[Hans Stuck]

I really want the Elise, but I have no extra money for it. The only way to get one is to sell the two weekend toys that currently fill my one car garage.

The Ducati is a limited edition (1 of only 400) and the M3 is a concours winner.

 

[Prolene]

Keep the Duc if at all possible. Limited Edition and beautiful.

 

[Vantage]

I voted no because it's hard for me to guage how much you love your Ducati, and there are many things you can do to the E30 to make it a faster/more enjoyabe car to drive. Few of us have even driven the Federal car. Why don't you get on the waiting list anyway? I'm sure you'll be able to drive the Federal Elise by the time your car comes, but this may not work depending on when you wanted to sell the pair. Good luck.

 

[zvezdah1]

I'd unload the duc, buy a couple year older one 996 for half the money, essentially the same performance for half the money. When all is said and done the Bayliss is a regular bike with decals, sell it while people are still interested in them.
CHris

 

[L8BRAKR]

I voted yes but with the stipulation in mind that if you don't get what you are asking for either one then don't take a loss. You obvious have an attachment with both and personally I always seem to regret getting rid of stuff for something new a few months down the road.

Also is that exactly what your bike looks like? I thought the road bikes were lacking most of the sponser stickers. (I bet you're glad you didn't get the Bostrom rep I wonder how the value of those are holding)

 

[RacingDynamcs]

e30 m3 is one of the greatest cars of all time for me.

The duc is awesome...how about a loan from the old bank?

 

[Dan]

If these are your weekend toys, what is your daily driver?

I can't picture a bike being replaced by the Elise or any car if it's just for the weekend, but I'd can see the Elise replacing the BMW.

How about a compromise? Sell the BMW. Take Chris's suggestion and swap the Ducati. And then trade your daily driver for something less expensive.

 

[Modern Wedgie]

If I had an E30 M3, I dont think I could part with it. There isnt any other way?

 

[Hans Stuck]

Well, I guess I can't get the Elise.

The last time I sold a motorcycle and told myself I was finished with riding -- it lasted about 10 days. Then I had to buy another bike. The Ducati is the best bike I've ever had & I can't see myself replacing it with any other bike. Might as well keep it. Besides, I like being the original owner of bikes -- they're too dangerous to risk a mechanical problem. So selling it to get a cheaper, used Ducati is not appealing to me.

The E30 M3 is great, but I've had it a while and I've gotten used to it. In other words, I'm bored with it. But I recognize it's collectability and it has only increased in value since I bought it. I guess I should keep it. But since it's a 4 seat, closed roof car, it's not so different as to make me want to use it all that often. That's where I thought the Elise would be better for me. More fun -- ideal for sunny days with the significant other.

My daily driver is a '00 Audi S4. It's a wonderful car -- not totally involving and exciting to drive, but it's all I could want from a daily driver. Power, comfort, reliability, speed, AWD. Very useful. Sure, I'd give up the S4 for an Elise in a second, but that doesn't make practical sense. I won't like the Elise as an everyday car. I'd even be willing to drive a $1000 P.O.S. everyday to get the Elise, but I only have a 1 car garage? What sits outside? Not the Elise & not the M3.

I think I have to sit tight, pay off what's left on the Audi -- then move within 2 years to a house with a multi-car garage. And then maybe take on more payments on an Elise -- maybe a barely used one. Who knows - maybe I'll find one for under $30k by then. Although I would like to be the original owner. Some of these cars are going to be used very hard.

Thanks for your responses. Being mature totally sucks and although it's not as if I'm suffering by riding a bus, I still will be drooling over the Elise I could have. By the way -- I will stay on the waiting list just in case something happens.

 

[jlandreth]

M-3

I'd love to have an E 30 M3, although I don't know where I'd park it.I've wanted one for a long time so I can blow off my nephews Euro M6.

 

[Hans Stuck]

I've decided that the Ducati is not going anywhere. It's off the table because a car cannot replace the role of a sportbike.



So it's come down to this....I have thought about virtually nothing else in months. I have to make a decision...eventually.

I have no idea why I need to consult with you all, but....

Do I:

1) Sell my '90 E30 M3 and buy a new Elise? These are the "toy cars" that would not see daily use. This would cost me some money, obviously.

or

2) Sell my '00 Audi S4 and buy a new Honda S2000? These are the "daily driver" options and would be used 98% of the time. The cost difference would not be substantial, but the new car would have a warranty.


I'm in Maryland and my significant other drives an '02 BMW 325xiT.

 

[jlandreth]

Sell me the M-3 and buy an Elise!

 

[NMRJock]

It's your decision, of course. Personally, I would sell the M3 and get the Elise. The S2000 doesn't really excite me that much, while I love the S4 and think that I'll love the Elise. The M3 is a tragic loss, but I'm guessing the wind in your hair and the beautiful, raw feel of the Elise will help to soften the blow.

