Winter Beater or Winter M3?

[TaxLit]

SO, considering driving my M3 through the winter vs buying a cheap manual pickup trick.

I think I could pick up decent used winter rims and tires for ~$1500. The tires may have some wear, but I could replace them in a couple years.

I would estimate $3k for a beater truck. $1500 to buy, 800 to repair to meet Ontario's safety requirements, and 700 for repairs through the winter. I expect I could sell at the end of the season for $1500 (maybe a little more if I do it right).

Pros of M3: I need to drive 10-15 minutes to a go station and back every day to get to work. That would be much more enjoyable in the M3 than in a crappy pickup. I also have a warranty so if anything goes wrong this winter or next I shouldn't have to pay much for repairs. I go for drives all the time and find it to be a great stress-reliever. I would like to be able to do that in the winter when the roads are clear and dry. I don't really want to just park this awesome car for six months of the year. Also, it was previously winter driven (or at least had winter tires put on, per service records), so it's not like I can say that the car has never seen winter if I wanted to sell it.

Pros of Truck: We are also moving into a new house, and so being able to haul random crap around and buy furniture etc from Kijiji would be useful for at least the next few months. That would probably save me renting vans from Uhaul 4 or 5 times. Also, I've always wanted to learn to drive manual and so this pickup would facilitate that.

The third option is to do both. Try to get a good deal on m3 wheels, try to get an outstanding deal on a used pickup, and hopefully the pickup will cost nothing for the season when I sell it. Only downside of this is that I'll be out a total of 3-4k for six months before I get back 1.5k for the beater.

I would welcome any thoughts or experience you may have with winter driving and getting beaters.

[6ixSpd]

A cheap beater pretty much pays a big chunk of its expense in just insurance and fuel savings alone.

I've always had an alternative winter car with my summer toy. Wouldn't have it any other way. If I can avoid the wear and tear on the paint/driveline/overall winter abuse, I'd do it. Of course this mindset applies only to a car you cherish/are keeping for a while, not leased BS.

[blu3wolf]

I've always had a beater as well since my old 335i never driven my nicer cars out during salt season. i have a acura Tl. FWD ,reliable and cheapest maintenance of any car I've owned. parts and labor on Honda are dirt cheap (relative to German cars) and if you got a garage with a warmer just DIY majority of things. The most I've spent on the car was a good set of winters. Best part was parking at a go station i did not worry about parking, and yes the Insurance savings was good as well. In the winter id like to say iam Nonchalant ,not worried about my car and barely take any precautions that i do with the BMW (call it No F's Given season).

[triggz82]

I've always daily'ed all of my cars and I'll be driving the car through the winter this year. Toronto winters have been very tame the last few years with the exception of 2-3 days and I live in the city. A good set of winter tires + corrosion free treatment and you'll be fine.

[xander_g]

Originally Posted by blu3wolf

I've always had a beater as well since my old 335i never driven my nicer cars out during salt season. i have a acura Tl.FWD ,reliable and cheapest maintenance of any car I've owned. parts and labor on Honda are dirt cheap (relative to German cars) and if you got a garage with a warmer just DIY majority of things. The most I've spent on the car was a good set of winters. Best part was parking at a go station i did not worry about parking, and yes the Insurance savings was good as well. In the winter id like to say iam Nonchalant ,not worried about my car and barely take any precautions that i do with the BMW (call it No F's Given season).

Definitely agree. Reliable, relatively good on gas and comfortable, plus you can park it anywhere and not worry. I just sold my TL, but getting another daily albeit a bmw later this week. The m3 only comes out when the weather is nice.

[GORDON.M3]

M3 is my daily, going to be my winter car also.
Going to get new winters this season though.

[Chris_08_M3]

I drive my M3 on nice winter days. I just hate the thought of storing it for an extended period of time. The past winter was actually very good and I drove it at least twice a week.

On bad days I have my 05 Audi a4 which is a beast in the snow.

