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Sell GTI 2 door to get E39 540i/M5?

Gray_Panther

Drag Racing Champion
Location
NY
Car(s)
GTi
Like the title states, I have been throwing around 3 scenarios in my head where both involve selling my GTI for an older 5-series. I one debt (mortgage), one child, one wife, and a 128i. I want to apply for graduate school soon which either I will pay my own way or have assistance for the company I work for. This car will have full time duty for winter and some use in summer, 128i is just too much fun!!
The first scenario is where I pick up a 540i around the 5-6k price point. Stipulations are no winters and well maintained. I have my garage full of tools so I can tackle jobs like cooling system replacement and such. Throw in an aftermarket head unit for apple carplay capability, and keep $1k around for maintenance and pocket the remainder for graduate school.
Second scenario is sell the GTI, use the low interest rates to finance 5-10k worth of car. Keep $1k around each year for maintenance.
Third scenario is forget all this car malarky, and enjoy having all cars pid off and pick up a car when I acquire a new position after I graduate.

Edit: My wife usually drives her Rav4, unless she decides to take my 1er or GTI for a spin!
 

IanCH

Autocross Champion
Location
MA
Car(s)
'20 GTI
I'm sorry you what? want to sub out a mk7 GTI for a 20 year old BMW and that's somehow going to save you money?
 

Gray_Panther

Drag Racing Champion
Location
NY
Car(s)
GTi
Buy a Civic or Camry instead. No one wants to wrench on a used BMW while working full time, going to school part time and while raising a kid. Your free time will be precious. Been there, done that.

Or scenario 3.

You are right. Thanks for setting me back on the straight and narrow. Gti is in fantastic working order and so is the 1er.
 

JerseyDrew77

Autocross Champion
Location
Virginia & NC
Car(s)
2016 TR GTI S 6MT
You are right. Thanks for setting me back on the straight and narrow. Gti is in fantastic working order and so is the 1er.

Yeah so why go through the headache of getting rid of your fantastic working order GTI for a used BMW 5 series that's going to be a money pit because it will be nothing but problems.
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
I have a buddy with an E39 M5. He loves it, but he is always, always fixing it. That's fine, he's single, an engineer, and lives and breathes cars. If you aren't prepared for that, then stay with your GTI.
 

KevinC

Autocross Champion
Location
The land of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday
Car(s)
'19 Golf R, '21 M2c
I sold a cherry 62k-mile E39 M5 and replaced it with my '16 R. I loved the M5, had wanted one for years, but I never fully fell in love with it - I still missed my Z4MC that I'd sold to get the M5. Only kept it for a year, then 2 years later bought another Z4MC to go with the R, and I've found automotive happiness again. Now I have a practical daily driver while still having a fun M car for weekend and club event duties.

If you're really bent on owning an E39, do it eventually - now just is probably not the ideal time given your situation.
 

bentin

Autocross Champion
Location
Austin, TX
Car(s)
23 Golf R - 3 Pedals
I had an E36/8 Z3 M Coupe for 14 years and 145k miles. It was one of the cheaper cars I've had in terms of overall maintenance. However, I had a friend with an E39 M5 that was so far from being cheap to maintain. Power seats liked to fritz out and cost $600 to repair, the Atari Navigation setup was always on the outs and was something silly like $3k to fix. The engine likes to eat the whole VANOS setup, which is a $3k-$4k repair. Plus it's a 4000 lb car with 400 hp, so certainly not the fastest thing in modern terms, although they do sound fantastic.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
You've done a great job so far I would just stay with what you have. No point in taking on any debt or an older car that could be costly to maintain and repair.
 

norsairius

Go Kart Newbie
Location
United States Midwest
Car(s)
2019 GTI SE DSG
You have a 128i which I think is more than enough fun for a BMW, especially on public roads. Some would argue it's one of the last examples of the more pure BMW driving experience (non-electric steering, NA I6 engine, etc.). The GTI is also an excellent and fun daily driver, so I think you're good to go with what you've got! There's a lot of people out there that would love to have these two cars in their garage (me included).
 

2slowvw

Moderator
Location
VA
Car(s)
2022 Tesla Model 3
These are the type of cars you buy when you dont need to drive it every day and have it as your primary transportation. Gonna have alot of fun doing repairs, especially as they age and all the rubber deteriorates.
 

sprinks

Drag Racing Champion
Location
United States
Buy a Civic or Camry instead. No one wants to wrench on a used BMW while working full time, going to school part time and while raising a kid. Your free time will be precious. Been there, done that.

Or scenario 3.

This. Selling one modern, mostly-reliable Euro car to buy an older Euro car is not how you go and save money, especially if you're pulling for winter duty and you're looking for time with family and school.
 
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