i'm buying a new house soon and i'm going to have to examine my car budget a bit more to see if things still make sense.. here's the deal. I owe about 27k on my z still; payments are 740/month. The volvo is paid for, but my to insure both cars each month is 280$, and the maintenance costs on my volvo have averaged about 300$ a month so far unfortunately but i'm not sure if that will stay the same/get worse etc. I've probably spent around $4500 modding the z at his point...and want more power so it could get expensive. The reason i have two cars if because i didnt want to put alot of wear and tear on the z (i currently commute 2 hrs a day to/from work), plus the z sucks in the winter...and i don't want to the hassle of swapping winter wheels out etc.

Now here's where I'm having trouble...I've been spending so much money modding my z and paying for all my other car related expenses i think it would make more sense for me to sell everything and buy *one* car that doesn't need any modding that can be a year round daily driver (i want something as fast or faster than the z). The house i plan on buying will cut my commute down to 30 minutes each way so the miles i put on the car shouldnt be too bad. I'm thinking i want AWD, but something german like an s4(not really interested in evo or sti)....if the m3 was awd so i could drive it in the winter i'd be all over it. Any ideas on what the heck i should do here? my current situation just doesnt make sense. i want to bring my car expenses down, but have a nice sports car/sedan too. anything new coming down the pike soon that i should be waiting for that fits this bill?

btw i've had the z for over a year and a half now and have only put 5k miles on it. i love the car but if you figure out what im spending per mile on it and the volvo it's insane. i cant keep doing this.

help!

 

STi or Legacy GT w/ upgrades.

Or S4 would be nice too.

 

thanks but im just not into subarus...i'd be leaning toward the s4 but the resale sucks and it's not as fast as the m3 for nearly the same money. anyone know what a lease on an s4 would run?

 

M3 isn't an all weather car really. Plus you can get the older S4 which is biturbo and stick in dual K04s. Run 12s all day long.

 

G35 c 6MT ?

 

this really wouldn't solve anything now would it LOL.

 

AWD, German, and come as close to an M3 as possible? I think the S4 is your best bet. Now I'm not too sure, but isn't there an AWD 330? 330xi or something like that?









Anyway, OT here, but if you do decide to sell/trade, can I have dibs on your V1 lip?

 

$3k out of pocket, 39 months...you're looking at $800/month give or take....depending on options, annual mileage and what not.

At this point, if you're going to lease something, definitely get an 05 (due to the residual).

Unfortunately, even the S4 doesn't have that great of a residual...most Audis don't.

My buddy just picked up an 04 330CI ZHP (gorgeous car) and its like $530/month for 36 months....that car leased out very well due to the low rate and a 61% residual (the deal was locked in at the time of ordering).

Going to move this to car talk....

 

Wish someone told me that when iwas shopping.

 

Drive your Z more... I use mine as my daily driver. Got through the Danbury CT (we get a tremendous amount of snow here due to the fact we're in the mountains) winter with my Z and Blizzak's.

The S4 is going to be expensive and not any faster than your Z. If you want faster, AWD you'll have to go with either an Evo or STi

 

s60R + chip

 

Wouldn't an S4 cost just as much if not more then the Z?

Sounds more like the winter driving and not the money factor is the major concern.

 

I know you’ll probably ignore my advice because of our past difference, but here goes anyway.

Sell all the automotive burdens, buy something cheap & reliable and get yourself into the house.
Look at all the money you’re spending on cars and don’t yet have a house.
The extra available monthly funds will make it much easier to qualify for a Mortgage.

Buy a nice reliable FWD sporty car for about 15K or less that will get you through the next two winters.
After that you can start looking for a hot car(s) again.

Shawn S

 

:imwithstupid:

but the S60R sounds good too unless you're afraid of volvos now

 

wow man... tough call... you're monthly payments are kinda expensive!. I say fck the volvo and just get some winter tires for the Z you lazy bastard. The money you get for your volvo can either go towards the new crib or even towards the Z (would that cut your car payments?). Now you can still keep the car you love, move into a new place, and your mileage wont even be that bad with the new commute.

