So, here's the deal. For the last year or so, I've been on the hunt for my "halo" X5. That would be a pre-LCI 4.6is in Imola Red with black/alcantara interior and red interior trim.

Since this would serve as my daily transportation, I wasn't looking for a project like I usually am when hunting my next automotive conquest. This meant I was willing to pay more for a lower mileage example in good-to-go condition. I thought I found what I was looking for on a dealer lot in Florida. I made the deal and brought the car home. Life was good. Then I started to really look it over and began finding problems. Long story short: It ended up being a project after all. I have put blood (literally), sweat, tears, and a bucket full of cash into getting it sorted and reliable.

I have now spent way more on it than I can ever hope to recover if I sell it. But that's exactly what I may have to do. At the time, I was working from home and even though I have several cars, I didn't drive all that much. It was not unusual for me to not leave the house for several days at a time. So it wasn't really a big deal if I had an unreliable car, or if it got terrible gas mileage.

That all changed at the first of this year, when I started a new job and now have about an 80 mile round trip commute every day. None of my vehicles are really appropriate for commuting and I needed something reliable and economical to operate, but still interesting and entertaining to drive. I briefly considered something like a Honda Civic or a Prius, but HELL NO. I ended up scoring an amazing end-of-the-year deal on an i3 Rex. As a matter of fact, by the time the lease is up, I may actually eek out a small profit. As a bonus, my employer is very “Green Aware” and has offered to install a level 2 charging station as part of a construction project already underway. So I have the commute covered.

Back to the X5. Counting the i3, I am dangerously close to Rob Seigel’s 7 Car Rule with 6 vehicles crammed into parking spaces for 3 (I know, First World Problems). Insurance is starting to get pretty expensive too. Something has to go! I’m already preparing my E38 740i “Sporty Shorty” to sell, and may also try to unload the E36 M3. My particular X5 is something of a rare breed, and a little special. It will be hard to see it go, especially since I’ll probably lose about $5K on the deal. But I haven’t driven it in a month and need the breathing room.

I know I’ll be kicking my future self when the way-too-much-money collectors finally get over their obsession with old Mustangs and discover the model and they start crossing the auction block for stupid amounts of money. The same thing will probably happen with the M3 (but only after I sell it for peanuts)…

Anyway, I’ve been checking prices on similar X5’s and they seem to be topping out at about $10K. I can live with getting that for mine, I just wonder how much I’ll regret it after the deal is done.

There is a “halo” X3 that I can chase (M Sport Package, 6MT) if I get rid of everything else. Finding one would tick most of the boxes for my “pleasure” vehicle and trim the fleet down to a more manageable 3. One minute I’ll have myself convinced that’s the way to go. Then the next I think it’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever had.

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2002 X5 4.6is - Imola Red/Black (Sold)
2001 740i M Sport - Anthrazit Metallic/Black (Sold)
1998 M3/4/5 - Technoviolet/Dove (Sold)
2003 Z4 3.0i Sport - Sterlinggrau Metallic/Black (Sold)
2009 Mini JCW (The Wife's)
2015 i3 REx - Arravani Gray/Tera World (Daily Driver)