The shiny happy person strikes again.

For the 173rd time my sister has called for my advice and gone in the EXACT opposite direction.

She sent me a pic of a car with a number and asked me to call about it.  2011 Audi A5, 115K miles, $9,000.  Fine car but nothing particularly magical and going to continue depreciating.

She is a newly divorced veterinarian with two younger kids and uses a work Tahoe most of the time for transportation.  This car is going to get light use only in good weather.  Her toy vehicle if you will.

I had a car pop onto my radar yesterday. 1995 BMW M3 in the mintiest condition I can imagine.  113K miles and has the incredibly rare gray cloth interior (Vader seats).  $6,500 and poised to appreciate over the next 10 years.  She could own it for a decade and make money at the end of her time.  In 10 years the A5 is likely going to be worth scrap value.

Guess which one she’s buying.  

Note:  I didn’t call her an shiny happy person.  The filter caught a s k h o l e and changed it on me.

"my sister has called for my advice and gone in the EXACT opposite direction."

Let's just think about this for a sec....

She asked about a 7 year old, 2011 car that still generally looks like the 2018 car.  Will still look cool/new/affluent

You recommended a 23 year old car that is many generations out of date.  Will not look cool/new/affluent .

I like your advice and the M3 is a car I might purchase but lets face it, you and I (all of GRM) are not "the average consumer."  

John Welsh said:

She asked about a 7 year old, 2011 car that still generally looks like the 2018 car.  Will still look cool/new/affluent

You recommended a 23 year old car that is many generations out of date.  Will not look cool/new/affluent .

 

I like your advice and the M3 is a car I might purchase but lets face it, you and I (all of GRM) are not "the average consumer."  

 

 

So totally this.  The A5 is a beautiful car.  The E36?  Well, we can all appreciate its virtues, but it is not beautiful.  I'm still smarting over the nice '97 E36 vert that I made near perfect for my wife, and she ended up selling because she didn't like the way it looked.  Car was dang near perfect! 

Don't worry about me.  I'll get over it.

Meanwhile, over on a veterinarian forum there is a new posting titled, "My Brother is a Horse's Ass"   

That's a steal for that M3.  Where'd you find it?  Send me the ad!

Yes, more info about the M3, please.

(We're just proving John Welsh's point, really)

For a non-car person weekend car, I'd totally expect that outcome. Guess you can save that E36 for an actual car person that will take care of it!

In reply to John Welsh :

Right.... I thought the second paragraph was going to read “but I suggested a Camcord as a more reliable choice for someone not into cars.”

Not the suggestion of a 20+ year old specialized BMW! Lol!

I feel your pain though... my sister always buys the BMWs I suggest against, lol. 

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

I find the e36 to be one of the most beautiful and classically shaped and sized sports cars ever made. I may be in the minority :)

Sorry guys, the BMW has already sold.  It belonged to a FB friend in Indy who bought it to be a track rat but realized when he got it home it was too nice to do that to.  Because I had called him so quick I had first dibs but only for last night.  It sold this morning when she decided to go with the A5.

Lof8 said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

I find the e36 to be one of the most beautiful and classically shaped and sized sports cars ever made. I may be in the minority :)

I second the motion. Not a huge BMW fan, but as far as I am concerned this body style was their best.

On the other hand, you could say that she got a car she wanted for 75% off of original MSRP. That isn't bad as far as taking advantage of depreciation. 

And taking a look at older Audi's, she won't get killed. In 10 years, it will probably still be worth $4k if she doesn't put a boatload of miles on it and takes care of it. $500 a year in depreciation isn't bad. 

Oh, and I second what John Welsh said. An E36 is almost a classic car now. It is old, it will need things simply because they've aged out. Not what she is looking for. 

So the real lesson for all of us is: Hook up GRM first, relatives second. 

TLDR: Bad advice wasn't followed.

You are off the hook when it catestrophically destroys itself. 

"I told you what to buy. You didn't buy it. It's your baby now "

In reply to barefootskater :

I greatly prefer the e30 and e46

 The e36 is the non-m3, m3.

Driven5 said:

TLDR: Bad advice wasn't followed.

The advice was sound, however it was for the wrong priorities.

She’s still at it.  Bouncing around from hard top to convertible.  Newer to older.  Pricier to cheaper.  Finally found an ‘06 Saab Aero convertible, V-6 turbo, six speed.  MINT condition owned by a very particular bachelor dentist.  Garage kept cream puff of a car with new clutch and tires.  $9,000 and we’re all set to go up to Cincy to pick it up today......until she looks up the KBB overnight and sees that Saab’s go for less.

Maybe sis but this might be the nicest one around.  Maybe the nicest one left.  And now she can’t decide.......grrr

Sounds like my family. Ask the car guy for advice, then disregard that advice because you know better. 

Just last night: Dad says dash lights don't work in Mom's car. Sure enough, fuse is blown. Put a new fuse, POP! Short somewhere. Easy fix. "Dad, lets take the bulbs out and look for a burned socket or a pinched wire, It'll take ten minutes." No no no. The obvious answer is, well if a 15a fuse blows, just put in a 25a unit. "Don't do that, you'll burn something." He burned something. Guess who gets to fix it.

If I read this correctly, your second piece of advice was to buy a Saab?  

Sit down, look yourself deep in the eyes in the mirror, and say to yourself, over and over, "GRM is not the real world" until it sinks in.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

She came up with the Saab!!!  I just put my stamp of approval on it. (And made tentative plans to drive 2 hours each way on a Saturday forgoing other projects I need to do as a favor to her)

I wouldn’t pay $9k for a Saab if it was the last car on earth! Unless we are talking of a 99