Officially looking for my next ride!
 

Summers drawn to a close, and i'm now realistically looking for a car wohooo!

I've decided on a BMW 530i, 2007+ in white. Yeah i know its gonna be quite a power drop from the vette (350 to 255hp) but I think the reliability, lack of noise, and ride comfort/styling (and fancy factor) will be my compensation. I've contacted dealers thru the BMW CPO website with what i'm looking for but its supposedly gonna be tough to find one with the heads up display option...which I REALLY want because i STILL regret not getting it in the vette :(

anyway this is gonna be my car for the next 5 years at least (till i pay off the 70-80k of student loans i'll have at graduation) so if youve got any feedback on the car choice i'd appreciate it (anyone have one??) my range is 30k or less so if you see one anywhere let me know!

They're really nice cars, but you can pick up a nice 335i in that price range as well and IMHO it's a better car hands down.

Yeah i like the 335i, I've already heard reports of turbo failures though...i really dont want to deal with that. Even BMW says "life average is 6 years" and with me, u or any of the guys on this board driving we'll be juiceboxing it the day we buy it...
After the vette i just want something that runs nicely and that i dont have to keep taking to the shop...comfort/convenience over power

and the 335i doesnt have a spare tire, after the vette i hate run flats too...driving with normal tires and a AAA card isnt really that practical haha also the 530 gets better mpg in real world driving based on forums i've read (23 for the 335 and 29 for the 530) which is nice because i'll be driving a lot next year when i'm on call/rotations


plus everbody and their mom has a 3 series :P

I think if the keep the car "stockish" and don't go too crazy with mods you wouldn't have to worry about it. If you are that concerned just get a CPO BMW and you're covered. Oh, and 335i>530i everyday of the week.

yeah cpo would be the only way i'd get a 335, its usually over $30k tho for a CPO one sadly...still i'm looking around my brain and wallet want a 530i, my indian side says get a IS350 haha but again the prob i have with the 3 series and IS is that they're everywhere, i'm sick of looking at em so its harder for my heart to accept purchasing one :P

You should get a bike. As circumstance would have it, my awesome Bandit is for sale (gotta raise some scrilla for business). :) It's faster than your Vette by a lot, comfortable (it's a standard not a super sport), will get 30 something mpg on regular, costs almost nothing to register and insure, you can split traffic and park more places.

El Bandito

I'd rather have an IS350 or 335i than a 530i. What about a Pontiac G8 GT? It's bigger, still has a V8, is cheaper to operate, etc. I really like this color too...

Oh vettezuki...i'd LOVE to have a bike, but i really need a sedan/more seats! So...i'd have to get like a honda accord along with the bike...hmmmmm hahaha, realistically tho a bike is probably gonna be wayyyy later when i'm grown up, living in an apartment its just a matter of time till someone hurts the bandit or the car...poor vette has lots of door dings too :(

I refuse to buy another GM car, unlike the fanboys who's spell i was under before, i refuse to accept the 30 page lists of "common problems" that every high end GM product seems to carry with it... so no G8 GT, i used to love them too...but i just want peace of mind. After the celica/supra/LFA are shown in october i MIGHT just opt for the IS if i havent found a bmw by then, toyota is still my fav company (remember the original chetanmobile? 219k on the clock, 1981 corolla wagon baby, it was still running when i let it go!!)

I would definitely NOT buy a BMW then either. The out of warranty costs tend to be very high. I think I'd but an IS350 - great car :bigthumbsup:

BMWs CPO is 6yrs 100k from original date tho, so if i get an 08 with 40ish on the clock i'll be good till 2013, by then i'll have been working for a couple years anyway so i'll be ready for something new.

IS is a good car for sure, they're just everywhere and mostly driven by rich asian kids whos parents get em as their first car...i guess the image issue is always gonna haunt me :P. I'm willing to sacrifice the 45hp loss to get a bigger more luxurious car with decent handling and fancy factor. Plus i've had a 2 jap cars and an american car, might as well get a european one to round it out...regardless of what i get i'm gonna regret it a year later cuz something cooler will be out, might as well be sad and baller in a 5 series hah

What about the redesigned G35/7 Sedan? They're really nice and in your price range as well. They also have over 300hp and one of the guys (Scott) on here ran 13.9 stock at California Speedway in one.

