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What Entry Level Luxury Cars should I get, help me pick!

carbonmotion

carbonmotion

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 28, 2004
983
0
San Francisco, CA
My parents are going to buy me one present; their first one and their last one. Their gonna buy me a car in 10-2008. Which car should I get. I'm currently thinking about a BMW 3 series or a Lexus IS 250

I suppose low on my list are Audi, Volvo, Saab, Mercedes of the same class.
 
of the two, i'd get a lexus is 250 with manual transmission. i just prefer the interior of the lexus to that of the bmw.
 
MP4-22 said:
I would say an Audi A4 or S4.
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can't afford an S4... obviously
A4s have ****** quality


---

im one of the few people that can drive a stick, but don't want to.

Turkish said:
A down payment on a house or condo would be much more sensible.
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nope, im probably going to go do a jd mba at columbia or some such school.... so i dont want to settle down just yet.
 
carbonmotion said:
nope, im probably going to go do a jd mba at columbia or some such school.... so i dont want to settle down just yet.
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So get a cheap car and put the difference into savings - or buy a house and rent it.

Seems like a horrible waste of money to me.
 
Turkish said:
So get a cheap car and put the difference into savings - or buy a house and rent it.

Seems like a horrible waste of money to me.
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You can't by a house for 30,000 dollars and I've never had a great car in my entire life. In fact in the last four years, I didn't have a car. while my friends had their BMWs and Mercedes and Audis

335i_overview.jpg


I love lexus, but when I saw this car, it was so beatiful, I couldn't stop looking at it.
 
Turkish said:
So get a cheap car and put the difference into savings - or buy a house and rent it.

Seems like a horrible waste of money to me.
Click to expand...

WISE!

Get yourself a car of half the cost, ask for the rest in a savings account. You still get a car and you get money.

the entry level bimmer 3 series is 32,400

a Honda Civic Si is 23,635

that's almost 10 thou cash in a savings account.

That'll be nice.

and the civic will last you an eternity.
 
I suppose it would depend on what you wanted out of the car, but my two picks would be the Mini Cooper S or the ubiquitous 3-Series BMW.
 
I work in the luxury car business...and am thus a professional uniquely qualified to offer direction on this question.

The best vehicle in the segment you're looking at is the BMW 3 series -- far superior to the IS250 in so many ways. It is also a much safer investment for re-sale value down the road. Lexus has had very few vehicles with any sort of significant staying power -- the IS250 is already showing signs of weakness in the marketplace. The 3 series is unequalled in this area...they always hold their value.

One thing you might want to consider...especially if you'll be paying for it is insurance costs -- insurance companies are wary of young men driving BMW's ... clearly up to no good!

Good luck.

darren
 
If you're not going for the Audi because of quality or/and reliability issues, then why go for the Bimmer? You may as well consider an Audi A4.

I'd consider a Lexus since you're not going to be driving a manual. It'll be just as good as an BMW with automatic transmission, and I actually think it'll be better quality overall. It's a pretty sweet looking car as well. Out of the 2, I'd just get the one that test drives better. I'd probably take the one that corners better, but I'm guessing that a BMW 2 door coupe will corner better than the 4 door sedan. :eek:
 
Instead of using all that money just the car Why dont you make that money work for you as in How Can I make this cash make me more money?

Theres CDs, Special Savings accounts with high interest. I bet you are going to get loans during college? I say invest on something that during your time in college will give you good interest. You said you want MBA think about just 10k(if you get a 20k car with 10k left over) would yield so much interest. I got 2k interest in my stock when i started college I got extra scholarship, didn't need it so I invested it and thats 4 years.

I mean getting MBA is $$$$, even buyin a house doesnt matter you living there just rent it out. The house will pay itself from that, and when you graduate it can be almost all payed out depending where you live.

ok enough of me acting old.


I like the BMW
 
Just a thought from experience at one urban school and a friend at Columbia - see if your folks would be willing to wait until after you graduate. Having a car in an urban center, especially NYC, doesn't make much sense when you factor in parking and such.

I had a mediocre public transit system, but in NYC it's great. My buddy is married and has a kid - probably would have needed a car more than most, but one of the first things he did was sell his off. He'll be buying a new one this summer.
 
Cybix said:
buy a sports car, luxury cars are for old farts.

Subaru WRX :)

I just got one, puts a smile on my dial, every time hehe
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Not that I want to steer anyone away from a Scooby (I've absolutely loved my 2.5i these last two days, even if I did spin yesterday morning ;)), but the 3 Series is a near-perfect blend of luxury and performance. Go for the 335i. :D Damn, every time I think of a twin-turbo I-6 that's probably under-rated at 300/300, I start getting tight in the pants.
 
Well I would stay away from the European cars. The price might not be too bad but the maintenance and general upkeep costs will kill you.

I would look at the Lexus IS, Acura TL, and Infiniti G35.
 
First, consider yourself lucky!

Second, of the two choices: Toyota. They've been number #1 for the past ten years.

Luxury cars are indeed nice but I'd go with something sporty. I barely afforded a Scion tC and I love it. It's only ~$16,500. Again, its a Toyota and built with recycled material so that in 10 years, it can be recycled again...
 
Why not get a real, car? Get a rear wheel drive, V8 powered, American luxury vehicle. It would put those imports to shame. It's a totally different class altogether.
01crownvic_sport.jpg
 
If you want flash, get a 3-series (they are fugly though), or a similarly sized Mercedes/Audi/Jag X-Type.

If you want to go fast, get a Subaru WRX STi, Mitsu Lancer Evo, Golf R32 Mazda RX-8 or maybe an Infiniti G35 if you can swing that.
 
Superdrive said:
Why not get a real, car? Get a rear wheel drive, V8 powered, American luxury vehicle. IT would put those imports to shame. It's a totally different class altogether.
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My friends uncle has one of those. His mom refers to it as a "OMPPC" (old man's pretend police car) ;)

American car luxury? Does that exist?
 
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