A4 Avant - What do you think?

[saxonyron]

It looked like an awesome deal otherwise.
$30k for the V8...

No worries!  I was pretty smitten by the G8 in NY.

[Galaxy]

but my 14 y.o. is mortified. She claims any wagon is a "mom car" and the pinnacle of boredom.

A 20% reduction in allowance wouldnbe appropriate.

  My sons prefer an R8, but just want any new car at all, as long as it's a manual,

A 20% increase in allowance would be appropriate.

and my 5 y.o. daughter thinks she's a princess and wants another pony. 

Tell her how many purebred ponies are under the hood.

[Vinsanity]

Ron, how do you like the new G35's?

[Raza]

Ron, how do you like the new G35's?

Ron has a palpable fear of Asians and their cars.

[Vinsanity]

Ron has a palpable fear of Asians and their cars.

lol because we're the most "threatening" ethnicity, right?

[saxonyron]

but my 14 y.o. is mortified. She claims any wagon is a "mom car" and the pinnacle of boredom.

A 20% reduction in allowance would be appropriate.

  My sons prefer an R8, but just want any new car at all, as long as it's a manual,

A 20% increase in allowance would be appropriate.

and my 5 y.o. daughter thinks she's a princess and wants another pony. 

Tell her how many purebred ponies are under the hood.

Consider it done!

[CALL_911]

I might hit the BMW dealer in Nashua next month.  Last time I tried I was treated shabbily by a neanderthal salesman with crooked pasty yellow teeth, greasy hair, and a baaaad tweed jacket.  WTF??  I don't expect too much from car salesmen, but this guy was a little too far down the food chain for my taste.

The 335i is an amazing ride, and I really do like the way they look.  Hey, it's another option!

Yeah, some salesmen are t3h ghey. Then look at another BMW dealer. I know they aren't known to be the greatest salesmen, but it's the product that matters.

[saxonyron]

Ron, how do you like the new G35's?

In '06, I came within inches of buying a G35, but the problem was you couldn't get a 6 spd manual with the AWD, and I'm in the snow belt.  The day after I did the test drive, it snowed heavily, but I still needed to get to work.  I signed on to the A4 that week, even taking the 100HP penalty.  My Bro in Law has an '07 G35, and it's a scream.  Within 2 minutes of driving it, I got pulled over doing twice the speed limit.  I think the manual is still an issue, plus I really like the styling of the A4, and the G35 still doesn't move me as much.


And yes, I'm scared as hell of Asians and their entire culture.  Not just cars, but sushi, transistor radios, Anime cartoons, and karate.  To stave off that fear, I even married a half Japanese girl, but damned if I'm not scared as hell of her too! 

[saxonyron]

Yeah, some salesmen are t3h ghey. Then look at another BMW dealer. I know they aren't known to be the greatest salesmen, but it's the product that matters.

I'll try the dealer again.  They're a big dealer and all of 4 minutes from the Audi dealer, so maybe I'll give em a try.

[CALL_911]

I'll try the dealer again.  They're a big dealer and all of 4 minutes from the Audi dealer, so maybe I'll give em a try.

Do it. My dad is in love with his E60.

[Raza]

Goddamn you half-Japanese girls, do it to me every time

Do you really not eat sushi?

[Vinsanity]

In '06, I came within inches of buying a G35, but the problem was you couldn't get a 6 spd manual with the AWD, and I'm in the snow belt.  The day after I did the test drive, it snowed heavily, but I still needed to get to work.  I signed on to the A4 that week, even taking the 100HP penalty.  My Bro in Law has an '07 G35, and it's a scream.  Within 2 minutes of driving it, I got pulled over doing twice the speed limit.  I think the manual is still an issue, plus I really like the styling of the A4, and the G35 still doesn't move me as much.


And yes, I'm scared as hell of Asians and their entire culture.  Not just cars, but sushi, transistor radios, Anime cartoons, and karate.  To stave off that fear, I even married a half Japanese girl, but damned if I'm not scared as hell of her too! 

ahh I forget about the whole snow belt thing...

somewhat similarly, I was fairly close to buying a Honda Element, but SoCal's infamous murder winds blew by (pun intended) just in time to make me think twice about driving a 6' tall shoebox through 50+ mph crosswind gusts

and yeah, the animes kinda freak me out too

[CALL_911]

Animes are the weirdest shit ever.

[ifcar]

Instead of renting, don't you own a whole fleet of vehicles for your business that you could use while you wait for another car? Or maybe buying a used Taurus or Regal or something for $6,000 and selling it after three months for $5500?

(I wouldn't recommend a just-released model, personally, but if you choose to go that route it might be something to consider.)

And by the way, I didn't frown on the contractor who I almost hired to redo some windows for driving a 5-Series (vetoed for reasons of price, not of car), though maybe there was a reason he parked across the street.

[saxonyron]

Goddamn you half-Japanese girls, do it to me every time

Do you really not eat sushi?

No way!  I love sushi.  Spicy tuna roll, all the way!

