Help Me Plan My Car Life (new car search @post 290)

[Keef]

(65%).

...despite the fact that the state spans half the northern hemisphere. You've got latitudes that will freeze alcohol and boil eggs in one state.

Here in Ohio the legal limit is 50%. Nobody buys it. Thirty-five percent tint is pretty much standard issue. Personally I prefer the look of 50%, but I like the fact that you're decently hidden and shaded with 35%. On a white car with black interior like mine, 35 would be pushing it and asking for cop attention. Contrast would be like woah.

 

[Danoff]

Delete.

 

[Danoff]

Pics! I'm very happy with these changes.

First pic is the replaced ashtray and cigarette lighter with the Euro storage package components (storage package was never sold in the US). I put a hole in the side of the storage tray to make room for the little plastic window that allows the ashtray light to light up the storage tray.

Next we have the first aid box (also not available in the states) under the passenger AND driver's seats. These are handy for additional storage, maybe I should even put a first aid kit in one of them.

Next two pics are the rear ashtray delete and replacement with the storage package components. The storage tray offers additional room and has a softer rubber which keeps loose items from rattling. The closed position looks the same as with the ashtray.

I don't have a pic of the LED license plate light yet. I'll have to do that at some point.

 

[Danoff]

Looks like Saab is catching up with my head unit.

 

[Danoff]

- Touch up the bottom of the front fender
- Replace front brake pads and rotors (purchased, not quite time yet)
- Replace front tires (not quite time yet)
- Replace engine oil (not quite time yet)
- Replace control arms (not quite time yet)
- Replace VANOS seals (20k mi left)
- Replace Water pump, thermostat (20k mi left)
- Change transmission fluid (20k mi left)
- Bend the tips of the trunk lid into shape
- Buy and install replacement stereo head unit
- New Floor Mats
- Car Cover
- Tint Windows
- California Emissions Check
- Register the Car in California (DMV is taking forever)
- Get license plates
- Install storage package compartments where ashtrays are
- Purchase and install First Aid kit boxes under both front seats
- Find a respectable offline nav app for my android head unit
- Install LED license plate lights so that my rear view camera wire doesn't get melted by the bulb

More progress. Basically just staring down the 60k mi cooling system overhaul. Now that I'm settling in I can start thinking about an NSX right?

 

[Conza]

I should preface this with the fact that I'm at least 6 months away from purchasing my next car, and up to 5 years from taking the plunge on something extreme. So there is no instant gratification to be found here.

I'm currently driving a 4 cylinder 2001 Honda Accord LX with 140k mi back and forth to work. Not long ago we upgraded the wife to an AWD 2008 FX35. So that's the starting place.

Here's what I want to drive:

...but I want a DSG transmission, which Nissan doesn't put in that car and as far as I know has no plans to put in that car.

Now, I have a pretty simple commute to work. It's a lot of traffic lights and is very boring. At the end of my commute I park outside in the California sun near some trees that leave really annoying residue on my car.

There is no chance that I'll be parking my commuting vehicle inside in the foreseeable future, and it is unlikely that my commute will change anytime soon.

If I want a DSG in a decent sports car, I think I basically have to get a Cayman. That's a bit of a stretch for me financially. I don't want to shell out tons of a cash on a car that I'm going to grind out worthless miles on and leave in the sun. So buying a Cayman and driving it back and forth to work is out of the question. I won't waste money on that.

So I'm left with 3 options:

- Buy a boring commuter and live without my sports car
- Buy a DSG non-sports car (like an A4).
- Buy two cars, one cheaper car to commute with and one to use when I can make the miles count.

Option one is basically out. Option 2 I think is more expensive and less desireable than Option 3. I haven't crunched the numbers yet but I think that I might be able to save a good deal of money by driving the dedicated sports car less frequently (thereby buying fewer expensive cars) and putting the worthless miles on a car that doesn't cost as much.

