Bimmer's (potential) Garage Shake-up Mega-Thread

[Eye of the Tiger]

Oh oh.. Pick me teacher -raises hand -

A mind is a terrible thing to lose. Okay, go ahead r0tor.

[12,000 RPM]

It can fill the role well of a sporty car plus all weather SUV.  Nothing else being discussed comes close.  Gets acceptable gas mileage.  Yes it's expensive, but wtf a hybrid Crosstrek or hybrid Adventurer Rav4 can also cost $35-40k... and the Stelvio would kick the crap out of either and look better doing it.

In the age of turbo engines, it's sort of self defeating to not get one if you live at high altitude since the performance advantage is greatly multiplied at altitude.


Forgive me for having a unique thought and not hunker down in groupthinkSpin

He obviously doesn't care about having a sporty car, otherwise the S2K would not be potentially for sale

Obviously not bothered by no turbo at altitude having owned an S2K at altitude

It's one thing to break the groupthink; it's another to bash people for not factoring in things the OP never even hinted at giving a shit about

But between this and the IRS I'm guessing you had a bad day and this has nothing to do with the SPIN

[SJ_GTI]

I was gonna suggest getting a Mazda3 but just found out it doesn't have an IRS, so you should stick with a Crosstrek.

[r0tor]

He obviously doesn't care about having a sporty car, otherwise the S2K would not be potentially for sale

Obviously not bothered by no turbo at altitude having owned an S2K at altitude

It's one thing to break the groupthink; it's another to bash people for not factoring in things the OP never even hinted at giving a shit about

But between this and the IRS I'm guessing you had a bad day and this has nothing to do with the SPIN

Meh, I was actually going to say your turbocharger vw was the best non-alfa suggestion...

[r0tor]

A mind is a terrible thing to lose. Okay, go ahead r0tor.

The answer is always JGC and Giulia

[93JC]

I was gonna suggest getting a Mazda3 but just found out it doesn't have an IRS, so you should stick with a Crosstrek.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The answer is always JGC and Giulia

I was hoping for Ferrari

[CALL_911]

The answer is always JGC and Giulia

If you enjoy walking

[BimmerM3]

But why?  Charlie doesn't have any kids he needs to impress yet.

I'd have gotten an E46 M3 instead of the S2000 if I didn't want a convertible.

You brushed off the Outlander PHEV for only having 22 miles of range (25% better than the Crosstrek)

I brushed it off because it was the most expensive option at the time (Crosstrek pricing hadn't come out yet, which is the same MSRP but about a grand less in incentives) and doesn't seem to stand out in any particular way. Reviews are mediocre, non-plug-in mileage is worse than an ICE-only Crosstrek would be, it'll probably have horrendous resale, and I mentioned the range because it's not long enough to make up for the rest of its deficiencies.

FWIW, I also said I was disappointed with the Crosstrek's range, but the rest of the vehicle is better suited for me.

are posting about $35k shit

Literally everything I've mentioned as a viable option that's more than $25k is eligible for at $9.5k-$12.5k of tax incentives.

And FWIW, option 1 (do nothing) is still a possibility. But that's the "own a sporty car" option.

[12,000 RPM]

What about a Stelvio? Turbocharged, only $35K (ok $40K but who's counting), your unborn kids will think you're cool, can't put a price on that.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Keep S2000 forever and buy an old ass first gen RAV4.

[BimmerM3]

There are 2018 Volts for sale near me that are going for about $5k under MSRP. $31.5k as I'd equip it makes for $19k after tax incentives. Shit, I could sell the S2000 and keep the Explorer for hiking duty and still afford that. I know that's the most unthusiast move ever but it's tempting.

Chevy hit the 200k threshold last in Q4 2018 though, so I'd have to do it by the end of Q1 to get the full credit.

[12,000 RPM]

FWIW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTK1biHej_k

[BimmerM3]

All of the compromises he mentions are basically the reasons why I like the Volt.

