Trouble Maker

I driven to MRM in a few pretty bad snow storms. Thought I was going to die in the Sunfire a few times.

7 inches and 500#'s more. That's enough to make a difference. Anything wrong with the 2006 9-3 sport combi? Only about $1k out of my ceiling according to Edmunds... which I know isn't always right but it's a good, easy, place to start. http://www.edmunds.com/saab/9-3/2006/features-specs.html?sub=wagon&style=100610533 Though, there is probably nothing wrong with the 05' 9-5 for much less. http://www.edmunds.com/saab/9-5/2005/?sub=wagon

Ya, it's a really hard deal to pass up. My souls probably only worth a few grand anyways so it's probably the right thing to do economically. I guess I will see if any come up soon, it usually only happens every few months. Then you have to put in a secret bid by X date and the highest bid gets it. The final price is not disclosed so I don't know what the really normally go for. Just that they set a minimum at the residual. I bid on one a few years ago before I got the beater I'm driving now and didn't get it, one other guy bid something higher than me. That one was an EX with navi for ~$13k, would have been a nice DD. I think they are usually LX models (civic trim leves is DX, LX, EX).

end thread. Thanks everyone else for your recommendations. Going out to buy a Lambo to DD. :fuckyeah:

1) Be CR 2) Put $5k down on a super car 3) Get a 30 year loan so you can afford it 4) ??? 5) Profit

You can get a Passat, AWD, diesel, manual, wagon? If so, sign me up. Sounds like a unicorn that people would want a serious premium for and I would have to travel to Alaska to get. From some quick searches for Golf diesels they are few and far between and are either out of my price range or have 200kmi.

Why the 9-5 wagon over the 9-3 wagon? I'm always going to go for the slightly smaller car to a certain point. For space in the back, I just wanted to say I don't want anything the size of a Mini. If I'm spending this kind of money on a car, and can get anything (within my price), I'm really going to be hard pressed to not buy buy an AWD car. But I do realize it really limits me on selection so I'm trying to be open minded. The car is just going to have to really sway me in other areas if it's not AWD.

The SX4 hatch is the other car that crossed my radar. Other than it looking goofy is there a good reason not to consider it? Oh, another idea is a Fit, in the same vein as the Golf. Almost bought one new a few years ago.

I don't think I would even bother with the WRX. I'm thinking regular old Legacy or Impreza. I would just have to buy an older and higher miles car if I got the WRX. Even ignoring the miles I would think it would be slightly less reliable than the non-turbo counterparts? I drive ~20-25kmiles/year so if I get something with 100kmi and expect it to last to 200k that might only get me 4 years. So whatever fits my base criteria and is as new and with as low miles I can possible get is better.

So, debating getting a newer car, just kind of done with my current beater. We've got about $9k to spend. If we can keep it under that with tax, tags and tittle that would be great so maybe actual car cost more like $8.5k? What I would like, in this order 1) Hatch or wagon, not a big car either, but big enough to fit shit in the back; bike, skis/boards, camping gear. 2/3) Manual 2/3) AWD 4) Diesel? It doesn't even need to be quick, just not so slow it's hard to merge onto the highway. I tend to keep cars for a long time so reliability and cost of ownership are more important. I don't want the car to be too old or too many miles, but I know with my criteria I'm not getting the 3 or 4 year old car either. I'm not interested in anything bigger than a regular sized car, no SUVs or small crossovers. I'm thinking something like a Golf, maybe diesel but they are impossible to find. Or just about any Subaru wagon. Any other good ideas? Or the other option is to sell my soul and get a company leased Civic after the lease is up. Before the cars get turn back in the company 'auctions' them off to us starting at pay off. That's normally ~$11k for a 3 year old not base civic with usually has 30-50kmi. That's a newer, with less miles than any other car I've looked at near my price range. They are also usually multiple thousands of dollars less than what anyone could buy one on the street for. The car would be fine for a DD and it makes sense on paper but fit's nothing that I want in a car. Maybe I could pawn it off on the other half in a few years when we need to replace her car as she likes appliance like small sedans.

http://buscemifan.tripod.com/images/ml-2.jpg

I get that things are different now in many respects, that being one of them. I get the idea of, if you can have a more comfortable situation, then why not. But it seems too often the easy thing to do when you have a kid or 2 is get a gigantic SUV when rarely if ever is it needed. How often do you see something like a Yukon/Expedition driving with 1 person in it versus actually being used to haul people?