This lead me to the conclusion that I wanted a used TSX to drive back and forth to work (basically a nicer, more powerful version of what I have now), and a DSG Cayman to drive on the weekends.

The cayman would basically be a loooong term purchase (~20 years), while the TSX would be something I would replace with other used functional vehicles as it got chewed up getting me back and forth to work. I figure this saves me on insurance (low mileage on sports car), transactions (chewing up commuters costs less than chewing up sports cars), and maintenance (fewer maint. milestones on the car that has the most aggressive/expensive maintenance schedule). Again, I haven't crunched the numbers on that, but I think there's a good chance I come out ahead on the 2-car scenario rather than simply driving the sports car everywhere. The hope is that that savings enables me to get the more expensive car I really want.

So here's the summary:

One-Car Scenario

Needs to do everything. Accelerate, handle, and have the DSG trans. Reliability is a concern.

- DSG A4
- DSG TTS
- DSG Cayman

Two-Car Scenario

*Commuter*

The commuter needs to be reliable and cheap to be cost effective. I'd want to be able to own it for a long time, put lots of miles on it, low maintenance, etc. It would be nice if it retained value well. I need something with ~200hp because I need to be able to pass on the freeway at 80 mph. Good fuel economy goes farther toward making it cost-effective.

- TSX
- 330i
- G35

*Sports Car*

Just fun. Cheap as possible while offering a DSG with an engine and chassis that I won't get sick of after 20 years.

- Cayman
- TTS
- SLK AMG
- NSX

Now, you might have noticed that I slipped the NSX into that list and that it doesn't have a DSG. That's because somewhere in the back of my mind I can't get over the notion of sacrificing my one-single requirement (the DSG) for a car that could appreciate a lot over the next 20 years. I know a guy who has 30+ cars and has made over a million dollars owning them who is strongly urging me to pick up an NSX.

So what are your thoughts? I expect some of you to think that I'm an idiot for considering getting a sports car that I won't drive every day - go ahead and state your case. Have some experience with multiple cars? Tell me I'm a nutcase for thinking it could save me money. Am I crazy for thinking I could find a car that I'd love for 20 years? Feel free to suggest options on any of the above.

Golf R DSG - ya sorted for 1 car.

If you're going to buy two, and let's be honest, you may as well just keep the current car as a commuter til its really near death, and buy a sports car too, then yes a performance car makes sense, may as well be a track car, but do not get a Cayman.

Cayman, is one of those unfortunate bastard cars, its the mule of Porsches, in every sense - its bred from a Donkey (Boxster) and a Horse (911), having some characteristics from both, and some from neither (has a roof like a 911, a mid-engine like a Boxter, but the capacity engine from neither car).

And even if you get a Cayman, the only one worth getting is the R, which is ridiculously expensive, because it has a LSD, so it will handle way better than a 911.

But honestly, if its a track car in that 2 car scenario, or whatever the second car is, there's no way you're going to want to pay it off over 20 years, keep it for a few, then sell it at low miles and buy another one, thats the only way (save for future classic car) that you'll ever achieve the economics required for such a feat.

Anyway thats my 2 cents, I still say Hot Hatch it up, with a Golf R (sedans are crap, c'mon, why? Just, why?).

 

[Danoff]

NSX purchased. I'll post photos when I've had a chance to clean it. It's dirty from shipping. Here's the rundown:

1993, US, Red/Black, 52kmi, Manual. That narrows the VIN down to about 261 cars. It's all stock too, so that narrows it further.

