Cars We Drive!

[impolyt_one]

fake E39 M5's are a dime a dozen. Was so easy to turn those into pseudo M5's, especially outside of the US where a ton of 525i's and 530's were commonly sold with M-sport kits, especially in the second half of production. All they needed was to change the inserts in the front and rear bumpers, get M5 mirrors and two mufflers and a Y-pipe, and then rims. The M-sport molding strips and everything were all there.

 

[JuyLe]

M5 look on a E39 is fine in my book, unless you put a M5 badge. Then you're a douche.

E39 540i is still a very good value for the money if you can't be bothered with servicing a M/// Engine.

Me, I would love to get a 530d Touring. But it would mean getting rid of most of my savings and then if something goes wrong I'd be screwed. Some other time I guess.

 

[Piobaire]

I keep trying to convince myself to get rid of the GL and buy (not lease) a sub-20k tiny car like the new Fiat and bank $$$ both in vehicle costs and gas. What's the over/under I actually do that?

 

[LawrenceMD]



I keep trying to convince myself to get rid of the GL and buy (not lease) a sub-20k tiny car like the new Fiat and bank $$$ both in vehicle costs and gas. What's the over/under I actually do that?

as long as it has a sun roof right?

there are a ton of fiats in NYC lurking around right now. you can tell the drivers are having a blast.

 

[Piobaire]

I love my sun roof

Rough calculations indicate if I put both of us in a Fiat for 20k and drove them for five years (the longest I've been in a vehicle undergrad is a 39 month lease on a Rover so this is also part of the problem) we would save about 100k. Now, is 100k over five years worth driving that car? I know I'd not want to take it on the Interstate, would probably hate the size, lack of ability to see over/around other vehicles, etc...

 

[LawrenceMD]



I love my sun roof

Rough calculations indicate if I put both of us in a Fiat for 20k and drove them for five years (the longest I've been in a vehicle undergrad is a 39 month lease on a Rover so this is also part of the problem) we would save about 100k. Now, is 100k over five years worth driving that car? I know I'd not want to take it on the Interstate, would probably hate the size, lack of ability to see over/around other vehicles, etc...

thats the similar math my wife and i did when we were looking at cars.... since we're azn... our initial impulse was to buy two nice cars... but we computed it and both were horrified at the expenses (especially over time). don't get me wrong its not like we couldn't afford it and having nice cars is ******* awesome, but it just doesn't make sense in brooklyn (even with parking). so we ended up buying a diesel station wagon that has a high resale value (but we plan to run this thing into the ground for at least 5 years).

if/when we due move to a more car friendly place i'm getting an audi s6 though. *******. actually if I can find an older s6 avant then I'll go that route. the wife wants a huge suv.

 

[Blackhood]

Why not put you both in some kind of saloon for $35k and bank $85k over 5 years?

 

[Piobaire]



Why not put you both in some kind of saloon for $35k and bank $85k over 5 years?

Let me clarify, that was 20k each, so a total of 40k. Now we're at 70k, plus taxes, so we're down to 70k or less. Part of my savings was gas so that will be eroded too.

 

[Ty_Webb]



I love my sun roof

Rough calculations indicate if I put both of us in a Fiat for 20k and drove them for five years (the longest I've been in a vehicle undergrad is a 39 month lease on a Rover so this is also part of the problem) we would save about 100k. Now, is 100k over five years worth driving that car? I know I'd not want to take it on the Interstate, would probably hate the size, lack of ability to see over/around other vehicles, etc...

In a small (or at least low) car, you can still see most of what's going on through the other cars (unless they're driving SUVs. Those assholes block everything). Small and nippy cars can be great fun though and save a ton of money. Only drawback is things like moving stuff around. They're not the most practical. I have a Ford Ka back in the UK which I use when I visit. That's probably similar in size to the Fiats. My golf clubs have to go on the back seat (which also means I can't leave it anywhere).

 

[Piobaire]



In a small (or at least low) car, you can still see most of what's going on through the other cars (unless they're driving SUVs. Those assholes block everything). Small and nippy cars can be great fun though and save a ton of money. Only drawback is things like moving stuff around. They're not the most practical. I have a Ford Ka back in the UK which I use when I visit. That's probably similar in size to the Fiats. My golf clubs have to go on the back seat (which also means I can't leave it anywhere).

Easily 50% of the vehicles on local roads are pickups, SUVs, or larger. So at least 50% of the people where I live are assholes. Including me.

 

[Vickt]

'04 Boxster, '07 STI, '12 JCW Hatch. All stick because I'm a manual snob. Save the manuals!

Favorite car I've had is a simple 2011 BMW 128i. Narrowly edging out the Porsche just because I like the character of the NA straight 6 over the flat 6. Too bad BMW is now pandering to the masses with big soft economy focused cars. M or bust I suppose.

 

[HRoi]



Which one of you goons is driving this supercar?

.

quad exhaust is functional on a Prius though. since as a hybrid it practically has two motors, you essentially are running dual pipes on each one and improving the efficiency of each

 

[Piobaire]



quad exhaust is functional on a Prius though. since as a hybrid it practically has two motors, you essentially are running dual pipes on each one and improving the efficiency of each

But isn't one of those engines non-gas powered?

 

[HRoi]

 

[Blackhood]

I'm gonna buy a prius, convert the second electric motor into diesel and then fit a third coal-fired motor to drive the electric windows.