I have a BMW 330i-2003. We are now retired and our driving habits have changed. The BMW has become our 2nd car. it is expensive to maintain and uses premium gas. Should we sell it and get something like a Toyota Corolla? It is paid for and I do love it.
Any car needs maintenance. I don’t think you should normally sell a car that is paid for and you love. The extra cost of premium is not likely to be much in the long run.
Also don’t assume that a Toyota will be trouble free. They are cars not gods.
You should only sell it if you don’t want it anymore. If it’s your second car I assume you don’t put many miles on it, so the cost of premium gasoline is only a slight inconvenience. You can buy a lot of gas before you get to the price of a new car.
BMWs will always be expensive to maintain. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s usually less expensive to maintain a car, however, than to replace one.
A BMW owner that switches to a Toyota is never a happy camper. If the joy from driving your BMW does not justify the expense move on. The day you change cars will not be a happy day.
Agreed that if you love the car and it’s paid for you should keep it.
You might clarify the part about “expensive to maintain”.
Could any of this expense be related to unnecessary services that are being sold to you? Things such as perpetual flushes of various fluids, fuel system cleanings, etc. etc.?
While some BMW service can be pricy, I was just wondering if the car was problematic or the sales of service items was simply overboard.
I have a friend, a retired engineer, who just loves his 12 cylinder Jaguar. He knows it is an expensive car to keep running, but he now drives so little that on an annual basis it does not cost much.
If you like the BMW, keep it as your second car. My wife stopped working and her Nissan now only clocks 7000 miles per year, and we live in a sizable city. Agree with other posters that if you love a BMW, and switch to a Corolla, you won’t be happy. As the saying goes “It’s hard to keep the down on the farm once they’ve seen Paree (Paris)!” I’m referring to the city in France, not Paris Hilton.
A retired doctor friend of mine has a series 7 BMW that’s 20 years old. He is in a similar position you are in (second car), and just keeps driving it.
BMW parts and service are higher costs than American cars but not so much more than Japanese cars. If you have used the BMW dealer for service it maybe time to research and find an independant shop that works on “German” cars. In the future when you need service and/or repairs give the independant shop a chance at your business. You’ll get to talk to the mechanic and most likely will save some money.
Keep it!
Keep it. Find a good independent mechanic (BMW specialized better) and enjoy it.
Driving a Corolla is the anti-thesis of driving pleasure. BMW 330i is the opposite end of the spectrum.
Keep it. You love it, and why should you switch to a car that you do not love? Everything should be cheaper from monthly gas to maintenance to repairs and even insurance. As a second car, you have change it’s status from commuter to part-time ride, haven’t you? Just because it’s more expensive than a Corolla does not mean that it will be expensive for you to drive.