My to-do list for the NSX

Admin:
- Pay tax
- Register, plates
- Smog

Fixing Stuff:
- Car wash
- Get keyless entry remotes (didn't come with my purchase, but were originally sold with the car)
- Put the factory radio back in the car and replace center console trim piece
- Remove carbon fiber decals (srsly)
- Replace center arm rest cushion (but keep the original around, obviously)
- Paintless dent repair driver's side door and wheel well (I'll likely disassemble the driver's side door to access the inside of the body panel).
- Get a spare tire
- figure out suspension knocking and get it fixed
- replace two stripped wheel studs
- get the speedometer working
- fix the aspirator fan
- replace the oil pan gasket
- get the passenger side door trim painted
- add a cell phone charging wire, switch for the amp, and an aux jack without disturbing the interior at all
- replace trunk and rear glass pistons
- restore to factory gear shift lever

Aftermarket Stuff (all of which can be undone):
- Tint
- Rims, the stock rims are lovely and everything, but not cool enough.
- Possibly clear bra the front lip and side skirts. There's some paint chippage in both areas and I'd like to prevent that from worsening.

 

[Dennisch]

Dude.

Where are the pics.

 

[Danoff]

Dude.

Where are the pics.

I need to clean it. Hopefully this weekend I can wax it up and make it look shiny and purty.

 

[Dennisch]

I need to clean it. Hopefully this weekend I can wax it up and make it look shiny and purty.

No, that isn't necessary for pics of an NSX.

 

[McLaren]

52k miles on a '93? Sounds like a great example. Most pushing well above. Waiting for pics. 👍

 

[Danoff]

 

[Danoff]

My 330i is in the background on this one... only temporarily displaced from the garage.

 

[High-Test]

Dear sweet Jesus. Danoff, she's beautiful!

 

[Dennisch]

Goddamn. Forever a beauty.

Good job man. Good job.

 

[Danoff]

So... let's compare against the original post.

I should preface this with the fact that I'm at least 6 months away from purchasing my next car, and up to 5 years from taking the plunge on something extreme. So there is no instant gratification to be found here.

This post was made in 2010, 5 years later (almost to the month), bought the NSX. I would not have guessed that I was that good at predicting this.

I'm currently driving a 4 cylinder 2001 Honda Accord LX with 140k mi back and forth to work. Not long ago we upgraded the wife to an AWD 2008 FX35. So that's the starting place.

Here's what I want to drive:

...but I want a DSG transmission, which Nissan doesn't put in that car and as far as I know has no plans to put in that car.

Now, I have a pretty simple commute to work. It's a lot of traffic lights and is very boring. At the end of my commute I park outside in the California sun near some trees that leave really annoying residue on my car.

There is no chance that I'll be parking my commuting vehicle inside in the foreseeable future, and it is unlikely that my commute will change anytime soon.

I have a totally different commute in Colorado now, and I have parking!

If I want a DSG in a decent sports car, I think I basically have to get a Cayman. That's a bit of a stretch for me financially. I don't want to shell out tons of a cash on a car that I'm going to grind out worthless miles on and leave in the sun. So buying a Cayman and driving it back and forth to work is out of the question. I won't waste money on that.

So I'm left with 3 options:

- Buy a boring commuter and live without my sports car
- Buy a DSG non-sports car (like an A4).
- Buy two cars, one cheaper car to commute with and one to use when I can make the miles count

Option one is basically out. Option 2 I think is more expensive and less desireable than Option 3. I haven't crunched the numbers yet but I think that I might be able to save a good deal of money by driving the dedicated sports car less frequently (thereby buying fewer expensive cars) and putting the worthless miles on a car that doesn't cost as much.

This lead me to the conclusion that I wanted a used TSX to drive back and forth to work (basically a nicer, more powerful version of what I have now), and a DSG Cayman to drive on the weekends.

The cayman would basically be a loooong term purchase (~20 years), while the TSX would be something I would replace with other used functional vehicles as it got chewed up getting me back and forth to work. I figure this saves me on insurance (low mileage on sports car), transactions (chewing up commuters costs less than chewing up sports cars), and maintenance (fewer maint. milestones on the car that has the most aggressive/expensive maintenance schedule). Again, I haven't crunched the numbers on that, but I think there's a good chance I come out ahead on the 2-car scenario rather than simply driving the sports car everywhere. The hope is that that savings enables me to get the more expensive car I really want.