[saxonyron]

ahh I forget about the whole snow belt thing...

somewhat similarly, I was fairly close to buying a Honda Element, but SoCal's infamous murder winds blew by (pun intended) just in time to make me think twice about driving a 6' tall shoebox through 50+ mph crosswind gusts

and yeah, the animes kinda freak me out too

Yeah, the car has to fit into your whole lifestyle - unless you don't need to drive every day, then the car better be usable every day.

And I was only kidding about my fear of oriental stuff.   Raza was embellishing a bit. I don't care either way about anime, but it does creep me out a little.  Sushi rocks, I got all the way to pink belt in karate when I was a kid, and I'm not really scared of my wife...too much anyway.

[Raza]

Some anime is alright, but a lot of it really crazy. 

[TheIntrepid]

Animes are the weirdest shit ever.

+1

I never understood the appeal.

[saxonyron]

Instead of renting, don't you own a whole fleet of vehicles for your business that you could use while you wait for another car? Or maybe buying a used Taurus or Regal or something for $6,000 and selling it after three months for $5500?

(I wouldn't recommend a just-released model, personally, but if you choose to go that route it might be something to consider.)

And by the way, I didn't frown on the contractor who I almost hired to redo some windows for driving a 5-Series (vetoed for reasons of price, not of car), though maybe there was a reason he parked across the street.

My mighty fleet of 7 vehicles consist of 4 E-150 vans, 2 F150's, and a rented GM van. All spoken for by my crews.  The renting option might not be too bad, costing only a few hundred bucks extra.  I'd be willing to do that, since any money saved buying a beater would be wasted by my time trying to sell it again.   

[ifcar]

Depending on the deal you get the first time around, that probably wouldn't be true. The value of a car that cost little to begin with changes little over three months. I mean, I bought the Sedona almost a year ago for $4900 (plus tax), and judging by what similar cars are going for in the DC area, it's still worth around $4900.

Or you could even keep that car around after the three-month period so the little Ronlets wouldn't have to learn to drive on the nicer cars.

[Raghavan]

I think Iffy brings up a great point.
Plus you'd be getting a really sexy A5 instead of the same car again!

[Raza]

Oh, yeah, definitely get a Camaro Z28!

[Vinsanity]

Yeah, the car has to fit into your whole lifestyle - unless you don't need to drive every day, then the car better be usable every day.

And I was only kidding about my fear of oriental stuff.   Raza was embellishing a bit. I don't care either way about anime, but it does creep me out a little.  Sushi rocks, I got all the way to pink belt in karate when I was a kid, and I'm not really scared of my wife...too much anyway.

LOL no worries about the Asian stuff. It's fun to laugh at ethnic oddities

I agree about the car having to fit into your lifestyle, too. The main reason I chose to let go of the s2000 was that I was tired of driving solo while I was out with 4 other friends who were all piled into one other car.

[Raza]

LOL no worries about the Asian stuff. It's fun to laugh at ethnic oddities

I agree about the car having to fit into your lifestyle, too. The main reason I chose to let go of the s2000 was that I was tired of driving solo while I was out with 4 other friends who were all piled into one other car.

Last time I was out with friends where we had to take a car, we split two and two in the E320 and the Boxster, so I could give each person a ride in the Box.  I hated that, since I could only have two pints at dinner, but I got to scare the shit out of my friends (and explain how a manual transmission works to one of them), so it was a good tradeoff. 

[Vinsanity]

Depending on the deal you get the first time around, that probably wouldn't be true. The value of a car that cost little to begin with changes little over three months. I mean, I bought the Sedona almost a year ago for $4900 (plus tax), and judging by what similar cars are going for in the DC area, it's still worth around $4900.

Or you could even keep that car around after the three-month period so the little Ronlets wouldn't have to learn to drive on the nicer cars.

I'm a fan of that idea as well. 2 years ago, I bought a 1990 Miata for $2,000 with the plan of selling it to my sister when she would be ready to buy a car later that year. It turns out that she got frustrated learning to drive stickshift (and didn't see the point of it), so she bought a 1994 automatic Civic sedan, and I ended up selling the Miata...for $2,000

[saxonyron]

Depending on the deal you get the first time around, that probably wouldn't be true. The value of a car that cost little to begin with changes little over three months. I mean, I bought the Sedona almost a year ago for $4900 (plus tax), and judging by what similar cars are going for in the DC area, it's still worth around $4900.

Or you could even keep that car around after the three-month period so the little Ronlets wouldn't have to learn to drive on the nicer cars.

Hell no!  The Ronlets won't be driving until they're 25 or 30 as far as I'm concerned!    And when the time comes for me to take the plunge (in 3 years when my oldest is heading for college) I'll be getting her a lumbering moose of a pickup or Caprice Classic with a governor set at 60.

[The Pirate]

Oh, A4 Avant all the way!

[Raghavan]

Hell no!  The Ronlets won't be driving until they're 25 or 30 as far as I'm concerned!    And when the time comes for me to take the plunge (in 3 years when my oldest is heading for college) I'll be getting her a lumbering moose of a pickup or Caprice Classic with a governor set at 60.

She should just get a job and get a cooler car.
Lumbering moose of a pickup truck FTL.