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Toying with an idea ...

2.2K views 29 replies 15 participants last post by  isurfebay  
#1 ·
So I've been thinking about what kind of car I want to buy when I graduate college in 2008 or 2009. I've got it down to 3 choices. I might go used, but I don't know. New or used doesn't really matter to me.

1) Mini Cooper (modern, not sure which model yet. The JCW model would tickle me shitless, though)
2) 2007 Infiniti G35 sedan (I like the new looks on the sedans, and if I got one, I'd get the Bluetooth phone in it because I'm a bawler, lol)
3) 2006 Volkswagen GTi

I want a "hot hatch," but I really like the G35. I'd get a Nissan Versa simply because of the Bluetooth phone, but I can get that in pretty much any new Nissan now. Whatever I would buy would be a DD, and some fuel economy would be nice (anything better than my S13 would be the absolute tits) but it's certainly not a requirement.

But I still cannot pin down what I want.

I know if I got the Mini I would get it in British Racing Green with white stripes. If I buy a JCW brand new (if they're still in production by then), I heard you can get a flag along the roof and I'd get an Austrian one. That's not important, but the color is.

If I get the G35, I'd probably get it in a midnight blue-type color or maybe a charcoal grey (I'm obsessed with that charcoal color). It doesn't have to be a decked out G35, but if I bought it, I want the in-car Bluetooth phone (which really isn't that expensive). If they have the Intelligent Key system for it that the Versa has, I'd get that, too. I'm such a whore for gadgets when it comes to cars like these.

However, the VW GTi I also love. Red or charcoal grey would be my colors of choice. White, too. I like the red stripe they do around the grill and it looks good with that. I'd also like to have the DSG tranny.

Only bitch is this: the nearest Mini dealer I am aware of is up in Atlanta, 2 hours away. Same for Infiniti. There's a local BMW dealer, but I doubt they do the service, but they might. I do have a local VW dealer that's only about 25-30 miles away, though, so that would be convenient.

But I still cannot decide on what I want!!! I know I have a long time, but I'm also bored at home and whenever I see these cars, I always think about them.
 
#17 ·
hitler was austrian......fail.


get an s14. if you're a baller, swoop up an s15. once you own a turbo'd car. you'll never go back. kinda like fat white chicks and black guys.
fixed heh

dont get a Z3, there are way better cars out there for the same price

and the mazda 5 is pretty snazy acutally, im a huge fan of the duratec 2.3 direct injected motor they are shoving into everything now :)

the fit is awesome I've driven many

it handles like a gokart!

but its asking for a k20 swap heh

maybe a turbo JDM b16 heh

my top 3 choices out of school are (in no particular order)
FD
S60R
MS6

or get an SVT focus and put the rest into the 7 heh
 
#9 ·
No. I don't want the VW because of the free guitar. Plus, that offer ends at the end of the year. If you'd read the thread I'd made about that offer, you'd know that. I could care less whether or not Jenny owns a VW. I drove the DSG GTi and it was very nice.

The only car on that list that is N/A is the G35. The Cooper S is supercharged. The GTi is turbo'd. I went and did a build on a Cooper and damn those things are expensive. If I got one, I'd probably have to get the JCW model, and I built one and it came out to be $32k. That shyte was expensive. And it turns out you cannot get any flag you want. You can get the UK, USA, Canadian (and who wants that?), or a checkered flag.

I can get a GTi the way I want it for about $22k (little less, I think).

The G35 STARTS at $31k ... so it may end up being out of the question unless I can find a good deal on a used one. Maybe a first-gen G35 sedan would be possible, too, but I still don't know about it. I'd really have to get behind the wheel of one. I drove my uncle's old G35 coupe and that was a blast ...

The only other car I can really think of that I would want is a Nissan Versa. I'm leaning towards that only because it would be the sensible choice for a DD (and the way I built one, it's about $16.9k), and I have the 240 and that's a toy no matter which way you spin it.

Really, my only other options are Hondas. The Fit or the Civic Si and I don't really like either one of those. I want something that's a bit more sensible, but something I'll enjoy. The GTi fills both of those, as does the Versa (because it's got the tech goodies and the sensibility). The GTi has the sensibility and more of the fun factor (but the Versa will take the turns well, too, but no where near as well as the GTi).

People say buy the car that really lights your fire, and the GTi and Cooper are the only two that do that. The GTi lights it more than the Cooper does (and it's a helluva lot cheaper. It has more power, but it weighs more), so the decision from that stand point should be obvious, but it's NOT.

What about a Jaguar? Not one of the crappy old ones, but something a bit newer. Maybe an S-type. Probably buy it used to capitalize on the depreciation.

Damn, this is a tough decision. What to do, what to do. Maybe I should just save my money first and throw it all at the 240 and finish it up when the time comes and then save some more and then see what I want then. I'll probably go back to the GTi, and I have no fucking idea why.
 
#16 ·
I've thought about the E36 M3. Those are the body styles for BMWs that I really like. If I find one in really good shape, then I probably would buy one. Pretty much the only way I could buy a BMW is if it was an M model or a 7-series. Everything else is so damned common.

If I could afford an M coupe (maybe an old Z3), then I would love to have one. I have to see what the money situation really is when the time comes.

I don't like the Yaris because it's too small all around.

I've driven many Mazdas (Mazda Zoom Zoom Live) and the only one I really cared for was the Mazda 5 microvan. That little car will put up with some serious abuse and it can actually go through the bends rather well. It really reminds me of the Renault Espace, only less crappy.

D1GP, that's the mindset I know I should have, but I've had these thoughts roiling around inside of me and I needed to get them out and get some feedback.
 
#21 ·
Yeah, HOPE pays for damned near everything. And my parents pay for my gas to drive to and from school as long as I drive the family mini van. I don't pay insurance because my dad has that covered for me since I'm going to school locally. And my mom buys her books and my own, also, and pays for any extra fees. My parents had a college fund set aside for me, so they're just dipping into that a little bit each semester.

Any supplemental books I have to pay for, though. So that kinda sucks, but I've only had to buy two thus far and one of them I got a good discount since my buddy works at the book store.

If things go as I plan and I can land this job at the local AFB, I can be making roundabout $35k a year fresh out of college. Two years later, $50k. Civil service, too. But that's if I do the bare minimum and whatnot. I've known people to graduate college and be making $40k.

That, and by the time I'd be ready to buy them, they would all be used. I think the only one I would buy brand new would be the GTi. But if the Mk VI comes out and it's a good car, I might buy that instead. It's set to come out around the time I graduate.
 
#23 ·
Move to Georgia. Our state lottery pays for a good chunk of your fees if you're going to a public college.

And then if you major in engineering in Georgia, you can get another state scholarship and the only requirement is that you have to work as an engineer in Georgia for I think 4 years. Bojangles would know the requirements for that one for sure since he's majoring as an engineer at Georgia Tech.
 
#25 ·
and your $300 from Hope covers your books? Holy shit. I only get $150 for books from Hope. It blows. But MSC has a lot of fees, but it's all pretty much paid for. I think this past semester they raised their technology fee by about $15, so we had to pay that out of pocket.

If you're majoring as an engineer, you should be getting like $4k (that's what Mercer said I was going to get since I was originally going to be an engineer) ...