Station Car / General Advice

[siross]

Morning all,

I'm currently driving a 2013 F31 330D which I've had since 2015. Now I love this car and have loved owning it, it's as much power as I need, comfortable and can ferry anything I need. It's been good to me over the years but has hit some issues lately, most notably is the adaptive suspension which is misting and will likely need replacing before the next MOT in early November.

Kicker is that I barely do any miles anymore. I work from home 3 days a week and commute via train for the other 2 so I'm doing circa 15 miles a week.

All other family miles are covered by my wife's Skoda Kodiaq, soon to be replaced by a Tesla Model Y.

Now, I'm crap at making decisions. Do I just suck it up, get rid of the beemer whilst I can still get a few grand out of it and get a rotbox to park at the station/gym every day? That's the most logical thing to do.

Any thoughts? Particularly on a reliable car that I could replace it with, price is fairly flexible. I think my car is worth around £7k I think but I'd like to bank some of that, so maybe £2k on a new car, less would be better.

I'd like the process of swapping to be as easy as possible, part ex maybe?

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

If it is only worth £7K and you love it then personally I would keep it. I think you would hate having to drive a £2K car just to have £5K in the bank.

I only do 3K miles a year at the moment and drive a car worth around £3K, but I am seriously thinking of getting something like your BMW next time so I can drive a car I actually like.

[66HFM]

I think you'll struggle to get someone to take your £7k 330D against a £2k runaround... try to sell either privately or use CarWow or Motorway etc, if looking for the easier option, you don't even need to accept their offer in the end.

I've had a few Volvo V50s as cheap c.£2k cars, which have been ideal, although for your short mileage perhaps need to go petrol...
The other Volvo option is a C30.

Fiat 500 (1.2) is also a good shout and they hold their value well as always an easy sell to new drivers.

[Jayho]

Any scope for impractical fun? Some sort of £5k Roadster and £2k in the bank?

[Simon_GH]

15 miles a week means the station journey isn’t long enough for DPF to clean itself etc. so I’d move it on based on suitability, I’d consider an old EV for that sort of distance such as on early Nissan Leaf. It’ll cost pennies to run and is likely to be more reliable than an IC vehicle.

[Belle427]

Ive not looked at prices lately but last time i did a 330d that year was a lot more than £7k. Granted if its mega miles and needs a lot of work that price will come down.

[siross]

Thanks for all the information thus far everyone, really appreciated.

I keep flip flopping between keeping it because I like it and getting rid!

I hadn't really thought of a roadster to be honest, could be an option as long as it can carry 2 kids (iso-fix) for the odd occasion.

DPF strangely has never been an issue, I've been doing this mileage since covid. I do take it for a run every now and again but not very often.

Also hadn't thought about a Leaf, never realised they'd gone so cheap!

[siross]

Belle427 said:

Ive not looked at prices lately but last time i did a 330d that year was a lot more than £7k. Granted if its mega miles and needs a lot of work that price will come down.

I've just gone off Webuyanycar to be honest. £90k miles in decent nick, wheels need refurbing and suspension needs sorting.

[VeeReihenmotor6]

Often they say it is better the devil you know, i.e. keep the 330d, but given it is at its next balancing point on the value (approaching 100k, now 10 years old) I'd probably sell it for 7k and put 7k back into an EV like an i3 or a Leaf.

You'll benefit from buttons for running costs and peanuts for fuelling. In theory, you'll soon be saving the £5k you were estimating by making the switch to a cheap daily. You've already got an EV charger at home so that's that sorted too.

I think we're now entering a time when EVs are becoming affordable for the masses. I just picked up a 3 year old Tesla 3 for the price of a Ford Focus and I'm saving £250-300 per month on fuel alone. It's like when tech like flat screen TVs became affordable, remember when they were £5k and then were suddenly £500. Or computers, I remember my Dad buying an Apple Mac for £5k in the late 80s, I also remember my Grandad saying Computers would never catch on.... I digress but I reckon you could make the fuel and running cost savings = the £5k you were estimating on the switch to a £2k run about.

[ChrisH72]

I'd sell the BMW and go for a small warm hatchback. No need to get a shed as its nice to have something you might actually enjoy using.

Swift Sport is always a good option.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024121974...

Others to consider...
Mini Cooper
RS Twingo
Abarth 500

None of those are really theft magnets and I'd feel safe enough leaving them parked in a train station.

[InitialDave]

ChrisH72 said:

I'd sell the BMW and go for a small warm hatchback. No need to get a shed as its nice to have something you might actually enjoy using.

Swift Sport is always a good option.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024121974...

Others to consider...
Mini Cooper
RS Twingo
Abarth 500

None of those are really theft magnets and I'd feel safe enough leaving them parked in a train station.

Note that of those, the Twingo definitely has that feel of a tinny 90s hot hatch, in both the positive and negative ways.

While I'd normally say keep the car you like, I agree with comments above that your usage doesn't seem like it'd suit a diesel.

[Mr Tidy]

I agree, sometimes keeping the car you know is the best option.

But I'd be worried about so little mileage in a diesel with a DPF, unless it gets a decent run every now and again.