I've decided to sell the Mercedes and buy something more economical, reliable and reasonable but still fun to drive and something that I'd still be able to be proud of.
So along with the Roadmaster, I drove a few other cars yesterday.
Basically, my goal here is to buy a new car with a very good reliability track record, but still have it be nice to own and drive. I would like to get a new car because I found that it's just most simple that way....all I gotta do is make payments and put gas in it. Hell some manufacturers will even pay the maintenance for 3 years/36,000 miles! It's one less thing to worry about! I just wanna be able to spend x amount of money on the car per month and have that be it....no more expensive repairs....just payments. I've got lots of friends who have bought cars in the 14-20k range, and still have money for their rent, food and still have money for fun....it's all just in how you spend and save your money.
Overall, my main goal is to buy a brand new car where I only have to worry about payments, pay off the Mercedes, and move out and still be able to do OK financially.
Anyways, at first, I wanted a 2-3 year old DTS, but after doing some looking around all the ones in my price range (17-22k) are all just out of warranty, which means that I'll be having to pay for any repairs....and they're Cadillacs....so they're not as cheap as other cars. I thought about a 98-00 Lexus LS400 too, which IMO is probably the finest, most reliable luxury sedan ever made, but those are getting up there in age too, and they'll need repairs too (albeit less than any other luxury car), but then again I'm paying for LEXUS prices. Not cheap. So no luxury cars. I thought of a Roadmaster or Fleetwood too, because they're so simple and durable, but wasn't impressed with how they drove.
So then I thought of a small car...something much better on gas than what I've had, plus they're so...nimble and lithe, but I didn't want something dull or bland.....it had to be fun to drive and fun to own. So basically no Toyotas. :lol: When I had my car in at the dealer last week for the blower motor replacement ($1170!!
), I test drove a Mini Cooper S and loved that...it just drove so much like a go-kart, the steering was so precise and it was very powerful. So afterwords I went and looked at a base non-turbo Cooper and it was also pretty fun to drive...if not nearly as fast.
Then yesterday I drove an '09 Civic LX Coupe, an '06 Accord EX-V6 Coupe and a '09 GTi Sedan. The Civic was so nimble and light on it's feet. It wasn't the quickest but it's very reasonable, economical and reliable...exactly what I need now. When they came out, I was mixed on the styling, now I've really grown to like it. It's better looking than that gawdawful Corolla, sportier looking than the Sentra, much better looking than the Cobalt and Focus. I'm much more comfortable with the auto than I am with the manuals, otherwise I'd take a look at the 200hp Civic Si (yeah I know it's pretty ricey, but I like cheap speed). The Accord Coupe was nice too, but it didn't have that nimble, light on your feet feeling that the Civic did, but man was that fast.
After I drove that Roadmaster and left unimpressed I drove an '09 GTi and LOVED that car. It felt so solid and teutonic, yet still very nimble and extremely fun to drive. It had the nicest, most luxurious interior with superbu build quality and many features that the others didn't. It rode better than the Hondas or Mini, yet outhandled the Honda. And man for a sweeeeeeet engine!! That little 2.0 turbo just felt so nice...the power comes on down low and hangs on through the entire RPM band, it goes like stink (0-60 in 6.7) and I hear they're quite reliable too. I've checked with consumer reports and they recommended the GTi....they don't recommend most any car, especially ones that aren't reliable. But it seems that VW reliability can be hit or miss. One year can be great and the next can be horseshit. So keep that in mind...
I'm still quite early in my search, but I really liked that GTi. Between the Civic and GTi, the Civic is the more reasonable choice, but the GTi is just so fun to drive. I'd be happy with either of them. And yes, going from the S Class to this is weird, but it'll be nice to get into a much simpler new car with no expensive repairs to worry about...
I did look for a Park Avenue Ultra too, along with the GTP and '90s Bonneville SSEi too, but they're all priced at atleast $5,000 for a good example, and they've still got 100k on them. I don't see any reason to go down that road...
