new car...

[intrigued]

as some of you know I got my license suspended for irresponsiable behavior this past january. Next month I get it back and since I sold my 06 malibu SS I will need a car. For a while I batted around getting a used rwd g-body as project car but I decided I wanted to go new or at least newish again.

My budget is 20k, 21 if I need it, this is what I'm looking at so far.

05' CTS 3.6/sport package 34k miles $19.5k

07' pontiac G6 GTP coupe or sedan 3.6 6 speed sunroof leather. found one for $17.5k with only 21k miles as well as a few sedans of the same trim and miles for about $1k more.

07' aura XR with leather 11k miles only $20.5k

the dark horse canidates

02' BMW 540 I 45k miles $16k

02' BMW 330 XI 43k miles 18.5 k

These are the cars I am considering right now. I am not limited to these particular cars per say but I do have some criteria that is NOT flexiable.

1. Cannot be an asian brand.

2. No pushrods unless it's a v8

3. No 4 bangers unless it's got forced induction.

4. has to be a car, 4 or 2 doors newer than 2000

than I have my preferences that I will bend on if other pro's outweigh the negatives for me

1. Be a GM

2. If not GM be a domestic

3. RWD if possible

4. have a substantial factory warranty intact

5. automatic

I really like the BMWs and have even been to see the 540 which is immaculate with good service records but BMWs that old are not certified with the 100k warranty. I am extremley nervous about getting a BMW without a warranty because I really wouldnt be able to afford a huge repair bill if it broke down and I had to take it to a dealer. Great cars, TRUE drivers cars in this generation before bangle messed them up but I'm very warry about owning it.

The CTS has much the same problem. great car looked good in the pics but I know that they aren't the most reliable cars in the world even though they're not terrible and they can cost a fair bit to fix. plus for both this and the beemer I'd feel a little young driving it even if I did pay for it on my own.

The aura isn't really my stlye but it's got a great drivetrain, handles very well and has a lot of bang for the buck. I albsolutley love the 3.6 6 speed combo. I've driven a good 4k miles in my parents so I know know it, not just think I like how the car drives.

The G6 is the front runner right now. Found a well optioned black coupe for a low price. It is the 07 GTP so it doesnt have the hideous GXP package. I really like the fact that this car still has 80k powertrain warranty left. I'd only have to worry about the suspension and brakes then for the next 3 years and its a sharp looking car.

What do you guys think?

[A Horse With No Name]

I would be in utter Car-Lust over the CTS...but that's just me.

Chris

[Northstar]

I think the BMWs are awful old unless you're willing to take the risk. Any car that old is a risk. The 3er seems rather high priced compared to the 540i. I'd say the CTS or Aura, though the G6 is quite a bit cheaper than the Aura for the same basic car.

The CTS still has a decent warranty left, and you may be able to buy an extended one if you plan on keeping the car long for not a whole lot of money, which would be a smart idea.

I guess I'd go with the CTS. Not so old that it doesn't have warranty (like the BMWs), yet since it has the 5/60 rather than 3/36 it's similar to the Aura and G6. Plus you could buy an extended warranty for probably less than $1k and it'd give you probably up to 8 years and ~80k miles. You'd be set as far as not paying much for repairs.

So yeah, after thinking it out. CTS.

[Bimmer325]

My family has owned 2 E46s (like the 330xi you're looking at).

My sister's '06 325i has just under 20k, and has been dead reliable thus far.

My mom had an '03 325i that served us well for 45k.

A good friend of mine had an '00 323i that he recently sold with 145k on it. Nothing but routine maintenence (oil changes, brake pads, etc.) as far as I know.

Another friend of mine has an '02 540i with 80k and has had no problems with it.

I'd try to go certified, but in my experience, BMW reliability has never been an issue. E46s are fun cars, moreso than anything on your list aside from maybe the CTS. I understand that you prefer GM/domestic, but on a used car purchase, it really makes no difference.

RWD, near-perfect weight distribution, balanced handling, and great steering and brake feel are hard to argue with.

Either way, good luck with your decision.

[Bimmer325]

intrigued, I just noticed you're from Westport, CT.

I'm a town over at Fairfield University. My hometown is Eastchester, NY.

I'll keep an eye out for you as I'm in the same area.

[Camino LS6]

GTO?

[Oracle of Delphi]

I would be in utter Car-Lust over the CTS...but that's just me.

Chris

I would be in CTS car lust right with you.

[Ravenfreak13]

Charger??? RWD... :>

06 Charger R/T

Edited April 9, 2008 by Ravenfreak13

[pow]

$16K for a hardly broken in 540i is a steal. I'd either be weary or really excited.