So here's the summary:

One-Car Scenario

Needs to do everything. Accelerate, handle, and have the DSG trans. Reliability is a concern.

- DSG A4
- DSG TTS
- DSG Cayman

Two-Car Scenario

*Commuter*

The commuter needs to be reliable and cheap to be cost effective. I'd want to be able to own it for a long time, put lots of miles on it, low maintenance, etc. It would be nice if it retained value well. I need something with ~200hp because I need to be able to pass on the freeway at 80 mph. Good fuel economy goes farther toward making it cost-effective.

- TSX
- 330i
- G35

*Sports Car*

Just fun. Cheap as possible while offering a DSG with an engine and chassis that I won't get sick of after 20 years.

- Cayman
- TTS
- SLK AMG
- NSX

Ended up taking the 330i from the commuter list and the NSX from the sports car list. Not bad for a prediction I made 5 years ago.

Now, you might have noticed that I slipped the NSX into that list and that it doesn't have a DSG. That's because somewhere in the back of my mind I can't get over the notion of sacrificing my one-single requirement (the DSG) for a car that could appreciate a lot over the next 20 years. I know a guy who has 30+ cars and has made over a million dollars owning them who is strongly urging me to pick up an NSX.

...and that's ultimately what drove me. Financially the NSX is a better bet than the (also not a bad bet) Cayman. The Cayman will probably be a good buy 10-15 years from now.

For the record, I don't have the same car issues that I had before. My commute is going away almost entirely in about 1 year. So the 330i won't see a lot of work either. I also don't live near an amazing driving road like I used to, so that part is a bit of a bummer. I'll have kid dropoff duty at that point, in the snow potentially, and up to 3 kids (which won't fit in the BMW). So I actually need a 4th car which would be the dreaded minivan, and can't park it inside (which is another bummer). The 330i can't go because I can't bear to be parted from it. The FX can't go because the wife needs something to drive that can eat up snow. The minivan would be a must if we take on an additional kid (which we'd like to do). The NSX obviously can't go because... well obviously. So The minivan lives outside during its life - which I imagine would be around 5-7 years. After that we could ditch it.

 

[McLaren]

Congrats man! Beautiful example. 👍👍

 

[Danoff]

The front license plate!

They make one that angles backward without having to modify the bumper:

But seriously, no plate is a better look:

Nobody seems to do a tow hook plate on this car. Not sure why. So I think I have to debate between tucking it under and just dealing with the occasional ticket.

 

[Crash]

Congrats on the NSX.

Are police in your area pretty strict about the front plate? I don't run a front plate right now and haven't had any issues in the past 1.5 years. *knocks on wood* It seems like police tend to care more on beat-up cars/cars that look like they are regularly hooned. I imagine they'll generally leave a NSX alone.

 

[Danoff]

Doing a little work to restore the interior.

 

[Danoff]

NSX is going to be at the dealership getting a little work done next week. I'm supposed to get a loaner so I figure I'll ask for a new NSX. Fingers crossed!

 

[Danoff]

The NSX specialist at the Acura dealership described the NSX as "tough as nails" to me. That's a really weird description for an exotic, and coming from the guy who specializes in serving them. When was the last time you heard someone describe a small, light sports car designed for the track as "tough".

 

[Danoff]

Ok, time for a thread update and a change of direction.

I'm still happy with my 330i, and with the FX handling snow duty, and the soon-to-be purchased minivan (Sienna) to handle kid hauling, all of the rest of the cars go toward fun things that will retain value and hopefully offer a return. I expect to be ready to pull the trigger on something like that at the end of the year or early next year depending on when a nice example shows up. Obviously I'd rather spend less, but it's easier to find cars that will appreciate at the higher end.

