Car for college question

[beer]

OK - this is still a year and a half off but I'm thinking about it already.

WHen I go to college, my parents are gonna get me a new car. Right now I have my dad's old Contour that works fine if not very sporty. I was thinking maybe a Camaro - probably Z28, would be a good choice? I'm really looking for a sport coupe now...

On my list I think

1) Camaro, probably Z28
2) Prelude
3) Jetta
4) Integra

I like Jetta's, they seem so cool, even though they are not as sporty. I want a Camaro because it is rough, and 300 hp is nice. I love my friend's Prelude, the sportshift is just amazing, as is the VTEC engine itself. The only problem is they are more expensive than a Camaro or Jetta. The Integra is significantly lower priced than any of these cars so when they come around with the new body in 2002 I may be able to get one new although all the other ones will be used.

My dad said he will get me something for $20,000 and a crappo laptop or something for $18,000 and a state of the art laptop. I'm probably going to take him up on the former offer since I have my desktops which I built and paid for that will be my main machines.

 

[BiggieN]

RICH....

 

[ride525]

My daughter in college thought she wanted a Jetta, then bought a Saturn, SL2.

 

[BiggieN]

i was thinking like, save the money for actual college spending and such. then you mentioned your dad's SLK...guess any advice i give you will be worthless since you got money like pouring outta you. will you be my friend? LOL.

 

[beer]

Yeah, I really like Jettas. One of my college friends now has one and it's so sweet. If you're talking compact sedans, it's definitely a step above my contour (obviously) and in a lot of ways is as nice as my girlfriend's 323i. Although I know the 323i has a lot better safety than the Jetta, with a roll cage and all.

BiggieN-

Not really.

 

[beer]

dp

 

[BCYL]

I would hold off on the Prelude or Integra... Prelude will likely be gone after this year, replaced by the new Integra altogether... The time you make your purchase would be the time the new Integra comes out, so look into that one... dont even bother with the current Prelude or Integra...

Sportshift? get a stick... sportshift doesn't come close to a real manual...

 

[beer]

Bah...I don't know if I will like a stick enough to actually be able to drive it in bad city traffic. Although that Z28 6-speed seems veryyy nice. What is your source on the end of the Prelude?!?! Nooo they are so nice.

 

[Sluggo]

Hmmmm Elemental's choices.....20 grand car and a crappy laptop....18 grand car and a screaming laptop.


Sluggo's choices...Plug the flat for $6.00 or buy a brand spanking used tire for $10.00.

Eat Ramen noodles for a month and continue to enjoy cable TV, or eat sandwiches w/ top quality turkey bologna and enjoy the major networks.


Your perception of a dilemma says quite a lot about your reality.

 

[beer]

Also BiggieN -

This car issue is assuming I get a scholorship. Being that my last practice SAT scores were 1400+ and I'm beginning to focus on it, that shouldn't be a problem.

Also, I came from a 9-10 grade high school that was incredibly intelligent as whole. I was in the 11% range there with a GPA just under 3.89 on a 4.0 scale. Well that school got split into two Senior Highs and I am now attending a school where my class rank is 7%. Go figure.

 

[BiggieN]

hmmm, girlfriend with a 323i Beemer? again....RICH.....






anyways i heard about the prelude beig gone as well. i also second that sportshft has nothing compared to real manual. however, i am voting for the jetta...get that.

 

[BiggieN]

sluggo, cable tv...dang....RICH....

 

[beer]

Sluggo -

Did that in any way contribute to what I asked in this thread? No. I'm sorry for your situation but like I said, my question was asked assuming several prerequisites would happen. If I go to a Texas state school and get a scholorship that saves my parents $40K, my dad's deal seems very fair to both of us, especially because I work my ass off now. Like I said I'm still paying my dad for his Contour and both my computers I have paid for.

 

[BCYL]

The source of the prelude has been confirmed for a while...

Have you ever wonder why the Integra has been around for so long without a major change? that's why... Honda wants to drop both the prelude and Integra together, and replace them with 1 car... But since the Prelude just had a major change, they have to hold off and sell the new Preludes for a couple of yrs before dropping it... That's why the integra has to stick around from 1994-2001/02....

You'll regret not getting a stick later...

 

[beer]

<< hmmm, girlfriend with a 323i Beemer? again....RICH..... >>



NO S-H-I-T. And she whines to me that she wanted a convertible but her dad got her the 323i &quot;even though she didnt' want it.&quot; WTF. I feel awful just standing at her front door. Actually she's not really a gf yet but I'm working on it.

 

[Sluggo]

Hey, I was just kidding you. And yes it did contribute, no matter what car you end up with, always consider how fortunate you are. Even if you have to continue to drive the Contour. And since you asked, if I was going back to college, I would probably just buy another cheap car, like a lease return Contour.

