You could turn into a car collector (?) and buy a new one every 2 years.  Do you
get a tax break on the car?  Over here in the UK it's 25% of the residual value
(that you don't pay tax on income for that amount) so if the car is - say
$40,000 new the first year you don't pay tax on 25% of the cars price so you get
a $10k tax free break.  The following year slightly less until after about 4
years its not worth keeping as a company car so you sell it - unfortunately
anything over it taxable value is taxed.  I know your income tax rules are
different but there must be something that matches here.

Then the cost of running it.  All the same costs.  However, why must you buy it.
If you lease 100% of the expense would be tax deductible and you can swap it
every other year if you wanted to.

Hugh

Even those who baby the car usually need to do a clutch before 175K.

Wheel bearings are also a 150K-200K item on a babied car.

Struts every 100K, shocks every 75K.

Brakes every 45K if you do mostly highway driving, 20-30K otherwise.

Engine every 300K.  :-)

New car every.....(not)

The E36 M3 *is* a classic BMW.  Good luck with it.

-Doug

--
--------------------
Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI
dwvcfii@yahoo.com
http://www.dvatp.com
--------------------

And would the X5 do that?  They're totally different cars.  If you
want a different car then get one.  If you like the one you have then
keep it.  How much would the X5 depreciate each year?...

Hi David,

You didn't say how many miles were on the car now. I have had my 95 M3 since
new, yes that's right 12 years. It only has 64K miles now, about 5K a year.
I have other toys... Anyway, There are a few areas that are failure prone,
and should be considered for maintenance replacement.

By now I would bet the shocks and struts are dead. The stock Boge units seem
to last about 40 to 60K miles.

Belts and hoses are a 4-5 year item regardless of mileage.

Water pump, thermostat and radiator are 80K item. The plastic radiator inlet
necks, and end tanks seem to get brittle with heat cycles and can fail
without warning. The water pump no longer self distructs, but the bearing
and seal go bad. The good news is that the parts are fairly cheap. New
radiator $140, Water pump $50, thermostat $10. Of course you can install
better, more expensive upgraded parts, but you don't have too. There are
several options for radiators, 3 core all aluminum 57mm Fluidyne ($600)
Zionsville, PWR... Usually for cars that have cooling issues. (track rats).

On the suspension side, the rear shock mounts,  rear trailing arm bushing
(RTAB), front lower control arm bushings, ball joints, tie rods, power
steering hoses, need inspection and replacement as necessary. But if you
have a competent mechanic, well that's what inspection 1 and 2 are for...

For the paint, you might be surprised what a really good detail could do. As
well as the paint scratches and other blemishes. If you are ever near the
Eldersburg Md area, drop by and I'll take a look. I have a paint and detail
business.

Rich