As long as you know a good independent BMW shop, maintenance and repair costs should be reasonable. Do the basic stuff yourself... a BMW dealership charges $100 for an oil change; I did mine for $35 in 35 minutes.

[Northstar]

The only problem with the BMWs is that they have no warranty. The prices seem pretty good and the mileage is not bad. It just seems that BMWs are rather expensive to repair.

[daves87rs]

I like the Aura...looks good, and the 3.6 in peppy...

[vonVeezelsnider]

1. AURA

2. CTS

3. G6

[intrigued]

hey Bimmer325- I no fairfield and fairfield U very well as I went to Fairfield Prep on the same campus. Maybe we should meet up during summer break and have a few beers, I live in new rochelle year round these days.

I know most BMWs will go a long time with no problems but I've seen firsthand what an unreliable one can cost to fix under warranty. Plus I drive more than 20k miles a year so that makes me extra scared of buying a car without a warranty.

The aura is a back up I've decided because the only XR's I've found have wierd options or $h!ty colors. There are a TON of well optioned g6's with the ideal color combos.

I'm also looking at the CTSes closer because I've driven one in the past and it is a fun car but I need to get it as a certified used so I can buy an extended warranty on it. I just drive to much to own a car without at least 50k warranty left on it.

[A Horse With No Name]

GTO?

Not just yes but HELL YES!

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

Westport has been in the news with the number of teardowns and McMansion builds there recently.

Which is what I love about living here in Columbus Ohio, as a complete rabbit trail/aside to this thread. We ajust kind of an overgrown university town.

Westport seems like a great town but methinks it might be getting a little overbuilt with McMansions and the newly rich. But all I know of the place is what I read on Westportnow.com...and living next to the Atlantic would be wonderful.

Seriously, what is it like to live in Westport? An author of some woodworking books I've read lives there, and there are a couple of other writers whom I have enjoyed (can't remember their names to save myself) who have been from Westport. Would like to visit the town some day and see what it is like.

Chris

[intrigued]

Westport is really nice. It's a lot like the more down to earth version of Greenwich with a lot more "new money" than "old money." There are a lot of type A people because most everyone has a highpaying corporate job and EVERYBODY has money, at least to some extent. My family felt VERY middle class in terms of how we lived and spent compared to most people in the town and my dad made a good bit more than 250k a year sometimes approaching 400.

The town has a lot of nice historical sections, has compo beach which is the nicest beach on that side of Long Island sound (every resident is a member of the beach club for an extremley modest fee - I think $25 a year) You'll run into actors and other celebraties ocassionaly. Paul Newman lived less than a mile away from my house and I was playing in the front yard and he ran by my house with Robert redford once.

As for the mcmansions they are ripping down old houses and putting new monster houses up. On the plus side thess houses tend to be far less cookiecutter and are much more customized than most mcmansions. They also landscape them well to keep them well hidden or make them fit into the more rural roads and while sometimes they divide the old 2 acre lots they never do worse then spliting them down the middle rather than wplitting them into 4's.

It was a really nice place to grown up though I can't vouch for the public school since I went to Catholic grade school and a Jesuit high school.

With my dad having retired from working in the city a few years ago my family moved up to Guilford to be near Yale where both my brother and Dad not work.

Back on the cars, as far the GTO goes I'm pretty much ruling out anything with a v8 both because of fuel economy and more importantly insurance since I'ts going to cost me a fair amount to ensure any car I get anyway because of the DUI I got.

[Bimmer325]

Westport has been in the news with the number of teardowns and McMansion builds there recently.

Which is what I love about living here in Columbus Ohio, as a complete rabbit trail/aside to this thread. We ajust kind of an overgrown university town.

Westport seems like a great town but methinks it might be getting a little overbuilt with McMansions and the newly rich. But all I know of the place is what I read on Westportnow.com...and living next to the Atlantic would be wonderful.

Seriously, what is it like to live in Westport? An author of some woodworking books I've read lives there, and there are a couple of other writers whom I have enjoyed (can't remember their names to save myself) who have been from Westport. Would like to visit the town some day and see what it is like.

Chris

The idea of living on the beach as a college student is what attracted me to the Fairfield area when I was applying to schools. It's a really nice place to be, especially now that spring is approaching.

[intrigued]

Yeah the Fairfield beach area is full of young people with fin places to hangout, the beach itself isn't as nice as compo but it is a bastion of young people. Does Fairfield U still have actual housing options on the beach or is it just private rentals. I know the town always complains about the college kids on the beach