What is your car buying future?

[Jake]

Some sort of a late model F150 4x4 and a cherry, low-mileage, bone stock 5-spd 5.0 fox body....maybe a '93 Cobra.

Maybe.

Both good choices. I would approve of these buying decisions :thumbup:

[G.Irish]

Any car would be cool if you swapped an LS1 into it.

FTFY

TRUTH

I wonder what is the ultimate LS swap? 240? 350Z? FD RX-7? Miata? So many possibilities.

I've always wondered how cool a swapped E36 would be. Mostly because then you could make a cool 357 for it :twisted:

[G.Irish]

Kinda forgot about my bike plan.

Originally I was looking to get the new 1199 next year, or whatever the next CBR1000RR is. But now I'm seriously considering racing again, which means I'd probably downgrade on the street bike. Supermoto maybe?

I feel like since bikes are so cheap compared to cars, I don't really have a 2 to 5 year plan for bikes.

[G.Irish]

Back from the dead! Was just thinking about this thread today, and how I know a few people got cars that they tentatively had in their future like DJ with the Z06. How have your plans/tastes changed in the meantime? Are you any closer or father away on the future you predicted 5 years ago?

For me, I scratched the 1199, Cayman and M3 off the list. My new 2-5 year outlook:

*10th gen Civic Type-R next year
*991 GT3, GT4, Mclaren 12C, F430, or NSX (2nd gen)
or
*Ariel Atom, Radical, or Zenos E10S

For the 2-seater the GT3 and GT4 are the most likely candidates since their depreciation is low, reliability good, and I could get one with a warranty. The NSX would be awesome but too expensive and I imagine it won't depreciate much with the low production volume.

For the purpose-built stuff it's just a matter of if I'll get enough track time to warrant buying one of those cars. The Zenos seems to be streetable so maybe I would go that route.

Assuming I don't decide to buy something crazy I think the CTR will be my next car. I've wanted a Hype-R for a long time and now that we're finally getting one I'm leaning heavily towards buying one.

[HAULN-SS]

I bought a Diesel truck..still no CTS-V or Grand National though =( It sucks being so practical.

[G.Irish]

What about your 512TR idea?

[HAULN-SS]

It sucks being so practical.

Have money now, but also a fiance and a looming house purchase. Also, that probably would have been the smartest money move I'd have made if I would have been smart enough to buy then and sell in the middle of this damn F-car bubble.

[HAULN-SS]

[G.Irish]

Yeah the F-car bubble blows my mind. 5 years ago 328's and 308's were fairly cheap ($30k ish). Now a good 328 is selling for around $75k hock: Makes me wonder if the price run up is gonna hit the 360 before long here.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Actually: Have no idea! This has been changing in the past 2 years. I REALLY REALLY wanted to build a factory five cobra, but my inspiration for building something has been declining dramitically, and I also want something where im not toying with it constantly. I also want something that is "nice", meaning it is not "good for what it is", but just GOOD. I also want something I could do a lap or two on track, or an autox, not at full speed, just some laps to make me happy if the race car was down. If I stick with racing, who knows? NSX, S2000, C5Z, almost anything. I change my mind daily on what I want. If I were to sell the race car, trailer, and truck? Porsche GT3, E93 M3 sedan, c6 z06. Hell Ive also been toying with the idea of an SL55 AMG.

Well, I hit the mark on "if I stick with racing" and then also took G's suggestion of an E36/LS1, although that did not last long.

Near Future: Selling or keeping the C5Z and picking up a cheap beater. To get anything better than the C5Z is monstrously expensive or not any better. I get bored with street cars no matter how good they are, just the way it is. I would like to test drive an M2 and GT4 as the Cayman GTS was the single best street car chassis I have ever driven. (IMO)

[HAULN-SS]

Halfsies? haha..only sort of kidding

[V1GiLaNtE]

2-3 Years.. Hmmmm

Probably keep XJ.. Maybe make it a suitable trail rig.. Who knows

Realistic DD:
STI/Scoobi WRX/Leggy GT Wagon( High on my list)
Maybe another Audi/VW(RS4 Wagon,A4 wagon,STRETCCCCHHHHH. Low Mileage W8 6spd Passat Wagon.. Sorry still have a soft spot for that car... I'm still not excited about anything German due to past pleasure of working on and buy parts for..

Check. Check.

XJ is not a trail rig. Bought a WRX wagon and sold it. Still don't own a motorcycle..

[ScottyB]

the older i'm getting, the more i want an old, "grey market" car from my childhood dreams now that we're at the point in time when some great stuff from the 90's is becoming import-able since passing the 25-year mark. i'm just completely uninterested in most new cars for a lot of reasons and i'd be willing to trade $$$ in buy-in costs for the money an old, foreign-market car would take in maintenance and specialty parts.

stuff on the wish list:






i love 90's cars sooooo much.

