(11-26-2015 06:04 PM)Khan Wrote:  Sadly, budget is an issue, so no M2 for me.

I'd get the 218i right now if it wasn't for the 3-cylinder engine. I'm skeptical about it, despite having read some reviews that claim it's a quality engine. I don't want to spend 32k for a BMW and then end up driving a Skoda.

Between this and the Audi A3, getting the 220i seems like the best option for now.

I'm only familiar with the American line up for the 2 series. What's the line up for Europe look like? I've driven a 3 series that has the same turbo inline 4 that the 228i has. It's a punchy little engine that puts out 240 horses. I'd shy away from the 3 cylinder for that car. Sounds anemic and negates the point of getting a BMW unless you just want it for the roundel.

The smallest engines in those small BMW/Audis are, in my opinion, a bad buy.

The reason being that there is never enough power to really experience the chassis set up.


I'm thinking of swapping my white 2014 X6 for a slightly older, dark blue Audi A6 Estate.

I must be getting old because all I can think of is the £800pcm it will save me.

Anyone else done a swap like this and lived to regret it?

(11-28-2015 11:18 AM)Mujeriego Wrote:  I'm only familiar with the American line up for the 2 series. What's the line up for Europe look like? I've driven a 3 series that has the same turbo inline 4 that the 228i has. It's a punchy little engine that puts out 240 horses. I'd shy away from the 3 cylinder for that car. Sounds anemic and negates the point of getting a BMW unless you just want it for the roundel.

The 2 series lineup currently available in Croatia looks like this (petrol engines only):
218i - 3-cyl, 136hp, 1.5L - 32,000 $
220i - 4-cyl, 184hp, 2.0L - 39,000
228i - 4-cyl, 245hp, 2.0L - 45,000
M235i - 6-cyl, 326hp, 3.0L - 58,000

I agree with you on the 3-cyl engine, I'll definitely stay away from that.

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-conten...lorer2.jpg

98 blue explorer up in here.

My dad is the epitome of frugal.

Going to pick something like this up soon:

http://www.toyota.com/camry/

RE: 3-cyl BMWs outside of the USDM. 3-cylinder have a weird acoustic to them and no amount of synthetic 'VROOM VROOM' audio BMW force-feeds into the car will correct it.

My Dealer "made" me take a BMW i8 out for a 2 hour test drive yesterday.

Fuck me I enjoyed that car.

£105,000 is a lot of money though.

I'm looking for a ride right now, can anyone in the know give me some advice? I want to buy second hand all cash.

Heres what I'm looking for.

1. Luxury
2. High resale value
3. Performance.
4. Reliability.

Willing to spend around 30k for a 4-5 year old ride. Resale value is very important for me, Id like to sell it easily and at a price close to what I purchased for in 2-3 years. Im currently looking at the Mercedes E series and the BMW 5 series and GT.

I particularly like this one

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventoryli...=130590447

BTW I heard from many sources that 911's hold their value really well.

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventoryli...=127369192

I might consider this too.

Location: NY and NJ

I'm thinking of buying a car to brave the traffic of LA, instead of using Ubers to get around. I was thinking of a Ford Focus (maybe the ST variant) - fuel efficient and easy to park. As far as practical cars, this seems slightly less lame than, let's say a Honda Accord. Pretty sure I could get a fairly recent model for 10-12k USD cash. Thoughts?

(01-21-2016 01:26 AM)Thoughtcrime Wrote:  I'm thinking of buying a car to brave the traffic of LA, instead of using Ubers to get around. I was thinking of a Ford Focus (maybe the ST variant) - fuel efficient and easy to park. As far as practical cars, this seems slightly less lame than, let's say a Honda Accord. Pretty sure I could get a fairly recent model for 10-12k USD cash. Thoughts?

Both are going to be fine for your stated purpose.

The Honda is a nicer place to be and more reliable...they very rarely go wrong...the flip side is the parts are more expensive than Ford. The Focus, if it set up the same as Euro models, chassis wise, will be a better drive...that's fairly irrelevant for LA traffic though.

I'd get the Honda.

(01-21-2016 05:58 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 01:26 AM)Thoughtcrime Wrote:  I'm thinking of buying a car to brave the traffic of LA, instead of using Ubers to get around. I was thinking of a Ford Focus (maybe the ST variant) - fuel efficient and easy to park. As far as practical cars, this seems slightly less lame than, let's say a Honda Accord. Pretty sure I could get a fairly recent model for 10-12k USD cash. Thoughts?

