OK, how long do you think any self-respecting male will drive around in one of those pastel green VW Beetles with the yellow flower pedal-spoked wheels. Hmmm?
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Fun 2nd car with stick?
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OK, how long do you think any self-respecting male will drive around in one of those pastel green VW Beetles with the yellow flower pedal-spoked wheels. Hmmm?
OK, how long do you think any self-respecting male will drive around in one of those pastel green VW Beetles with the yellow flower pedal-spoked wheels. Hmmm?
Unfair.
Are you upset that the Miata is the best value for your sport-car dollar since the Austin Healey Sprite??
Is this all about $$$??
The Miata is front engine, rear drive, as a sports car should be.
I think the MX-5 is a great car to get, and I already pointed out it's as manly as having its own SCCA race series.
I just dispute the notion there aren't girly cars and manly cars. There are, just like there is girly clothing and manly clothing, or girly shoes and manly shoes, and so on.
A MX-5 is neither, or both. A pastel green VW Beetle with yellow flower wheels is decidedly girly. A Porsche GT3 RS is manly (well, mostly: the Road Atlanta hot lap I got in one was with a female race driver at the wheel).
Actually a true sports car should be a spyder: 2 seats, open top, mid-engine, rear wheel drive. Not front engine.
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Pictures or it didn't happen.
Sweet. You will enjoy driving the Z4. I am a huge fan of Bimmers. Had a M3 before I got my JCW. Will probably get a 1 series M Coupe next.
Another good choice is a MINI Cooper, but I'm biased as I have a '09 MINI JCW for my daily driver, but it is super quick!
Cool, I have a '10 JCW
wash those wheel wells!
i envy you, ive wanted a z4 since they were released in 03...but now i want an 06+, but its getting harder for me to justify the price for something out of warranty and 5 years old the older i get
would give my left nut for an 09+ white Z4 though, sadly looking online these cars have really become expensive new...a top end new Z4 STARTS at 61k, OUCH. granted the 'low end' is like $46k or something IIRC, but damn $50k for a new Z4 is really getting up there, i remember when they were $40k for something loaded which seemed plenty reasonable...now im just not sure.
i love bmws but ive had both an e30 and an e36 out of warranty, i should know better by now about older bmws but they are just too hard to resist...hope yours treats you well, whats the mileage?
i envy you, ive wanted a z4 since they were released in 03...but now i want an 06+, but its getting harder for me to justify the price for something out of warranty and 5 years old the older i get
would give my left nut for an 09+ white Z4 though, sadly looking online these cars have really become expensive new...a top end new Z4 STARTS at 61k, OUCH. granted the 'low end' is like $46k or something IIRC, but damn $50k for a new Z4 is really getting up there, i remember when they were $40k for something loaded which seemed plenty reasonable...now im just not sure.
i love bmws but ive had both an e30 and an e36 out of warranty, i should know better by now about older bmws but they are just too hard to resist...hope yours treats you well, whats the mileage?
It's got 56,000 miles on it. I don't expect to put more than 6K a year on it, so I can take a chance on potentially high maintenance costs. High end cars out of warranty depreciate rapidly, so they can be incredible bargains used.
The new Z4s are amazing, but so expensive! I can't imagine them selling many in this economy. I sat in one at the dealer and felt like James Bond.
The new Z4s are amazing, but so expensive! I can't imagine them selling many in this economy. I sat in one at the dealer and felt like James Bond.
No offense but ewwww. They're heavy, overpowered, overpriced and overgadgeted. That's the last car I would buy and I do own a roadster. Btw, the used ones are quite expensive to maintain (zee Gehmanz do it on purpose) so if you don't have warranty that covers everything be prepared to throw your wallet on your mechanics front yard and step away.
Obviously those dumb British who built all those sports cars know nothing about building them. And Porsche (rear engine) doesn't know much either. Front-engined Ferraris are definitely for amateurs and dare I mention Aston Martins? Yeah, definitely, you should explain this to them as they, along with many other manufacturers have been doing it wrong all these years.
Actually a true sports car should be a spyder: 2 seats, open top, mid-engine, rear wheel drive. Not front engine.
