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Need help buying a new car!

I, too, am in the skeptical camp... If someone is gifting you that kind of money, why not spend it on something that lasts? Do you own a home? What about retirement? What about a wife/girlfriend? (not that I'm suggesting you BUY one of those, lol) Charity/Church? There are tons of better ways to drop a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS than on a car you would probably end up crashing anyway!

Sorry if I'm wrong... but then again, I'm a school teacher - I don't know what 250k is like because its like 5 YEARS of my salary! Now if I were given 250k... :D
 
js81 said:
I, too, am in the skeptical camp... If someone is gifting you that kind of money, why not spend it on something that lasts? Do you own a home? What about retirement? What about a wife/girlfriend? (not that I'm suggesting you BUY one of those, lol) Charity/Church? There are tons of better ways to drop a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS than on a car you would probably end up crashing anyway!

Sorry if I'm wrong... but then again, I'm a school teacher - I don't know what 250k is like because its like 5 YEARS of my salary! Now if I were given 250k... :D
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Yeah, the priorities are ass backwards. If I were given $250,000, I'd buy a house. Or maybe pay off my student loans. Or hell, with housing prices the way they are, I'd do both.

By the way, OP, take it from a fellow 20-something year old bachelor working in the software industry - if part of the reason for buying a luxury car is to impress at work, no one cares what kind of car you drive. Your standing at the company is determined by the quality of your work, not what you drove to work in. My work parking garage is dominated by Fords, Chevys, Hondas, Toyotas, etc. Not BMWs, Audis, Lexuses and Mercedes. It's called having your priorities straight.
 
For luxury and class, but everyday driving, I would rule out Porsche (except Cayenne) and go with an Audi A4, A6, or A8. I have the A8 W12, and let me tell you, that car is amazing! If you want some sportiness too, Audi A5 or S4 would be good.

I am kinda biased towards Audi :)

For BMW, they are coming out with a new 6-series Sedan soon. The 6 series, IMO, is the best BMW there is.

Then just throwing out some suggestions, Cadillac is very nice. Reliable, good-looking, classy, just a well-rounded car. Lexus is also nice, and having owned a few, they are great cars.

In your budget the Maserati Quattroporte would be the best sport sedan, hands down, bar none. For coupes, Ferrari F430 or 599, but the R8 GT would be pretty sweet. :D
 
CTS-V Coupe seems kinda cool. Same with a potent Corvette.

Also, you'd probably do well to keep with something that isn't quite a super car to keep costs down, as this is a gift. Wouldn't want to spend your entire budget on the car and then need to get $5,000 work done on it if you can't afford it!
 
Subaru.

Impreza WRX (or STi) if you really want something sport.

Legacy or Impreza if you want more of the "everyday" car. The fully loaded Legacy is just as nice as most Audi/BMW/Mercedes, but cheaper to own and cheaper to maintain. And they are awesome to drive.


Audi, BMW, Mercedes are all overrated. Wicked expensive to fix. Subaru's are awesome cars to drive with the AWD and such. Never heard of a single person who owned a Subaru who wouldn't recommend them or buy one again.
 
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zioxide said:
Subaru.

Impreza WRX (or STi) if you really want something sport.

Legacy or Impreza if you want more of the "everyday" car. The fully loaded Legacy is just as nice as most Audi/BMW/Mercedes, but cheaper to own and cheaper to maintain. And they are awesome to drive.


Audi, BMW, Mercedes are all overrated. Wicked expensive to fix. Subaru's are awesome cars to drive with the AWD and such. Never heard of a single person who owned a Subaru who wouldn't recommend them or buy one again.
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I drive an impreza, and although I do love the car to death, the Germans are in a whole different league. Even things like the 0 cost maintainance add to the already great driving to make it a much better car. That is part of the premium you pay, but if you can afford it, it is well worth the money.
 
As a female, I gotta tell you - the ones that are impressed by the expensive car you drive are probably not the ones you really want.... unless you are looking for a quickie rather than something serious ;)
 
[MOD NOTE]

Stay on topic.

If you don't want to help the OP with his question, then move on, no need to judge who question his ability to buy a car.

I deleted a number of posts that were not germane to the topic, lets keep this civil and on topic
 
Reach9 said:
I get what you're saying, but i just prefer the 3 series more, but they are common. I was looking at the new 328i Sedan or the 335i Sport Line.

I love BMWs, and I was considering a M3 actually.. god i'm so torn.

I just want a great looking everyday car, with a sport yet classy feel to it. Like driving to work and back, going to the beach, across town, picking up women.. etc.
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No car is going to help you in "picking up women." Sorry.

That said, just get an M3 4 door/manual. Done.
 
greganpace said:
I write for a car blog and we regularly test drive cars. Take my words with a grain of salt because I have never owned any of these cars, but I have driven many. Of the three you mentioned, BMW is the most well rounded. It can be a sports car one second and a family sedan the next. Go for the M models for performance. They don't currently have an M5, which really gives the WOW, but the M3 could run you 70k+. Audi's are nice, but you need to get the s-models if you want to have any fun at all, and right now the s5 is... well, it's their most decent model. Their quattro is probably the best for snowy conditions, if that is a need for you. If you want to go used, their older RS models are worth a look. RS4 and RS6. And Porsche is a true drivers car. Comparable models to your standard BMW/Audi $$$ won't put you in a 911, but a boxster is still a very fun drive. Not the fastest on the road, but the way that car handles will make any car enthusiast happy. If you want to know how a car should feel when you drive it, try a porsche. But it is small, and does have a certain image...

IMO, go for the BMW.
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Well after thinking about this for 2 weeks, and asking numerous people, i've decided to go with the new M3. Thank you for the feedback, i really appreciated and it helped me a lot.

I thought about buying an R8, and selling it for a good price and using some of that to buy a BMW and save the rest.. but the emotional value that this gift brings me is far too great. I'll be driving this car everywhere.

To everyone who gave me quality feedback, thank you. And to the mod too.

To the trolls.. just **** off.
 
Reach9 said:
I thought about buying an R8, and selling it for a good price and using some of that to buy a BMW and save the rest..
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When I see posts like this, which is quite often, it appalls me that people would actually be tacky enough to get an expensive gift, and then turn around and shamelessly sell it and pocket a bunch of money. Are we that entitled and classless? That'd be the damn LAST time I ever bought someone a gift.

In any regard, OP, now that you've got the typical BMW owner attitude and are telling people to "F off" because they dug up a thread from last year where you were talking about trying to get a job working retail at Apple and starting college which makes your "young, bachelor businessman" $250k story terribly, terribly suspicious, you can surely post a pic of you behind the wheel with the keys in your hand in a new M3 without a window sticker, holding up another sign that says "For Macrumors" on it. Right?
 
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