[USA-RET]

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

Nice. I like the creativity here. I wouldn't have thought of this as an option.

Absolutely, No maintenance, No Insurance, use it and return it. Way cheaper than adding another car with the license plates, registrations and you being on the hook for all the maintenance and repairs. Depending on the length of time you need it and the frequency of rental, do a quick pen and paper comparo and see which option is cheaper and less hassle. I'd wager you'd be money ahead renting a vehicle over you entire lifetime.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

I hear ya and agree that I could make it all work with the M240i but I'm OCD with my car.

Driving the kids too and from practice/games is isn't as much about the quantify of stuff, its more the wear and tear of the sharp cleats on my cars interior and the sweaty stinky smells of their clothing.

Another large factor here is that I am somewhat mental with my car and try to keep it as clean as I can at all times. Things like not driving when its raining or if I have to go somewhere where this is a dirt road on the way I usually wouldn't use my car. This is all self-induced and my own personal problem but I really want my car to be a garage queen and especially in the winter. I tried to do this last winter, and my wife assured me it would always work, but there were several times where it didn't and it bugged me. And i get it from buddies who are like "it's not like you have a rare car, or a true M car, so who really cares." But again, I'm mental about my car

I too was really OCD about my cars. As I grew older and my kids got older, I got less so. My M235 is still spotless though, only has two tiny rock chips and no scratches or dents after 6.5 years and 64K miles. The interior and engine bay is immaculate. I polish and wax it once a year. I vacuum it out and wipe the interior down with a wet rag every 4 to 6 weeks. Once a year I clean and treat the leather with Leathique. The car spends it's evening in a garage. People think the car is new.

I transport my daughter (and her teammates) all with time to her club sports across the city and I too play sports 3 days a week in various parts of the city. My daughter and I put our sweaty sports shoes, ankle braces, etc. on an air dryer every night rather leaving them in our bags in the trunk. My daughter wears slides after her soccer games and doesn't wear her cleats off of the field (largely because it kills the shoes quickly). She also knows that cleats wouldn't be allowed in the car. When I take her and friends to/from school, back packs ALWAYS go in the trunk because they risk scratching the interior.

I don't worry about rain or snow. I completely avoid any gravel roads or any other off pavement driving though. I park away from other cars. I don't tailgate cars. I give heavy trucks lots of room in case rocks or something else is flung off them.

It is very possible to maintain a car in a very high condition and use it all the time. These cars wear far better than most. The paint, the interior/exterior panels, and chassis are robust and resist wear. It's FAR more enjoyable than constantly worrying about it and saving it for a special day. These cars are a blast and I don't see myself not having a 2 series in my garage for the next 5+ years.

I don't see how getting some fancier car or SUV to replace the M240 or be added in addition to the M240 is going to fix your concerns. As you noted, it seems more like an OCD thing that's going to get in the way of your enjoyment.

I find the purposefulness of this car amazing. It's a missile, looks and handles amazing with the right mods, is small and easy to drive, can carry 4 in reasonable comfort, has a decent size trunk and has great cargo room with the rear seat down, is comfortable around town and on road trips, is extremely reliable, is easy to work on and maintain, and gets good MPGs for a car making nearly 400whp. It's hard to fault the car.

If it were me, I'd drive the M240 a ton more, don't worry about, and maybe buy a used Nissan Frontier crew cab 4X4 for winter and such. They are seriously undervalued, quite reliable, and easy cheap compared to the competition.

[zipstic]

Originally Posted by Ajowhan

My recommendation is keep the m240i and give up the kiddos and you wouldnt have to worry about this anymore.

^This. I'm also kidding, or am I?

If you're not going to give up your kids then you could:

1) Sell the M240i and get a Z4 M40i. This ensures you won't drive it in the winter with the family since it only has two seats. You'll be forced to take the Lexus SUV or rent an SUV. An added plus being that you can be even more OCD over the Z4. (Feel free to insert whatever two seater fits your fancy. Elise?)

2) Keep the M240i and rent an SUV or van when needed as others have said.

3) Trade the M240i for an X3 Comp or M550i. I don't love this option. Is it possible that if you pickup an X3 Comp you'll still have OCD to keep it clean and find reasons not to drive it during the winter?

4) Keep the M240i, throw snow tires on in the winter like the rest of us Minnesotans, and keep it as clean as you can. Even if you only drive your M240i in the summer you'll undoubtable get rock chips, door dings, etc. The added benefit here is that in a few years you can get something new to replace it or convince your wife that since you car is getting "old" you should add a fun third vehicle to your fleet.

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I too was really OCD about my cars. As I grew older and my kids got older, I got less so. My M235 is still spotless though, only has two tiny rock chips and no scratches or dents after 6.5 years and 64K miles. The interior and engine bay is immaculate. I polish and wax it once a year. I vacuum it out and wipe the interior down with a wet rag every 4 to 6 weeks. Once a year I clean and treat the leather with Leathique. The car spends it's evening in a garage. People think the car is new.

I transport my daughter (and her teammates) all with time to her club sports across the city and I too play sports 3 days a week in various parts of the city. My daughter and I put our sweaty sports shoes, ankle braces, etc. on an air dryer every night rather leaving them in our bags in the trunk. My daughter wears slides after her soccer games and doesn't wear her cleats off of the field (largely because it kills the shoes quickly). She also knows that cleats wouldn't be allowed in the car. When I take her and friends to/from school, back packs ALWAYS go in the trunk because they risk scratching the interior.

I don't worry about rain or snow. I completely avoid any gravel roads or any other off pavement driving though. I park away from other cars. I don't tailgate cars. I give heavy trucks lots of room in case rocks or something else is flung off them.

