[Angler1]

Originally Posted by HCGxKaLiBeR

I have a $6k Suzuki SX4 as backup. I drive it to grocery shopping and unfamiliar places. I park where ever is convient, don't care about dings, don't need to maintain line of sight. Sometimes I even use it bump grocery cart away that blocks my parking space. It's a tank in snow, super low profile too.

Love it! That's what I need.

Parking my M3 is like studying the doors and swing distance from other parked cars. Always trying to find a spot where I can best hedge against a ding, or some idiot bumping it.

[Angler1]

Originally Posted by G30M

i'm just not into the smaller M cars, too cramped. yet i'm a skinny 150 pound person ...

I had a 535i and the roominess in the 2025 M3 is very close to that 5 series. Was worried getting a 3 that I'd miss a 5, but very pleased with it so far. I'm 170lbs.

[slilley]

Originally Posted by Bald Guy

Maybe pick up a new Camry so you have peace of mind and you don't have to worry about using it as much as you need to. Some folks will laugh at this but it's just an opinion.

I agree with this approach! First, some background: when I was younger and more naive, I thought I'd be able to keep a car forever if I didn't drive it much and treated it to Mike Miller-level preventative maintenance. Turns out, cars age-out -- even if they are rarely driven and treated to OCD-levels of preventative maintenance! And yes, you can keep most European cars going well into the 200K range, but to me, they are a PITA once they cross the 100K threshold as I'm the guy who wants to do all maintenance and repairs himself because I take satisfaction in that, plus I have a low level of trust in most shops or dealers.

My "back up" car (we call it our "city car") is actually the car I drive the most right now, a new '25 VW GTI which replaced a '18 GTI that we owned since new. The GTI fits into small parking spots in the city, it seats 4 (though I wouldn't call the back seat comfortable for adults, but it's OK for short trips), it has a ton of cargo room (esp with the rear seats folded down), it has great visibility, and most importantly it's still fun to drive with good performance and tech! With discounts, you can get into one for $33K OTD, although I got the mid-level version which is more like $39K. I'm trying to get my wife to drive it instead of her '23 X5, saving the X5 for things like road trips and times when we have 4 adults in the car. My garage queen is a '22 Cayman GTS, which I do drive as much as possible when I know it's just me and parking isn't an issue. So I totally get where the OP is coming from!