Obviously those dumb British who built all those sports cars know nothing about building them. And Porsche (rear engine) doesn't know much either. Front-engined Ferraris are definitely for amateurs and dare I mention Aston Martins? Yeah, definitely, you should explain this to them as they, along with many other manufacturers have been doing it wrong all these years.
Yes, the maintenance can be a killer, but my mileage will be limited. Replacement run flat tires will close in on $1500 alone and a clutch is $2500 installed.
Limited or not you will still have to invest into it. I could buy a decent Miata for the sum of those figures and then do most of the maintenance on it myself with ease.
We have a '03 BMW 330ci with 70K miles. The maintenance/repairs haven't been too bad. Less than $1K/yr on average, and probably closer to $500-750. We also had a '99 323i with nearly $70K miles when we traded it. It also had reasonable maintenance/repair costs.
I had a '02 530i from new for 3 years as a lease. It had zero issues the entire time. I really regret getting rid of it, but I did that to get a '05 M3. The M3 was also very reliable, and I ran that pretty hard (tracking it numerous times).
As a member of the BMW CCA I also get 20% discount on parts and labor from my dealer (ditto for my MINI JCW).
I had a '02 530i from new for 3 years as a lease. It had zero issues the entire time. I really regret getting rid of it, but I did that to get a '05 M3. The M3 was also very reliable, and I ran that pretty hard (tracking it numerous times).
As a member of the BMW CCA I also get 20% discount on parts and labor from my dealer (ditto for my MINI JCW).
Oh no you didn't! I thought sports cars were only supposed to be mid-engined spyders? Why did you get a fake sports car instead - the M3?
Also, if you take a look at your cars you had them for 2-3 years and got rid of them quickly. 70K miles isn't much, a Kia can do that without major problems. Hell, I usually buy used cars that start around 70K miles. Now if you had a 170K on it, then maintenance would get to you. Pretty much anything after 100K on a BMW tends to be a nightmare.
The spyder comment was tongue in cheek. Apparently, that went over your head. I guess you also had some problems reading my post. I never said anything about calling or referring to the M3 as a sports car. You did.
I know plenty of people with high mileage BMWs that do not have excessive costs maintaining their cars compared to other brands. Except Japanese cars that have high reliability, but then you pay the high cost of dying of boredom (if not the inability to maneuver as well in an emergency situation). Also the OP's car is in the mileage range I was talking about with my two 70K cars. That's probably a lot more relevant to him for now than 170K mileage, especially if he plans to use it infrequently.
"As a member of the BMW CCA I also get 20% discount on parts and labor from my dealer (ditto for my MINI JCW)]"
Great tip; I'll look into it!
Great tip; I'll look into it!
Hell, Roundel magazine alone is worth the membership fee.
Also, if you ever buy or lease a new BMW, CCA membership (after one year) gets you a cash rebate ($500-1500 depending on model).
I know a few with old BMWs and they do their own maintenance and fixing. Otherwise it would be an expensive nightmare. I also know a few who own slightly older cars (E39, etc) and they "only" pay about $3-5K/year to the mechanic for typical stuff. I suppose that's cheap if you're made of money.
My fairly stock '95 Miata R-package begs to differ. I'm yet to find a car that's more fun to drive even at 3x the price. Perhaps you will point me to one? I'm all ears. I test-drove S2k, 350Z vert and a few others (non-German of course) and none were even close. Now, I do not buy German cars (ever for any money) but I drove Z3s and when it comes emergency situations a non-M Z3 will lose to my Miata with ease. So no need to generalize, Japanese cars have exceptions too and some of them will spank your average Panzerwagen for much less money. No bazooka required.
Depends on how long he keeps the car. Of course if it's only a couple of years shouldn't be a biggie but as his mileage approaches 100K chances are he will start receiving larger bills.
James Bond drives Astons (once again)
I would go test drive a bunch of stuff. S2000, 350z, g35, evos (saw a evo 9MR for 18k not too long ago). I wouldn't touch a mustang or boxter. You may be able to find some sort or lotus also for around 20k. (older elise?).
Did I hear that right? inability to maneuver in a japanese car? You must mean the lowest trim economy cars.