Bit uneasy about car decision

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totalburnout said:
If you like making money, you're willing to put in the time and effort to go to a well paying job.

I wouldn't be making this money anywhere else at age 22.
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Well right, I understand your willingness to make that drive for the money you're making, I'm just saying personally that would drive me crazy having a long commute just to and from the office on top of a lot of time spent driving for work. What's the average yearly mileage for a car, like 12,500? You're gonna put 20,000+ on the odometer just getting to and from work, and that's aside from any driving you do for work purposes. I understand that you're getting reimbursed at the government rate for the required work trips, but you're not getting reimbursed to drive two and from the office, right? If it were me I'd be searching the classifieds for an apartment rather then a car, but like I said, that's me. If you don't mind the drive then I guess it works out pretty nice for you.

Oh, what exactly is your degree again? Something in business obviously, but just wondering specifically...I just finished a BBA in managment and HR about a year ago...I'm sure you've said it before, I just can't remember exactly...
 
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BrutalB83 said:
Well right, I understand your willingness to make that drive for the money you're making, I'm just saying personally that would drive me crazy having a long commute just to and from the office on top of a lot of time spent driving for work. What's the average yearly mileage for a car, like 12,500? You're gonna put 20,000+ on the odometer just getting to and from work, and that's aside from any driving you do for work purposes. I understand that you're getting reimbursed at the government rate for the required work trips, but you're not getting reimbursed to drive two and from the office, right? If it were me I'd be searching the classifieds for an apartment rather then a car, but like I said, that's me. If you don't mind the drive then I guess it works out pretty nice for you.

Oh, what exactly is your degree again? Something in business obviously, but just wondering specifically...I just finished a BBA in managment and HR about a year ago...I'm sure you've said it before, I just can't remember exactly...
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Correct, I'm not reimbursed on the mileage to and from work. If you work out 88miles round trip x 252 working days = 22,176 miles to and from work.

My degree is in interdisciplinary business with a focus in marketing. Interdisciplinary business is a more customizable business administration/business management degree from my college.

I'm not so worried about the apartment/house right now because I can stay at the parents' house rent free which saves me about $9,000 a year between rent, utilities, food and whatever costs associated with living on my own. At 25mpg and $4/gallon gas, the 22,176 miles to and from work will cost me $3550. I'm still saving money.

I had planned on moving out right after college but things went south with my now ex-girlfriend. None of my friends are ready to move out at the current time so therefore I have no potential housemates lined up. Hopefully I'll save and buy a house within three years.

...no good news about the car search. I test drove a six speed manual 2009 VW Wolfsburg Jetta and was not impressed by the engine or driving feel. I can't find a used six speed Acura TL w/ navigation - the one I was planning on buying is no longer in inventory. I couldn't find a 330xi 6speed/nav at any of the BMW dealerships I visited.

I've resorted to looking at a 2.0T Audi A4. I would like 6speed/nav/quattro but this seems like a difficult combination to find as well. I'm also not sure if this engine will have enough power to satisfy my desires. I know I can chip the car but I'm not sure if it will be reliable or even provide me with the power I want. The last generation S4 with the v8 is out because it only gets 16/20mpg.

I couldn't find a CPO'd ~2002 M3 on the BMW lots either.

God I'm confused about what to do. I would put aftermarket indash navigation into the Acura TL but there's no good way to go about doing so. I would lose the climate control display and some other things by putting the aftermarket nav in and there's no kits.

If I bought a stock nav. system and put it in the car, it would cost me an extra $2,000 for a used factory nav. system and all its components.

This is absolutely awful.
 
I think the new accord coupe is a sharp looking car with the exception of the chrome trim. If my hair style was a mullet, I would love chrome.
 
phyregod said:
Why are you so hung up on navigation?

Buy a tom tom
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Its cleaner when its integrated. Looks better, can handle multiple things like bluetooth, the radio, climate control, etc.

Right now I get lost often because I'm not that familar with my territory. I will eventually become familar and have less of a use for the navigation, but there will be times when I have to go into NYC and meet clients at their showrooms in Manhattan and such. ...I've been to the city a handful of times in my life, I would definitely find myself lost.
 
...and Blanco I wrote a long response to your post, but the system locked the post out and when I refreshed I lost it.

Its too depressing to type all that information again.

If I leased a car, I would be way over my mileage or I would have to spend a crazy amount to purchase the additional mileage. I know someone who does it and loves it, but he pays about $500/month for his Audi A4 + insurance for a 25,000mile/yr. lease. The only saving grace is that he's able to write it off as a business expense. There's no equity to be built with the lease.

Its amazing what people pay for car payments. I used a loan calculated to buy a $30,000 BMW. If I put $12,000 cash down, my payment for 3yrs would be $539/month. Thats absurd.
 
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Blanco said:
Exactly. That's why I'm suggesting an older BMW. If you buy from the right person, you can have a pretty nice car for half the price of a new one. Mine is a '93 an only has 102k miles on it. The original owner, who I bought it from, works for the state water board and is in his late 40s to early 50s. I paid $4100 for it and have put about that much more into it, including the H&R coilovers and the wheels, where are about half of that. On long trips I can easily get 26-30mpg+ depending on how I drive. And, I'll dare say that it's still a classy little bitch and a total blast to drive.
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The problem I have with this is the amount that I drive and the reliability. Your car may have worked out fine, but the older a car is the older the technology and parts included with the car. BMW parts will still be expensive.

You think that 100,000miles is low except I'm going to buy the car and put on nearly 100,000miles in 3 years. Then the car will be at 200,000miles and will be worth $0. No one will want a 10 year old car with 200,000miles.

The power, the technology, and the creature comforts simply won't be there for me. All of those things are very important to me since I will practically live in my car. I want something that I can enjoy to the utmost.

The only way I would do the used BMW is a 2002+ CPO'd M3 or 330xi. I can't find either for a reasonable price. If I'm going to do 2002ish car, I certainly don't want to be spending more than $25k if its a M3 and more than $20k if its a 330xi.

The jetta really makes the most sense right now but had a completely numb driving feel. You could easily tell that the car was not a "driver's car" and that the vehicle was FWD.
 
I mean I appreciate the ideas here, I think I'm really looking for the silver bullet. I'm hoping someone will throw out this miracle car that I completely overlooked and will turn me on to a new possibility.

The worst part is that I would have liked to have bought the car yesterday and I have half of what I'm willing to spend in cash - I could do even more if the opportunity calls for it - and I still can't find something that really makes me want to spend that money.
 
Maybe I missed it, but you said you looked at the Jetta? Which one?

The new Jetta GLI's are really nice. I drove one, and it made me change the way I looked at Jettas.
 
George777 said:
Maybe I missed it, but you said you looked at the Jetta? Which one?

The new Jetta GLI's are really nice. I drove one, and it made me change the way I looked at Jettas.
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I test drove an '09 6speed manual Wolfsburg Jetta. The steering felt no where near as tight as the '08 6speed DSG Wolfsburg Jetta that my friend just bought and I test drove the other day.

I'm thinking about possibly picking up a '06 Audi 2.0T S-line and chipping the car. Even if the car doesn't come with navigation, I think putting the indash in the car will be much easier. Plus I'll get AWD for incelement weather. Six speed + quattro in the 2.0T is not difficult to find - the s-line may be a bit difficult.

The TL 6speed + nav is impossible to find in low miles and decent condition. A 6speed TL in good condition with low miles is difficult to find as well.
 
if you want a nice car, you have to pay for it.

my M payemnt is 875
 
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