Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Control what you can

My parents recently purchased a brand-new 2024 Toyota RAV-4 (XLE hybrid trim). This is to be their forever car, one to use for the majority of their retirement period. Being a Toyota product, I have no reasons to suspect it won’t (at least) mechanically last for two plus decades. The key is to keep it meticulously serviced, by the book, at the dealership. I suspect a lot of reliability issues people experience with cars is due to not following the correct service schedule. A mere oil change at the local Jiffy Lube every six months isn’t going to cut it.

This is why I am leery about buying the typical used car. You can never be sure if scheduled maintenance is done by the book. It’s likely safe to bet that it hasn’t. Owners aren’t wont to pay for what they think is needless extras, such as brake inspection, or lubing the jams. Soon as that two-year free maintenance plan is over, that Toyota Corolla is back to oil changes on the driveway. The only used car I’ve ever bought was a Porsche 911 GT3, a six-figure specialty sports car that I can count on owners to be meticulous. That car came with a full dealer service history with all the print-outs.

So in support of it lasting more 20 years, my parents’ RAV-4 will be serviced by the book.

That is something we can control. What we cannot control is other drivers on the road. I too have every intention of keeping my own BMW M2 for a very long time. However, all it takes is one errant driver crashing into me to destroy that long-term plan. I can defensively drive as much as possible, but sometimes an accident truly is an accident. Heck, I might do something careless on the road. It only takes one scant moment of inattention.

As with most things in life, the best we can do is take care of what we can control, and don’t stress about what we cannot. That Toyota RAV-4 will last a long time if the car gods deem it to be so fortunate.

You done messed up!

And this is why you don’t trade a perfectly reliable, recent model-year Japanese car, for a 15 year old high-strung German sedan. My brother, the genius that he is, swapped his ND2 Mazda Miata for a B7 Audi RS4. The latter of which is currently in the repair shop, because the high-pressure fuel pump failed, and there’s leaks in the engine oil cooling circuit. If you think that during this time my brother is without transportation to work, you would be correct. Counting on a German car made in 2008 for daily-driving duties is kind of taunting the gods.

I completely understand the want for a naturally-aspirated German machine that revs to the heavens. Once upon a time, I too traded in a Mazda Miata (ND1) for a 991.1 Porsche 911 GT3. Like brother, like brother. The big difference in my case is: I didn’t need the 911 to commute. The GT3 also had a certified preowned warranty, so anything that can go wrong is fixed for free at the dealership. (The circulation fan of the HVAC system failed during my ownership of the car.)

Again, if you need something dependable for commuting, an old, out-of-warranty German car is not it!

A lot of the issues with my brother’s RS4 is caused by the car having largely sat for a whole year by the previous owner. High performance cars (of any nationality) are meant to be driven. Hard. Getting the mechanical bits up to proper temperature, and the various fluids circulating freely throughout, is really good for longevity. Sort of like exercising for humans. The only downside is the fuel bill. I (still) don’t commute with my current BMW M2, but you can bet it gets driven spiritedly on the weekends.

10K in the M2

Recently I noticed my BMW M2 Competition’s odometer ticked over 10,000 miles. It’s taken about two years of ownership to get there, which is to say: a rather long period. A non-insignificant chunk of those miles isn’t even of my doing. The three longest drive taken in my M2 was by other drivers who borrowed the car. The longest I’ve done was two trips to West Sacramento IKEA (from San Francisco) because it was the lone store in the region in stock with the pieces of furniture I wanted.

10,000 miles in two years is easily the least amount of mileage of any car I’ve owned. Even my previous Porsche 911 GT3 - a complete leisure vehicle - would have done the equivalent of 12,000 miles. Living within walking distance of everything - work, play, errands - utterly kills any need of driving. The absolutely bonkers gas prices of 2022 - thanks to the war in Ukraine, I guess? - have limited even the joyful cruises in the local mountains and coastal roads.

Despite the relatively limited seat time, I remain utterly in love with the M2 Competition. It’s such a spritely little coupe with some big power to back it up. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the BMW is more fun to drive than the GT3, albeit in my super amateurish hands. The Porsche is the more eventful car, however: each drive is an absolute occasion. I will always miss the GT3.

The M2 does the everyday life stuff better, too. The trunk is comparatively enormous, and any items bigger than it can be stowed by flipping down the rear seats. The aforementioned IKEA run was easily accomplished. Driving friends to the airport? No problems at all. Anything larger than a carry-on suitcase wouldn’t fit in the 911’s trunk. The BMW is an entirely friendlier car, both to me and my friends. There’s no place I wouldn’t take the M2 to and park it, which is not something I dared to do with the GT3.

All that is to say it was the correct decision to sell the Porsche for the M2 - even if I could afford to keep the Porsche. The M2 fits my lifestyle far better. The fact that it’s more fun to drive as well? I’m incredibly pleased with this BMW. Cheers to more many miles to come.

I can't watch

Ever since I’ve sold my Porsche 911 GT3 over a year ago, I cannot bear to consume media about the car anymore. I skip right over video reviews of the latest generation 911 GT3. It’s just too painful of a reminder of what I used to have. My god that was an amazing car. The 991 generation GT3 was one to hold forever and take to the moon. Sadly I had to move out of my parents’ house, and therefore lower my monthly expenses. It had to go.

My BMW M2 Competition is not a bad consolidation in the slightest. I’ve adored it on the very first weekend drive. But an M2 is no 911, never mind a 911 GT3. The mystique of the weird rear engine layout and the side silhouette bourn out of a Volkswagen Beetle is utterly unique in the automotive world. Every car guy aspires to own a 911 at least once in their lifetime. But they forgot to tell you how much you’ll miss yours when you sell it and move on.

