I failed at Marriage 101...at least when it comes to Car buying

[PricklyPete]

lol, mess with her head and get her a Civic Si. She'll learn to like manual...

I have a feeling I'd be posting another similar thread 6 months from now...

 

[MJinZ]

My point was that obviously I wasn't making car choices on financially sound principals since I was already buying a new $35K+ (actually $39.5K sticker) car. So to just waste some more was not straying from my path.


I actually rarely drive my truck. It fulfills a weekend duty that the A4 does not do so well. I actually have no plans of getting rid of my truck...just eventually retiring it to 3rd car status.


Yes...2.0T AWD. We didn't get a stripper...it was the Premium Plus package with the upgraded Bang & Olufson radio which I LOVE. One of the best OEM stereo's I've heard. I don't see entry level cars from Premium brands to be badge posers...actually for a number of brands they are the best cars they make (for instance you can argue the 3 Series is the best car BMW makes, the A4 is the best car Audi makes, and the G is the best car Infiniti makes). We didn't buy the car because it was an Audi..but because we (or I) felt it was a much nicer car to drive than Fusions or similar that we drove. Anyway, it is certainly subjective...and I've seen the error in my ways. It's my wife's car and in the future I just need to stick to getting her what she wants as long as it is reasonable (which is always is as she is 10000x more frugal than I am).

1) A 328 has basically nothing to do with an M3

2) There is no way you can argue any base cars are better than the higher end ones. Sorry, but the RS5, RS6, R8, even S8 are hugely superior to the A4/S4/RS4.

The GT-R is the best car Nissan makes. But I guess some people would not know it when you put a GT-R next to the G37.

 

[theeedude]

How about putting some dents into the A4 so then when people tell her "you must be doing really well" she can say, "not really, we don't even have money to fix it."

 

[sdifox]

The thought has crossed my mind...but even as irresponsible as I am at times....I just can't justify this. I barely drive my truck (I've put less than 2K miles on it in the last year). I generally walk to work, have access to company cars regularly (which I'd rather put the miles on instead of my own car), and travel the rest of the time. So me having 2 vehicles really is overkill...but I like where you were going with that.

so why keep the truck at all? Shit, I put in 10k km last summer on the E350 4Matic and the furthest I have gone is Niagara Falls!

This was supposed to be my wife's car, she wanted to get the C350 4Matic (from Canada) for the same money I spent on the E350 4Matic from the states. So her line is the car is too big. She made me get rid of the 02 Protegé5 I loved driving around and now she complains I am driving her car...

My bud's wife is the same way. Won't drive his Saab 95 aero, made him buy a used Civic for her. I laugh at him when I see him driving it since his main car is a C55

She is just too lazy to drive.

 

[PricklyPete]

How about putting some dents into the A4 so then when people tell her "you must be doing really well" she can say, "not really, we don't even have money to fix it."

Winner. I'd stop caring about the condition of the car and she can stop worrying about how she's perceived.

 

[sdifox]

Winner. I'd stop caring about the condition of the car and she can stop worrying about how she's perceived.

I can come by and drop rocks on it 🙂

 

[PricklyPete]

so why keep the truck at all? Shit, I put in 10k km last summer on the E350 and the furthest I have gone is Niagara Falls!

Besides the occasional use for hauling stuff...which is very occasional I admit, I use my truck for getting me to hiking, mtn biking, and kayaking places that I would not want to take an A4.

Also, if we ever move back to SC, I use to to get around my wife's parents farm as well as a number of friend's properties for various reasons.

These are the reason's I keep my truck. It really isn't for personal transportation anymore...just a utility vehicle...and again why I can't justify keeping the A4 for my car.

 

[PricklyPete]

I can come by and drop rocks on it 🙂

LOL. I'll be under the 270 overpass at... :awe:

 

[sdifox]

Besides the occasional use for hauling stuff...which is very occasional I admit, I use my truck for getting me to hiking, mtn biking, and kayaking places that I would not want to take an A4.

