Convinced my wife that we need a 3rd car

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Onesie

You’re telling me you can’t squeeze another 4 inches in?

.........

[NYG]

Originally Posted by Onesie

You’re telling me you can’t squeeze another 4 inches in?

Onesie has a good point.

[Conissah]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

So I should clarify, it's actually more something I'll be driving as opposed to my wife My main motivation is that I'll soon be replacing my G20 with a RWD G80, and I'd like to have a separate winter car as opposed to putting wear and tear on the G80 while also juggling a RWD car in the snow. The other ancillary benefits are - if I ever need to take the X7 for something, and as my wife doesn't know how to drive manual as has no desire to learn, she'll also have a car she can use if need be. And a few times a year we have family stay over and it'll be nice to have that 3rd car they can use as opposed to having them rent something.

Mazda 3 Hatch with a turbo then, all turbos come AWD. Hilariously fun, 6ish second 0-60 time, same interior room as CX30 (which you said fits the bill in terms of size). Seriously, look up the leg, shoulder, hip, and storage between the 3 Hatch and CX30, they’re identical. Wife previously had a 3 Hatch non turbo, thing was a hoot. Got 39 mpg on the way to the beach too. We both miss the hell out of that car, so much so that the CRV is either getting replaced for a CX5 or a turbo 3 hatch…

[________]

We’ve been taking about length but wtwo3 never clarified how much girth his spot can take. I mean, it’ll come down to size and I always thought it didn’t matter, but reliability is taking a backseat here. I knew it.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Conissah

Mazda 3 Hatch with a turbo then, all turbos come AWD. Hilariously fun, 6ish second 0-60 time, same interior room as CX30 (which you said fits the bill in terms of size). Seriously, look up the leg, shoulder, hip, and storage between the 3 Hatch and CX30, they’re identical. Wife previously had a 3 Hatch non turbo, thing was a hoot. Got 39 mpg on the way to the beach too. We both miss the hell out of that car, so much so that the CRV is either getting replaced for a CX5 or a turbo 3 hatch…

I do like the look of it... as long as I can keep it around that $25k limit

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Onesie

We’ve been taking about length but wtwo3 never clarified how much girth his spot can take. I mean, it’ll come down to size and I always thought it didn’t matter, but reliability is taking a backseat here. I knew it.

That's a good point... garage is pretty tight....

[mecheng77]

New Vw GTI

[tigermack]

Originally Posted by BlacknBlue

Mazda CX-50

I’ve driven one, 2.5 turbo with premium pack, bit underwhelming and kinda expensive for what it is. Engine felt kinda weak, steering was numb, road noise was terrible. It looked great and interior felt decent but at 41.5k, seemed expensive.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Onesie

You’re telling me you can’t squeeze another 4 inches in?

[nicholasn]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I suggested the CX-5 because if you want to buy new, the lowest trim is in your price range, the preferred package is a bit more expensive at $28K. I think 2023 will be the last year of the CX-5 so you may be able to negotiate some on price. The CX-5 is 180.1 inches long, which you said is your max length.

Dropping the CX-5 would be a bit of a head scratcher considering 2021 was its best sales year ever in the US, despite its relative age. Looks to be on pace for a slight drop from a little over 160k last year to around 150k this year, and even at only 150k sold that's not exactly a drop in the bucket considering Mazda only sells about 300k cars a year in America. Definitely understand trying to move more CX-50s but I think there's room for both models to coexist. Plus not sure how they do it but those refreshed CX-5s look incredibly crisp and premium, arguably moreso than X3/Q5/GLCs etc.

[Alfisti]

Left field answer. Find a clean Saab 9-3 wagon, 2008-2011. FWD. Good set of winter rubber, less than 10K. Who wants to spend $30K on a 3K mile a yr beater?

[ASAP]

New civic looks real nice...

[________]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Left field answer. Find a clean Saab 9-3 wagon, 2008-2011. FWD. Good set of winter rubber, less than 10K. Who wants to spend $30K on a 3K mile a yr beater?

To answer your question, those who know they are not spending the money, only what’s depreciated is spent. And those who don’t want to spend the 30k over the life of the car maintaining it to then donate the car at the end.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by Onesie

To answer your question, those who know they are not spending the money, only what’s depreciated is spent. And those who don’t want to spend the 30k over the life of the car maintaining it to then donate the car at the end.

