There’s clearly no point in talking sense to you, your head is in a complete muddle. You want a fix for your mid-life crisis, yet you talk about resale value, warranty, fixed-price servicing and boring stuff like that. You need to think about what it is you want from your “sporty-ish” car, do you want a performance car that will be thrilling to drive, or are you a park-and-poser and just want to look good when you stop at the café for a latte. The VW Golf GTi is a thrill-a-minute hot hatch; you like the i30N, and both would be good buys. Buy the Lux if you decide on the i30N. You could also think about a BMW M3, or an older Porsche Boxster. I wouldn’t suggest a Commodore SS or a Falcon XR6T ute, they’re a bit boring.

BMW’s warranty is pretty pathetic in this day and age, but that’s their deal. If you wanted a better deal you should have negotiated with the dealer before you signed up. You might have been able to twist his arm and get the extended warranty thrown in for free. I’m not a fan of extended warranties; dealers suggest them because they cop a decent whack out of the deal. I’m probably not the best one to ask about BMW warranty because my ownership experience with a BMW has been a nightmare and I wouldn’t own another one.