[Parabolica]

I always winter my cars including when i had a Porsche. Nothing like driving a high performance car in a winter storm.

[GORDON.M3]

Originally Posted by Parabolica

I always winter my cars including when i had a Porsche. Nothing like driving a high performance car in a winter storm.

+1.

M3 is my daily. And will continue to be my daily throughout the winter months.

[e90turbos]

Last winter was my last winter with m3. I leased a manual civic LX. 0 down 215 a month. Put baby seat in the civic. Now time to mod m3 😎.
I have 18 OEM winter set with Nokian Hakka r2s that I can sell if any1 interested. Tires only have about 4 months on em.

[TomHudson]

Drive the M all winter. If it's a bad snow day, I take the ml320 cdi.

The winters have been tame, and I enjoy getting into a reliable fun car every day!

Agree on rust protection and a good detailing inside and out...

[Millie]

While I drove my M3, E90 anyway, the odd winter day I would not go venturing out in deep stuff after a big snow fall. The plows up here are non-existent in the residential areas so most days I took the Forester. No way in hell I'd drive the M3 in salt-sprayed areas without some sort of under-body protection.

[bing240sx]

i winterize my M3 but usually drive the wife's car unless it's really nice out.

the last couple winters have been pretty mild anyways but if there is a bad couple of weeks in the winter i think you'll want an alternative vehicle.

i had thought about 4-6 month lease / rental as opposed to buying a dedicated winter car if it's going to be a real beater. beaters are unreliable and painful to sink money into something you dont care about.

[kyoo]

Hoping to bump this to get a winter recommendation - i have no reason to drive the M3 this winter, literally at all, except to keep the battery alive. The place it's sitting will not have an outlet/trickle charger. Should I disconnect the battery? Or just drive it once in a while? Seems like extra unnecessary wear to do that though.

[EvoX.M3]

If you can afford a beater, why not?

You'll enjoy the M3 even more in warmer weather. Besides, the cost of getting a decent set of winter tires/wheels, rust proofing and cleaning/detailing the M3 would probably add up to what you'd pay for that truck.

[6ixSpd]

Originally Posted by kyoo

Hoping to bump this to get a winter recommendation - i have no reason to drive the M3 this winter, literally at all, except to keep the battery alive. The place it's sitting will not have an outlet/trickle charger. Should I disconnect the battery? Or just drive it once in a while? Seems like extra unnecessary wear to do that though.

Unplug the battery, overinflate the tires, add fuel stabilizer, and cover the car. I've been doing this with all my BMWs over the years that are stored and don't have access to an outlet for a charger.

Done.

[Thik]

Which rust proofing service have people used? Is it too late to do rust proofing on a 8 year old car if it haven't been rust proofed before?

[TomHudson]

Krown". It’s never too late!

[kyoo]

Originally Posted by 6ixSpd

Unplug the battery, overinflate the tires, add fuel stabilizer, and cover the car. I've been doing this with all my BMWs over the years that are stored and don't have access to an outlet for a charger.

Done.

so if the car is unplugged from roughly november to march, you don't start up or anything like that? crank before firing, etc?

[6ixSpd]

Originally Posted by kyoo

so if the car is unplugged from roughly november to march, you don't start up or anything like that? crank before firing, etc?

Nope

[MaximusB]

You actually do more harm than good by starting it up every few weeks during storage. Unless when you start the car up you actually drive it around to get the temperature up otherwise you’ll just introduce condensation into the oil.

Best is just do what 6ixspd said. I store mine over the winter as well and I live in an apartment. I usually take the battery out and keep it on a charger in my parent’s garage.

[bimmergixxer]

Both options will be the right choice, it is just personal preference. We drive our M3 and R8 all year long including winter with no problems. Good winter tires are a must. The M3 wont show any rust and I take mine through the car wash 4 times a week in the winter to remove any salt and it still looks amazing underneath although the car is over 10 years old.