Convinced my wife that we need a 3rd car

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by AWDtoRWD

I'd suggest a Subaru sedan. Legacy or WRX would be great to pull that x7 out of the snow.

well that would be 1 way to highlight the 3rd car's worth

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Maybe an entry for the unpopular opinion thread, but I love the look of it. It looks so aggressive and mean.

Dedicated sports car is in my future, but wouldn't really work well for my current situation. My kids are little and I shuttle my daughter (and soon son as he gets older) to/from school. I don't want to buy a 911 now for the couple times a month I'd be able to find an excuse to leave the house when my wife isn't working a weekend. I'd want to be able to properly enjoy it and drive it multiple times a week, and I'll have better opportunity to do that once the kids are older and more independent. But currently, I work during the week, my wife works many weekends, and kids are little.

I'll put it another way - the genesis of this 3rd car idea isn't to have a daily driver and then my m3 be my weekend fun car. If that were the case, then I'd probably go straight for the 458 while it's still considered a somewhat recent and modern ferrari (I can always buy a brand new 911). The genesis of it is something to drive in occasional inclement weather that would be safer than a RWD performance car, and an automatic that my wife can drive so she isn't stranded at home anytime I might need to take the SUV out. For all other driving duties I would be using the M3.

Besides, I'll continue to stress that this is a bucket list car for me... don't take that away from me, beaver snout and all

LOL i won't, but i'd still take an E92 over either the F80 or G whatever!

I hear you on not enjoying a sports car enough, which is where the 911 saves things a bit with those "useless" back seats. We used it more than I thought TBH but the top down REALLY makes it way more fun despite the loss of purity.

Bigger issue for me has been the solid 30 minute drive just to GET TO a decent road, so an hour round trip before i even enjoy myself.



THe correct child seat makes a HUGE difference.....

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

LOL i won't, but i'd still take an E92 over either the F80 or G whatever!

I hear you on not enjoying a sports car enough, which is where the 911 saves things a bit with those "useless" back seats. We used it more than I thought TBH but the top down REALLY makes it way more fun despite the loss of purity.

Bigger issue for me has been the solid 30 minute drive just to GET TO a decent road, so an hour round trip before i even enjoy myself.



THe correct child seat makes a HUGE difference.....

I have definitely thought about the utility of the 911's rear seats for small children. At least for another year and a half my son's rear facing seat would be a nightmare to get in there. At least till he's big enough to switch to a front facing seat. That being said, my daughter complains about leg space in my 3 series and prefers I take her to school in the x7 whenever it's available. I can only imagine her complaints in the 911.

I do hope to join you in 911 ownership soon however....

How about this - regardless of m3 or 911, I'll still need (want) a 3rd car - so what my primary car in either scenario is, isn't the deciding variable. Even with a 911 I plan to get a manual which again my wife won't be able to drive. So if it helps, just assume I already have the 911 and I'm looking for my 180" or less $25k awd car

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Onesie

What winter tires are you mounting on the M3 wtwo3 ?

Just going to roll with all seasons... DWS06. There isn't much of an option for winter tires on the g80 stock wheels so you're either forced into all seasons or getting a completely new set of wheels.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Onesie

I didn’t even know they specced the M3 with AS… a crime if you ask me. Or are you replacing the summer tires with all seasons yourself? If so, I think I’m done with being your friend lol

What you need is to get your car with summer tires, and buy a set of wheels with winter tires. Then I can get onboard with your idea, because I have been having a tough time understanding your reasoning of “RWD in the winter is a bad idea”, understanding you’re not looking to lose performance in the winter… if you don’t have winter tires you won’t be able to drive the car much anyway, so I think your third car needs to be a car that you love. In this case, I’d keep the M340i you already have after lease end. Buy it out.

If you have winter tires and drive the M3 most of the time, then yes get a simpler less fun car for the exceptional days.

It's specced with summer tires, but my plan is to run all seasons in the winter - then the 3rd car can run winters and I'd drive the 3rd car if it ever snows or we have slippery conditions in general.

I'm weary of doing a dedicated winter/summer setup on the m3 because of how unpredictable the weather is in Chicagoland. I've been burned before... got caught in a random and severe snowstorm much earlier than was originally forecasted in my RWD IS350 on summer tires. It was an ice rink for my car and im still surprised I made it home that day.

So my plan is summers when we know for sure that there's no risk of snow (june/july/august/september), then all seasons for the remainder of the year. The days where we have frigid below freezing Temps and/or snow or just a shithole combination of salt and sleet, I'll fire up that 3rd car.

I HAVE thought about just buying out my m340 and keeping it... but it's a little big (go figure) and buyout will be $40k. Still, it's not totally out of the question...