It is very possible to maintain a car in a very high condition and use it all the time. These cars wear far better than most. The paint, the interior/exterior panels, and chassis are robust and resist wear. It's FAR more enjoyable than constantly worrying about it and saving it for a special day. These cars are a blast and I don't see myself not having a 2 series in my garage for the next 5+ years.

I don't see how getting some fancier car or SUV to replace the M240 or be added in addition to the M240 is going to fix your concerns. As you noted, it seems more like an OCD thing that's going to get in the way of your enjoyment.

I find the purposefulness of this car amazing. It's a missile, looks and handles amazing with the right mods, is small and easy to drive, can carry 4 in reasonable comfort, has a decent size trunk and has great cargo room with the rear seat down, is comfortable around town and on road trips, is extremely reliable, is easy to work on and maintain, and gets good MPGs for a car making nearly 400whp. It's hard to fault the car.

If it were me, I'd drive the M240 a ton more, don't worry about, and maybe buy a used Nissan Frontier crew cab 4X4 for winter and such. They are seriously undervalued, quite reliable, and easy cheap compared to the competition.

You make some good points here. I agree that getting another sporty vehicle won't fix the issue and might be worse. I'm heavily leaning towards the 3rd vehicle option for a winter car.

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by zipstic

^This. I'm also kidding, or am I?

If you're not going to give up your kids then you could:

1) Sell the M240i and get a Z4 M40i. This ensures you won't drive it in the winter with the family since it only has two seats. You'll be forced to take the Lexus SUV or rent an SUV. An added plus being that you can be even more OCD over the Z4. (Feel free to insert whatever two seater fits your fancy. Elise?)

2) Keep the M240i and rent an SUV or van when needed as others have said.

3) Trade the M240i for an X3 Comp or M550i. I don't love this option. Is it possible that if you pickup an X3 Comp you'll still have OCD to keep it clean and find reasons not to drive it during the winter?

4) Keep the M240i, throw snow tires on in the winter like the rest of us Minnesotans, and keep it as clean as you can. Even if you only drive your M240i in the summer you'll undoubtable get rock chips, door dings, etc. The added benefit here is that in a few years you can get something new to replace it or convince your wife that since you car is getting "old" you should add a fun third vehicle to your fleet.

Funny. I was just about to pull the trigger on an Elise until my oldest kiddo was sad that he couldn't go out on rides with me. That hurt a little bit so I veered away from the 2 seat car options and into the M240i.

Agreed on the #3 above: after researching the price of X3 comps, and the potential maintenance costs for the V8 twin turbo in the M550i those aren't great options.

[Mr. Bill]

+1 on the X3 M40 if your finances will allow you to experiment. I change cars a lot and went from having a Ram 1500, RS5 and Boxster S to just having a Durango SRT. Having too many vehicles became a headache. I eventually added the 240i and later swapped the SRT for a Ridgeline (I need a pickup but not full size). The SRT was my only car for at least a year. It covered a lot of bases and was still a blast to drive. Cars are like lovers. You should experience as many of them as possible. Good luck on your quest.

[bonbon_wonton]

Hi all, I found this site by doing a quick search of M240i vs X3 M40i and here I am. I have a 2021 M240i manual with just under 19,000 miles. I love this car. I had a 2008 328 manual, 2015 335 manual and a 2018 340 manual before the 2021. The 2018 had all the bells whistles (heads up, harmon speakers, AWD, carbon package, M package, etc.) It was my favorite. In 2021, BMW stopped offering the manual in the 3 series unless you moved to the M3. I went to order an M240i and as luck would have it, they stopped doing new builds to prepare for the 2022 M240 model that would not be offered in a manual. I spent days trying to find the last unclaimed M240i manual available in the US and I happened to find one at Salem BMW in Oregon... I live in Cleveland.. so yeah, I had it shipped here. Anyhow, I love this call. I work from home. I drive very very rarely. I ski a lot in the winter. Yes, I have a separate snow wheel and tire set that I store and they are currently on the car. In heavy snows, it's pretty scary to drive. We are road trippers... we are dog lovers. My wife has the "original SUV"; a Jeep Wrangler. While fun, it is terribly uncomfortable to drive and ride in. On the flip side, she finds my small coupe to be uncomfortable with the added complexity that she doesn't drive stick... So, I was feeling pretty good about buying out my M240i at the end of my lease (Feb 2024) or maaaaybe moving into an M2 (which as a daily driver just doesn't seem to make any sense). But, a local deal reached out to me to show me a new X3 M40i and I really really love it. It's 382 HP, has all the bells and whistles I was accustomed to (the M240i was a sight unseen purchase and does not have any bells and whistles.. like, it doesn't have a garage door opener ha). The X3 M40i is fast, loaded, and with the equity in my M240i, the payment is very reasonable. But Sportstick has me reconsidering getting rid of the M240i based on it being a manual, which is going to get harder and harder to come by, and EVs likely being forced on us in the future. So here I am, set to pick up the X3 M40i on Friday, no contract signed YET, and I'm posting here for guidance. I'm not concerned about the financial aspect, but I can't image buying out the M240 and carrying a lease payment on an X3 M40i, to then store the SUV in the winter when in reality, I never drive ha!. SOS.

[bonbon_wonton]

JMcLellan It looks like you ended up selling the M240i and now you're getting an M2 this Spring?

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by bonbon_wonton

JMcLellan It looks like you ended up selling the M240i and now you're getting an M2 this Spring?

Whoa. I completely forgot about this thread. Crazy how things change. Yes the M2 is on the way. Assembly is complete and now waiting on the car to be transported to the dealer. Will be a few weeks.

I see you sent me a PM. I will reply to your message in a bit here.