Both are going to be fine for your stated purpose.

The Honda is a nicer place to be and more reliable...they very rarely go wrong...the flip side is the parts are more expensive than Ford. The Focus, if it set up the same as Euro models, chassis wise, will be a better drive...that's fairly irrelevant for LA traffic though.

I'd get the Honda.

I second this. If possible, a manual Honda Accord whether 4cyl or 6 cyl will be amazing for reliability and virtually low cost maintenance when needed, which is rare also. Perhaps an automatic would better suit your left leg by not having to pump the clutch so much since it is LA traffic. Don't be afraid of a high mileage(80K-130K) Honda as that means that it is barely being broken in like an expensive pair of leather shoes.

I have a 2010 WV Golf, stickshift.

I'm pretty happy with it, I do get comments from time to time about "your little Golf" "you're pretty tall to be driving a golf" etc.

The car doesn't feel small but it has that perception, here is a picture.



I really am interested in people's opinions of it's beta'ness. It's nearly paid off and I'll stick with it for a few more years as a daily driver. I was thinking about getting an cool older vehicle to go out and have fun with.

(07-11-2014 11:14 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  
^

I ended up buying one of these last year bahahaha color me rainbow.

(01-21-2016 12:10 PM)estraudi Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 05:58 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 01:26 AM)Thoughtcrime Wrote:  I'm thinking of buying a car to brave the traffic of LA, instead of using Ubers to get around. I was thinking of a Ford Focus (maybe the ST variant) - fuel efficient and easy to park. As far as practical cars, this seems slightly less lame than, let's say a Honda Accord. Pretty sure I could get a fairly recent model for 10-12k USD cash. Thoughts?

Both are going to be fine for your stated purpose.

The Honda is a nicer place to be and more reliable...they very rarely go wrong...the flip side is the parts are more expensive than Ford. The Focus, if it set up the same as Euro models, chassis wise, will be a better drive...that's fairly irrelevant for LA traffic though.

I'd get the Honda.

I second this. If possible, a manual Honda Accord whether 4cyl or 6 cyl will be amazing for reliability and virtually low cost maintenance when needed, which is rare also. Perhaps an automatic would better suit your left leg by not having to pump the clutch so much since it is LA traffic. Don't be afraid of a high mileage(80K-130K) Honda as that means that it is barely being broken in like an expensive pair of leather shoes.

Don't worry about auto/manual on a Honda, I've seen some amazing things people have done to the auto trannys and they were still running. The big one I can remember now is someone actually put TYPEWRITER OIL in it during a fluid change, shifted awful and still didn't go back to normal after ATF was put in but amazingly that didn't kill it.

(01-21-2016 12:15 PM)Silver_Tube Wrote:  I have a 2010 WV Golf, stickshift.

I'm pretty happy with it, I do get comments from time to time about "your little Golf" "you're pretty tall to be driving a golf" etc.

The car doesn't feel small but it has that perception, here is a picture.



I really am interested in people's opinions of it's beta'ness. It's nearly paid off and I'll stick with it for a few more years as a daily driver. I was thinking about getting an cool older vehicle to go out and have fun with.

Here golfs are the classless choice. A vehicle you can go to a football match in or arrive at the Dorchester without a second glance.

(01-21-2016 12:18 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

(07-11-2014 11:14 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  
^

I ended up buying one of these last year bahahaha color me rainbow.

I'd love one of those so badly. Or an escalade.

They're just too big and thirsty for the UK.

Dreamy.

Just upgraded from the rarri to this (diff color tho)



Picking it up in 2 weeks. Sounds amazing that thing. if there's any doubt on the authenticity, I'd be glad to post spoon pics, haha.

On a side note, value stability of a Ferrari is amazing. I put 15k miles on the car and had it for 1,5yrs. The depreciation was LESS than 10% of the car during this time. From 142k€ to 130k€. And I even traded in the car... so they might sell it for 135+ (altho one has to consider that the Euro lost a lot of its value during this time, but still)

Jealous of the McLaren, but my pockets aren't that deep yet.

