[JY]

Jet black 99 528 5speed with sport package and premium package, 59K miles.

I am working on a deal with my employer to take an assignment overseas in Malaysia by mid August. If it works out, the assignment could be 12-18 month or longer. I am wondering if I should sell the car or keep it. If I keep it, it will sit for 18 month (or more), collect dust and depreciate. If I sell it, I am afraid I will never be able to get a classic bmw in this kind of condition.

The day I bought it, I told myself to drive it till it fall apart. Did not envision I have to sell it so soon. The car drives like a dream, only mods are UGDO, short shifter and CDV removal. Extremely well maintained, TLC with coats after coats of Zaino, and regular fluid change, Mobil 1 every 5K,,,,
Low miles and almost never in stop-n-go traffic. I have a company car to deal with commute. I will be given a company transportation as well in new assignment.


And yes, the house, that is another thing to worry about..sell? ...not sell? I am leaning toward keeping the house even though it is not cheap to support a house in bay area.........

What would you do?

 

[Estcoast1]

Tough decision... If the car is paid off I would just keep it. Would make a great secondary car and IMO it's worth more to keep than to what you would get for it. Definitely keep the house, rent it out if need be. One solid market in the country is real estate. Even with a downturn you're in a premium area.

Incidentally that 3rd picture is beautiful... Talk about tranquil.

 

[chivas]

here's what i would do. sell the car and rent out the house. the rent of the house should pay for the mortgage and the taxes with either no profit or only bank like $200/mth (if that).

the car is a depreciating item. you said it yourself. no sense in holding a depreciating item for so long and not use it. please don't take this the wrong way but it's a 528/5. it might be good that next year the gas prices might be high and it'll be economical but dollar for dollar, if you can unload it now, do it. when you come back, who knows, you might be able to score an E39 M5? if you don't need/use it or can't profit from it, ditch it.

 

[my_e36]

Tough call I agree but really no point holding something that depreciates and not use it. Unless it's holds a sentimental value to you. (only you can answer this one)

But I personally would sell the car and rent out the house. Who knows, by the time you come back, you might set your hearts on a e39 on final year production with everything already on it (Xenon, sports pack, etc...) or even an E60.

Good luck! :thumbup:

 

[PhilH]

I'm not sure what I'd do, but my brother, his wife and two kids just finished a 2 1/2 yr assignment in Japan.

He did not sell or rent his house and he sold one of his three cars (the minivan). He kept the '97 Accord and '66 Mustang and had us (his family) drive them every once in a while to give them exercise. Keeping the house and cars is easier in a couple ways, but more expensive. The question is can you afford it...

 

[Ågent99]

Rent the house is the easy one I think. Do not easily sell real estate in the Bay Area...that is your retirement fund and if you sell the house (unlike the car), you may find it VERY tough to get back into the Bay Area housing insanity...if that is important to you.

Do you have family members or close friends that can assist you with renting the house (i.e. take care of problems, keep an eye on the place, etc.) and equally so, could they take the BMW out for some fun every two weeks or so?

The car is a tougher one. Yes, it is a depreciatng asset unlike the house. I think this is more of a personal choice. I could see keeping a '66 Mustang easily but not a '99 BMW 528i.

Keep the house, rent it out, sell the car, use some of the money from the car to hire a firm to be a landlord for the house for the time you are away if you don't have family/friends that can help you. Put the rest of the car money into safe-keeping...maybe a 1 year CD or a Chinese mutual fund.

Best of luck overseas...should be pretty cool!

:thumbup:

 

[BillP]

I approach things quantitatively and then apply emotion to them.

Car:

1. Calculate the expected depreciation on the car over the 12-18 month period (use kbb or similar)
2. Calculate the cost of keeping the car in storage (garaging/security, maintenance, insurance)
3. Add #1 and #2
4. If the total is "worth it" to you, then go ahead and keep the car, if not, sell it. Since interest rates are so low, there is no pressing need to do any kind of "time value of money" calc.


House:

Huge difference between this and a car. Selling a house and buying another one (when you return) costs you ~10% of the value which may be a far larger percentage of your equity. 3% to each agent and another big chunk spent in fixing up the current one to sell and the new one once you get it. You can also rent/lease a house but it is not as easy (or at least, "common") for a car.

