That is the question...

Im torn between two cars right now. My 92'VE5 or 03'330xi auto. Tough one indeed. One is a modern, worry free beauty with everything a normal person needs in a car, including the name, except........ It's not my VE and I don't know if I can live without a 5spd! But I noticed Im the kind of person that feels more comfortable when I put my energy and love towards one of something, not multiple things of the same type. Plus my pocket feels the same way. This wouldn't even be an issue if I could afford to insure both of them. But I can't, and I have nowhere to keep the other if it's not insured. No garage, just one parking spot in my building. In this state, it gets towed for having no plates, parked on the street. Paying for storage for a car just standing somewhere without me even being able to mod it, is just not worth it either. Especially when one is FWD, and the other is an auto

So what do you guys think? I feel my heart is a drop more with the VE, and Im still in love with the looks till this day, but the whole FWD thing kills it a bit for me. And why Im even more confused is that I've owned 3rd gens for years, and I have yet to experience a modded one. I have yet to install an UDP thats been laying around collecting dust foir almost a year now. Didn't wanna take it to mechanics for the harder bolt on mods, but I see I have no choice. So I am willing to mod the Maxima if I stay with it, but to you guys that have been there and done that, is it even worth it? I see you guys moving on all the time, but I never felt a modded VE. Is it worth experiencing? I love that freakin' engine. The way it competes with modern cars, is making me wanna keep it more and more. But I don't know. I bought the BMW originally for a daily beater half a year ago, but I can't sell it for anywhere near what it's worth, and I can't find a garage to rent to mod the VE. What to do, what to do

I won't even bother asking this on the bimmer forums, because I know what their snot nosed answer will be.

 

http://forums.nycmaximas.org/showthr...613#post581613

[/URL]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...TODAY.m239.lVI

 

rolling on the mf-ing floor laughing so hard i almost peed myself.
a less than 5 year old bmw as a beater?!?!?


seriously. which is currently funner to drive? how much more money would you put into each to make it funner? which gets better mpg? how much is the difference in each for insurance?

if the answers point to the 3 to stick around, do you have trust-worthy family that you could loan the car to, and maintain it? that would probably be my first suggestion. let them take care of maintenance and tags, and insurance on it, and enjoy the bmw. stick around, anyway though. sure it would be sad to see an .org-er leave, but that is the way of life....

 

unfortunately being the pioneer in the always-promised-but-never-done 3rd gen RWD conversion isn't really possible given your garaging situation, is it?

 

Bmw is a nice car, probably an awesome daily driver. But my heart is in my VE. I've dumped a lot of money in it this far-- but nowhere near the price of a 2003 BMW. In my opinion, you have the perfect canvas to do whatever you want with it, and will have a bunch of extra cash to do it with if you sell the BMW (which is a lot easier to sell than a 15 year old maxima)

I love the way modded 3rd gens feel, suspension makes a world of difference, in hindsight, I probably would have done that first... assuming all of your bushings are good. VE's don't make a whole lot of power below 3500 rpms, so I'm thinking a fidanza flywheel will get the 1st gear duration about 2 seconds, meaning 98% of the time you'll be in the VE's strong powerband. Even more if you do some breathing mods like a CAI and a Warpspeed Y-pipe.

I don't know, I love the VE- and will continue to mod it while the body is in good condition, I may even buy a JDM rebuild engine down the road... I just like the car, and for the price, you can't beat it.

Realistically speaking though, if finances are your concern... perhaps modding a 15 year old car seems silly, and you'll never see any of your money back. But I guess that all comes down to weighing out which is more important to you, money- or what you're putting it into.

 

my grandpa wonders why i keep toying with 3rd gens (and old cars in general) when i could save money for a few months and buy something newer. but frankly, I'm doing this for the experience, and for the end result. So if i go buy, say, a 2000 Camry (just to be generic) then i'll have gained a 10-years-fresher suspension and stuff, BUT, at the same time, lost SO MUCH mod money, and not had to do crap to it to make sure it got where it was going. not to mention having no idea what brand of replacement parts may have been used up to that point.

maintainence first. then mods. then upkeep when the mods are done. not that mods will ever truly be done. but you get the point.