Holy crap!
I always thought the new body G was still in the high 30s, a quick browse on autotrader shows me THIS

Hmm, with nissan's CPO its 6yrs/100K too, it seems this might actually be a better value...loaded 07 for 25k??? aye yi yi!!

Yeah, same warranty I believe. Cheapers maintainance costs and you definitely get more for the money.

DO IT :bigthumbsup:

sadly tho it aint got the prestige factor of the 5 series, thats hard to give up, going from the vette iono if my pride will be satisfied with a g :( LOL

The G is closer performance wise to the Vette than the 530i (although it's a bit of a stretch either way).

lol yeah neither car is nearly a vette power-wise, i'm over that part already...cruisin in the bimmer will at least be ego-compensation in the looks department...the G will be a loss of power and i'll regreat not buying the bimmer

I guess :huh:

Honestly, the 5 series is getting redesigned for the 2011MY, so I think a current 530i will look dated pretty quickly. After all, that design debuted all the way back in 05.

i hadn't considered the redesign, you're def right about that...hmmm i dont even have an arguement against that..and redesign means huge pricedrop coming next year for the used market IE if i buy one know i'll have hella buyers remorse and i HATE that :P

arite i'll seriously consider the G, i'm gonna go test drive some cars tomorrow i'll let ya know what i think of the drive!

the 5series competes with the infiniti M35 though right? maybe i should look into that too, they seem similarly priced as well...

:thumbs_up:

yum that spoiler and those rims do the trick for sure!! niceee

gross they get real world 17mpg tho :( major turnoff

Ehhh, I bet you could do better than that. Does the 530i get a lot better mileage?

yeah, 28 for the 530i same as the IS350, lil better than the 335i (26) these are averages from those real world sites

i almost just wanna lease an accord, i can trade the vette and pay nothing out of pocket for 3 years, by then i'll be ready to buy something nice and have enough money too LOL

Highlander hybrid? 22k for a certified 06 w. 40k on the clock, 32mpg combined avg mpg, warrantied till 2012

cheap, efficient, 268hp, big enough to get things done, plus those SD to OC/LA trips wont be such a bitch on the wallet...and i wont have to break the bank :)
thoughts?

Going from a Vette to a Highlander Hybrid? :leaving:















:gay::hippy:

its so hard to decide!!!! ughhhh
i want decent power, good gas miles, reliability
in otherwords a 2012 Toyota supra (if it ends up using the TT hybrid 6 cyl motor thats rumored)...but i need a car NOWWWW

accord hybrid? lol 255hp for $17k and 35mpg :)

Good gas mileage and speed. Do it :bigthumbsup:

Have you ever sat in one????????:crutches:

Is a 2012 Supra a for sure thing? You're not referring to the Toyobaru are you?

No, it's not a sure thing as far as I know. In addition, if the Supra back in the day was 50-60k, imagine how much a new hybrid version would be :(

I have :thumbs_up:

Chate is actually a little shorter than I am so I think he could get in and out more easily.

apparently (ok all this is hearsay from my 2nd favorite car site autoblog) next month toyota is gonna show the toyobaru (celica range replacement) and the supra as well as the LFA at tokyo

Toyobaru is the low end 4cyl 200ish hp rwd coupe
Supra is midrange vette competitor, supposedly v6 TT hybrid ~400hp
And LFA is the supercar competitor v10, $100k+

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/08/s...yo-motor-show/

also must have a back seat, and the elise causes back problems and has a metal floor...i cant even tolerate the lack of comfort in the vette!!

the new (europa? evora??) lotus car is freaking sick tho!!

hahahaha

Or this (although you'd have to negotiate down a little).

gross, i'd take the highlander before another GM car...

Winner!

More specifically this one :drool:

Don't those things inhale fuel? But otherwise not a bad sedan :smack: . . . just how many Mercds are there in SoCal . .

They do inhale fuel, but they also run low 12's stock and are easily modded :D