by "rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI" (rillweid)
Published 02/17/2017 at 16:54
by "rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI" (rillweid)
Published 02/17/2017 at 16:54
Tags: Car Buying
STARS: 0
Sorry to throw another one of these up but I need some help. I presently have a MKVI TDI so the budget is up to dieselgate money(~20k), however, I would like to keep it near or below ~15k. In the background info section is I used to have a project Jeep XJ that I sold a few months ago. Also in this section is that I don’t know how to drive stick, and I prefer small/midsize cars.
I am in school right now, so I will be driving whatever I get on a fairly limited basis around a college town, and I will also need to drive home 2-3 hours on the highway. So it’s not quite gonna be a DD, but it can’t be full project.
I have a couple schools of thought running. Most of the cars I like are late 90s - early 2000s. I am split between overland style cars (4 runner, taco, XJ, WJ, etc) and somewhat hot cars (WRX, AMG, M, GTI, V70R, etc)
My parents want newer cars(late 2000s - 2010s), and cars that are practical/reliable/cheap to maintain/safe, and they prefer 4 door and auto, so appliance style.
I need to find something that has enough emotion to keep me entertained for about the next 5 years, but isn’t going to be expensive to maintain/unreliable.
Some cars I have seriously considered are another XJ, SR5 4Runner, WJ Overland, Renegade Trailhawk, TRD Taco, 4 Door JK, WRX wagons, GTI, Cooper S, FiST, C30, E39 M5, C55 AMG, V70R.
Let me know what oppo thinks. Also sorry if that was super rambly but if you have any questions ask below.
"PS9" (PS9)
02/17/2017 at 16:58, STARS: 1
Chiron. It just came out and it’s stupid fast.
"Party-vi" (party-vi)
02/17/2017 at 17:09, STARS: 1
“but isn’t going to be expensive to maintain/unreliable.”
“C30, E39 M5, C55 AMG, V70R.”
Any Volvo R is going to give you problems because this is what they do. Any good E39 M5 is going to cost you $20,000, and that’s steep for a 15 year old German car, plus any affordable one is going to have the bejesus beat out of it. The C55 is a rare bird, and people are asking E39 M5 prices for them more and more. I do not think you will like a BMW or Mercedes maintenance budget coming from an XJ, and I say this as someone that went from a Renix XJ to an E46.
"vicali" (vicali)
02/17/2017 at 17:10, STARS: 1
All I hear is 4th gen t4r;
You know you want to..
"rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI" (rillweid)
02/17/2017 at 17:12, STARS: 0
I actually found a E39 going for 11500 owned by a BMW engineer. To be fair is has 231k miles, but a new, dealer installed S62 with a bit over 100k.
And there’s a C55 for 5500 with 176k on it.
Almost makes the maintenance doable at that price.
"ZHP Sparky, the 5th" (e30s2k)
02/17/2017 at 17:13, STARS: 1
Uhm stay away from any E39 M5 or anything of that sort. Will not be reliable or cheap to maintain, especially one you buy for $15k or less. Stay away from cars of that nature in general. 12 years in to a career I still can’t justify such a risky purchase to myself as badly as I want an E39 M5, so as a college student I’d recommend looking elsewhere and holding on to your money as well.
Get yourself something like a Civic Si, if you just want a
fun car to run around a college town in. Reliable as hell and cheap to replace
anything that breaks. Whatever European/sports car you buy make sure you leave
plenty of money in your budget but then again you’re taking the risk of
throwing away money at a very crucial point in your life. E.g. you could buy a
non-M E36 or 46 for a couple of grand and save the rest in case of catastrophic
failure…but if that’s the mindset why not stay away from the risk in the first
place?
Trust me I truly understand the jalop yearnings – it sounds
like you’re under your parents’ wing to an extent still as well. So do what’s
most prudent with your money while also maintaining some level of jalopness.