But to answer your questions and maintain friends..

- yes I will be using summer tires in the summer months on the m3
- the 3rd car would only be used in 3 situations: in times of truly inclement weather, when my wife needs a car but doesn't have access to the x7, and when we have family visiting and staying with us.

So even 3,000 miles a year might be a bit on the higher end.

[Jelly_Belly]

Originally Posted by Esteban

BMW E90 xdrive.

A 328i Wagon with Xdrive would be pretty peak.

the N52 engine is thought as nails. The wagon would give you incredible utility. and Xdrive is pretty damn good and reliable.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Onesie

Cool thanks my friend

I maintain you should strongly consider winters instead.

The fact your Lexus skated has nothing to do with it being RWD. It’s tires.
You’ll find your M3 bad during winter and will blame it on the fact it’s RWD…

Put the wheel set in the beater budget.

I've considered doing a winter setup for the x7 and all season the rest of the year for it. The all seasons have performed admirably however even in snow. But may still buy a set of winters.

As for the m3, I'm getting the 1000m frozen gold wheels put on, and I'd like to run those wheels as long as possible (all year in fact). If I get a separate winter setup my time with then would be limited. So summer/all season switch off with a 3rd car with proper winter tires for those few really bad days would be my preference.

I know... I'm difficult....

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Onesie

BTW this winter tire recommendation is valid for all 3 cars. I’m surprised you run all seasons in Chicago…

One caveat - I think more winter tire availability will be coming for the M3 tire sizes in the future - so I may do the summer/winter setup eventually.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Onesie

Remember you’re paying 200/300 a year to have these all-seasons swapped in.
How many years to recover the wheels you’ll buy for the winters (especially considering you’ll recoup at least half the amount paid for the wheels when you sell them).

I know I know you want to ride in style in the 1000M.
I have a similar dilema and live in a warm place, I was caught off guard in my Michelin PS4S in November by snow in my 19” wheels… almost didn’t make it home that day…

Just came back from skiing with my 17” E46 wheels wearing Hakkapeliitta R2. They don’t look anywhere near as good… but oh well, I’m driving the same fun car and doing donuts in the snow.

Your Life May Vary.

You're going to smack me when I tell you that I'm planning to do PCD in February and will be driving 800 miles home... in February... on summer tires.

My plan is, check the weather patterns obsessively through the day and at the first sight of snow on the ground to just call it a day and find the nearest hotel to stay at for the night. Will also only be driving during day time hours... so this 800 mile trip will take me 3-4 days. My wife hates me to top it all off I'm targeting the week of the 13th. So valentines day will be spent with my buddy traveling with me to SC to pick up the car if I'm able to secure that week for PCD.

In case you guys had any doubts about this car being a bucket list car for me...

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Onesie

BTW this winter tire recommendation is valid for all 3 cars. I’m surprised you run all seasons in Chicago…

Everyone in Chicagoland has xDrive and they all use all seasons.

Originally Posted by wtwo3

You're going to smack me when I tell you that I'm planning to do PCD in February and will be driving 800 miles home... in February... on summer tires.

My plan is, check the weather patterns obsessively through the day and at the first sight of snow on the ground to just call it a day and find the nearest hotel to stay at for the night. Will also only be driving during day time hours... so this 800 mile trip will take me 3-4 days. My wife hates me to top it all off I'm targeting the week of the 13th. So valentines day will be spent with my buddy traveling with me to SC to pick up the car if I'm able to secure that week for PCD.

In case you guys had any doubts about this car being a bucket list car for me...

I am looking at 2020 CPO rwd M340i’s to buy down south and drive home. I have an idea to buy a new set of winter tires and wheels from Tire Rack and have them delivered to the dealership where I buy the car and have them put them on before driving back.

That’s a fairly big risk driving M3 performance tires 800 miles in the winter. Even if you don’t have snow the low temperatures could be a problem for the tires.

Good on you for doing PCD!!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Everyone in Chicagoland has xDrive and they all use all seasons.



I am looking at 2020 CPO rwd M340i’s to buy down south and drive home. I have an idea to buy a new set of winter tires and wheels from Tire Rack and have them delivered to the dealership where I buy the car and have them put them on before driving back.

That’s a fairly big risk driving M3 performance tires 800 miles in the winter. Even if you don’t have snow the low temperatures could be a problem for the tires.

Good on you for doing PCD!!

Yeah, the silver lining is it'll be all break-in miles, so I'll be feathering the throttle regardless. The whole issue with putting tires on at a discount tire near PCD is that I'll be swapping out for 1000m wheels, so don't really want to spend money on a set of tires that I'll only use for 800 miles and then have to sell... unless I can recoup a good chunk of the value back.