In 2011 I picked up a Black 2006 G35 with 33k miles on it from the original owner for $20k. Other than an aftermarket cat back exhaust, it's all stock. Looks just like this:



It's now a 10 year old car, but still only has 75k on it. Here are my thoughts after using it as my daily driver for the past 5 years:

Pros
- Looks good. I often get compliments on it.
- Fantastic performance on twisty back roads. I had to get one after my first test drive.
- Sounds great with the addition of the aftermarket exhaust. Really rev happy engine. Begs you to wind it out.
- Surprisingly good suspension. Comfortable, yet very well planted on flat or bumpy roads.
- Good braking. A good all-around sport coupe for the price, not just in a straight line.
- Reliable. I haven't done anything other than typical maintenance: oil/filter, coolant, serpentine belt, clutch fluid, transmission fluid.
- Surprisingly versatile for a sports coupe. I was able to use it during multiple apartment moves for everything besides large furniture.
- Good build quality. No clunky pieces of plastic and everything fits firmly together.

Cons (mostly minor, but I'm picky..)
- Stupid hood hinge setup. If you don't spray the hinges with white lithium grease every 4000 or so miles, the hood scrapes against the front quarter panels.
- No audio jack input. Seriously, this is unforgivable for a car in this market range.
- Roof and window let in too much moisture during light rain, or when moving after a rain. Minor issue, but wasn't a problem in my previous car.
- Transmission could be better. Feels very cumbersome and doesn't like rapid shifting.
- Rear axles squeaked/clicked after a while. Annoyed me so I had to jack it up and put some grease on them. Known issue but warranty is out.
- Low side-rear visibility. Probably due to the coupe design. A fair trade off.

Overall I'm really happy with the car. My priorities at the time I bought it were reliability, performance, and looks. Hard to find a car that could beat it for the price I paid back then. It's held up really well so far (knock on wood), and I expect to wring many more years out of it before I even think of selling.

(01-21-2016 05:29 PM)trainwreck Wrote:  On a side note, value stability of a Ferrari is amazing. I put 15k miles on the car and had it for 1,5yrs. The depreciation was LESS than 10% of the car during this time. From 142k€ to 130k€. And I even traded in the car... so they might sell it for 135+ (altho one has to consider that the Euro lost a lot of its value during this time, but still)

Curious...do you purchase 2-4 year old exotics, use for a year or two, then sell and get something else?

(01-21-2016 12:41 PM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 12:10 PM)estraudi Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 05:58 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 01:26 AM)Thoughtcrime Wrote:  I'm thinking of buying a car to brave the traffic of LA, instead of using Ubers to get around. I was thinking of a Ford Focus (maybe the ST variant) - fuel efficient and easy to park. As far as practical cars, this seems slightly less lame than, let's say a Honda Accord. Pretty sure I could get a fairly recent model for 10-12k USD cash. Thoughts?

Both are going to be fine for your stated purpose.

The Honda is a nicer place to be and more reliable...they very rarely go wrong...the flip side is the parts are more expensive than Ford. The Focus, if it set up the same as Euro models, chassis wise, will be a better drive...that's fairly irrelevant for LA traffic though.

I'd get the Honda.

I second this. If possible, a manual Honda Accord whether 4cyl or 6 cyl will be amazing for reliability and virtually low cost maintenance when needed, which is rare also. Perhaps an automatic would better suit your left leg by not having to pump the clutch so much since it is LA traffic. Don't be afraid of a high mileage(80K-130K) Honda as that means that it is barely being broken in like an expensive pair of leather shoes.

Don't worry about auto/manual on a Honda, I've seen some amazing things people have done to the auto trannys and they were still running. The big one I can remember now is someone actually put TYPEWRITER OIL in it during a fluid change, shifted awful and still didn't go back to normal after ATF was put in but amazingly that didn't kill it.

Hmm, well not surprised to hear that an Accord is more practical. But it just doesn't have that sporty aspect to it.. This might be a tough choice.

(01-21-2016 06:07 PM)Menace Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 05:29 PM)trainwreck Wrote:  On a side note, value stability of a Ferrari is amazing. I put 15k miles on the car and had it for 1,5yrs. The depreciation was LESS than 10% of the car during this time. From 142k€ to 130k€. And I even traded in the car... so they might sell it for 135+ (altho one has to consider that the Euro lost a lot of its value during this time, but still)

Curious...do you purchase 2-4 year old exotics, use for a year or two, then sell and get something else?

yes. Previous car before the 458 was an Audi R8. I bought it already a bit older so I only lost 7k on it. Bought for 55k€, sold for 45k€. 458 bought for 142k sold for 130k. the Mac is a completely new price category tho, given that the car has only 2k miles on it. But I don't expect to lose more than 20k€ on it over the period I usually keep these cars, which is as you said 1.5yrs

I had an option to buy a cayman Gt4 last summer and didn't. I regret it a lot, given that the value has gone up on that one. 100k€ investment and its now for sale at 130k+€ - limited editions are awesome investments in fact.

