vp911

As the title says. I have a few reasons. First, I would not be considering if I did not have an offer for 40k. That puts me 5 grand down, and I am willing to eat that cost at this point. First and foremost, as many of you know my age, I have decided I would rather have a smaller more sporty car (not that this isn't sporty) Second, I could go to a 30k car and have an extra 10 grand to pay wonderful tuition (which went up 14%) Third, gas prices are slowly starting to eat a whole in my pocket and I am not sure I want to continue letting it do so at this rate. Fourth, as nice of a car this is, its too old manish for somebody my age. Some people advised for the RL and some advised against - feel free to flame if you advised against it.

hondamore

My "old man" advice would be to buy a nice used car for $10K -$15K and wait until you are done school, have a great job and have your home paid for, before you start driving expensive luxury cars. Luxury cars are money pits that should be purchased with that portion of your savings set aside for extravagances. It is important in life to reward yourself for your hard work, including buying yourself a nice car, but you should only do so when you can really afford to do so - ie. you can pay cash for the car and not miss the money. Just my .02.

vp911

Point well taken. I didn't mean to disrespect anybody when I said "old man" I appologize if it came off that way.

hondamore

No offense taken at all. The RL is built and, more importantly, priced to be purchased by those who have abundant disposable income. This usually rules out those in their 20's and students.

Steve C

Vp wrote:
"First, I would not be considering if I did not have an offer for 40k..........."

As far as I am concerned...you can stop right there. Case justified!
$40k IMHO is good, based on what I see as described below:

New & used RL prices are out of whack, just as is Acura's $599 lease plan is!
Consider the following:

Here in NY, where you cannot get a new leftover RL for under 45k, will get you a used one with 10k miles or so for $37/38K. This seems to be consistant with E-Bay top bid "stalling" on used RL's also.

In other parts of the country, new leftover RL's are going for $43K!
VP, grab that $40k & run!!!

I do not know why RL prices & demand (new & used) are so whacky. For such an awesome car, it truly is unjustified!

Steve C

Wow Hondamore,

Very nicely put......I copied your post to show my hard working wife (who loves to drive) but is a bit hesitant on buying a $50k car.
It's a reward indeed, see honey?

Just wish my house was paid for though!!!

hondamore

Without the rewards, we are nothing but a bunch of squirrels collecting nuts. Even when we have enough nuts, we still collect more and more until we can't even remember where we hid half of them. Every now and then you have to stop collecting and sit down and eat the biggest juiciest acorn that you can find, secure in the fact that you can always collect more later.

Steve C

LOL...so true......why let someone else eat my acorns because I died before eating them.....happens all the time!

Every time I see a dead squirrel I wonder: who is eating his nuts now?

Rob L

VP,

I'd say hondamore's advice is good.

I do find it odd you got the RL and raved about it so much at first but it just shows how we humans are weird people and how we basically go orgasmic over things at the start and then once the newness wears off we arent that impressed. Guess this is probably why most women (and to a lesser degree men) who are widely regarded as being physically "hot" usually don't have lasting relationships because their partners eventually see past the looks and see the person doesnt have many lasting qualities.

If you want a good priced "sporty" car then I say one car to look at is the Mazda 3. My buddy has one and it is a great little car for its price as it is sporty, has good handling, decent acceleration and is great on fuel. My car before the RL was a 01 Lexus IS300 and the Mazda 3 reminds me so much of the IS in mnay areas.

I will say I dont consider the RL as "old many" but then again maybe I am just too much of an "old man" at my age of 26 since I've always been different than my age group when it comes to that type of maturity stuff. I dunno



Hondamore,

yep, couldn't agree with you more. I'm in the financial investment business and it is sad to see so many middle/older aged people who have just accumulated their wealth throughout the years and dont do anything with it and think they have no money or are worried to buy something. It is good for our business since they are investing it all but it is sad to see people with hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting there that will NEVER be used going to waste for that specific person. Their children or friends or charities that will get the money when they die are prolly happy about their "hoarding" mentality though.

I coudlnt imagine working my whole life just saving my cash to never be used. Seems like such a waste and it is in a way insulting to those who dont have cash but need it to buy stuff.

vp911

I appreciate everybody's comments. I think I may have overstated my situation when I said I wanted to sell it. First I love the car - while I may think it is old man-ish, I think my real concern is not feeling the roughness of the road which can be easily resolved by using the a-spec suspension. Second, my concern was gas prices going up - financially yes, it hurts, but it also hurts everybody. I am not in a situation where I *need* to sell the car. I can pay for gas, I can pay for insurance and I can pay for the car (soon to be paid off anyways). I have no real expenses except the car and food of course.

On another level, the person who wanted to buy this car for 40k has moved on and decided to buy A6 instead. I had the car appraised at Honda, Acura, BMW and Infiniti - all of which are in the range of 38-39,5 for the car. So I can still sell without taking a huge hit.

In the end, after a day's worth of consideration. I think I will simply pay off the car. I won't be saving a ton of money on gas by using any other car anyways, at 26-27mpg highway (which is what I will be driving mainly beginning next week) there would only be a slight savings by using another car with better mileage. Then the difference between premium and regular gas is roughly 30 cents. At a calculation of 18k miles (what I drive in a year usually) with 25mpg the difference is $208.80 over the course of a year (at current pricing locally that is).

Rob L - I love your comparison to a "hot" person physically.

Another reason for changing my mind - I test drove the accord (4 and 6 cyl), hybrid, coupe and sedan. None of them came near to handling like the RL does. I think I forgot how well it handles compared to a normal FWD car.

Again, I appreciate everybody's input regarding this. I know many of you do not think that I should be driving this car at my age - and after my wakeup call today - I can somewhat understand your reasons.