Cars that I'm currently eyeing

- E46 M3. With low mileage, competition package, manual, and hopefully (fingers crossed) no sunroof, I think that would run me over $40k easy. There aren't just a ton of these, and I think the prices are already climbing slowly.
- Toyota MR2 W20. Last time I checked these were around $10k, and some key parts are already discontinued. I'd want an NA version, which is better to drive and more rare (even though people seem to prefer the turbos). I'd want a '93+, which there are not a lot of in the US.
- Audi R8. I'd need the V10, which is '09 or later. It looks like those are hitting right at around 100k. I think it may be a bit early for this one.
- Porsche Cayman. I think it might be early for this one as well.

E90 M3 is out due to them being notoriously difficult to maintain. I've had conversations on this forum about some 911s falling into that criteria as well. I think there were way to many GTRs made to consider it. Lotus has mechanical issues. Ferrari costs too much. Lambos break. Z8s are out of my price range. Astons are unreliable. Land Rovers are overpriced. RX7s have mechanical issues.

I could maybe go 7 series or M5. What else should I be considering?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

E90 M3 is out due to them being notoriously difficult to maintain.

What's the issue? I haven't looked much into it, but I've heard good things and that they're one of the more reliable of the M3s. Though that could be age related.

Which generation of M5 would it be?

 

[Danoff]

What's the issue? I haven't looked much into it, but I've heard good things and that they're one of the more reliable of the M3s. Though that could be age related.

Which generation of M5 would it be?

I really like the E39 M5s. I've heard nothing but bad things about the E90 from a mechanical perspective. Things like requiring the dealer to register your new battery with the computer, and requiring the dealer to... just about everything. The people that I know who have had them complain bitterly about things going wrong.

 

[Anathema]

Assuming you still have the NSX?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I really like the E39 M5s. I've heard nothing but bad things about the E90 from a mechanical perspective. Things like requiring the dealer to register your new battery with the computer, and requiring the dealer to... just about everything. The people that I know who have had them complain bitterly about things going wrong.

Yeah, they implemented that battery registration with the E90 3 series. I believe there's software that would allow you to code it yourself. That was also the generation where they removed the oil dipstick. Main problem I hear mentioned repeatedly is the throttle actuators, which are $$$ and have to be replaced every few tens of thousands of miles.

Have you driven the e39 M5? I've heard some people found the steering feel a little disappointing compared to the 330i zhp.

Z4M Coupe might be worth a consideration.

 

[Danoff]

Assuming you still have the NSX?

Yup, keeping that one.

Yeah, they implemented that battery registration with the E90 3 series. I believe there's software that would allow you to code it yourself. That was also the generation where they removed the oil dipstick. Main problem I hear mentioned repeatedly is the throttle actuators, which are $$$ and have to be replaced every few tens of thousands of miles.

Have you driven the e39 M5? I've heard some people found the steering feel a little disappointing compared to the 330i zhp.

Z4M Coupe might be worth a consideration.

The Z4 is a little on the new side still. The only reason I'd even consider an R8 is because I'm concerned about them moving out of reach. I really should be looking at great cars from the 80s and 90s right now.

 

[HighSeasHoMastr]

What about the incredibly rare BMW M-Coupe with the S54 from the E46..? It was only sold for maybe two years so production numbers a super low (1112 cars produced total, 678 for NA market); values seem to already be climbing rapidly even for the S52-engined cars so this looks to be a decent pick for investment.

Plus, it's a RWD hatchback with one of the best engines ever put in a sports car. What's not to love?

 

[Danoff]

What about the incredibly rare BMW M-Coupe with the S54 from the E46..? It was only sold for maybe two years so production numbers a super low (1112 cars produced total, 678 for NA market); values seem to already be climbing rapidly even for the S52-engined cars so this looks to be a decent pick for investment.

Plus, it's a RWD hatchback with one of the best engines ever put in a sports car. What's not to love?

My brother in-law has one. I've driven it, it's interesting for sure. I don't know why, exactly, but I can't love it. It's a great car, with a great history and an excellent pick that fits my criteria perfectly. So you nailed it, except that I can't make myself interested.