Drive your car

[HeyMoe53]

When I picked up my 128, I kept my old, but still-running Focus as a winter-beater, with snow tires on all four corners.

Other than that, I drive the BMW most all the time. You buy it to drive it.

I am pleased to see the 1M owners who do the same. I pity those who own one, and hardly ever drive it. They don't know what they are missing.

[ace11]

Originally Posted by Pete_vB

Not putting miles on your Porsche is like not having sex with your girlfriend so she'll be more desirable to her next boyfriend

hahahaha...
this is awesome

[Lotus420]

Originally Posted by Mahlzeit

All this recent talk about high values. And for sale ads touting never seeing rain, or keeping the miles down, or hermetically sealed bubble chamber storage,... inspired me to post up.

The 1M is special to me because it is as much, or even more fun to drive as a many sports cars. But - is still a BMW. It's practical, and dependable (for me at least). And serves my responsibilities, and passions. In one car.

I can take my boys to school twice a week. Take 'em to the beach. Drive to work every day. Haul my hockey gear to games. Take my wife out to a nice dinner. Tear up Laguna Seca and back roads. Hoon it up on occasion,.... It helps me live life the way I like it. But, it happens to be rare.

Please, don't let that last bit dictate what you do w/ your 1M. Live life. Drive you car. Share it with the monkeys in your life - shit - let 'em chew gum in the back seat (it's best to give them a time limit), don't freak out if they get some sand on your carpet. And if you have to pass up an hour at the car wash for an hour at the park, then GREAT!

Live well, drive well.

Consider This:
I just posted my 1M for sale a few days ago and perhaps your post is partly referencing some details from my ad. First off I have never driven the car in the rain or snow because I live in Los Angeles. It rarely rains and does not snow. I bought the car originally as a daily driver but I do have other cars. I found after I bought the 1M, I could not enjoy the car while driving around in stand still traffic, with extremely tight parking, and terrible road conditions. I commute 3 miles to and from my office and sit in traffic everywhere I need to go. However, Los Angeles does have some of the best driving roads in the country. Thus my enjoyment of the car on weekends.

I really love the 1M. It's a rare car in that with all the technology cars have these days it still feels raw. It's the best of both worlds. You get a great drivers car with the comfort and convenience of a BMW. It feels great and it lets you have fun and play. Saying all this the 1M is also a civil car. For a hard-core car enthusiast I have better choices for my weekend drives or track days. I am selling mainly because I need the space in the garage for a new Morgan 3W Brooklands edition. No other reason. I also have an Ariel Atom and Lotus Exige 260. So, compared to my other cars the 1M is not as extreme nor as rare but I can actually drive it everyday. And that leads me back to living in Los Angeles and not being able to enjoy it as a daily driver.

Currently my daily driver is an X1 and I really like it. It's a great everyday car. I have the 3.5 X drive. It's a blast to scoot around town in. Its got the M package, all the toys and it's really enjoyable.... but it's no 1M.

Pleas think first before you negate a fellow 1M enthusiast for his/her reasons for selling or what one puts in an ad. Everyone's situation is different and even though I only put 8200 miles on her, it does not mean i did not enjoy the hell out of her!! 8200 fun miles in a little over two years while also enjoying 4 other cars and a motorcycle. It's tough to part with my 1M but for the new Morgan (below), I think I do it.

[Ayrton91]

Interesting topic. I guess I am one of those that does not drive it much. My car has 7,700 miles of which 2,100 where at delivery (1,200 ED and 900 PCD).

I don't avoid driving it to maintain a high value, I expect to keep this car for as long as I live and then to pass it to one of my daughters. For me it's about the fact that it's not as fun to drive around where I live. I mean, yes I take it every now and then out on the highway and enjoy the acceleration, and experience the handling on 270 degree off ramps, but that is as fun as it gets down here, so for DD my Focus SVT does the job.

What I do with the 1M is take it to the track. Not to drive it super hard, but to really enjoy it. It's the pleasure I get every couple months.

To me the ideal would be to do what a guy I learned about did with his GTR: he shipped the car to Europe for a vacation and enjoyed it there (http://www.gtrlife.com/forums/topic/...estern-europe/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.gtrlife.c...rn-europe/</a>). I did ED so got a taste of this, but how cool would it be to do it every time you are planning to take some time off and do a memorable road trip? Probably an expensive proposition, but a great one too. How many times have you guys been on vacation at places where you end up driving your tiny economy rental car at a road that would be amazing to drive your 1M? I know I have had quite a few of those experiences.

So not all of us with low mileage do it for preserving value...