I went through another round of car lust that almost convinced me that it was time to let go of the Diva, my beloved 2001 BMW 740iL with now 149k miles on it.

I went as far as test driving six different cars: An Audi Q5 TDI, a BMW 335d, a VW Passat TDI (US edition), a Lexus 460L, a Porsche Cayman S and a Honda Accord. While these are all impressive cars in their own account, I couldn’t make myself spend the money. Every time I got back in my 740iL I felt right at home. But over the years it had accumulated some flaws that would be expensive to fix. More expensive than what the car was worth. But in the end I remembered a good friend’s advice that it doesn’t matter what it costs, but what it’s worth to you. So I dropped off the Diva at the local independent BMW shop to have her fixed up good (as we say in Texas) – which meant a set of new high performance tires, a front suspension rebuild and a new BOSCH water cooled alternator. Then I had her detailed at a car wash. Now she’s almost new again – so I tell myself. And I enjoy driving her every day to work again. What a majestic ride! And that loooong hood!