But every time I start looking into the Volt, I'm quickly reminded that the Clarity seems like a much nicer vehicle for not much more money. I don't really need the extra space though, and my garage is not huge, so the Clarity might be a tight fit.

[Laconian]

For me, the Clarity being a sedan is a deal killer. The Volt is a liftback.

[12,000 RPM]

Clarity is hideous, but Volt is too close to an economy car in size/looks for me.

[BimmerM3]

Oh, the Volt is definitely the better looking car by a long shot. I think it's a legitimately good looking vehicle. But exterior styling is pretty much the bottom of my priority list.

The Clarity's interior looks so much nicer though, has a much more usable back seat (pretty low priority for me, but still nice to have), and comes standard with a lot of tech that's optional on the Volt (adaptive cruise, lane keep, emergency braking). For some reason the Volts with all that tech are keeping their value much better (I guess people who want EVs also want cool tech), so even with the tax incentives, they're out of my price range. I agree that a liftback would be nice, but in this hypothetical scenario, I still have the Explorer (I don't think I can get around that if I go the PHEV route).

Plus I'm admittedly Honda-biased, though I don't know much about specific issues related to either of these vehicles.

That said, in general, I prefer smaller vehicles, and the Volt is 2-3 grand cheaper. Too bad they don't have an Insight PHEV.

[12,000 RPM]

Truthfully, cost wise, the Insight >>> *. Based on 15K miles/yr, Denver gas and electricity prices, a typical EV would save you like $4 a month. An Insight costs the avg person like $40-45/month to fill up. They will have way better resale value and less issues as well (I've heard of a few people who had big problems with Volts)

I love the concept of EVs, but the more I run the numbers the less sense it makes, even in expensive states like CA/NY, let alone cheap energy states like CO/NC If I could trade the Optima in today I'd get an Insight, or if I couldn't stomach the performance I'd get an Accord Hybrid.

[BimmerM3]

An Insight doesn't come with any tax incentives though, so it ends up being more expensive. Almost 25k how I'd probably get it, and that doesn't even include heated seats which are only available on the highest trim at $28k+

Also, my garage (where I'd charge) is in a separate building that's only garages, across the parking lot from my condo's building. I'm not 100% on this, but I doubt that each garage is metered separately so I'd guess that the HOA will end up paying that bill, though obviously it'd be taken into account for future dues increases, and I suppose that they could pass rules to somehow manage that differently.

Plus I'll admit that, personally, there's some intangible value for me to be able to use EV-only for pretty much all my local driving that you guys may or may not agree with.

[12,000 RPM]

Ah, that is significant. I'd still wait for a used Insight. Wouldn't jump on a tax incentive to buy an inferior car

[BimmerM3]

TBH, I'll probably still just get a Crosstrek.

[Raza]

Goals/requirements

• Must Haves (if getting rid of Explorer)
  
  
  
  • Better to drive in the mountains than the Explorer
  • Can handle at least moderate winter weather in the mountains (i.e. PHEV with snow tires is probably OK - S2000 is not)
  • Improved fuel economy
  • Ability to handle at least moderately rough roads/trails
  • No serious reliability concerns
  • New or significantly newer (< 50k miles or so MAX)
• Nice to Haves - no specific priority, but I recognize that I won't be able to accomplish all of these
  
  
  
  • AWD
  • Improved infotainment, though I think I'd be happy with just about any new car's capabilities
  • Adaptive cruise control
  • PHEV - Almost all of my local trips are 30 miles or less
  • MT - Basically only available on one option, but oh well

I think this pretty much ticks all the boxes:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=504638374&zip=19123&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D19123%26startYear%3D2007%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26incremental%3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26endYear%3D2019%26modelCodeList%3DTT%26makeCodeList%3DAUDI%26searchRadius%3D0%26transmissionCodes%3DMAN&startYear=2007&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&modelCodeList=TT&makeCodeList=AUDI&searchRadius=0&makeCode1=AUDI&modelCode1=TT&clickType=listing

[12,000 RPM]

Raza why don't you buy it and stop torturing us with these recommendations

You've been telling other people to buy the TT since I was shopping for my Z

[Raza]