That said, go ahead and do something similar to what I recommended for the car, though I believe it will point to the "keep it" side of the ledger - especially if you can rent/lease it. BTW, do home remodels during the rent/lease period and you can write those off as business expenses, offsetting all or part of the rental/lease income (I am not a tax professional, so confirm this before moving forward).


Bill

 

[JY]

Thank you all for the ideas.
Yes the car is paid off, no extra cost to keep it.
It makes sense to sell the car, I guess the emotional attachment is there and it is hard to ignore.

I lean toward keeping the house, it is hard to find a more secure investment than the house. On the other hand, employer will pick up the bill for realtor's fee. And I have the option of collecting the capital gain without penalty.

 

[LmtdSlip]

Sell the car. There are plenty of nice 528s out there. And plenty of cars even more interesting than that.

Keep the house. Rent it or dont....but I wouldnt sell if you plan to continue living in that part of Cali after your return.

 

[Tyronne]

I had to make that decision 11 years ago on an '89 525i.

Everyone said I was nutz to keep the car.

Today I have a fabulous mint '89 Five with 127k miles.

Never had to buy another car.

Long may you run.

Unless u need the $$,$$$'s, I'd keep the ride.

On the other hand, how much ya wanna sell it for???

 

[franzdom]

With so few mods you are mistaken in thinking you have a rare classic. I had a 98 540 and sold it after 3 years, lost my job. Drove an e30 for 4 years and now I have another e39, couldn't be happier. What happened in the meantime? the price of used 540's dropped like a rock. I could re-buy a 3 year old 2002 540 with the same miles and a lot newer for the same $ that I wholesaled mine for 4 years ago. When I got my recent e39 I thought the same about my classic e30 318is, and you know what? I dumped it knowing if I really want one some day I can get another one. Maybe have to pay a bit for it since it's more of a classic than an e39 but that would be offset by maintenance costs over the next few years. Don't become too attached to cars, you will fret over it while you are gone, it will be prone to disrepair, rubber hardens, things rust, etc. Know that there are a lot of really nice e39's that will be available when you are ready.

 

[540 M-Sport]

Easy, sell it, get a 530 sport when you return.

 

[lagunadallas]

Another vote for selling the car and renting out the house.

 

[humanoid]

Sell the car! Rent Da House! Upgrade when you return!

 

[chgolatin2]

bumps! I agree with humanoids...

 

[JY]

Thank you all for the reply.
Maybe there will be a chance to get the M5, or the P car I wanted .

Tyronne

On the other hand, how much ya wanna sell it for???

I did not check too deep into the price. But judging on the condition, low miles, and TLC with zero accident history, I feel confident it will sell for the top 80 percentile of its price bracket. I saw another thread on this board by SooneE39:
"if you run a nationwide search on Autotrader.com on the asking prices for a '99 528i, under 75,000 miles with Manual tranny, it comes up with high price of $27,000, low of $14,500 and an average of 20,668."

So, 80 percentile translate to asking price of 24K? :eeps: :eeps:
I think that is way too optimistic.

 

[540-Lover]

KEEP IT! It's hard to find an E39 in pristine condition. It will hold it's value very well, trust me.
I have a beautiful 99 540I, silver, sport package, and I love it. If you are interested email me and I'll send you a pic.

 

[Psi 5]

Jet black 99 528 5speed with sport package and premium package, 59K miles. If I sell it, I am afraid I will never be able to get a classic bmw in this kind of condition.

And yes, the house, that is another thing to worry about..sell? ...not sell? I am leaning toward keeping the house even though it is not cheap to support a house in bay area.........
What would you do?

Sell the car. As evidenced by this board, there are tons of folks who love, pamper, and take excellent car of their BMWs. I have no doubt that when you get back, you'll be able to find an '01 or '02 E39 in pristine condition to replace the one you sold. If you were talking about a classic 2002 or 3.0, I'd say garage it, but there are plenty of really nice E39s out there.

As for the house, find an excellent management company (really research this - find someone compentent and trustworty) and rent it out. Use the rent payments to keep up the mortgage. When you get back, you can use the appreciated value along with your proceeds from the 528 to get a new car.

My .02

David