(01-21-2016 08:32 PM)trainwreck Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 06:07 PM)Menace Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 05:29 PM)trainwreck Wrote:  On a side note, value stability of a Ferrari is amazing. I put 15k miles on the car and had it for 1,5yrs. The depreciation was LESS than 10% of the car during this time. From 142k€ to 130k€. And I even traded in the car... so they might sell it for 135+ (altho one has to consider that the Euro lost a lot of its value during this time, but still)

Curious...do you purchase 2-4 year old exotics, use for a year or two, then sell and get something else?

yes. Previous car before the 458 was an Audi R8. I bought it already a bit older so I only lost 7k on it. Bought for 55k€, sold for 45k€. 458 bought for 142k sold for 130k. the Mac is a completely new price category tho, given that the car has only 2k miles on it. But I don't expect to lose more than 20k€ on it over the period I usually keep these cars, which is as you said 1.5yrs

I had an option to buy a cayman Gt4 last summer and didn't. I regret it a lot, given that the value has gone up on that one. 100k€ investment and its now for sale at 130k+€ - limited editions are awesome investments in fact.

Don't get yourself too down about missing investments. Cars can burn you equally as badly. I regret not having the cash flow to pick up a F360 in 07 when they couldn't be given away. I remember when DB5s were under 100K in the late 90s.

My father rants and raves about how a classic car he sold for £500,000 10 years ago is now worth £1.5million.

He forgets and never mentions how badly he got wrecked, on paper, in the late 80s when the bottom fell out of the classic car market and cars lost sometimes 90% of their value overnight.

I feel we are close to the car bubble bursting. Figures are just going insane across all marques.

I read yesterday about a supercar at a dealer here in the UK that has changed hands 5 times in the last two years...without ever leaving the dealer's showroom! It just keeps getting bought and sold at a higher price and left in place for the next guy to come along.

It can't continue much longer.

This thread is not going in the direction I hoped for.

Spoilsport.

^ You are obviously a petrolhead.

I remember a few years back I saw a Ferrari Tesstarosa for under 50,000 pounds for sale in the UK.

(01-21-2016 08:29 PM)Thoughtcrime Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 12:41 PM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 12:10 PM)estraudi Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 05:58 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  

(01-21-2016 01:26 AM)Thoughtcrime Wrote:  I'm thinking of buying a car to brave the traffic of LA, instead of using Ubers to get around. I was thinking of a Ford Focus (maybe the ST variant) - fuel efficient and easy to park. As far as practical cars, this seems slightly less lame than, let's say a Honda Accord. Pretty sure I could get a fairly recent model for 10-12k USD cash. Thoughts?

Both are going to be fine for your stated purpose.

The Honda is a nicer place to be and more reliable...they very rarely go wrong...the flip side is the parts are more expensive than Ford. The Focus, if it set up the same as Euro models, chassis wise, will be a better drive...that's fairly irrelevant for LA traffic though.

I'd get the Honda.

I second this. If possible, a manual Honda Accord whether 4cyl or 6 cyl will be amazing for reliability and virtually low cost maintenance when needed, which is rare also. Perhaps an automatic would better suit your left leg by not having to pump the clutch so much since it is LA traffic. Don't be afraid of a high mileage(80K-130K) Honda as that means that it is barely being broken in like an expensive pair of leather shoes.

Don't worry about auto/manual on a Honda, I've seen some amazing things people have done to the auto trannys and they were still running. The big one I can remember now is someone actually put TYPEWRITER OIL in it during a fluid change, shifted awful and still didn't go back to normal after ATF was put in but amazingly that didn't kill it.

Hmm, well not surprised to hear that an Accord is more practical. But it just doesn't have that sporty aspect to it.. This might be a tough choice.

Especially the newer 9th generation accords. Talk aout tech galore but driver numbness to the max. No excitement as the older Gen's . I have a 7th Gen Coupe, V6, 6Spd that aside from my hustle for work is a fun hobby car. Motor swap from an acura sedan, short throw, full custom exhaust, aftermarket racing suspension and Boom, we have a fun, although not blazingly fast, car that is still super-reliable and quite fun.
If getting a car and not squeezing the most juice out of it's motor and chassis(regardless of it's intended use) somehow is not your cup of tea, then the accord is just another basic Point A---->B appliance like toyota's and such.