Also, if we ever move back to SC, I use to to get around my wife's parents farm as well as a number of friend's properties for various reasons.

These are the reason's I keep my truck. It really isn't for personal transportation anymore...just a utility vehicle...and again why I can't justify keeping the A4 for my car.

ah, what you are telling me is you have to trade the truck and the A4 in for a Subaru Outback! :awe:

 

[PricklyPete]

1) A 328 has basically nothing to do with an M3

2) There is no way you can argue any base cars are better than the higher end ones. Sorry, but the RS5, RS6, R8, even S8 are hugely superior to the A4/S4/RS4.

The GT-R is the best car Nissan makes. But I guess some people would not know it when you put a GT-R next to the G37.

Ok...I think this is a semantics thing. To me "best" is the best bang for your buck. So a 328i gives you 80% of what makes a M3 great at 50% of the price. Sure An RS5 (which I'd melt for) is a technically better car than the A4...but the A4 (all around...not just straightline speed) is easily 75% the car the RS5 at probably 40% the price. I just feel the entry level premium cars hit a sweet spot. Again...subjective, but that's how I feel.

Edit: Of course my argument could be extended saying a Mazda 3 is 70% the car the 328i is at 60% the price...but again the prices are getting closer and closer making less of a value statement. So again, the A4/3-Series is a sweet spot to me.

 

[PricklyPete]

ah, what you are telling me is you have to trade the truck and the A4 in for a Subaru Outback! :awe:

I might float the idea around a bit....of course if my job situation changes and I have to drive my truck more...then I'm screwed...and likely my wife still won't have the car she wanted....

 

[sdifox]

I might float the idea around a bit....of course if my job situation changes and I have to drive my truck more...then I'm screwed...and likely my wife still won't have the car she wanted....

I got scratched by a dump truck. The front wheel of the dump truck rubbed off the top layer of my rear driver side bumper guard. I consider that the best kind of accident with a dump truck. I am driving around with that on a E350 4Matic. I am sure your wife will get used to the idea of the A4. Watch out though, this is a low water mark line. Meaning there is only upgrading from now on 😛

 

[MJinZ]

Ok...I think this is a semantics thing. To me "best" is the best bang for your buck. So a 328i gives you 80% of what makes a M3 great at 50% of the price. Sure An RS5 (which I'd melt for) is a technically better car than the A4...but the A4 (all around...not just straightline speed) is easily 75% the car the RS5 at probably 40% the price. I just feel the entry level premium cars hit a sweet spot. Again...subjective, but that's how I feel.

Edit: Of course my argument could be extended saying a Mazda 3 is 70% the car the 328i is at 60% the price...but again the prices are getting closer and closer making less of a value statement. So again, the A4/3-Series is a sweet spot to me.

I see what you mean, but that's largely because of economies of scale (more mass produced and consumed, thus less expensive to buy and to sell), and parts/platform sharing.

The entry level premium cars are pretty good value, but the mainstream mid-size are actually the best "sweet spot". Think about the engineering that goes into a Fusion, Camry, or Accord that costs nearly 1/2 as much as a base 3 series, C-Class, etc (though the A4 has probably the cheapest base price I've seen). Lexus ES and Camry make a great example... the ES is nearly identical to the Camry besides some tunes, some better materials and sheetmetal.

So the other question is, why not a VW CC? Isn't it basically a better looking and cheaper A4.

 

[MJinZ]

I got scratched by a dump truck. The front wheel of the dump truck rubbed off the top layer of my rear driver side bumper guard. I consider that the best kind of accident with a dump truck. I am driving around with that on a E350 4Matic. I am sure your wife will get used to the idea of the A4. Watch out though, this is a low water mark line. Meaning there is only upgrading from now on 😛

An E-Class is a bit different than an A4 or C-Class...

People who drive E-Classes actually make fairly high amounts of money. They could probably swing an S-Class and still be fine, but they didn't feel like it.

