Is it worth compromising?

[stroberaver]

Been doing a lot of thinking about cars recently, and it got me wondering - is it worth compromising to get a car, or will you just regret not holding out for what you want?

Case in point - I've been trundling around in a nicely warm Ibiza 6L for nearly 9 years now, and while it fitted the bill nearly a decade ago when I bought it, it's not something I want to hang onto for much longer. While there's nothing wrong with it and it has very low mileage, age is starting to catch up and the maintenance & repair bills are starting to come in. Most of all, I was up in the Scottish highlands last month for some photography and loved it so would like to keep going back and exploring, but now have yearnings for a newer car with less wear and tear, that is worry-free and highly unlikely to fail on me if I'm in the middle of nowhere with no mobile signal. A couple of the issues that have cropped up on my car recently are perfectly routine to deal with in the usual environment of the daily commute, near home, garages etc. - but would've been a whole different story if they'd occurred miles from nowhere. So the "newness" and dependability of a replacement car is important to me.

And I know what I want. The problem is I can't afford it.

I want a BMW E92 335i - a relatively new one to avoid wear and tear issues. A shame for me that the list price is over £40k, and BMW regularly punts out well-specced, nearly-new, low mileage examples from their own fleet onto the second hand market at around £35k. I like the coupe looks but with space for four adults and a decent-sized boot; I love the might of the N55 engine and the reasonable running costs; I like the DCT gearbox option; I even like the iDrive and customisable options within.

Obviously a respectably new 325i or 330i is more affordable, and would give me everything except that engine and the DCT transmission.

But if I worked towards and spunked all my money on a 325/330 instead... would I not be always thinking in the back of my mind, "I wish this was a 335i"? I wouldn't have much/any money left and all I'd have in exchange is something I didn't truly want.

Obviously it's a different situation when forced into changing your car - through terminal failure or an accident etc. - compromises must be made then. But in this case it would be an optional upgrade - I don't need a newer car, but it would be nice and a better car would make UK holidays and trips away worth doing.

I frequently think how much easier it is for non-petrolheads to choose their car. They're not bothered by the details as long as it gets them from A to B. Whereas I know exactly what I want, and feel as though nothing else will quite do. Has anyone else compromised on what they want (not necessarily due to money, perhaps also model availability, compulsive purchase, etc) only to regret it and wish you'd held out for the genuine item in the first place? Or have you ever gone for the lesser model than you originally wanted and been surprisingly glad of it?

[Uncle John]

Sounds like you answered your own question.

Had a similar dilemma recently, I got the more expensive option in the end as I knew I'd always be lusting after one.

[300bhp/ton]

A 335i is a nice car, but if you can't afford it then there are plenty of other nice cars about which are a lot cheaper and a million times nicer than any SEAT ever created.

I honestly don't understand with such a wonderful array of cars out there why any half interested motoring enthusiast would buy and run such a boring thing as SEAT, Golf, Astra, etc, etc.. unless it's just bangernomics on a tight budget.

[C.A.R.]

335i, is it really that special? I'd understand it if you were trying to compromise between something like an M3, but a 335i is just a 3 series.

Have you tested one to see what it's like to live with and whether or not it's just something you have hyped up in your head?

[Captain Muppet]

I had a non-turbo RX7, and a non-turbo MR2. Neither were "the best" car in the range, but I was happy with what they offered. Happy enough I kept the MR2 for 7 years.

Lusting after a 335 is a bit weird though, why not the M3? If you've compromised down to a 335 already is a 325 that much of a step?

Edited by Captain Muppet on Monday 19th November 16:34

[Soovy]

Seven years ago I wanted an M3.

I bought a 330 Clubsport and saved about two grand.


From the second I got it home I regretted it.

[Chrisw666]

300bhp/ton said:

I honestly don't understand with such a wonderful array of cars out there why any half interested motoring enthusiast would buy and run such a boring thing as SEAT, Golf, Astra, etc, etc.. unless it's just bangernomics on a tight budget.

Some people like dull cars, I love driving and love cars but I'd be happy with a MK1 focus or MK4 TDI Golf if they worked and gave me a nice place to sit on a morning.

You can be a car enthusiast without owning something special, specialist, expensive, compromised or even interesting.

I know many people who love cars but won't work on them at home and at least 50% of the time I'd prefer to pay someone else to fix what I've broken.

[crofty1984]

I bought an E39 530i M-Sport
It was an excellent car I have many fond memories of, including one memory involving a nice Australian girl.
It was also not an M5

[300bhp/ton]

Chrisw666 said:

300bhp/ton said:

I honestly don't understand with such a wonderful array of cars out there why any half interested motoring enthusiast would buy and run such a boring thing as SEAT, Golf, Astra, etc, etc.. unless it's just bangernomics on a tight budget.

