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      02-13-2017, 10:59 AM   #1
Need4spd28
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Drives: 2016 BMW M3
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Phoenix, AZ

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Suggestions/Opinion on Third Car

Alright gang, really interested to hear your thoughts on this one. My fiancé and I both lease our BMW's, my M3 and her X1. Collectively, I've realized that we drive about 50K miles per year, me 20K and her 30K. As luck would have it, she switched jobs and decided to join me in sales about three months after getting her car. Plus, we take her car on road trips to SoCal and what not so her car is getting hammered. At this rate she will hit her full 3-year mileage allotment in another 6-7 months, roughly halfway through term.

So I've decided the best way to address this issue is by getting a third car that we can put 20K miles a year on. She will drive it about 75% of the time and I will drive it 25% of the time. In a perfect world I'd like to get a larger (than her X1, that is) SUV with all wheel drive that we can drive up to the snow in. This is something we just got into doing this winter but I can see it becoming a more regular thing in the future.

The budget here would be less than $15K ideally. I originally wanted to just pay cash and avoid another car payment but I've realized that I won't be able to find a new enough car/SUV, with low enough mileage, that I like enough, that's in the price range of what I'm willing to put down in cash.

This car is going to get driven a fair amount so it can't be some old beater. At the top of my wish list is a Grand Cherokee, but my Lord do they hold their value. Tough finding a 2011+ with a reasonable amount of mileage for less than $20K. Others on the list include a Touareg, Golf/GTI, Mini Cooper Countryman S, and I've even found a couple of GLK350's for sale that are in range.

All things considered, including reliability and maintenance, price, ROI, drivability and enjoyment, what are everyone's thoughts? Other suggestions?

Last edited by Need4spd28; 02-13-2017 at 12:02 PM..
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