Good point about vehicles. I'm aware of this advice and currently disregarding it. I am knowingly going from an almost zero maintenance vehicle (Toyota) to a 10-year older one that is known to be among the worst brands for cost of ownership and bells and whistles that stop ringing and whistling often; a 2006 BMW. I feel like my eyes are wide open and going from an SUV with a CVT to a wagon with AWD and a six-speed stick is all about fun, passion, and an appreciation for incredible engineering.
I also realize that the first bill is going to have me questioning my decision, even though I should be able to sell my Toyota for 4X what I paid for the 325Xi. I hope to do a lot of the wrenching myself (and Youtube is a gold mine because there are so many passionate Bimmer owners and because they break so often) but I'm also aware of my current limitations. I already have more things to fix on the 325 after owning it for a few days than I've tinkered with on the SUV in six years of ownership, and that's without knowing anything about the mechanical condition (the previous owner, a young unvaccinated man, died suddenly at 24, possibly of COVID so I sadly couldn't learn anything from him at all).
While the cost difference is much less dramatic for bikes, I feel those same sentiments cross over for me. I enjoy swapping bearings, despite my ineptitude at doing so, and keeping a bike running well for as long as possible aligns with the internalized ethos I inherited from my parents and grandparents. Of course you can take good care of a hardtail, but there's a beautiful challenge involved in owning and tinkering with something that requires more love and attention. But you and Andrew are correct here, more people should have an idea what they are in for before they go down this path. I say this as someone who bought a 1967 Sunbeam Alpine when I was 20 years old!
Nov. 30, 2021, 11:41 a.m. - Cam McRae
Good point about vehicles. I'm aware of this advice and currently disregarding it. I am knowingly going from an almost zero maintenance vehicle (Toyota) to a 10-year older one that is known to be among the worst brands for cost of ownership and bells and whistles that stop ringing and whistling often; a 2006 BMW. I feel like my eyes are wide open and going from an SUV with a CVT to a wagon with AWD and a six-speed stick is all about fun, passion, and an appreciation for incredible engineering. I also realize that the first bill is going to have me questioning my decision, even though I should be able to sell my Toyota for 4X what I paid for the 325Xi. I hope to do a lot of the wrenching myself (and Youtube is a gold mine because there are so many passionate Bimmer owners and because they break so often) but I'm also aware of my current limitations. I already have more things to fix on the 325 after owning it for a few days than I've tinkered with on the SUV in six years of ownership, and that's without knowing anything about the mechanical condition (the previous owner, a young unvaccinated man, died suddenly at 24, possibly of COVID so I sadly couldn't learn anything from him at all). While the cost difference is much less dramatic for bikes, I feel those same sentiments cross over for me. I enjoy swapping bearings, despite my ineptitude at doing so, and keeping a bike running well for as long as possible aligns with the internalized ethos I inherited from my parents and grandparents. Of course you can take good care of a hardtail, but there's a beautiful challenge involved in owning and tinkering with something that requires more love and attention. But you and Andrew are correct here, more people should have an idea what they are in for before they go down this path. I say this as someone who bought a 1967 Sunbeam Alpine when I was 20 years old!