[.RJ]

I want an RS2 Avant as soon as they're old enough to import.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads later this year.... either sell on the A4 avant and buy a B8 S4, or keep the A4 and buy something more fun like a 911/Boxster/ND Miata.

My other half's VW diesel wagon will be going back later this year too, so if she ends up in another wagon/hatch, I dont have any reason to keep the Avant, other than wagons are awesome.

[ScottyB]

saw an ND for the first time today. still in love with them, and Mazda did it right so it would be cool to vote with your wallet on that one.

then again,
[youtube]rl4wDQkzXPQ[/youtube]

[D_Eclipse9916]

the older i'm getting, the more i want an old, "grey market" car from my childhood dreams now that we're at the point in time when some great stuff from the 90's is becoming import-able since passing the 25-year mark. i'm just completely uninterested in most new cars for a lot of reasons and i'd be willing to trade $$$ in buy-in costs for the money an old, foreign-market car would take in maintenance and specialty parts.

stuff on the wish list:






i love 90's cars sooooo much.

Minus the escort and you have winners. I haven't driven a 190E evolution but I have heard they aren't anything special Doesn't make me want it any less!

Anmd the R33 Skyline, pretty much the only skyline I liked the styling of and would still rock a white one.

[Beej]

Shit Scotty I'm with you on the Benzo. Have they dodged the outrageous prices e30 M3's are grabbing? I don't think we for the widebody/wing but we did get the 16v, right? That 240 isn't bad looking either :wink:...but the Escort :vomit:

I wish I posted in this, would've loved to know what 5-year-ago-me thought (Lotus?). Probably not too far off from where I am, tbh. I've wanted these pieces of shit for a long time now.

[.RJ]

I want an RS2 Avant as soon as they're old enough to import.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads later this year.... either sell on the A4 avant and buy a B8 S4, or keep the A4 and buy something more fun like a 911/Boxster/ND Miata.

My other half's VW diesel wagon will be going back later this year too, so if she ends up in another wagon/hatch, I dont have any reason to keep the Avant, other than wagons are awesome.

And of course, tonight she says that after the VW goes to the big CEL factory in the sky, "why cant we have just 1 car?". I dont think a 10 year old audi is a good one car to own...

[Jake]

I'll probably keep the Miata around. It's cheap enough to run that keeping vs. selling is a no-brainer, even if I move to a faster track car down the line.

Well, this prediction came true with the M3.

For DD/street use, I'll probably sell the E34 (which will have north of 200k by then) and move to something a bit newer. I hesitate to take on a payment but I would, if it got me in the right car. I'd rock an E39 540/6 or M5, although they aren't the best for "ease of working-on"... would love a fast wagon (bright blue RS4? Giggity) or maybe I'll downsize from the E34 and get a two-door coupe of some sort.

E34 did get sold with ~200k on it. Never managed an E39 although the M5 is still on my wish list.

"Two door coupe" kind of came true with the 128i and now the 328iC (coupe-with-no-roof?).

My car-buying process is about as scattered as a game of 52-card pick-up.

This still rings true. Never thought I'd own a boosted FWD Ford hatchback, a Firebird with T-tops, or the ultimate cocaine-slinging mommy-mobile Denali, but they all provided some good stories.

I also never reeeeally thought I'd have the truck/trailer/fully-built-not-street-legal track car setup, because only rich people have stuff like that. And yet, here we are and I ain't rich.

Moving forward... I still have a weird thing for P-cars, would probably enjoy owning a Cayman S at some point. But, the 328iC is very much paid for, very reliable, good on gas, and a fantastic driver. I'd rather save the money for now.

The F150 is fantastic and I'd like to put a ton of miles on it. It'd tow an enclosed trailer if I got the right one - so while my fantasies of an F250/350 are still out there, they won't be fulfilled for a while. Ford is releasing all-new SuperDuties later this year, so maybe I'll let them get to be a few years old and pick one up.

I figure I'll keep the M3 until something happens to it that renders it not worth fixing. It's ultimately been cheap and reliable to run, all things considered.

Shit, am I getting complacent?

[WRXtranceformed]

C6 Z06 has always been in the cards since I sold the STi.

So in summary:

Project / Weekend Car - A project car would be awesome but I think a part of my desire to tune cars died during the long, painful STi build / process. I loved that car but I was pretty detached when I sold it to Travis. I will *at some point* have a h/c/i/nitrous? C6 convertible or C6 Z06 but I want to save as much money as I can now while I don't have a family and the added expenses associated with them.

Daily Driver - Going to beat this car into the ground since it has *knock on wood* been very reliable and serves its purpose well. I never see myself owning a German car, so the next ride when this thing dies will be whatever Lexus or Infiniti has to offer at the time (IS-class / G37 or M-class)

Nope, nope and nope! Although I did cross shop most of those things before I ended up in my jag. Definitely didn't see myself ending up in a truck or wanting another Jag for a weekend car at some point. But desires change as life changes!