At 7% on a HELOC these days, you're paying from day 1 man. He's doing 3k miles a yr, should be fuck all maintenance, he needs a beater not a car half as fun as the toy he just bought.

[________]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

At 7% on a HELOC these days, you're paying from day 1 man. He's doing 3k miles a yr, should be fuck all maintenance, he needs a beater not a car half as fun as the toy he just bought.

I super agree he doesn’t need a car that’s as fun as his M3.
Just trying to establish a good line of what a “beater” means. Is it safe? Is it reliable? Etc.

Your idea is valid, but OP doesn’t work on his cars at home (so if car needs work it’s expensive and the car is out of commission at the shop), does not buy severely used cars, etc. so buying used and paying to bring up “to date” will cost a penny too.

Plus, Saabs are well known for overheating due to the factory using human blood as coolant.

[wtwo3]

Agreed it doesn't need to be a fun car. But it is fun to talk about what it could possibly be.

Ultimately I'll probably end up in the smallest CUV segment if I'm buying new. If I can keep this car for 10 years and only put 30-40k miles on it, reliability shouldn't be too much of a concern. And it'll serve me well when I ultimately graduate from my m3 and into my next bucket list car... a 911

Corolla cross
CX-30
Hyundai kona
Etc

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by nicholasn

Dropping the CX-5 would be a bit of a head scratcher considering 2021 was its best sales year ever in the US, despite its relative age. Looks to be on pace for a slight drop from a little over 160k last year to around 150k this year, and even at only 150k sold that's not exactly a drop in the bucket considering Mazda only sells about 300k cars a year in America. Definitely understand trying to move more CX-50s but I think there's room for both models to coexist. Plus, not sure how they do it but those refreshed CX-5s look incredibly crisp and premium, arguably more so than X3/Q5/GLCs etc.

I thought I had read about a year ago where the current gen CX-5 was the last and would be dropped in favor of the CX-50 in a year or two. I hope not though, I think it is the best of the CUV segment even with its considerable age of the base chassis (in car years).

[Alfisti]

Given that criteria i'd likey go the lowest mileage X1 I could find, the proper X1 not the sloppy ones.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Given that criteria i'd likey go the lowest mileage X1 I could find, the proper X1 not the sloppy ones.

Depending on where the used car market is by this summer that could be a good option. Right now it doesn't seem to be worth buying a lightly used car at nearly the price of a new one.

[Alfisti]

Sorry I don't get the need for "lightly". We're talking 5K Km a year right? So even 10 years that's 50K KM.... it's sweet fuck all. You can buy something with 80K Km (50K miles). You Americans are such nervous nellies when buying a car, it's all about insurance. I feel like you're going to waste a ton on depreciation going too new if this is a 10 year proposition.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Sorry I don't get the need for "lightly". We're talking 5K Km a year right? So even 10 years that's 50K KM.... it's sweet fuck all. You can buy something with 80K Km (50K miles). You Americans are such nervous nellies when buying a car, it's all about insurance. I feel like you're going to waste a ton on depreciation going too new if this is a 10 year proposition.

Depending on the brand, even cars in the 30k-50k mile range are so close to the MSRP of a new one it feels foolish to purchase used at the moment. We're seeing a downward trend however, so I'm hoping by this summer used pricing will get more in line to reflect normal depreciation. My definition of "lightly" used is anything under 50k miles and under 5 years old.

My standards for reliability are also pretty warped by absurdly reliable Japanese cars I've owned in the past. My IS350 at 150k miles - when people would sit in it they thought they were sitting in a new car. I ended up getting rid of it because I was bored it it... the damn thing didn't need anything besides an oil change once a year despite a lifetime of spirted driving.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Depending on where the used car market is by this summer that could be a good option. Right now it doesn't seem to be worth buying a lightly used car at nearly the price of a new one.

Man, having three BMWs in one household is a bit risky from a reliability perspective. Just sayin'.

You need to go outside the BMW family to assure you have at least one drivable car available to you at any one time. When people ask me if BMWs are expensive to own, I always reply, "Yes! Because you need to own a second car to drive while the Bimmer is in the shop."