The Help Danny Pick a New Car Thread.

[Rodoni]

i know plenty of college kids in e39 m5s, e92 m3s, e46 m3s, e36 m3s. its not THAT big of a deal...

[Holland]

There is no difference between e30 318is and m3 parts right? Same deal with comparing a run of the mill 540 and m5.

Lol, I see what you are saying. I figured both being v8's they wouldn't be too far off but I suppose it makes sense that the two cars are very different from one another.

[Danny]

Regardless, I don't like the way the e39 looks.

[Jean]

I couldn't see there being much of a difference in maintenance costs between the M5 and the 540, correct me if I am wrong.

There is no difference between e30 318is and m3 parts right? Same deal with comparing a run of the mill 540 and m5.

[Danny]

2011 base V6 Mustang. Street price $21.5K or so if you buy the newspaper ad "one only at this price" loss leader at $18K advertised plus the incentives you don't qualify for. 3400 pounds, RWD, 305HP, mechanical LSD. Big trunk, should be more reliable and cheaper to fix than late-model German. Huge aftermarket support. In a year or two, low-miles used examples will become available, probably at $16K to $19K for no-frills ones. The OEM clutch sucks, so plan on having that replaced. The Getrag trans is excellent once the clutch is taken care of.

I have actually ridden and driven in a 2010 of these, but I just cannot get into it, I don't know why it is that I am just left wanting more.

[Evan12]

go with the m3. its sexy and sounds tits.

[funcrew]

It cracks me up that you're looking for something comfortable, reliable and cheap, you want 10 years of daily service, and these guys are selling you old limited-edition BMW's.

2011 base V6 Mustang. Street price $21.5K or so if you buy the newspaper ad "one only at this price" loss leader at $18K advertised plus the incentives you don't qualify for. 3400 pounds, RWD, 305HP, mechanical LSD. 31MPG highway. Big trunk, should be more reliable and cheaper to fix than late-model German. Huge aftermarket support. In a year or two, low-miles used examples will become available, probably at $16K to $19K for no-frills ones. The OEM clutch sucks, so plan on having that replaced. The Getrag trans is excellent once the clutch is taken care of.

Now, for a realistic College car, $20K is absurd, as mentioned above. How about a used 2010 Kia Forte for $11K? Or a low-miles Mazda3 for a few thousand more? Both are the same power/weight as a stock E30, and simpler mechanically than high-strung German iron.

[Danny]

Probably the same, but that's yearly. Not really worried about it.

[Red88]

I would think so? I pay about 50 bucks a month for liability on my 89. But I can't see it being more than 200 a month for insurance since the car is technically going in my parent's name. Feel free to correct me however, I need all the info I can get.

What are your registration fees for driving an e46 m3 in cali? It costs my dad almost $350 a year for registration here.

^just a thought

[Holland]

I couldn't see there being much of a difference in maintenance costs between the M5 and the 540, correct me if I am wrong.

[Cloudbase]

That sounds more reasonable. I stand by the E46 M3...

[Danny]

The loan is only going to be a 10k dollar loan, I refuse to go any higher than that. 10k over 5 years at 5 or 6 percent? That's like 180-200 a month and I'll probably have it half way paid off in the first three months. I really am pretty sure I can swing it financially and I'd like to step up to a nicer car I can keep for 10 years or so and be happy with it after school.

[Cloudbase]

do you not understand that he is in college?

Unless you've got family money, spending $20K on a car when you are in college is serious train wreck and we are all riding on it! That car payment is gonna cramp your whole college experience, even if it's just community college to start with. You could put the money you would spend on a $20K car payment away for 4 years and get something way nicer than you will be able to now and start life with no car payment!

$300 a month on insurance - GOD DAM, that's another car payment. I would use the surviving parts of your E30 to build up another one. It might take a while, but you've got a good starting point.

The whole needing a nice car to get waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles shit is lame. Dude's that need a nice car to get waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles are douches, no better then the Bro Truck guys! Any waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles you get because of your car is going to be rotten anyway! (trolling for sig quotes!)

Back to the train wreck. The E39 M5 is freakin badass. Torque always = fun. The S54 is high strung and light on torque which means even in 2nd gear you are always going fast enough to get in trouble. It might be different with the six speed (M Coupe is only 5 speed). I've never worked on an E39 so the mx scares me more than an E46 M3 would.

[Danny]

I didn't mean to quote a post - I make no assumptions about you or anyone's finances $300/month should cover an E46 M3, no prob, yeah?

I would think so? I pay about 50 bucks a month for liability on my 89. But I can't see it being more than 200 a month for insurance since the car is technically going in my parent's name. Feel free to correct me however, I need all the info I can get.

Where are you getting this money? Insurance from the crash and then a loan on top of it? Seems like a decent idea but putting money into another E30 wouldn't be a bad idea since you're so familiar with it. But, the thoughts of a E46 M3 quickly put that aside so I understand that this is tough.

Yeah that's basically the long and short of it.

e30 M3
e28 M5
buy a real handmade ///M

No, and buy my wrecked car.

Haha, Jean speaks the truth. I love E39 M5's to death but just price up the consumables + routine maintenance items.. That in itself should be enough to scare any college kid with enough sense away. Honestly, I could look at E46 M3's the same way.. Tires, brakes, oil, etc aren't cheap. Go price a water pump and other failure points..

I would probably drive a G50 911 before I'd buy a newer M car for a college car. Then again, I think that the S50 E30 is the perfect college car...

I'm okay with having to shell out for some semi expensive parts because I can do the work myself. From what I have read people say the e46 m3 is expensive to maintain because they take it to the dealer all the time. Thoughts?

[markseven]

I meant the Prius was. But I figure I could swing 300 a month on insurance. I'm still on my parents policy, so my 52 year old mother with a clean driving record would be the primary driver.

I didn't mean to quote a post - I make no assumptions about you or anyone's finances ;) $300/month should cover an E46 M3, no prob, yeah?