11-30-2012, 01:53 PM
H'ok. My current contract w/AOL is up in February, and as far as I know I'm on track to convert to a salaried position, accompanied with a pretty decent bump in pay. My car just rolled over 180k and has, among many other issues, a pretty significant headgasket seep, so I'd like to buy a daily pretty soon after converting to salary and stop driving the M3 so I can actually fix things more frequently than I break them. For once.
I have a pretty good idea of what my salary will be, and about how much I want to spend on a daily driver, probably more than $7k, probably less than $10k. My "dream" daily is a Merc W211 E320 or E350 Bluetec, but those are still in the mid-$20k range, so that's out of the running for this go-round. (Unless I get a gajillion dollar salary offer or sell the M3, both of which are pretty unlikely.)
So anyway, I'd like to start test driving some stuff pretty soon, so by the time February rolls around I'm ready to start seriously shopping. I currently have an application in to become a member of Navy Federal, which is the only Credit Union I've found that doesn't have age or mileage restrictions on their auto loans. Assuming I become a member there, the cars I'm thinking about are:
02-05 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro 6spd- I know you're going to flame the crap out of me for this because they aren't exactly reliable. But I grew up with a bunch of Audi's and VW's and I really have a soft spot for them. I love the idea of AWD for the 1% of time I could take advantage of it, and the little 1.8T produces a reasonable amount of grunt with a reflash. They can be had for $7-8k in really good shape, which would leave me a nice wide repair budget to pay someone else when the AWD craps out on me.
02ish-05 VW MKIV GTI 5spd- Same engine as the Audi with 10 more hp from the factory and two less wheels to turn. I like the idea of the hatchback for practicality, and it has less parts to break, but the Audi has another gear for the highway and WAY more features. They can be had for $6-8k in great condition too.
04-07 Acura TL Auto- This would be my "full practicality" option. They can be had for $8-9k, and seem to be pretty dead reliable, half of the ones for sale have like 170k+ on them. The upside would be having a car I never really had to worry about, and could just get in and go to work, its also a pretty awesome motor. The downside is the stickshifts are $3-4k more because of the rarity, so it would be a slushbox, and after a while I imagine it would feel like driving a dose of Novocaine to work.
04-07 Acura TSX 6spd- As reliable as the TL, but more nimble and more plentiful in a 3 pedal configuration. The downside is they are effing slow, and torqueless to boot. After having 2??hp on tap for 3.5 years, I don't think I could handle going to a wimpy little naturally asiprated 4-banger. Especially in NOVA's affinity to slam on the brakes at the end of every onramp.
02-06 WRX- This has all the same drivetrain features that make me like the Audi, but the economy car interior is a big turnoff. I might look for a Saabaru "Aero" to test drive and see if the slightly nicer interior trimmings helps out, I think I've seen those sub $10k too.
03-05 BMW 330i 6psd- The price of these have gone into a freefall since the F30 came out. You can get a well optioned one for $8-9k with less than 100k on it. One the one hand, I know pretty much every part on those things inside and out and wouldn't have to learn any new tricks to keep it going. On the other hand, I already had an E46 325i, and I'm currently driving a 3.0L, RWD, stickshift BMW, I'd just like something different, and something I could rely on to get us around in a snowstorm, because Lauren's car is RWD too.
There are a lot of cars I'd love to own but have already ruled out. I've always wanted an E38 740i sporty shorty, but the cost of ownership freaks me out, and we already have one of those 4,4L motors to deal with in Lauren's 540i. You can also get a B6 S4 for under $11k these days, but its for good reason and I should know better than to even think about it. I'd love to have an MKV GTI with the DSG trans, but those are more like $14k which would pretty much decimate my BMW-fixing budget.
So what else should I test drive? I'm looking for something that's a reasonable balance between "nice" (I like leather and heated things), reliable (reliable from the perspective of someone that's been dailying an M3 with 180k on it for 3 years, not from the perspective of a sorority girl) and somewhat fun to drive, while still being quiet and comfortable. I already have a loud rattly sports car, which hopefully will be reborn even louder and a little less rattly sometime next year, so I don't need another one.