I'm pretty excited - they just reached out for a date of Jan 19 (which I'll likely have to delay till 1st or 2nd week of February, but at this point it's becoming a reality after 11 months of waiting.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Onesie

Not sure what xdrive has to do with the tires people use, but the fact people use all seasons is akin to everybody driving a Corolla. The fact people don’t want performance is not an issue for someone who is. Until that person drives into you, then it becomes an issue you should care about.

Yeah, they all equate xDrive with being able to do anything, including stopping and turning.

[Alfisti]

Winters with RWD shit all over AWD and all seasons without fail

[tigermack]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

I still need to emphasize the E84 35i with some winter tires... Sure it won't be as reliable as a Mazda, but it'll be mostly fine. More importantly you will hopefully enjoy driving it every time. It's going to be at least a seven year old car with X miles on it, but won't feel like such a different animal from the rest of the fleet. Obviously I'm projecting as it's a car I want myself, but hey, still my opinion!

I have a Mazda3 that I dailyed for a decade before my E90, and while it's a great car, it literally feels like a toy when I occasionally drive it.

Life is short, money comes and goes. Get something fun.

I had one for 7 years since new. Many memories in it.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by tigermack

I had one for 7 years since new. Many memories in it.

Great photos, especially that first one!!! The Mazda3 has been a really good car! GT trim w/ MT is pretty unique. The only things other than regular maintenance was fuel pump which needed the tank to get dropped and was a pain, and the sunroof is broken and won't open. Other than those things, it's only been oil changes, shocks, brakes, valve cover gasket, O2 sensors, and a CV axle!

[rogerthat00]

Ok I'm gonna jump in on this discussion. I've got an Alpina B8 on the way and want a "beater" that I can park at Publix and not worry about Grandpa backing into it, or a soccer mom's kid ramming a grocery cart into the side of my expensive car. $25k was also my budget goal. My oldest will be 16 in 4 years, I can just give her the car.

I've looked at a bunch compacts - Honda, Toyota, Kia, Subaru. The CVT is a dealbreaker, it sucks. From what I could skim over in these pages no one has suggested a Kia, but it was decent and didn't have a CVT if you get the GT.

I'm in Florida, so used cars right now are suspect since most of the state flooded last year. I imagine there are more than a few cars out there with unnoticed damage that will come to light in the future. So I'm sticking to new.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by rogerthat00

Ok I'm gonna jump in on this discussion. I've got an Alpina B8 on the way and want a "beater" that I can park at Publix and not worry about Grandpa backing into it, or a soccer mom's kid ramming a grocery cart into the side of my expensive car. $25k was also my budget goal. My oldest will be 16 in 4 years, I can just give her the car.

I've looked at a bunch compacts - Honda, Toyota, Kia, Subaru. The CVT is a dealbreaker, it sucks. From what I could skim over in these pages no one has suggested a Kia, but it was decent and didn't have a CVT if you get the GT.

I'm in Florida, so used cars right now are suspect since most of the state flooded last year. I imagine there are more than a few cars out there with unnoticed damage that will come to light in the future. So I'm sticking to new.

Is the CVT a deal breaker because it sucks to drive, or because of longer term reliability? As much as I hate CVTs, I figured I'd still consider them as this car won't get much use anyway (maybe 3-4k miles a year at most).

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Is the CVT a deal breaker because it sucks to drive, or because of longer term reliability? As much as I hate CVTs, I figured I'd still consider them as this car won't get much use anyway (maybe 3-4k miles a year at most).

Both. Go out and rent an Altima for a day is all you need to experience a CVT

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by XMetal

Both. Go out and rent an Altima for a day is all you need to experience a CVT

Trust me I know they're bad...

[rogerthat00]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Is the CVT a deal breaker because it sucks to drive, or because of longer term reliability? As much as I hate CVTs, I figured I'd still consider them as this car won't get much use anyway (maybe 3-4k miles a year at most).

Both. Terrible, terrible to drive and expensive to fix. We had a 2014 Pathfinder that had a CVT, for about two seconds before trading it. The engine is no better in a small car.

[rogerthat00]

I'm now looking at a Mazda 3. Thanks all - for whatever reason blind spot warning is elusive in these lower price points, even with the upgraded tech packages. Looks like the 3 might fit the bill! Slightly bigger engine than the Kia too. *bonus* LOL

[86Zed]

Originally Posted by Esteban

BMW E90 xdrive.

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Not sure about that reliability for winter duty

Has been a tremendous winter driver and has never left me stranded in a blizzard, ice storm, or long trip. Getting a bit old now however and is not the cheapest on running costs.

Might recommend something JDM - Civic Si? Used Lexus/Acura?