Once you’re out of school, have regular paychecks coming, etc. then you can
consider buying fun toys. Nobody likes the college kid driving around in a
performance car – they see you as a spoilt brat. And nobody likes the guy with
the fancy car he can’t afford to maintain/fix, and trust me it sucks having to
go to your parents after the toy they told you not to get breaks. And you don’t
necessarily want to attract friends, girls, cops, whomever just based on flashy
things you show off. Keep low, let people judge you based on your merits. And
once you’ve established yourself you can buy all the toys you want.
Probably not the answer you were hoping for, just my two cents. Life is short too, and you know your life and your situation best – so do what’s most logical.
"rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI" (rillweid)
02/17/2017 at 17:14, STARS: 0
I’m assuming that’s yours so I want you to weigh in for me. I’ve thought about one of those hard (maybe with a 1UZ), but they seem kinda boring, and they have bankruptcy era plastic interior problems. Convince me otherwise.
"In a Mini; let them mock me as My Mini Countryman is higher than you" (hoontheangelsing)
02/17/2017 at 17:18, STARS: 0
http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-citroen-sm-6/
http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-dodge-ramcharger/
http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1995-mazda-rx-7/
http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1986-toyota-land-cruiser-fj60/
http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1980-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40/
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
02/17/2017 at 17:29, STARS: 1
‘92-’00 Civic Si (EG-EK)
Way under budget, but these Civics were the one’s that made the Civic so well know for being a fun economy car. Even in there old age they’re reliable and they’re fun tossable car’s stock, but since it’s so far under budget you’d have some cash to burn modding it if you choose. Plus these are very easy to maintain so if you don’t know how to work on car’s just buy a Haynes manual and a decent socket set and start doing the maintenance. Before you know it you’ll be replacing the clutch in a parking lot over a weekend.
Edit: I cut it off after 2000 because that’s when they replaced the double wishbone front suspension for McPherson struts. And IIRC it added a bunch of weight too after that.
"SPAMBot - Horse Doctor" (spambot2002)
02/17/2017 at 17:31, STARS: 0
Mayhem pack v6 Mustang. I think they were only stick though. Would be fun and cheap to run.
"Spaceball-Two" (spaceball-two)
02/17/2017 at 17:33, STARS: 0
I just bought a F150 for around 20k.
"vicali" (vicali)
02/17/2017 at 17:47, STARS: 0
I’m actually a Tacoma guy, but a 4th gen is on the ‘next vehicle we buy’ list.. Limited is so nice, my friend is currently building one up; #RickRunner
He had some vinyl carbon wrap laying around and cleaned up the trim nicely;
If I didn’t tow or carry yard stuff around I would get one. I like the one capable platform for everything approach, and the 4runner is hard to beat.
"rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI" (rillweid)
02/17/2017 at 18:05, STARS: 0
I’ve actually seen that one on a forum somewhere. Impressed by how clean it is.
"vicali" (vicali)
02/17/2017 at 18:16, STARS: 0
T4r.org, Expo, and a few other places.. One of the cleanest around for sure, It’s got a pile of nice mods going on soon.
"Land_Yacht_225" (nadenator)
02/17/2017 at 18:32, STARS: 0
I am fully aware of the shit I will take for this and am going to say it anyway. You need an appliance, buy a 2007-2010 Camry SE V6 or a Lexus ES 330. There, I said it. The fact that a V6 Camry can put a Ferrari 308 to is as much a real statistical fact as it is an anecdote.
Hell, even Carmax will sell you one cheap enough that you can get a Maxcare warranty on it just in case the transmission decides to crap out.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
02/17/2017 at 18:39, STARS: 0
BMW X1 (a little on the high side of budget), it’s like a biggish hot hatch; ZF 8 speed auto is respectable, could probably pretend to off-road it a little, good hydro steering
Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliar - kinda like a wrx wagon but with a better transmission, fast for the power,
GTI
What’s a Mazda CX-3 cost these days?