 

Tough question - whattodo with overflowing mammon. Luxury of the rich and healthy... (I have curretly similar issue, what to do with the 'extra' vehicles...)

Time to time hitting a must do selection I put problem nuances on 'Excel-table'. The big issue has to be divided in to '20 pieces'. Then assessing weight for each feature and giving em points from 1-10. The more pieces, generally the more accurate result.

When all is collected in the table, calculate, check the result: Goes like... option A gets 45 points, option B 77 points etc... Now you have a mathematical value of YOUR preferences.

To my surprise, (selecting, purchasing a product) oftentimes the most expensive option will surface as the BEST - thus cheapest.

 

I'd keep the beamer.
AWD > FWD

 

Or sell both and get an E36 M3 4-door ...













.... in pearl...

 

Quoted for brains. Do it.

 

Yeah man, I needed something I could drive around in, that looks good, and without worrying about mods and shifting gears in NYC traffic. Otherwise I would go for the coupe with a 6 spd. This car just had a deal that was hard to pass up. But then again, Im not such a german car fan to begin with. Did start to appreciate them alot more since I bought this one.

They both have their funess level. The VE is more raw, yet the Bimmer feels alot more like a sports car. But then, its an auto. So its a weird feeling. I rate them both the same, but for different things. The insurance is definatly a bit cheaper on the BMW for it's extra safety features.

Thats a good idea to give it to a family member, but unfortunatly, I don't have that opportunity.

Me? RWD conversion pioneer?
I wish..



I have to disagree about the BMW being easier to sell then Maxima. It's only easier to sell to the low ballers who want a good car for cheap. I will never get what the car is worth or even close because, one, the car is over 100k miles, two, I don't offer finance and warrenty, and three, people just want the best deal out there, and it's not with a private seller like me. Im not even asking the $15k value of it. Im down to $12k and people still don't want it for more then $11k. It's that dumb out here. The second I put the Maxima up just for kicks, I had people pack my email box full of requests to pay what I was asking. Im just not sure I wanna sell it, which is why I still own it. Seems a clean VE-5spd is hard to come by these days, which is more reason for me to hold on to it.

Yep, these cars are definatly a good experience tool. I just wish I waited a bit longer before I bought another car.


Hehe, thats a pretty fine idea Wiking. I like it
Probably doesn't agree too well with what the heart wants..

Yeah, but not when it comes to gas. I think I average like 18mpg- city/highway for BMW, and 24mpg+ with Maxima.

I don't mind going for an already legalized R32 Skyline instead

 

just make sure it's pearl... and when the heck did they legalize them?

 

bro, keep the max. I've notice that you have maxima in your blood. I grew up with a 1st gen and my dad bought this 4th gen when I was 10 years old. I can't wait to until all the 4th gens become extinct, lol. I know that I'll still have mine in great shape. Right now, most 3rd gens are barely able to crawl on the road. You're almost there at the point where people turn their heads hard to appreciate a nice clean gen 1 on the road. Keep the max, sell the 3series.

just my .02. I really like your car, 3rd and 4th gens are my favorite styles. I can't stand gen 2 and 6. 1 is classic and 5, eh, the rear is starting to grow on me now.

 

I've never driven a bimmer, but with my experience with my ve-auto from when i got it, bone stock, to what it is now. I just love the pull of this motor. I could only imagine if I had a 5spd in it, I would probably keep the car forever, and turbo it. oh if only I had a 5spd.

Don't know the difference from personal experience with a stock ve5 - modded ve5 but i could imagine its a bit more of a difference for the good than compared to my autotragic ve

 

I think your right man.. You just made me realize how much unfinished buisness I have with this car even though the end result is nothing fabulous. Thanks

 

It's great. You would love it. Especially in 3rd on the highway

 

besides. sell the max and you get what, $2000 of mod money for the Bimmer? Sell the bimmer and you get a little bit more mod money for the max...

 

Yes sir. I'm a big beamer fan myself. I could definitely go me a new 335i next week after my finals are over. BUT, I feel that I have a lot more to accomplish with this car. So I rather hold off, and do my thing with this car. Plus my dad just got an 08 X5, so that's cooling my beamer fever, lol.