Raza why don't you buy it and stop torturing us with these recommendations

You've been telling other people to buy the TT since I was shopping for my Z

I've been considering it.  Something like this:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=496813407&zip=19123&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D19123%26startYear%3D2007%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26incremental%3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26endYear%3D2019%26modelCodeList%3DTT%26makeCodeList%3DAUDI%26searchRadius%3D0%26transmissionCodes%3DMAN&startYear=2007&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&modelCodeList=TT&makeCodeList=AUDI&searchRadius=0&makeCode1=AUDI&modelCode1=TT&clickType=listing


It's a great looking car that's pretty good to drive (I enjoyed the first generation, the second is supposed to be a lot better), and AWD makes it the ideal year round convertible.  Right now, though, with the Z4 and the S4, I'm not too motivated to change cars. 


Although, I will say had you bought the TT instead of the 350Z back then, you'd probably still have it because it is far more refined and probably less tiring to drive daily than the Z, and you'd never have gone through the revolving door of cars since then and avoided some pain and suffering too!

[Xer0]

The problem with something like the TT though is that you get 95% of the driving experience with a GTI but an additional 500% practicality.  Besides looks, or the TT I5 in the RS, there's nothing there that isn't available exactly the same somewhere else.

[giant_mtb]

The problem with something like the TT though is that you get 95% of the driving experience with a GTI but an additional 500% practicality.  Besides looks, or the TT I5 in the RS, there's nothing there that isn't available exactly the same somewhere else.

https://youtu.be/5qYUyEAskEA

[BimmerM3]

I think this pretty much ticks all the boxes:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=504638374&zip=19123&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D19123%26startYear%3D2007%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26incremental%3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26endYear%3D2019%26modelCodeList%3DTT%26makeCodeList%3DAUDI%26searchRadius%3D0%26transmissionCodes%3DMAN&startYear=2007&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&modelCodeList=TT&makeCodeList=AUDI&searchRadius=0&makeCode1=AUDI&modelCode1=TT&clickType=listing

If you think that ticks all of my requirements, then you and I have very different ideas of "moderately rough roads/trails." 

[Xer0]

https://youtu.be/5qYUyEAskEA

Ok?  You know the Golf convertible was a thing right?

[12,000 RPM]

I've been considering it.  Something like this:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=496813407&zip=19123&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D19123%26startYear%3D2007%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26incremental%3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26endYear%3D2019%26modelCodeList%3DTT%26makeCodeList%3DAUDI%26searchRadius%3D0%26transmissionCodes%3DMAN&startYear=2007&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&modelCodeList=TT&makeCodeList=AUDI&searchRadius=0&makeCode1=AUDI&modelCode1=TT&clickType=listing


It's a great looking car that's pretty good to drive (I enjoyed the first generation, the second is supposed to be a lot better), and AWD makes it the ideal year round convertible.  Right now, though, with the Z4 and the S4, I'm not too motivated to change cars. 


Although, I will say had you bought the TT instead of the 350Z back then, you'd probably still have it because it is far more refined and probably less tiring to drive daily than the Z, and you'd never have gone through the revolving door of cars since then and avoided some pain and suffering too!

I get the sense that a $10K TT back then (what I paid for the Z) would have been a complete POS. If I could go back in time, I'd prob have got a used Camry V6 that I'd still be driving today.

I still contend that peak Golf is either the GTI or R. The TT is one of those cars best enjoyed as a poster on a wall. The cost-benefit analysis just doesn't suss out, which is why the GTI/R are going strong while the TT is becoming a sedan and a crossover

No more!!!!

[BimmerM3]

It's a great looking car that's pretty good to drive (I enjoyed the first generation, the second is supposed to be a lot better), and AWD makes it the ideal year round convertible.

That's pretty much its only use case though. Someone who wants a convertible, but doesn't have a family, lives in a snowy area, and doesn't want to own two cars. But that's a pretty rare situation, and I think the vast majority of people would be better off just having two cars.