 

[PricklyPete]

So the other question is, why not a VW CC? Isn't it basically a better looking and cheaper A4.

I'm not ruling out any VW...really up to what she wants if we go this route. We actually were going to buy the VW GTI until we found out the recalls and problems people were having with the DSG...which I did not want to deal with. Since she didn't want stick, we moved on from most of the VW offerings. Now I don't know if I care anymore...if she want's the GTI (or even the TDI...she's mentioned that a couple of times), I'm cool with it.

 

[sdifox]

An E-Class is a bit different than an A4 or C-Class...

People who drive E-Classes actually make fairly high amounts of money. They could probably swing an S-Class and still be fine, but they didn't feel like it.

Bought it used for US23k Dec08 and it had about 42k km on it. It was between a new camry/mazda6/altima or a used 06 E350 4Matic 😛 I was making 100+k at the time (family combined 200+). Got axed 3 month after I bought the car 🙁


What I meant was if I can live with scratches on an E, his wife should be able to survive with no dents on an A4 🙂

and I did offer to go over and dent the car if his wife wanted dents.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Tell her, in the nicest way possible, to suck it up for 6 more months and if she still feels that way then you will sell it and get something more befitting someone who is one step above poor white trash. 😛

 

[JulesMaximus]

An E-Class is a bit different than an A4 or C-Class...

People who drive E-Classes actually make fairly high amounts of money. They could probably swing an S-Class and still be fine, but they didn't feel like it.

QFT. My Mother-In-Law drives a 2002 or 2003 E class she bought used, 1 year old, she paid cash for it. She is still driving it today. This is a woman who floated us $220,000 cash (plus interest of course) so we could buy our house without it being contingent on the sale of our condo 11 years ago. She could buy a Ferrari and pay cash for it if she wanted to...she still lives in the same house my wife grew up in.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

QFT. My Mother-In-Law drives a 2002 or 2003 E class she bought used, 1 year old, she paid cash for it. She is still driving it today. This is a woman who floated us $220,000 cash (plus interest of course) so we could buy our house without it being contingent on the sale of our condo 11 years ago. She could buy a Ferrari and pay cash for it if she wanted to...she still lives in the same house my wife grew up in.

Yup, demographics for lux cars are funny. My friend who works at a huge socal MB dealer says almost ALL E classes are purchased in cash or financed with a huge amount down, contrasted with how a majority of 5 series are leased.

 

[Turin39789]

Think about the engineering that goes into a Fusion, Camry, or Accord that costs nearly 1/2 as much as a base 3 series, C-Class, etc (though the A4 has probably the cheapest base price I've seen). Lexus ES and Camry make a great example... the ES is nearly identical to the Camry besides some tunes, some better materials and sheetmetal.

link to research costs?

 

[theeedude]

I actually like the A4 quite a bit, and could swing one, but I am going to keep my Mazda3. I sort of stepped back and saw that the reason I wanted one was to keep up with my peers, and that was not enough of a reason for me. If I spent more time on the road, I'd probably get a nicer car though.

 

[RichieZ]

Yea don't worry, move to sf and nobody will think the A4 is a particularly nice car. Most people I know don't even drive their cars b/c it's too much hassle. You should see the garage at my building

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Yea don't worry, move to sf and nobody will think the A4 is a particularly nice car. Most people I know don't even drive their cars b/c it's too much hassle. You should see the garage at my building

This, CA is car country. My college apartment complex has a 750Li in it, A4s/C/3/IS/TSXs are everywhere. In SF the A4 is as common as an Accord.

 

[StageLeft]

Get her a Prius. MrsS loves ours, actually 🙂

 

[sdifox]

Yup, demographics for lux cars are funny. My friend who works at a huge socal MB dealer says almost ALL E classes are purchased in cash or financed with a huge amount down, contrasted with how a majority of 5 series are leased.

SoCal is where you will find the best selection of used luxo cars 🙂