2001/2 BMW 325 or 2004 Honda Civic Si UPDATE

[BullsOnParade]

I quickly realized from the replies in this thread that the BMW was probably out of the equation. I went and test drove a bunch of "commuter" cars as well as a Subaru WRX.

Honda Civic Si 2004 Hatch manual
I didn't get to drive this much because I'm not very good on a stick
Girlfriend drove it, liked it a lot very zippy. Nice interior.
At the sellers asking price it is a steal.

Nissan Sentra SE-R (2004)
Great automatic transmission for a 4 banger
Plenty of get up and go, very little empty engine reving during
higher speed acceleration

Mazda 3 speed3 (2005)
Best interior fit and finish
Great automatic transmission on par with Sentra
Nice and speedy good handling.
Felt every bump in the road, quite annoying.

Civic EX 2004/5
Crap compared to the mazda speed3 and sentra se-r

bmw 330i
Fast powerful agile.
The only thing I felt was that unless I was going to drive it like i stole it every day
I would only get out of it about the same as say the nissan se-r

Subaru WRX 2005
Best of the bunch.
Fit and finish was nice
Ride was ultra smooth
Driver's seat perch is fantastic, best visibility
not as powerful feeling as the 330i but the turbo got me to 80 comfortably and
though it felt more taxed than the bmw engine (engine noise slight vibration) i'm sure
it could handle quite a bit more.
The tubo lag was kind of annoying but when it bites its quite a thrill
Dealer threw a pretty nice price at me (24,600 on 28k sticker) but it was still out of the budget.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

It really depends how much your "big paycheck" is. The BMW will be worlds more fun to drive, but it'll cost more to run and maintain. Honestly I don't know that either would be my first choice for such a long commute - frankly I'd want something pretty plush if I had to drive that far every day.

 

[sniperruff]

how about a standard shift 2004 honda civic LX with 30k miles for $10k?

 

[Cal166]

How big is the paycheck that you are willing to spend so much?

Would be wise to have a couple of paychecks first before spending that much....never know whats going to happen.

 

[imported_LoKe]

How is this even a question. If you can afford the BMW...

 

[RedArmy]

Honda...but I'm biased...unless it was an M series or 330.

 

[bennylong]

If you can't afford to buy the car outright, then you can't afford the BMW

 

[Farbio]

depends...see if you can spend a day w/ either of them....90 miles is a pretty decent commute...is it highway or all city? if its highway, the bmw will definitely be nicer - the engine won't be near as buzzy, not that hondas are buzzy, but to do 80 in a Si trim, you're turning 4k, which can get kinda annoying pretty quickly
i have a friend w/ a 01 323ci and he loves it, i'm constantly jealous of him w/ it, and he's had no real problems
just remember though, 90miles adds up quick on tires and routine maintenance - tires for civic much cheaper than bmw as well as other things of course

 

[BullsOnParade]

Running the numbers got me carloan/insurance/gas 320+200+160 680 monthly for the bmw. What would you guys recomend that my biweekly paycheck be in order to reasonably afford that kind of a payment and have savings.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: BullsOnParade
Running the numbers got me carloan/insurance/gas 320+200+160 680 monthly for the bmw. What would you guys recomend that my biweekly paycheck be in order to reasonably afford that kind of a payment and have savings.

personally i wouldn't spend more than 25% of my total pay on the car.

 

[bennylong]

Originally posted by: BullsOnParade
Running the numbers got me carloan/insurance/gas 320+200+160 680 monthly for the bmw. What would you guys recomend that my biweekly paycheck be in order to reasonably afford that kind of a payment and have savings.

$4,000 bi weekly.

Or you can be a dumbass like most people and make $4,000 monthly and pay $700 a month for a car and work till they die and never be abel to retire. Your choice

 

[BullsOnParade]

The only thing I can afford to buy outright would be in the 5-6k range. It would take me ~10months of serious saving while remaining comitted to maxing out my 401k to be able to buy the bmw outright.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

maint on a 3 series is expensive once it's out of warranty. if you go that way make damn sure to extend whatever coverage you can for as long as you can. it will be cheaper in the long run.

 

[bennylong]

Originally posted by: BullsOnParade
The only thing I can afford to buy outright would be in the 5-6k range. It would take me ~10months of serious saving while remaining comitted to maxing out my 401k to be able to buy the bmw outright.

$10,000 doesn't sound like much, but if you put that $10k in your 401k instead of that BMW, that $10k is going to be worth $537,000.00 in 40 years assuming 10% return.

Your choice is to live for today or tomorrow.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: bennylong

Originally posted by: BullsOnParade
The only thing I can afford to buy outright would be in the 5-6k range. It would take me ~10months of serious saving while remaining comitted to maxing out my 401k to be able to buy the bmw outright.

$10,000 doesn't sound like much, but if you put that $10k in your 401k instead of that BMW, that $10k is going to be worth $537,000.00 in 40 years assuming 10% return.

Your choice is to live for today or tomorrow.

And he could be dead in 10 years, but his 401k will look great when the lawyers take his estate for everything. :roll:

 

[JulesMaximus]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Don't buy used BMWs. It's a nice car but a huge money pit. I know...I've owned 2 of them. Never again.

 

[kag]

Originally posted by: BullsOnParade
Running the numbers got me carloan/insurance/gas 320+200+160 680 monthly for the bmw. What would you guys recomend that my biweekly paycheck be in order to reasonably afford that kind of a payment and have savings.

90 miles commute every day. 20 work days per month. That's 1800 miles monthly. No way 160$ of gaz is enough for the BMW.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: kag

Originally posted by: BullsOnParade
Running the numbers got me carloan/insurance/gas 320+200+160 680 monthly for the bmw. What would you guys recomend that my biweekly paycheck be in order to reasonably afford that kind of a payment and have savings.

90 miles commute every day. 20 work days per month. That's 1800 miles monthly. No way 160$ of gaz is enough for the BMW.

Assuming he drives nowhere else, which isn't likely.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Don't buy used BMWs. It's a nice car but a huge money pit. I know...I've owned 2 of them. Never again.

WORD. i'm gonna go with a nice japanese one next.

 

[BullsOnParade]

1800/20=90*$3 = 270 monthly on gas. For the commute only.

 

[kag]

Even if he's not driving anywhere else, $160 is not enough.

 

[iversonyin]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Don't buy used BMWs. It's a nice car but a huge money pit. I know...I've owned 2 of them. Never again.

Old 3 series? How old were they? I'm just curious. I'm looking at the E46 3 series as well.

 

[EngenZerO]

bmw...

i was looking at an 07 civic si... ended up getting an 04 infiniti g35 instead,

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: iversonyin

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Don't buy used BMWs. It's a nice car but a huge money pit. I know...I've owned 2 of them. Never again.

Old 3 series? How old were they? I'm just curious. I'm looking at the E46 3 series as well.

One was about 7 years old (gift-well maintained by my wife's stepmom) the other was 3 years old (an E36). Both were colosal money pits. I'd say they cost us $2-3k annually for maintenance and repairs. Can you fit that in your budget?

 

[Plasdom]

Or how about this:

Buy a nice 2007 Honda Civic EX. Car loans for new cars have a lower interest %. You will have a great car, excellent gas mileage for your long commute. It is not a boring car by any means. You will pay less insurance and have lower monthly payments.