Way to be the 4th person to make this observation, good for you.

:fuckyeah: How did our parents haul us around before there were SUVs the size of tanks? :dumb:

:lolguy: Same thing here, I fell like I need to be productive at some point. I'm not sure why I feel the need to be productive. Though, I do have a pretty big to-do list over my break. Time to go eat some lunch and maybe get some shit done.

Thanks for the snow dance, we need it! Finally getting 1-2inches today and it's forecasted to get down to 21F tonight and mid-low 20's tomorro night. So they should be able to blow at least the next 2 nights, if not through the day tomorrow. That will help out a ton. We are supposed to get another warm snap, but then a nice cold spell starting on 1/2 or 1/3. They should be able to get everything covered at that point so we should be all good by the 21st. Where would you consider? We are buying a house next year... unless we move somewhere which we have pretty seriously been talking about. That's on the low though, haven't mentioned it to my parents yet. So far we think SLC has too many mormons and Carri is boycotting Denver since she would never see me. :lolguy: Portland is looking tempting, even if the tech industry may not be the best there.

Ya, I'm not going full DSLR, but that's my debate; high end P&S or small format? I really like the idea of interchangeable lenses, but having never had a manual camera before I might do the high end P&S. If I get the small format, don't get into it and never buy another lens I've wasted my money. If I get the high end P&S and really get into it, I will just want the small format 6 months later. Tough life decisions. :lolguy: The G12 does seem like the way to go with high end, fully manual capable P&Ss. I skimmed over this, DP's reviews get a bit wordy sometimes. http://www.dpreview.com/articles/4333175133/buyers-guide-enthusiast-raw-shooting-compact-cameras

:lolguy: There's not a chance in hell I'm taking this backpacking, regardless of the size. I'll take a P&S that I don't care about breaking or just use my phone. But I will carry this around with me in Hawaii and on other trips where I'd rather not carry around a bulky DSLR. My sister and BIL just got a D3100, IDK what I would do with that thing on a trip? I guess if I end up down that road in the future I could carry a backpack... with 3 different lenses... I don't really see myself doing that. For now with a micro 4/3 or high end P&S we can just throw it in the womans purse.

That's only a little more annoying than someone who doesn't capitalize the first word in a sentence. I would be FUCKED on spelling errors without spell checkers.

Ya, no point in trying to shop for 2 different brand cars at one time if not necessary. What did you end up deciding about your DD?

Ya, worth test driving, if you are already at an Acura dealership for the MDX. But if it's something you're not really interested in I wouldn't push you to go drive one otherwise. Don't get me wrong, I really liked it when I drove it, but it just sounds like you're not all that interested unless it's getting you a good package deal. Quick enough for a DD, I think, and handles really well too. I guess it would be nice to only have to deal with 1 dealership for your DDs. If you are looking at car's like the S5, the TL is just a different (less expensive) car.

What do you all think about the micro 4/3 formats? Thinking about a better camera too. I don't think I really want or need a full DSLR or the size of one. But I definitely want something better than than a typical point-and-shoot.

Nope, off since Friday through the 2nd.

Did you, or have you driven the TL? Not pushing it, as it wouldn't be my first choice, but I do like them. Just saw you made an offer on it so I was wondering what you thought of it. Really that car is probably a bit much from a performance standpoint for a baby hauler, wife car. Obviously with 4klbs and 300hp it's not blindingly fast or anything, but enough to get someone in trouble very quickly. The suspension is probably a bit stiff for an average drivers liking.

Like you would know what the inside looks like. :gabe: