I'm about to drive my wife's E30 off a cliff...

[nando]

the problem with the bmw's here, is that they are made here.

that's just stupid. so are toyotas and hondas, but you're saying since a car is made in america, that it's crap. so are you saying hondas and toyotas are crap too?

[Charlie]

i cant believe you E30 guys are decomending jap cars! there are alot of good cars out there, but jap crap??? buy a E46 wagon for here, my wife fell in love with "mine"(hers)now!

I commend you for thinking that Josh can afford an e46 while working an hourly job with a new kid and a wife that doesn't work.

Now, for those of us with common sense, recommending a japanese sedan makes perfect sense. Bland and boring is great when it means that you don't have to wrench on it every weekend.

Josh, seriously, what is your budget here, 3-5k? I'd say Camry/Corolla wagon would be ideal, maybe a used Sienna or Previa if the funds are there.

-Charlie

[Jand3rson]

I commend you for thinking that Josh can afford an e46 while working an hourly job with a new kid and a wife that doesn't work.

Now, for those of us with common sense, recommending a japanese sedan makes perfect sense. Bland and boring is great when it means that you don't have to wrench on it every weekend.

Josh, seriously, what is your budget here, 3-5k? I'd say Camry/Corolla wagon would be ideal, maybe a used Sienna or Previa if the funds are there.

-Charlie

She's only going to be out of work on maternity leave until April, then she gets her job back, with a raise! How cool is that? They LOVE her at her job. :D

Charlie, budget isn't going to be TOO much of a concern, we're going to sell her E30 for what we can get for it (like $1500) or something once we get to a little bit better weather, and just finance a new or-late model car. She's not going to be going much of anywhere the few months that she's home with the baby, and we've got money saved up for while she's not working. We have friends at the local Ford/Mazda dealership that can hook us up, and she likes the new Mazda3 wagon. I start my new promoted position with a good pay hike soon, and once she goes back to work, making a moderate car payment won't be too hard.

[rwh11385]

that made no sence. perhaps you forgot to quote it?

no, you just forgot to read the first line as complete sarcasm. re-read it now, i'm repeating that because it is so wrong and stupid. the reality of the situation is the opposite of the first line of that reply

just think, all the generic knock off crap comes from that side of the world, why would their cars be any different.

i am amazed by your ignorance.

knock-off stuff comes from China, or Korea.

Japan is full of innovators and invention, and a lot of their stuff is brilliant. Remember when they invented variable valve timing, and then all the other companies copied the idea. Honda and other companies are scooping up the best and brightest engineers to design their cars. Although some may think German engineering is the be all, end all, Japanese are intelligent, inventive, and great.

Clearly you are a sack of shit moron and ignorant and racist as well. Nothing is sadder than the lack of intelligence necessarily to see different Asian groups as different, not lumping them all together as "chinky".

[rwh11385]

Josh, wouldn't it just be cheaper and easier to maintain a car rather than lease a new one?

I mean, if you can't handle a few $100 parts or spinning a wrench once in a while, how are you seriously going to deal with a liability of several hundred dollars every month. . . .

[Digitalwave]

Josh, wouldn't it just be cheaper and easier to maintain a car rather than lease a new one?

I mean, if you can't handle a few $100 parts or spinning a wrench once in a while, how are you seriously going to deal with a liability of several hundred dollars every month. . . .

Plus increased insurance for a newer/more expensive car, and possible maintainence on top of that if the car doesn't have a warrenty.

[mikeedler]

I am probably one of the most non racist people out there! hell, i am an american living in germany for christ sake, married to a foreigner! I dont really believe the variable timing bit at all, but what ever. just like they invented the bosch injection, damn, they didnt even try to hide the looks of it! I stick to what I say, and if you think Hondas and toyotas are good cars-- go buy a few civics! gotta love the road noise, and the fact of leaning against the fender dents it! Once again, when in america, buy american! I wasn't knocking toyota and honda only-- there are plenty of great companies like KIA,Diahatsu or however you spell it. and yes, japan does have plenty of knock off crap coming from there too. everyone has thier own opinion, and I was voicing mine. BUY AN AMERICAN CAR!! and E46 is not a bad car at all, although, i do prefer to drive an E30.