 

 

you pay as much for your 2 cars per month as i pay for my cl, my house and insurance for both.

 

i said i'm buying a NEW house...and i'm already preapproved for more than the amount the house is worth(i already own a house). i can afford the new house and my current car payments.

 

the issue here is not what i can/cant afford, it's getting the most value for my money/not wasting it, etc as i'd like to put as much moeny as possible into new furniture/etc...the current situation just seems to be costing too much. maybe the winter tire thing will work...just seems like a hassle to me .

 

Ugh...quality problems....looks like new the s4 is out :
http://www.audiforums.com/tm.asp?m=3118

 

Sorry, I thought you lived at home from what I remember from previous threads.
Never mind then….If you got the bucks…..Go for it…

Keep the Z for a fun weekend ride and get a small SUV that gets good MPG or reliable FWD for the daily drive and PA winters.

 

yeah i bought a kinda shitty row house in downtown west chester last year as an investment property. i was renting for a short time while it was being renovated. im looking at a 'real' house now...w/garage...etc.

...but my volvo is good in the snow..thats not the issue...what it comes down to is i was thinking it would make more financial sense to get one car that is sporty, yet also works well in the winter. IMO RWD cars are scary as hell in snow/ice. Once the front loses traction and swings left/right you're done. i wrecked my Z3 that way back in 96'. I'm not interested in FWD either.

unfortunately, it seems like my only option is an AWD sports sedan/coupe like the s4 or TT since i dont like the evo/sti...but after doing some research, it seems like they have some major bugs to be worked out. looks like i may be waiting until they build an AWD sports car to do anything here...this sux.

 

Get an Acura-TL. Almost as fast as a Z in a straight line and should be pretty reliable. Maybe a G35x with Vortech

 

thanks but like i said, not interested in FWD cars, and i dont like the way the g35 sedan looks.

 

As mentioned by others, what about the S60R?? AWD and turbo...

 

I’m in the same boat for my next car. There’s absolutely nothing I would want right now if I had to buy.

I’m REALLY unhappy with what two winters have done to the finish on my CL-S.
I think next time around I’ll be going the "HOT CAR & BEATER CAR" combo myself.
Hopefully that purchase decision is still a few years away though.

I still say the CL-S doesn’t warrant having a winter vehicle, but if I go with RWD or a high end AWD I’ll probably be getting a winter car to complement it.

Shawn S

 

...i love the idea of the s60r but i'm honestly scared to consider another volvo. My nearest volvo dealer tries to ass rape me every time I take the s80 in... . Just spent 300$ there when i asked them to check out a noise in my ventilation system. turned out it was a piece of paper that got sucked in there. they never called to authorize the 300$ labor fee...they just dinged me for it when i showed up. the should have at least told me the labor could be that much when i brought the car in.

then there's the crappy resale value...i dunno...maybe i should reconsider the s60r...how much are those things...less/more than the s4??

 

I just priced out one fully loaded for $45k.

 

Heck, I'm considering a V70R as my next ride, about two years. I want to get rid of my wife's RX300 when the girls are big enough and her back into a 3-Series (convertible this time). But we still need something with utility. That fits the bill pretty well and I should be able to squeek 400+ hp out of it.

 

thanks scalbert you got me thinking about the s60r....i was REALLY interested in this car back when beltfed was considering it...but then lost interest for some reason. might have to stop by volvo today after work to see what kinds of deals they are willing to do. the price seems very reasonable for what you get.

 

05 Acura RL...should be out in Oct....I think it has AWD...and it has some really neat gadgets..

 

if the S80 turned you off on Volvos, Audis aren't going to be any better. The S60R seems like a good choice. Where are u looking for homes?

 

that's what I was going to suggest. It is AWD and 300hp. Not to bad .. but its expensive. I believe around 45k new.

 

 

holy shit nandowong what the hell is that

 

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147366

 

yeah i know

subaru legacy limited gt :rock:

i want one bad

 

never you mind. you're not a subaru type of guy.