So with the 335 @55K miles a beater can also serve as a backup car. You know, for when the N55 dies on you for no reason other than being a BMW.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by ASBSECU E93

Drive the car, or get a low cost TDi and tune it (DPF delete and stage II tune from Malone).

The TDi will deliver a similar feel as the 135i, both in handling and torque for days - but it will deliver 50+ mpg with the right set-up as I outlined...

Right now - you could buy a used TDi for nothing because of the emissions scandal.

You might actually keep the TDi and move on from the 135i after grad school

^^^
This.

I have a 328d as my beater and could not be happier. I just drove 225 miles before typing this and can't wait to refill to calculate my avg MPG. I'm going with a tune next and will never look back. And I'm still driving a German car.

[1LRM3]

I have a beater ... for winters, driving into the city, and the mere fact I can park wherever da f*** I want.

[PoorLurker]

Keep driving the 135. When you get done with grad school, there will be ones for sale with low mileage. It's not a unicorn and could be replaced if necessary.

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

^^^
This.

I have a 328d as my beater and could not be happier. I just drove 225 miles before typing this and can't wait to refill to calculate my avg MPG. I'm going with a tune next and will never look back. And I'm still driving a German car.

Except a TDI is fwd. I'd rather have a pos rwd than a nice fwd lol