It was the correct decision. The M2 is a far better fit for my current lifestyle, even if I disregard the money situation. The extra bit of ground clearance and utility compared to the super pure 911 GT3 mean I can use the M2 for the daily errands far easier. An IKEA run to get a kitchen table would have been impossible in the Porsche. Would have made for an interesting Youtube video, but I don’t do that kind of media.

The one thing I’m most proud of in owning the GT3 has to be my GT3 diaries. I can’t believe I found the motivation to write about the car every month for nearly two years. From a writing perspective, it’s an era of creativity I’ve yet to find again. Notice that I don’t have an M2 diaries. The BMW just isn’t that interesting of a car, and I drive mine so seldomly that there wouldn’t be much to write about on a monthly basis.

Hopefully there would come a time I’d be able to get over my bitterness and enjoy content about the GT3.

Vehicular longevity

Sometimes on my walks around the neighborhood, I would notice some vintage cars with plates starting in a low digit (in California, the higher the starting number, the newer the car tends to be). And these cars tend to be in relatively immaculate condition. There’s definitely some patina there, but I can tell for the most part these are well-loved machines, and cared for consistently. How else would a ding-free Mercedes sedan from the 80s survive into the modern age?

A slight amount of shame comes to me whenever I see these old cars, because my track record in that respect is horrendous. I’ve yet to own any of the new cars I bought for more than three years. Even the one used car - the beloved Porsche 911 GT3 - I’ve only managed to keep for two. I go through cars way more often that someone of my meager income really should. I’m sure the State of California is happy about the tax revenue it has received from me over the years.

To that end, I really hope I can muster the self-control to keep my current car, a 2021 BMW M2 Competition, for a very long time. It’s a little over one year since I bought the thing, so there’s two more to go before I am even with my previous best record of car ownership length. BMW’s free maintenance program for the first three years does make it easier to keep the M2, because my only outlay is gas, insurance, and payments (neither of which are cheap already).

Will I be able to go past three years? I certainly hope so. The only car I can conceivably see trading it for is a 997.1 generation Porsche 911 GT3. Having played the Porsche game and paid the Porsche tax once, I’m not sure I have the wallet stomach for it again. The most ideal scenario would be to keep the BMW as the last petrol-powered car I will ever buy. I’ll buy an EV to supplement it if the need ever arises. As of right now, I am quite okay.

The forever car?

Sometimes, the flow of life gives you outcomes that you didn’t think would be it, but is nevertheless the way it’s going to be. You just have to accept it. My Porsche 911 GT3 was going to be the forever car, but life circumstances forced me to sell it. Its replacement, the decidedly cheaper BMW M2 Competition, is meant to be a stop-gap until I’m in the position to buy another GT3. However, it’s looking more and more likely the M2 will be that forever car. At least one with an internal-combustion engine.

Spending six-figures on a sports car was a YOLO play, one that I don’t think I’ll repeat again. I miss my departed GT3 dearly, that sweet naturally-aspirated engine that revs to 9,000 RPM. Unless I hit some big financial windfall in the future, it’ll be a bad idea to spend that much on a car again. It’s a box I’ve already ticked on the list, so the solace and satisfaction of having owned a 911 for a time will have to suffice.

The headwinds in the automotive sector are blowing heavily towards full electrification. The next new car I buy will probably have an electric motor, rather than something that burns gasoline. Sports cars like the BMW M2 are going to be relics of a prior petrol age, when driving fun also involves a sonically-pleasing howl from exhaust pipes. An age when the driver has direct connection to the mechanicals, rather than a bunch of wires and bits. The changing world of cars might force the M2 Competition as the one I keep for a long time to come, the last of its ilk.

That’s not really something to complain about, however. The little BMW coupe is a fantastic car, and super fun to drive. If it is to be the last internal-combustion car I will ever buy and own, then that’s quite okay. Even if it really should’ve been a 911 GT3. The flow of life is what it is, and I’m choosing to go along with it.

I am humbled

It’s always fascinating to receive comments from people reading my GT3 diaries. It’s humbling to know that people looking for information about the 991.1 generation GT3 would arrive at my tiny corner of the Internet. Everything I write and do on this website is for my own enjoyment and for the sake of creating itself. Nothing was ever done in hopes of attracting an audience or turning this into a profitable enterprise. Therefore any interaction I do get from readers are super genuine, for which I am incredibly grateful.

Interestingly, the GT3 diaries attract most of its readers from the United Kingdom. If I had to guess (speculate, really), I think car enthusiasts across the pond have a different aspiration of owning the level of cars such as a GT3. Over there, guys and gals from middle-class backgrounds have no qualms about spending close to six-figures on a specialty sports car. That mirrors closely with my situation: I don’t make close to six-figures annually, yet I finagled my financial capacity to buy a GT3. Simply because I love that car, and wanted the experience.

American buyers of expensive sports cars tend to only be of the 1% earners, at least in my experience. I’ve yet to meet another enthusiast of my ilk, though perhaps that’s because no one would waste the amount of money on a car, as I did.

The GT3 diaries was my journaling of a working man’s dream of owning a super car. I am happy that it resonates with others, even if they from another continent. My only regret is I didn’t do more with the car, a year of ownership largely stolen by these COVID times. I endeavor to do better with M2 diaries, chronicling my current ownership of a BMW M2 Competition. That car is not nearly as special as a GT3, so I don’t reckon I’ll be getting a lot of correspondence on that in the comments.

I thank any and all for reading and perusing this website.