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Henry Catchpole is just such a pro. I pretty much love everything he touches.
I'm finding myself in a frustrating predicament and it isn't the first time. This very debate has had me bouncing back and forth between literally over a half-dozen cars, many of them flirting with or over six figures. I think the only true solution is to have both. As insane as that sounds... it would have saved me probably $50k over the past 5 years or so...
Quick backstory, I decided back in 2015 that I was sick of getting stuck in DC traffic so decided to trade in my nearly new 2015 STI for an F82 M4 with a DCT. That lasted about 2 months before I realized the mistake I made...
So fast forward a bit- after giving up on the M4 after actually making it 2 full years, I've since been through a 981 Boxster GTS (6MT), an Audi S3 (DCT), a 991.2 Carrera S (7MT), Audi S4 (ZF 8speed), Audi RS5 (ZF8), and finally two consecutive 718 Boxster GTSs, one with the 2.5T and now the 4.0, both PDK.
After this whirlwind, I'm now facing a situation where I miss having a manual yet again.
It's also important to note that in the above fiasco with all the cars I've "owned" in the past few years, there was some overlap. I bought the S3 as an "augmentation" for the 981 BGTS, and it actually was a near perfect setup. I also had the S4 concurrently with the 991. That was truly the best of both worlds, but obviously is pretty impractical, especially when I don't have a daily commute. So here I was spending a not insignificant amount owning an extra car that I literally just used for joyrides and errands, and the occasional business related travel.
I'm not made of money, at least not until both my college age boys are out on their own, so I'm forced down to one car. As absolutely fantastic as the Boxster GTS 4.0 is, I'm finally realizing that I'll just never be fully content until I can consistently have two "fun" cars- one with 2 pedals, and one with 3.
Which ironically is why I find myself posting here, not currently owning a BMW at all. I bought my wife a 2023 Macan GTS, which surprisingly is far closer to resembling a sports car than I ever thought possible. So now, as INSANE as it sounds, after going through a brutal 15 month wait, I'm actually considering trading in my 718 for a manual F87 M2C (or G87), at least until I can justify having a 2nd car a few years down the road.
First world problems in my case, for sure... but it just goes to validate that for probably many of us, there is no true solution.
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