 

Well in my opinion you have a lot of good feedback. I do what wiking suggested every time I have difficult decisions to make.

Being a former valet driver, I've driven almost every car under the sun...from old muscle cars to 06 maybachs. While those are two extremes, the majority of cars I used to valet were the classic luxury cars. Bimmers, Benzes, Jags, Lexus, Audis, etc. Benzes don't last, jags are mostly crap, lexus was always fun, and Audis & Bimmers were my favorite. They were always in decent shape....even the ones that were over 10 years old.

With that being said, it's important to look at the future value of each car. You have the Max that is now 16 years old, and the Benz that is only 5 years old. If you keep the Bimmer, chances are 11 years from now you'll be confronted with the same problem you are right now. HOWEVER....there will definetally be new technology 11 years from now that will almost eliminate the need for the standard gasoline that each car runs on. So, I'd say save some cash, hold on to the Maxima, and use the money to invest in the Max and then get that "new technology" whenever it comes out. 11 years from now people won't even WANT a car that burns expensive gas and only gets 18 mpg....so if you think it's hard to sell now, just wait untill then!! You'll end up having a LOT more fun with the Maxima when you modify it.

Another thing to consider is the condition of each car. If the Maxima is rusty, then it won't even last another 10 years...so get rid of it while you can, or you'll have to buy another car when it falls apart, and you might of well have just kept the Bimmer in the first place.

Since I've REALLY modified my Maxima, I can say it gets a lot more compliments and looks than if I had a stock Bimmer. People don't even know what kind of car it is anymore. A stillen kit, rims, lower springs, E36 headlights, nice spoiler, and paint job will take your car to a whole different level of style that is EASILY comparible to any BMW on the road today. All those styling mods can easily be done for $2000....and even then you're still ahead financially for performance mods like a Y-pipe, CAI, Fidanza, EXEDY clutch, Konis, etc!!

Trust me, you'll get more satisfaction out of a modded Maxima then you would out of your stock Bimmer...and you'll end up with a reliable car, money on the side, and looks EVERYWHERE you go. Plus the satisfaction that you took your car to a level most people never dreamed of. It's an awesome learning experience to work on a Maxima since it can be done on your own with almost no special tools really required. Try that with an 05 Bimmer. Chances are you won't even be able to trace a wire from under the hood to inside the cabin. I can't even remember how many different computers those cars have. Plus the parts alone will run your wallet dry. You'll be forced to take it to the shop every time. Nobody looks at a regular Bimmer...and it's CRAZY expensive to modify an 05.

Some other things to think about are family, and can you afford to have your car down while modding it, etc.



or you could get that E36 M3....

 

^exactly, my dads X5 is pimp, but I still rather driving my max. It's 2 different feelings by far.

 

Only -if- missing variables, or weighting values not Truthful. 'Any' problem becomes a piece of cake when cake is put into small enough pieces: the problem is that oftentimes the heart doesnt want to see the Truth as it is...

Calculation reminder for us not so wealthy: Only NASA has resources to make use of the cheapest solution.

 

<--bought my 00 max as a daily beater so i could keep my s2000 in the garage.Year later sold the S2K and currently installed cattman headers and emu on the max.
<and a few other things>

 

I don't mind going for an already legalized R32 Skyline instead [/QUOTE]



The Bimmer is a nice car (my mother has the same model in red) handles great in the snow and its really comfortable, but it is nowhere as exciting as my modded max. I own a 06 sti, the car has serious mod potiental but I still find myself tinkering with my 15yr old fwd family sedan.
I had the opportunity to drive a r32 skyline and it had the same raw feel as my 3rd gen, but handled sooo much better. If you can find a r32 jump on it and dont look back!
Then again why not mod your max like your sig. I always thought that max looked sick!

 

Heh, yeah, I like the one in the sig too, but unless I live on a race track, I think it would look a bit too "loud".

Must have been an amazing experience to drive that R32. I can almost imagine how it must have felt. I really would love an R34 but seeing the price difference compared to an R32, I guess if I ever have the opportunity, R32 is the way to go.

Just took the VE for a spin around my parking lot, and it reminded me of how exciting it really was.