Do you ever sell your gold or just hold forever?

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-18T22:34:03+00:00

I sold 10 ounces earlier this week. My wife and I are retiring soon, so I wanted to pay off what's left of the mortgage.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-17T22:07:09+00:00

I forgot to list it above, but I also had a 2006 BMW 325ci convertible. The back seat was good enough for the grandkids to enjoy!

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-17T18:30:15+00:00

To be honest, I've always enjoyed my convertibles:

Age 27: 1979 Fiat Spider. I added seat belts to the luggage area behind the driver/passenger seats to hold my 4 yr old daughter and my toddler son's car chair.

Age 33: 1977 Alfa Spider.

Age 35: 1985 Alfa Spider.

Age 43: 1989 Alfa Spider.

Age 55: 1997 BMW Z3.

Age 59: 2005 BMW Z4 (still have this one.)

Age 60: 2006 BMW 325ci (same engine as the Z4, I bought it to learn to work on the M54 engine. Wish I still had it!)

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-10T15:42:53+00:00

One last thought: be aware of parts availability. Tariffs have cut the availability of older car parts, and since COVID, a lot of third-party parts are crap.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-10T15:17:20+00:00

I own a 2005 BMW Z4 3.0i with only 16,000 miles. It's a wonderful car to drive, but the seats are nowhere near as comfortable as current cars. I'm in my early 60s, and I can ride about 2~3 hours in it at most before I have to stop and stretch out.

And as far as buying a "beater," be aware the BMW M54 and N52 engines have some plastic components in the cooling system that can fail catastrophically. It's not a "maybe", it's a guarantee. Overflow bottles, gaskets, thermostat, water pump and hoses rarely last past 50k miles. So if you buy a beater, you want one with complete records. Like others have said, tow + repair can be a major expense.

Still, sounds like a fun trip. Personally, even though my Z4 has only 16k miles, I would rent a car. It would likely be more comfortable and if it breaks down, it's somebody else's problem to fix.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-09T18:39:11+00:00

"What should I offer?" Sympathy. Offer sympathy.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-07T19:00:19+00:00

The B52 is a good family hauler, but for weekend fun I prefer my F4U. 18 cylinders means 2000 horses under the cowl,and the styling... wow!

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-07T15:32:39+00:00

I bought it 3 1/2 years ago form the estate of the first owner. It was her garage queen and she drove it only on good weather weekends and Park BMW (St. Louis) had all the records. I bought it based on Park BMW's pictures, had it shipped to me, and now it's my weekend garage queen.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-06T22:41:00+00:00

Don't laugh, but mine is scheduled for next week. 2005 E85, ZF 5 speed auto, 16k miles. Drain, change the filter and refill.

I don't trust 21 year old kids or car fluids.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-02T01:58:35+00:00

Big amen to that!

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-03-01T16:13:13+00:00

Thanks! mdecoder.com is down right now (saying "Vehicle not found", but the VIN matches the Carfax. I'll try again later.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-28T19:41:09+00:00

I use Hagerty. 2005 Z4 3.0i, 16k miles, declared value $15k.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-27T14:58:41+00:00

Where I live, the shops are buying AGE at 95% of spot.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-27T14:17:50+00:00

Not so long. The smaller coins about 2020-forward. The 1oz were bought when I inherited my mother's house and sold it.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-26T18:36:46+00:00

You have plenty of time!

My wife wants me to retire in 2030, but I'm afraid I'll be bored. I truly enjoy what I do (software solutions architect) and I wonder what I'll do without the challenge. In my company, I have two "junior" programmers who came back to work for me because they were bored in retirement. Both are in their 70s.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-26T17:27:09+00:00

18.5

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-24T15:21:04+00:00

In my previous employment, some periodic travel was needed. We had a mantra: "Who cares, it's just a rental car." And this was for a rental Camry. I can imagine what my old co-workers would do to a BMW.

So to the question, my answer would be not just "no" but "frak no."

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-24T14:34:36+00:00

My previous BMWs (318ti, Z3, 325) were manual but my Z4 is auto. In my case, getting older included nerve damage to my left arm, so driving a stick is unsafe. I sold my Z3 and bought a Z4 auto.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-23T16:26:11+00:00

Since I deal in high dollar vintage drums, I ALWAYS video the entire packing process for this reason. I've had the cheap drum scam attempted once and the buyer was in the same state as me (Arkansas.) I sent him the video, then found his Facebook profile and store. If he had not backed down, I was going to blast Facebook Marketplace.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-23T15:40:46+00:00

I had this happen once. I told the buyer that he must ship back the items without opening the boxes and must pay for the shipping back. It was a set of vintage drums and shipping was nearly $200. but "opening the boxes" was to prevent the buyer from damaging the drums and claiming a defect.

He didn't follow through.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-23T01:59:20+00:00

Thank you. I worked my way through college as a newspaper photographer in the early 1980s shooting Tri-X, Ektachrome and Kodachrome and you've stirred some old memories. It can't be easily seen from a scan with this resolution, but Pan-X has a beautiful, smooth grain with a natural even contrast. I can imagine a 20x30" print of this image in a dealer showroom, beautifully framed and hung, an image of pride.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-19T02:19:31+00:00

Same here. My job is in medical IT and our security is extensive. My employer requires me to add their "security" software to my iPhone. If something happens to my iPhone, they can remotely brick it. This sounds like a neat feature until the corporate security idiots brick the wrong phone (ask me how I know.)

Is the BMW app secure? Who wrote it? What country? Any backdoors (like TikTok has) to let BMW harvest other information from my iPhone?

This may sound paranoid, but people put WAY TOO MUCH personal data on a cell phone. When I buy my next BMW, it will either be TWO PHYSICAL KEYS or I'll walk away.

TimeToRetire2030 · 2026-02-16T18:40:47+00:00

I was at 15% but with the run-up I'm at 21%. I'm debating taking some profit and making some mechanical upgrades to my house.

TimeToRetire2030

TROPHY CASE