Advice please and opinions

easyrider

easyrider

easyrider

Caporegime
Joined
24 Dec 2005
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Current situation

2003 BMW E46 Sport 124K had this for a few years now.
2010 Suzuki Van Van Motorbike

I need a car but do I need the BMW still? I ride to work on my Bike saving me a small fortune. When the weather is bad I take the car.

I need to travel to Manchester every weekend

Now over the last few months the car has hardly been used.Except for my drives to manchester and back. It cost's £225 to tax and £50 a month to insure full comp.

I was thinking of selling it and getting somethng else cheaper...Lets Face it the BMW is crap in the snow and ice but awesome on the motorway

Because of its age would I see any benefit in selling it and getting something that's cheaper to run on the Motorway and work in the bad weather and cheaper to insure and Tax?

What are my options? I still need a car but I'm unsure wether I still need the beemer.

Cheers
 
Completely not worth getting rid and using something "lesser" for the motorway jaunt.

And to hell with it not being great in the snow, I coped fine in my 330d, and even then it was only a couple of weeks at the most, what about the other 50 weeks of the year?

£50/month on the insurance is nothing at all, neither is the £18.75/month it costs you to tax.
 
The problem you have is that the BMW is costing you comparatively little to run, even less given the mileage you do in it.

How much would you need to spend to be happy with a change? How long would it actually take to see a decent amount of profitability after the change?

I'm guessing that the timeframe will be vast, and you won't be as comfortable/happy on the motorway... so why bother?

easyrider said:
Its cost's me around 80 quid in fuel each weekend for the manchester trip
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Which engine is yours (I forget, I seem to remember 320i)? Perhaps drive at 5MPH less than you currently are, and have it cost significantly less. Should be able to get 40~ MPG from it?
 
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paradigm said:
The problem you have is that the BMW is costing you comparatively little to run, even less given the mileage you do in it.

How much would you need to spend to be happy with a change? How long would it actually take to see a decent amount of profitability after the change?

I'm guessing that the timeframe will be vast, and you won't be as comfortable/happy on the motorway... so why bother?
Click to expand...

I was thinking of getting maybe a Skoda Octavia or something?

For about £1500- 2K
 
paradigm said:
Which engine is yours (I forget, I seem to remember 320i)? Perhaps drive at 5MPH less than you currently are, and have it cost significantly less. Should be able to get 40~ MPG from it?
Click to expand...


320D...Sport

The trip is very taxing psychologically...Most of the time I just want to get home....Driving slower is just not an option. I can do Manchester to South Cave in just over an Hour if the time is right and I have the setting off and returning time down to fine art.
 
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Should be getting much closer to 50MPG then, I used to average 43~ in my 330d... Sport.

Heck, I'm getting 40~ out of my remapped 2.0T (petrol) A6 S-Line Avant.
 
I put 40 quid in when I set off and I return with 60 -80 miles left on the fuel computer

I put another 40 quid in on the sunday leaving me with 60-80 miles left on the computer for work to get me in if I can't use the Bike

Screw the MPG this is the cost. I have been doing the trips long enough
 
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[TW]Fox;20397982 said:
Do you go there in the morning and come back in the evening and then repeat it again the next day?!

Sounds like your usage pattern is ideal for something like a 320d :confused:
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I leave work at 12.30pm on the Friday drive to Manchester and get back home about 5.30 if I'm lucky with traffic.

I then drive back on the Sunday leaving about 3.30pm and return home at around 7.30pm that night
 
[TW]Fox;20398175 said:
Why not just go for the weekend or something :p
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Thats not an option :(

Any way any ideas?

Could I sell my BMW bag some cash and just get a cheaper car thats not an ass to drive on the motorway but is cheaper to run and maintain?
 
Why not just keep it? It's a 2003 320d not a 2012 M5, it's hardly a super expensive car. It's ideally suited for what you do with it infact.

Just how much cash do you think you are going to bag flogging an 8 year old 3 Series with 125k on it? £4-5k tops? It's just not worth the bother of a cheaper car.
 
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