IS500 UE vs. 2027 G80 M3 xDrive: keep, trade, or both?
Hey everyone,
I'd really appreciate some advice here, because I'm honestly torn.
I bought my IS500 Ultimate Edition new at MSRP and absolutely love it. It sounds amazing, it's fun to drive, and it looks incredible. I will put about 25,000 miles a year on my cars and I don't have any real complaints, including the transmission. In Sport+ and manual mode I think it shifts just fine, and I have a pretty high bar for transmissions after driving a number of dual-clutch exotics on track.
It's my daily driver, mostly on long, straight roads in SE Florida. I ended up in an IS500 because my previous car, an Isle of Man Green G82 M4 xDrive, was T-boned and totaled. I loved that car, but I'm very particular about spec and couldn't find the same one at a good price.
I went with an IS350 since I'd had one back in 2015 and liked it as a daily, but I quickly started craving the NA V8. Shortly after, I became friends with the manager at the dealership, who got me an IS500 UE at MSRP and gave me exactly what I'd paid for the IS350 a month earlier as trade-in value. The UE now has 13k miles, is paid off, and has a 100,000-mile warranty.
My one gripe is the interior ( which is important as my car is like my second home ). It doesn't feel anything like a $70k car, and it's basically the same as a base IS350 you can get for under $40k.
I loved the performance of the G82, and when mine was totaled I realized how well they hold their value, especially with a desirable spec. Insurance paid me exactly what I'd paid for the car two years earlier, even with 10k more miles on it. The G80 xDrive is also a very reliable platform, insanely fast, and has a great interior.
Then I got really lucky. I got a MY2027 M3 xdrive allocation at MSRP in SE Florida isn't easy because demand is so high, and even with an allocation you're usually waiting about a year. When I called my local BMW dealer in mid-September, the salesperson had just gotten off the phone with someone who backed out of a build that was about to go into production. I had one day to change the spec. I put down a $2,500 refundable deposit, built the car exactly how I wanted it, and it's scheduled to arrive at the dealership November 1, which is pretty much unheard of.
In a perfect world I'd keep both, since having a fun car that holds its value matters to me. But paying for two insurance policies, and giving up about $6,000 in tax savings by not trading in the UE, is a lot of money to throw away.
Part of me wants to trade the UE in for the G80 xdrive, then later pick up a nice used 2023+ RC F as a second car. I love the RC F too, and it would keep miles off the M3. Gas prices aren't really important to me as I don't pay for it.
What would you do?
TL;DR: I have a paid-off IS500 UE with 13k miles that I love but the interior feels cheap for the price. I also have an MSRP 2027 G80 M3 xDrive arriving November 1 ( one month from this post ).
Should I trade the UE in (and save about $6k in taxes), keep both, or trade and add a used RC F later?