I bought a clean used 2011 BMW 335 coupe for commuting about 100 miles per day. Fun commuter at 24 mpg. Amazing how much such cars devalue in a few years. I have an independent BMW repair guy on speed dial if I need him - so far so good.Originally Posted by ragnar_d
I will be buying a full size SUV such as Suburban, Yukon XL, Expedition soon - I am looking at buying one 2-4 years old as no way I am paying the new price.
Last edited by ranger; 01-09-2019 at 05:53 PM.
That's basically the reason I ended up getting the CX5 to begin with; rear passenger compartment + trunk space is just bigger in the CX5. It's just annoying that they gave it a 3" lift kit + AWD and charged me ~$5k for it.
Either way, I do really love the design and handling of my Mazda, even if it is a CUV. It drives much more like a sedan than I expected, big improvement over my previous '10 RAV4. I will definitely take a look at their offerings if I'm shopping fo a sedan/CUV in the future. A CX-9 seems like it would be a good car for a small family.
I've thought of doing similar. A 6-speed 335 could be a fun little daily . . . and would be the first "fun" car I'd owned. A buddy has a 135i and damn if I don't jump in the car first when he offers to drive to lunch. That thing is like a damn go-cart. And the Expeditions can found for way cheaper than the GM equivalents. Though most I find seem to be prior rental cars.
Not to hijack this thread too much, but how is the ST to drive? They're pretty reasonably priced and tempting me even if they go against my better sensibilities of sending all the power to the same wheels I'm steering/braking with.I sorta backed into it, I had the truck and then my circumstance changed and I was no longer needing the truck daily and really wanted a car. For the first time in my life I could manage to keep the truck and get the car I wanted. I think we tend to focus on need and the car was for damn sure a want, but now I have put 71k on the cheap car that I didn't put on the (soon to be paid off) expensive truck.
And I agree, I wanted some big stump pulling monster diesel truck that would haul all my buddies and pull my house, but no way I could justify that needed that. I ended up with the heaviest duty of the light duty trucks. I would sure not want to tow the 11,300 pounds it is supposed to able to, but I will easily handle what I will every need to do. For the money I ultimately spent I could have got that big diesel truck, sure am glad I got a fun car to wear out instead. And the fun car is a buttload easier to park
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Disclaimer: I have previously worked in the firearms industry as an engineer. Thoughts and opinions expressed here are mine alone and not those of my prior employers.
One word: WOOT!!!
Seriously, it is not as refined of a car as a GTI, but it is a lotta fun, and I think there are some bargains out there. FWD will never be as good as RWD, and you live in Florida so it is not the all season advantage it is here in Ohio (my sales territory goes all the way to MN), but it is not all that bad. It tries to do some tricks with selective braking to temper torque steering that I think makes it worse, but there are two tiers of reduced interference, and one tap on a button kills the traction control portion of it and eliminates many of the bad manners, but the bad manners are not all that bad. PM if ya wanna chatter more specifically.
We are currently small SUV/wagon shopping for the MIL. $15k or less, 50k miles or less, 5 years or less. Seems doable in the CRV, CX-5, Escape, Rav realm. Wife has a pilot so she and MIL are partial to the CRV but I'm going to take MIL down to Carmax, just me and her, and have her sit in a few things and access the trunk in a few things to see what is actually best for her.
$15k won't get you a lot, but you can probably find a used 1st generation ('13-'16) CX5 in one of the base trims for that much, especially if she is OK with FWD. These might be the best bargain given what you are looking for given how well Toyota, Subaru, and Honda crossovers hold their value. The Mazdas depreciate the most quickly of those 4 so you can probably get more car for your money.
eg:
https://www.carmax.com/car/16957454
https://www.carmax.com/car/16486027
Last edited by Nephrology; 01-10-2019 at 11:22 AM.
Anyone had experience with prior rentals?
Okie John
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yeah this one is near us
https://www.carmax.com/car/15992985
I'm also not convinced that we'll get there with a hard $15k but that's at least our target.
We had a 2000 XJ Cherokee that had been a rental. Kept it till about 120k, sold it to a buddy and he put anther 120k on it. But those were pretty simple vehicles.
Probably depends on the agency, I have rented some Enterprise cars I wasn't all that happy renting, and would not have bought.
I just heard from the dealer and my new 4runner should arrive in the next few weeks.
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