Going to college, it is hard to find the time to do all the stuff you want. A lot of time the car ends up getting neglected anyway, and all you do is rack up god awful amounts of miles driving to school and back home. The car sits in parking lots and gets bumped and dinged to death, plus if you have a nicer car than all your buddies, you always end up driving.

So I guess my opinion would be to get the cheapest car possible that will serve your needs. Invest the saved money, and buy a really sweet German High-End sedan/coupe of your choosing upon graduation.

Better answer?

 

[beer]

<< plus if you have a nicer car than all your buddies, you always end up driving. >>



I can't tell you how true this is now. We are always in my friend's prelude...always always always always always.

And I know it's a nice car and all but the PEOPLE that go to my school are so damn materialistic, if you don't have a Camaro SS or Daddy's 3 year old ES300 then you aren't worthly to a lot of the girls.

 

[BiggieN]

i'm saving up for my middle management Beemer 5 series...while the higher level management and corporate execs drive their 7 series...i will laugh at the entry level junior execs/managers thinking they are all that in their 3 series. i love how the corporate world is equal to the beemer line of cars. I would really like a 5 series though. i agree with sluggo though. get a good reliable car. likea corolla even if you will ate it, cuz it will save you so much money, troubles and headaches in the long run.

 

[BiggieN]

sorry if my question is inappropriate but i am really wondering. i will edit this out if you want me to. are you white, asian, black, etc? and what is the majority of your friends/classmates? i'm just wondering...soundsl ike beverly hills or those tv teeny bopper movie settings.

 

[stonerdave]

If you plan on keeping the car for more than 2-3 years, don't get a Camaro...they have poor repair records. Check just about any car buyer's guide and they should make a note of this.

Camaros (ESPECIALLY Z28's) also cost a TON to insure...you might as well just buy a used '98 or '99 Vette...

Just my opinion though.

 

[beer]

BiggieN -

I'm white. A lot of my friends are white, although a good deal of them are Asian. At my 9-10 school, it seemed like it was only the &quot;Rich Asians&quot; that had really nice cars, which to me at the time meant 2000 Bonneville's or any sort of Camaro.

In fact, when I was a freshman, one of my girl friend's boyfriend's got a new Camaro. I felt so disgusted that his parents would buy him whatever he wanted. One of my girl friend's got their dad's old Firebird - again, I felt disgusted that these parents would buy their kids these nice cars.

Then I became a junior and our 9-10 school split, some went to one senior high, some went to another. At the one I went to (which merged with the entire 9-10 class of another school), these cars were no big deal. Hell there are so many DAMN ES-300s in the lot that you wonder, don't these parents have anything better to do? I would say that in the parking lot that I go in, there is one M3, two 328s, about a half dozen 323s, two Z3s, an XK8, an SLK, and a few land rovers - not to mention over 3 dozen slightly used ES-300s. Every other car is an Explorer, Camaro, Mustang, all brand new.

Eh...amazng what one year will do to your preception. One year a Firebird is the most amazing thing you could have, the next year, it fits into a parking lot just like any other car.

It's amazing what a few miles will do.

 

[jimmygates]

My parents bought my sorry lazy ass BMW 328ci. I love them

BiggeN: I live in California for your info. Some kids at my old HS drove Boxsters

 

[beer]

Stonerdave-

Your point is well received. Regarding the reliability...that is why I considered the Honda/Acura, and the Jetta. Volkswagen's seem synonomous with electrical problems but the prelude is so nice of a car, although it is so much more expensive.

Insurance is a huge deal, I will check them on the Z28s...I guess 300 hp isn't that great of an idea

 

[Sluggo]

His profile lists Plano ,TX...the beverly hills of the DFW metroplex. Except that real ritzy old money neighborhood down by the SMU campus.

I live in OKC just about 3 hours north of Elemental, bunch of my friends moved to Dallas after graduation, and we used to go down there about every weekend. Of course Plano is about 5x the size it was 15 years ago.

Which reminds me, what state school are you thinking about?

 

[beer]

Ah yes. I have no clue right now.

UT Austin is always an option but I freaking HATE the traffic down there.

Actually, I know this is going to sound bad but, I am actually thinking about UTD. They have been getting HUGE grants from all the telecom companies down here, and I am hearing a lot of good things about their CS program. In the last two years their rankings have jumped significantly, maybe in the next two, they will jump more.

Plus UTD has on campus apartments instead of just dorms, and the campus itself is really nice, and as long as you are sticking to CS or EE, the cirriculum is respected, and they have the only accredited major in Telecommunications Engineering in the country.

Plus there are a lot of companies like Nortel, TI, EDS down here that want to make UTD the equvalent of UC Berkeley. In fact, I have heard an arguement that goes something like this:

Texas right now has one supurb state school, UT Austin. Why can other states like CA have so many supurb state school like UC-B, UCLA, UCSD, and Texas only have just one?

They're trying to change that.