 

[Au111]

Last night I was going to respond that you should sell the M3 and buy the Elise. (Good decision on the Duc, BTW.) But while sitting here at work this morning, waiting for a tow truck to show up for my S4 (not Audi's fault), a very clean E30 M3 drove by - reminding me how much I liked that car. If the winter conditions where you live don't make AWD a necessity, the S4 is easily replaceable with a host of other decent GT-ish sedans for daily use.

How about promoting (or demoting?) the M3 to daily driver status and puchasing an Elise? I suspect that the S2k may always seem like a runner-up in comparison to the Elise, and I don't know if an E30 M3 and an '04 S2k would be my choices for garage mates.

Good luck.

 

[Hans Stuck]

Last night I was going to respond that you should sell the M3 and buy the Elise. (Good decision on the Duc, BTW.) But while sitting here at work this morning, waiting for a tow truck to show up for my S4 (not Audi's fault), a very clean E30 M3 drove by - reminding me how much I liked that car. If the winter conditions where you live don't make AWD a necessity, the S4 is easily replaceable with a host of other decent GT-ish sedans for daily use.

How about promoting (or demoting?) the M3 to daily driver status and puchasing an Elise? I suspect that the S2k may always seem like a runner-up in comparison to the Elise, and I don't know if an E30 M3 and an '04 S2k would be my choices for garage mates.

Good luck.

Excellent points, and I don't disagree with your thinking. But there is another way to look at it.

It someone likes high-rev 4 bangers and wants to drive them because they're fun, what would be wrong with keeping a pristine E30 M3 pristine while enjoying a fun & reliable and relatively uncollectable Honda S2000 as daily transportation? The M3 wouldn't make good sense for daily use -- not mine anyway. It's a garage queen and daily use would kill it to the extent where it might lose $10k in value just like a new Honda would. The difference is that the Honda would be under warranty and would be totally reliable.

I have always thought that garage mates should complement each other. If one is a sports car, the other should be able to haul stuff, etc. But there are plenty of guys with multiple E30 M3s. I could buy a new Ford F-150 Pickup and drive that everyday. It would be a great complement for a Lotus Elise. But do I want to spend 90% of my drive time behind the wheel of a pick-up truck?

Maybe a Mini Cooper S would be a solution because it's new, under warranty, decent in bad weather thanks to FWD, fun to drive, and is a 4 banger. But that seems like such a compromise to me because I don't really like FWD and the performance just isn't there from the 163bhp engine. Maybe it's good enough for commuting though. Then again -- I wouldn't have a 2 seat roadster & that was my original intent when looking at the S2000 and the Elise.

I could do the all British thing (sort of) by getting a MINI Cooper S for daily use and an Elise for the weekends. Of course, with the German engineering of the MINI and the Japanese engine in the Elise, I could see WWII break out in my garage!

Now I'm sort of hoping that someone steals one of my cars. That way the decision as to what car to get rid of would be made for me.

What's your ideal PAIR OF CARS? Assume you wanted to keep one for weekend and fun use and one for daily driving? Let's keep the TOTAL PRICE of the PAIR UNDER $65k. For my sake, you can even assume that your live-together fiance drives an AWD wagon. This shoud be interesting.

 

[James A]

I own an E30 M3, in fact I bought it new in November of 1987, and it has permanent status in my garage, I say keep it and get the Elise, that is what I am doing! Oh the Caterham 7 stays also!

 

[Hans Stuck]

I own an E30 M3, in fact I bought it new in November of 1987, and it has permanent status in my garage, I say keep it and get the Elise, that is what I am doing! Oh the Caterham 7 stays also!

So then what do I drive to work everyday? I park outside in whatever space I can find....unprotected. We get occasional snow too.

I'm $20k and two garage spaces short of being content!

 

[L8BRAKR]

If I had to pick two vehicles for $65k one is obviously the Elise so you only have $25k left for a daily driver with somekind of utility to it. That leaves you with a Toyota Tacoma, decent gas mileage, no worry about it sitting outside, and as a bonus will probably use the same oil filters as the Liz.

 

[Randy Chase]

If I had to pick two vehicles for $65k one is obviously the Elise so you only have $25k left for a daily driver with somekind of utility to it. That leaves you with a Toyota Tacoma, decent gas mileage, no worry about it sitting outside, and as a bonus will probably use the same oil filters as the Liz.

Mine would be similar. I might go for the Tundra for towing though.

 

[jlandreth]

I have a Mini "S" and it's a very good car.I bought it to drive daily but have yet to even drive it in the rain(thus only 2,700 mi.)A UUC exhaust improves performance noticeably. I too don't care for front wheel drive but you very rarely notice it w/ the Mini. I was hot for an S2000 before I bought the Mini but I drove one for a few days and just couldn't get that excited about it. Very good car but drove like a Civic in traffic.Maybe I'll finish of my 70 BMW 2002 w/ an e-30 engine. My favorite until the Elise arrives is still my 85 Carrera.