[kowalski]

that's just stupid. so are toyotas and hondas, but you're saying since a car is made in america, that it's crap. so are you saying hondas and toyotas are crap too?

im saying there can be a difference in quality because they are being produced at different plants. its proven over here that the new NA bmw's are not really reliable. and mikeedler said that the bmw's hes seen in germany are all reliabe. therefore there must be a quality difference in the cars from NA to germany. its as simple as that.

[kowalski]

that's just stupid. so are toyotas and hondas, but you're saying since a car is made in america, that it's crap. so are you saying hondas and toyotas are crap too?

also, im not saying because they're made here they are crap, its just how it is. i didn't say honda's and toyotas are crap, because obviously they are reliable.

[Jand3rson]

Plus increased insurance for a newer/more expensive car, and possible maintainence on top of that if the car doesn't have a warrenty.

Don't worry Robert/TJ, we're not going to lease a car, we're going to buy one, and it will have a warranty. I think that leasing is retarded, you pay twice the amount of a car payment, and you don't even keep the car, and can't do anything to it. We're most likely not going to get a brand-new model year car, probably a few years old, with a warranty.

The rest of you guys? Tone it down a little, k?

[Dave]

Note to Keedler - none of the e46s were made in the US.

[parkerbink]

Toyotas are very very reliable. I had a 78 Celica that I thrashed the shit out of. It was technically in my possession from1980 to 1999 although It went from one teeanger to another starting in 1990.

First my Mom's Sister's Son who was mad he got stuck with it and thrashed it but it would not die. It was left at the impound yard in 99 after it had been thrashed by idiot teenagers (me included) for 19 years. It had 450k miles and all it really needed to run at that point was a radiator as it had been the #2 car in a 4 car pileup. I decided we had gotten our money's worth from it and let the lot have it.

I have since had cpountless Toyotas and they are great vehicles.

[rwh11385]

Mike, it amazes me when someone is to uninformed or unaware of the fact that Honda were the ones who had the first variable valve timing when they invented VTEC talks out of his ass completely like you have done in the beginning of this thread. Not only was it the first, it was dead reliable and problem-free. (like Clarkson mentions in his review of the S2000) Hondas and Toyotas are by far some of the most reliable cars on the road, and hold their value, and top the links of most repeat buyers. . . something that can atest to their quality.


Josh, even though you may be buying a preowned vehicle, any recent car will be costly because they depreciate and you are charged for that, as well as fianancing it. An older's car value is pretty solid and won't go down that much as you continue to drive it, and if you have a Honda or Toyota, maintence should be affordable.

Your logic and ability to understand living costs and income are fair behind your years. Listen carefully to the wiser posters in this thread like Charlie or Dave. Land a Sienna mini-van if you can. It would be a good decision. If you go on what you believe is a good choice, you'll probably be posting a couple months down the line complaining or selling your ASAs.

[Jand3rson]

We'll see what comes up when the time comes. We're still talking about a couple of months down the line, so I'll look into some of the ideas that you guys have put forth, and we'll see what happens.

[Q5Quint]

My family has been through 6 e-30s, and we have learned that a cars 'problems' have more to do with where it is located and how it is driven and maintained than how 'good' a car it is. All parts wear and tear on any car, you cant deny that, and those three before mentioned things just contribute to how fast they wear out.

E-30s can be great cars or total shit boxes depending on who is driving them, just look at the examples of them on this board. The same applies to any and all cars despite who makes them.

I think if I had 10k to spend on a car, I would spend it on my e30. I know it would be good for another 200k+ miles. I dont know if some other 10k cars would be good for that 200k mile haul.