The sad life of your old car

I check in on X3 M40i values, because I've found my old one for sale...in Pittsburgh? How'd it get there, and what else can we consider?

x3-m40i

Nearly 70% of you went for the 911 Turbo, and I am shocked! Expect a review of both versions in early 2025. Today, I’m exhibiting toxic behavior. I wanted to know where my old X3 M40i went, and I found it…in Pittsburgh?

How’d it get there?

The 2022 BMW X3 M40i vs the 2022 Porsche Macan S

x3-m40i-rear

See the X3 listing here

See the Macan listing here

I’ve walked out of jobs, deleted ex-girlfriend’s phone numbers, and had no problem saying bye-bye to bad friends. But when it comes to cars…

What can I say? This is Machines With Souls, after all. And I just wanted to check in, you know, maybe it was still for sale at the BMW dealer I left it at.

Nope. Not there. In fact it never was.

X3 M40i
Winter wheels are still in my basement.

Turns out that when it comes to BMW, nothing with a CarFax history is going to get the love, and since an 18-year-old with his head in a phone instead of up and out whacked me from behind, the venerable X3 has a story. Here is a terrific point in favor of leasing.

We’ll get back to that, because right now, you can get this X3 for $45,900. Is that a good deal for a 382-horsepower family wagon? What else can we get for that price? Hmmm…

The 2022 BMW X3 M40i

old-x3-for-sale
Here it is.

The dealer always gets first dibs on a car, so if they want it, they take it. Lower mileage and a clean CarFax are almost always bought out, especially with a shortage of used cars out there. If they don’t want it, the car begins its Toy Story 3 phase, where it heads to auction for second-hand car dealers to bid on.

Nobody wants meeeee.

I thought the X3’s unique spec might tempt the dealer, but nope. Shipped out to Pittsburgh it is.

We’ll gloss over it (you know the specs), but:

  • Tanzanite Blue Metallic over Tacora Red SensaTec (not leather)
  • Black wheels shod in summer rubber
  • Pretty much fully loaded
  • 41,000-ish miles
  • $45,900

Now, you have me here to tell you that I went to a body shop and had the car fixed properly, but any time you see an accident it’s a crap shoot, especially with how complicated modern cars have become.

Helluva thing though. There’s nothing new at the BMW store that’s this cheap – an X1 M35 starts at $50k, and that’s not even in the same league performance-wise.

The 2022 Porsche Macan S

porsche-macan-s
The Macan S in Papaya. Isn’t that a McLaren color?

BMWs depreciate harder than that photo album of you and your ex’s wedding, but that means cheaper used prices. Let’s keep that in mind as we go hunting for something in the same realm. SUV, fast, fun, and German. I don’t think an SQ 5 or Merc would be nearly as sporty, so we need a Porsche Macan.

Porsche Macan
The Macan is a better driver’s car, but a lot more expensive.

Specifically, the S. The turbo-four is nice enough, but we want something to match the B58’s power, and the twin-turbo V-6 in the Macan S ought to do it. Since the X3 is a unique color, let’s find a Macan just as eye-catching. This one has:

  • 30,762 miles
  • Clean CarFax
  • Papaya Metallic (orange) over black and tan
  • Comparably-equipped to the X3
  • $56,555

That ten grand gap is a significant one, but the Macan is faster (and much more fun to drive). Downsides include being pretty small for family use, and knowing you don’t have the power of the GTS (though this S is still a sub-4 second car to sixty).

Saying good-bye is hard, but the new X3 M50 is much better overall. Maybe that Macan is better than both of them. If you grab the X3, you get to be inside me! The car. Inside my old car.

Nevermind.

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