I have a pretty good idea of what my salary will be, and about how much I want to spend on a daily driver, probably more than $7k, probably less than $10k. My "dream" daily is a Merc W211 E320 or E350 Bluetec, but those are still in the mid-$20k range, so that's out of the running for this go-round. (Unless I get a gajillion dollar salary offer or sell the M3, both of which are pretty unlikely.)
So anyway, I'd like to start test driving some stuff pretty soon, so by the time February rolls around I'm ready to start seriously shopping. I currently have an application in to become a member of Navy Federal, which is the only Credit Union I've found that doesn't have age or mileage restrictions on their auto loans. Assuming I become a member there, the cars I'm thinking about are:
02-05 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro 6spd- I know you're going to flame the crap out of me for this because they aren't exactly reliable. But I grew up with a bunch of Audi's and VW's and I really have a soft spot for them. I love the idea of AWD for the 1% of time I could take advantage of it, and the little 1.8T produces a reasonable amount of grunt with a reflash. They can be had for $7-8k in really good shape, which would leave me a nice wide repair budget to pay someone else when the AWD craps out on me.
02ish-05 VW MKIV GTI 5spd- Same engine as the Audi with 10 more hp from the factory and two less wheels to turn. I like the idea of the hatchback for practicality, and it has less parts to break, but the Audi has another gear for the highway and WAY more features. They can be had for $6-8k in great condition too.
04-07 Acura TL Auto- This would be my "full practicality" option. They can be had for $8-9k, and seem to be pretty dead reliable, half of the ones for sale have like 170k+ on them. The upside would be having a car I never really had to worry about, and could just get in and go to work, its also a pretty awesome motor. The downside is the stickshifts are $3-4k more because of the rarity, so it would be a slushbox, and after a while I imagine it would feel like driving a dose of Novocaine to work.
04-07 Acura TSX 6spd- As reliable as the TL, but more nimble and more plentiful in a 3 pedal configuration. The downside is they are effing slow, and torqueless to boot. After having 2??hp on tap for 3.5 years, I don't think I could handle going to a wimpy little naturally asiprated 4-banger. Especially in NOVA's affinity to slam on the brakes at the end of every onramp.
02-06 WRX- This has all the same drivetrain features that make me like the Audi, but the economy car interior is a big turnoff. I might look for a Saabaru "Aero" to test drive and see if the slightly nicer interior trimmings helps out, I think I've seen those sub $10k too.
03-05 BMW 330i 6psd- The price of these have gone into a freefall since the F30 came out. You can get a well optioned one for $8-9k with less than 100k on it. One the one hand, I know pretty much every part on those things inside and out and wouldn't have to learn any new tricks to keep it going. On the other hand, I already had an E46 325i, and I'm currently driving a 3.0L, RWD, stickshift BMW, I'd just like something different, and something I could rely on to get us around in a snowstorm, because Lauren's car is RWD too.
There are a lot of cars I'd love to own but have already ruled out. I've always wanted an E38 740i sporty shorty, but the cost of ownership freaks me out, and we already have one of those 4,4L motors to deal with in Lauren's 540i. You can also get a B6 S4 for under $11k these days, but its for good reason and I should know better than to even think about it. I'd love to have an MKV GTI with the DSG trans, but those are more like $14k which would pretty much decimate my BMW-fixing budget.
So what else should I test drive? I'm looking for something that's a reasonable balance between "nice" (I like leather and heated things), reliable (reliable from the perspective of someone that's been dailying an M3 with 180k on it for 3 years, not from the perspective of a sorority girl) and somewhat fun to drive, while still being quiet and comfortable. I already have a loud rattly sports car, which hopefully will be reborn even louder and a little less rattly sometime next year, so I don't need another one.
Now: 07 Porsche Cayman S | 18 VW Tiguan
Then: 18 VW GTI Autobahn | 95 BMW M3 | 15 VW GTI SE | 12 Kia Optima SX | 2009 VW GTI | 00 BMW 540i Sport | 90 Mazda Miata | 94 Yamaha FZR600R | 1993 Suzuki GS500E | 2003 BMW 325i | 95 Saab 900S
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![[Image: Michael-scott-no-god-no.gif]](http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Michael-scott-no-god-no.gif)