But yeah, that's what's new over here. Now the fun begins...
So along with the Roadmaster, I drove a few other cars yesterday.
Basically, my goal here is to buy a new car with a very good reliability track record, but still have it be nice to own and drive. I would like to get a new car because I found that it's just most simple that way....all I gotta do is make payments and put gas in it. Hell some manufacturers will even pay the maintenance for 3 years/36,000 miles! It's one less thing to worry about! I just wanna be able to spend x amount of money on the car per month and have that be it....no more expensive repairs....just payments. I've got lots of friends who have bought cars in the 14-20k range, and still have money for their rent, food and still have money for fun....it's all just in how you spend and save your money.
Overall, my main goal is to buy a brand new car where I only have to worry about payments, pay off the Mercedes, and move out and still be able to do OK financially.
Anyways, at first, I wanted a 2-3 year old DTS, but after doing some looking around all the ones in my price range (17-22k) are all just out of warranty, which means that I'll be having to pay for any repairs....and they're Cadillacs....so they're not as cheap as other cars. I thought about a 98-00 Lexus LS400 too, which IMO is probably the finest, most reliable luxury sedan ever made, but those are getting up there in age too, and they'll need repairs too (albeit less than any other luxury car), but then again I'm paying for LEXUS prices. Not cheap. So no luxury cars. I thought of a Roadmaster or Fleetwood too, because they're so simple and durable, but wasn't impressed with how they drove.
So then I thought of a small car...something much better on gas than what I've had, plus they're so...nimble and lithe, but I didn't want something dull or bland.....it had to be fun to drive and fun to own. So basically no Toyotas. :lol: When I had my car in at the dealer last week for the blower motor replacement ($1170!!
), I test drove a Mini Cooper S and loved that...it just drove so much like a go-kart, the steering was so precise and it was very powerful. So afterwords I went and looked at a base non-turbo Cooper and it was also pretty fun to drive...if not nearly as fast. Then yesterday I drove an '09 Civic LX Coupe, an '06 Accord EX-V6 Coupe and a '09 GTi Sedan. The Civic was so nimble and light on it's feet. It wasn't the quickest but it's very reasonable, economical and reliable...exactly what I need now. When they came out, I was mixed on the styling, now I've really grown to like it. It's better looking than that gawdawful Corolla, sportier looking than the Sentra, much better looking than the Cobalt and Focus. I'm much more comfortable with the auto than I am with the manuals, otherwise I'd take a look at the 200hp Civic Si (yeah I know it's pretty ricey, but I like cheap speed). The Accord Coupe was nice too, but it didn't have that nimble, light on your feet feeling that the Civic did, but man was that fast.
After I drove that Roadmaster and left unimpressed I drove an '09 GTi and LOVED that car. It felt so solid and teutonic, yet still very nimble and extremely fun to drive. It had the nicest, most luxurious interior with superbu build quality and many features that the others didn't. It rode better than the Hondas or Mini, yet outhandled the Honda. And man for a sweeeeeeet engine!! That little 2.0 turbo just felt so nice...the power comes on down low and hangs on through the entire RPM band, it goes like stink (0-60 in 6.7) and I hear they're quite reliable too. I've checked with consumer reports and they recommended the GTi....they don't recommend most any car, especially ones that aren't reliable. But it seems that VW reliability can be hit or miss. One year can be great and the next can be horseshit. So keep that in mind...
I'm still quite early in my search, but I really liked that GTi. Between the Civic and GTi, the Civic is the more reasonable choice, but the GTi is just so fun to drive. I'd be happy with either of them. And yes, going from the S Class to this is weird, but it'll be nice to get into a much simpler new car with no expensive repairs to worry about...
I did look for a Park Avenue Ultra too, along with the GTP and '90s Bonneville SSEi too, but they're all priced at atleast $5,000 for a good example, and they've still got 100k on them. I don't see any reason to go down that road...
But yeah, that's what's new over here. Now the fun begins...
