Well after saturday's incident i think it's time to re-evaluate my situation. As some of yuou know i'm in a fair ammount of debt and if i don't seriously rethink my spending habits i'm not gonna clear it any time soon

so, i dont thnk i'll be replacing the M3 with another. I'll just end up spending a load of money that i shouldnt. So, time to rough it a bit (not too much) and move down to a cheaper car...

i'm looking for an BMW 328 (or any E36 really) preferably one that looks half decent and at least has A/C. so if you know of any for sale let me know!

already been on autotraer and could probably go and get one right now for 1500quid, but would obviously prefer to spend more like 1k

the idea is that i wont be spending hundreds of pounds every month on maintenance, i'll just let bits fall off and go clonk also the savings in fuel and insurance should be significant too.

what we think, good move?

 

depends on how much your in debt!

seriously though; its good that you've choosen to sort it out rather than be forced too -

there's a load of cheap motors about at the moment; buyers market!

 

Have a look on Driftworks, quite a few E36's for sale at the moment.

 

How the hell were you doing so many trackdays and yet in so much debt?

 

I would spend a bit of cash to get something respectable and even look away from the BMW badge. If you really want to sort your financial situation you can get 1.25 Fiestas for a grand and they're perfrctly servicable. Sort your debts out then get yourself another M3 and probably sell the Fiesta for what you paid for it

 

because i still earn anough to cover the repayments.

my problem is that i never pay any of it off

time to grow up

 

Thats why hes he debt

Its a good idea to sort your finacies out Jim

Steve.

 

If your in debt why do you need a thirsty 6 cylinder bm, surely a more economical car is what you (or your finances) need..


steve

 

Seems to be the sensible thing to do jim.

 

I wait for the phone call. Its soooooooo boring Rich.

Your call at the end of the day mate

 

the only mileage i do is for pleasure, i do not NEED a car. so buying a 1.0 fiesta is pointless

 

Got to be done mate!

That's why I sold that track cossie I had, and drove round in a diesel Astra for 18 months. Gave up trackdays until I could properly justify it, and only now, 2 years later, would I consider myself in a position to be able to afford AND justify a Ł250+ weekend for 2 hours total track driving.

 

yeah just bought a fucking 1.4 coursa, would like to spend money on other things than petrol

 

what happened to the m3 then jim?

 

erm

 

328i sport on autotrader looks tidy enough

 

oh shit! not good jim thats a shame hope no injuries looked like a nasty shunt

 

Jim if it was me i would pay my debts off and get straight before enjoying expensive hobbies like M3's (or in my case Focus RS's) on track days . I been using a fiesta Zetec-S for running about and work, ok its not a fantastic car but its nippy and ok to drive, it saves me nearly Ł150 a month in fuel alone compaired to the FRS!

If it was me shopping for a cheap but fun car i would be looking for something like a Clio 172 sport. Savings all round with fuel, insurance and running costs and then see where you stand in a years time.

 

andy, thats what i just said i was doing

i'm open to suggestions on cars other than a 328 tho but nothing turbocharged

 

I cant believe you have been wasting money while in debt but hey ho, and a 328 isnt going to cost much less to run in fuel is it

Read above, my suggestion, clio 172 sport

 

actually itll cost a shitload less to run and like i said, as i never NEED to drive the car, if im wanting to save money on fuel, i just dont drive it i dont do enough miles for fuel costs to be a major factor (ie derv etc.)

 

Makes sense.

Bottom line is to get another M3 and do all the stuff to it that yours had done, will end up costing a load of money that you and paul dont have, so just sell him yours as it is for a fair price like 5K, spend 1K on a 328, pay 4K off your debt, and go mega sensible for a few months (quite a few maybe if its a lot of debt, lol) till you are sorted financially.

Far less headache for both of your right now then, and you can find a car that suits you at a later date, not like you NEED an M3 through the winter anyway.

 

Jim, pay your debt off first, i finished uni and paid mine off hence why im driving a cheap old car thats economical to run i rekon this cheap car of mine is a god send it costs nothing its fun being rst'd and its not asked for any major work yet.

Im saving and saving and will be looking at purchasing some thing special in the near future

HTH

 

a 328i prob drinks about the same amount of petrol as a 3.0 M3 does (and prob even worse with 165k on it )

 

chip, found me a 328 sport yet? i found a couple but theyre 1.5k-2k

 

Jim's running costs with his M3 werent high because of fuel, they were high because every single tiny little niggle it ever had, went straight into bexley motorworks to be sorted.

If he has a snotty old 328 he wont be obsessed with keeping it maintained to perfection, so it wont keep costing him money continually.

 

Jim, get a Primera track shitter!!

You can double up and Mini-cab it at weekends as well!

Joking apart, if money is tight and sacrifices need to be made, your doing the right thing by "down grading" and looking for cheaper "fun" transport.

Ive been there, tracking my 240bhp S2 was a very very expensive hobby, both form an expenditure and financial exposure point of view. Ive gone the opposite way now, if i stack my shitter into the barrier, all i stand to lose is a few hundred quid at worst, regardless of whos driving! Plus if i dont do anything with the car for the next 12 months, it dont cost me owt in depreciation etc etc.

 

Nope, not been looking, im sure one will come up though, 325 sport would be equally acceptable too IMHO

 

what was so special about it to make it be worth 5k?

isnt/wasnt it just a regular 3.0 M3 with a few fancy bits for trackdays?

 

Jim,
I think if you're honest with yourself, the reason why you want the 328i, is so that you can STILL do a few track days and have fun?

Nothing wrong in that as such, but even you must realise you're not really going to be making significant in-roads in clearing any debts by continuing to spunk money up the wall in this respect....

 

Ł650 brakes , Ł1k exhaust, Ł4-500 suspension etc etc....(on top of cost for a decent standard car, would be will into Ł6k, so Ł5k is a fair guess).

 

Exactly.... which is why you haven't seen me at any trackdays in 18 months.

Can't have your cake and eat it..... although I did Bedford once in the Astra Diesel.....

 

thanks, didnt know it had all that before

 

Your precisley like that other muppet Charlie Chalk
"HOW THE HELL CAN YOU GET IN DEBT LIVING WITH YOUR MUM??"
THE REAL LIFE WILL HIT YOU WHEN YOU FLEE THE NEST...........

 

mike, trackdays i think i can live without, but i might still wanna go to the ring.

just more something to drive to the meets with everyone and not feel like a pikey

as for my old one, it was a very highly maintained example with all the "right" bits on it. paintowork was average, but mechanically it was spot on (and it it wasnt spot on I spent a fortune making sure it was) and its always been owned by people the same as me who spend money when required and never skimped on maintenance

 

sry nop

 

How about?

http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drif...28i-coupe.html

 

leadfoot, possibly. cant be arsed to sign up to PM him tho

 

It's true you know

 

wtf does sry nop mean?

get a 325 - similar power, doesnt have the heavy engine that the 328 has either, and is meant to be a better engine. the 328 had nikasil issues iirc.