It almost happened!
I had a generous offer for the car from Carvana. I already cleared out the various detritus from inside the M2. I would have taken the car to the wash for a quick spray, but it seems Carvana isn’t too fussed about overall cleanliness.
The appointment was booked for the afternoon. It was 10 minutes to departure time when I got a phone call from the dealership I purchased the car from. The salesperson there noticed my appraisal inquiry from the website. Sadly for them, the dealership offered almost $6,000 less than Carvana.
The salesperson made it sound like they were willing to up the offer. I told them exactly what Carvana was offering. He said he would call me back. Being not in a hurry, I then cancelled the appointment with Carvana. No rush! Their offer was good for seven days.
Dealership never called me back, which is just fine. But that meant rescheduling the Carvana appointment for the next day. That’s where the derailment happened: the overnight sleep, or lack thereof.
There’s indeed wisdom to sleeping on a problem. Perhaps it won’t be absolute clarity, but it will save you from the consequences of rash decisions. It was during the night that I decided against selling the car. The crux of it all? Money. Isn’t it always money?
I’ve reached an age where the utility of money is very important. The battered body and mind of someone who’s been working for 15 years innately understands the sacrifice that comes with earning the honest dollar (no $GME to the moon here). The worst thing to do is then exchange that money for less than the maximum in return. (Been there, done that with the GT3.)
What I was focused on in the deliberation is how much money I already spent on the M2. Money that will cease to provide value soon as I sign the pink slip over. Even if you discount depreciation cost as something already amortized over the few years I’ve own the car, the rest of it adds up to something hefty. The new tires I bought earlier this year. The ceramic coating put on the car two years ago that’s supposed to last at least five. The parking fee I already paid for the whole 2025.
Most egregious of all: the sales tax I paid on the original purchase price!
There are non-monetary factors, too. Just once I would like to own new a car long enough to have to smog it (first six years of a new car are exempt in California). I also love the license plate that’s assigned to the M2: 8SRX415. By sheer luck I got the 415 number, the well known area code for San Francisco. I’d have to wave that fortune goodbye if I sell this BMW.
You can certainly invert all of this and look at it as merely sunk cost fallacy. You would not be wrong. The sunk cost is indeed preventing me from making a change. But let’s face it we’re not talking about changing from a miserable situation (career, family, et cetera). We’re talking about spending more money than we really should on this car hobby of ours (Italian hand gesture).
The reason I almost sold the car – outside of above-market Carvana offer – is because I really wanted to get back into a manual transmission car. From a logistical and monetary standpoint, adding a second car to the M2 just isn’t feasible. For example, I already don’t enjoy having to move the BMW for street cleaning (a San Francisco curse). Imagine adding another car to that chore.
Two times the insurance, two times the license fee. Never mind the purchase price for the second car!
Even if from a (man) maths standpoint I can comfortably afford a second vehicle, it still feels irresponsible. In this current economic climate of layoffs, tariffs, and high interest rates, prudence is the move. Having enough reserves to react to any possibility is worth more than a second car with a gear shift that I get to manipulate.
But the solution then is to sell the M2! Replace the single car with another. And that’s how I arrived at almost selling the BMW. If you’re curious, I was looking to replace it with a 2025 Subaru BR-Z TS. Two-door, naturally-aspirated front engine, rear-wheel drive with a limited-slip differential, and a manual transmission. As the car gods intended.
Well, that alternative timeline is gone and shut.
As the M2 ages into its sixth year of existence, the annual servicing will be something to reconsider. Thus far it’s been done at the selling dealership, because it was either free (first three years), or subsidized (the next two with a maintenance extension). Come 2026 I will have to decide between sticking with the dealership, or going the independent route. Cost is a factor, sure, but I think more important is competence. Maintenance on a BMW is not simply an oil change, and I want all the items to done correctly.
Obviously the best way to ensure it’s done properly is to do it myself. Sadly, I do not have the requisite space. And because I don’t have the space, I naturally don’t have the tools. I would love to be able to spend a leisure weekend afternoon servicing the M2 at my own pace. More so than adding a second car to the stable, a proper garage space is higher on the current wish list.
Living in San Francisco squashes that dream because of the famously high housing cost. If I were to buy a home further away, that’s going to affect my commuting time, of which is currently just 10 minutes of walking. We can’t have everything, can we?
Not to say a typical house with a typical garage isn’t in the cards in my future. I’m passively saving money towards that eventual possibility. In the meantime, my brand of car enthusiasm will be relatively diminished. I’ve got one cool car, and that’s has to be enough. It’s paid off, and in the immediate future I want as little hassle to do with the M2 as possible.
For this point in life, car enthusiasm is a lesser part of my identity. I wish it wasn’t, but there are no solutions, only trade-offs.
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Date acquired: October 2020
Total mileage: 22,235
Mileage this month: 202
Costs this month: $47.64
MPG this month: 18.7