Some people like dull cars, I love driving and love cars but I'd be happy with a MK1 focus or MK4 TDI Golf if they worked and gave me a nice place to sit on a morning.

You can be a car enthusiast without owning something special, specialist, expensive, compromised or even interesting.

I know many people who love cars but won't work on them at home and at least 50% of the time I'd prefer to pay someone else to fix what I've broken.

So here is the divide. Although I can think of almost no situations were you can't run something more interesting on a similar budget with no additional risk.

If they can't afford a 335i then they need to figure out what they can afford and see what interesting cars at available at this price.

And weigh up potential "risk" of age verses newness and the self delusion that new cars never fail.

[stroberaver]

C.A.R. said:

335i, is it really that special? I'd understand it if you were trying to compromise between something like an M3, but a 335i is just a 3 series.

Captain Muppet said:

Lusting after a 335 is a bit weird though, why not the M3? If you've compromised down to a 335 already is a 325 that much of a step?

I've no doubt an M3 is a wonderful machine, but it's not for me even if I could afford one. Firstly I'd rather have the 335's super-torquey turbo-charged straight six in a road car than a high-revving V8. Secondly for my leisure use I want something with a decent tank range, and the M3 doesn't have great range (a diesel isn't an option as I have a 3-4 mile commute so it would just clog up and the economy wouldn't pay for itself most of the year). Thirdly I love the stealth factor of the 335i, and the fact that it blends in perfectly with all the 320d M Sport coupes... until you open the taps.

I know an M3 is a technically far superior car... and round a track I presume there's no comparison, but having driven neither of them, for everyday road use I'd rather choose the torquey subtlety of a 335i.

Chrisw666 said:

You can be a car enthusiast without owning something special, specialist, expensive, compromised or even interesting.

I know many people who love cars but won't work on them at home and at least 50% of the time I'd prefer to pay someone else to fix what I've broken.

Quite. My car is nothing special at all (in fact it seemed specially ste after my recent jaunt to Scotland, me arriving at each end of the journey with an aching back from the seats, ringing ears from the noise, the main respite being achieved when stopping to fill up thanks to a small tank and short gearing). But I've owned it from new, know the history of it, has been mostly faultless except for the increasing amount of age-related work, does everything I need and more on a day to day basis, and so until recently I'd rather just run that while saving towards something nice, rather than spending my money on something "interesting" that needs maintenance I can't easily do myself as I live in a flat.

Anyway, this wasn't about my current car. It's me needing to debate with myself where to "draw the line" and get something soon-ish that's much better than what I have now, but isn't what I want, or keep soldiering on until I can afford what I want.

Or to put it another way, if (hypothetically, haven't done the sums yet) I could climb into a reasonably new 330i next year, it would be a massive improvement on what I have. Six cylinder petrol, auto box (not as good as a DCT but preferable to a manual for me in a car like this), smooth and effortless and powerful, space for four, light-years ahead of my current car, and would facilitate travel and breaks around the country visiting family or going on photography trips with a couple of mates. Would I be an idiot to put all that on hold for potentially another year or two because I'm holding out for a DCT-equipped 335i instead?

[Dominicc01]

stroberaver said:

Or to put it another way, if (hypothetically, haven't done the sums yet) I could climb into a reasonably new 330i next year, it would be a massive improvement on what I have. Six cylinder petrol, auto box (not as good as a DCT but preferable to a manual for me in a car like this), smooth and effortless and powerful, space for four, light-years ahead of my current car, and would facilitate travel and breaks around the country visiting family or going on photography trips with a couple of mates. Would I be an idiot to put all that on hold for potentially another year or two because I'm holding out for a DCT-equipped 335i instead?

That's a decision only you could make. Personally, yes, I'd be happy with the 330. It will be 100 miles better than the Seat, and being cheaper, you'll have less to lose in depreciation!

[Jasandjules]

I would say that you wait and get the one you really want. For example, I wanted a TVR Chimaera but I didn't want to have to save the money (this many years ago now when they were a tad more expensive than the bargains they are now) so I was going to get a 400Se instead. But a mate basically said don't be a t**t, get the one you want. So I saved for a few months more and got the Chimaera and I don't regret the wait for a second.

[Inny]

Soovy said:

From the second I got it home I regretted it.

I can empathise with this. If you can, buy the one you want.

[Fox-]

You can buy 2-3 year old 335i's for £20k. Why not do that? Put the BMW warranty on it and any issues are not your problem. I paid £20k for a 2.5 year old one with nav and 25k miles from a main dealer 18 months ago. No 'wear and tear issues'.

Spending any more on such an old car (in design terms) would seem daft anyway. It doesnt feel anything like a £40k car.

[Carfiend]

Never compromise, not even in the face of Armageddon.