I don't even know... I don't. even. know.

Mike K

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Apr 11, 2008
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I gave up the 535D. The guy taking over the lease will be grabbing it in a week or so. As an aside, leasing was definitely a winner decision here. I only paid taxes for the payments I made and I lost nothing moving the car on to it's next "owner". I actually grew to really like the car (more on that in a moment) but we're getting priced out of the LA housing market really quickly, my wife almost never drives and we can save a ton by having one car versus two.

I've got two trains of thought right now. Option 1: Keep the FX35 and buy a cheap car for myself to putz around in and do the majority of my business driving. I can pick up a convertible 335 or 328 for 15kish and I can handle repairs on that car myself. I'm really leaning towards option number 2 though.

Option 2: Have a single car for the family.

The problem here is the FX35 doesn't quite cut the mustard as a full time car for the family because I drive a lot and it gets pretty abysmal city mileage, about 12 mpg real world considering how I drive and how it needs to be driven to be fast at all. You really need to wind it out. It's bad enough that I would consider not taking certain trips and I don't want to live that life. :rofl: The efficiency of the 535D is intoxicating. It's $40 for 400+ miles in that or $90+ for 280ish miles in the FX35. I drive enough that that adds up fast. I considered keeping the 535D and ditching the Infiniti but the 535 doesn't car seat very well. Speaking of which, the FX35 doesn't car seat very well either but I was able to accept that since I drove my car 99% of the time. If I'm driving the FX35 every day I'd need to remove my 4 year old's car seat to be comfortable driving. That will grow old quickly. So here's where I'm at. Toss me your suggestions:

2011+ Toureg TDI

Good gas mileage, Audi-ish interior, nice looking and relatively cheap (under 30k). I don't hate these. They don't have the brand cache but whatever.

2014+ Grand Cherokee Overland Diesel

A buddy of mine turned me on to these. Again great gas mileage but apparently the Grand Cherokee's suffer from a myriad of quality issues and the diesel is even worse than the gas models. This one is on the cusp of being cut.

2012+ BMW X5D (diesel)

I like the X5 plus I can get most of the options I have in the 5 in the X5. Heads up display is something I've grown accustom to and would love to keep.

2016 XC90 T8 Hybrid

I REALLLY like this. It uses a supercharged and turbo 4 cylinder engine for the front wheels and an 80hp electric motor for the rear wheels. You can drive it as a hybrid, as an all electric or for when you want to go fast: a combination of both powertrains to give you 400hp and 472 lb/ ft of torque. This is a winner for me and it's as fast to 60 as the 535D. The downside here is that it's new and it's a lot more than any of the used cars I'd be looking at but it would be a nice single vehicle to have.

And no Mike K list is complete without: Tesla Model S

My wife is totally sold on this one too. Oddly enough, as much as I'd like to, I'm not sure I'm sold on it as our only car. We go to Phoenix a lot and would have to time trips around supercharger stations. I'm 90% certain we'd be fine but don't want to buy it and then find out we wouldn't be.

And lastly: 2015 BMW 740d or 740Ld

The 535D really is the perfect car for me right now but it's not the perfect car for our family. But a year ago my wife's car (and our family car) was the A8L and it was an awesome fit other than being a wretched turd. It was great for road trips, it car seated amazingly because it was a limo and it handled like a car and got decent gas mileage. A 740D is basically a bigger 5 series. Options could be identical to my 5 series if I chose and all the space problems would be solved.

Thoughts on my choices? Any suggestions? I'm open to big cars or SUVs, preferably something German, Swedish or perhaps higher end Japanese. It would need to be quick and get very good gas mileage, close to 30mpg on the highway or more. What have you got guys?
 

Mike K

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Apr 11, 2008
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My first question would be, can you really do with just one car? There's never a time when each of you needs a car? I'm partial to option 1.

When I thought about this a year ago I had the same thought but here we are a year later and I can't count how many times she's been out without me on one hand. So maintaining two vehicles and paying for insurance on two vehicles is something I'd like to avoid. Insurance is a big factor out here too. Currently our insurance is $330 a month and I have stellar credit and we both have a spotless driving record.
 

Turk

Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner
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Jan 21, 2008
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Bare in mind that sometimes insurance is cheaper to own two cars than one. My situation is extreme, but it's much cheaper to insure an R8 and a civic than it is to insure an R8 alone. If you decided to get a cheaper car for your personal dd, insurance could actually go down.
 

Mike K

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Apr 11, 2008
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Bare in mind that sometimes insurance is cheaper to own two cars than one. My situation is extreme, but it's much cheaper to insure an R8 and a civic than it is to insure an R8 alone. If you decided to get a cheaper car for your personal dd, insurance could actually go down.

I've already run the numbers on all that. Ditching the BMW drops me down to a hair over $120 a month for insurance. The savings on insurance alone is substantial, almost $200. To have a car depreciate that we're not using is a bit of a kick in the ass too. The option to get another car is always there if needed.
 

Turk

Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner
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I've already run the numbers on all that. Ditching the BMW drops me down to a hair over $120 a month for insurance. The savings on insurance alone is substantial, almost $200. To have a car depreciate that we're not using is a bit of a kick in the ass too. The option to get another car is always there if needed.

You bring up a good point, it's not as if you're locked into one car forever. I'd say give it a try. X5 diesel!
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
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Why not take over someone elses lease for one of those cars you mentioned? This way you're not getting hit with the initial sign up fee and you'll only have it for a year or two before the lease is up and it's on to the next.

I'd love to but if it's our only car we're going to put about 20,000 miles on it every year. That's no bueno for a lease.
 

cacicgtp7

Some Military Dude
Nov 9, 2008
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We've thought about the whole one car thing. Even partially tried in in San Antonio with one car and a motorcycle.

It's good in theory but there were times when we just basically needed two vehicles and if nothing else the "what if" scenarios were enough to just have a second vehicle just in case. My wife works from home and there were just too many examples where sometime could happen and she would need a car and if I had it at work then we'd be in a real bind.

Lease is probably the safest bet, OR if you you're really trying to save money then a beater and one nice car. Doesn't really help because no one wants to drive a beater but if that's the case then it is what it is. There's "nice" older vehicles that you can easily rack up the miles if you want that option. Things that come to mind are used Acura TL's or TSX's... Used G37's or even G35's... Nissan Maxima's, ect. Those are the types of cars that are bullet proof, and you can buy for like 15K and drive the crap out of.

Otherwise on your lease train I like the Volvo, or the new Lincoln MKC or MKX (2016). You might think I'm crazy but the new Ford Explorer's are pretty damn nice and can lease cheap as well. Reason I threw in Lincoln is they usually have really good lease deals and the ecoboost engine is great. New Acura MDX is pretty awesome. Not a huge fan of Jeeps interior quality. BMW's are BMW's you know what you're getting there with the 12's.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
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I should note that if we're going to one vehicle it would be a purchase and not a lease.

Also with respect to the one car thing, it really isn't an issue, at least not now. We're also in the middle of a large city so an Uber is never more than 5 minutes away for those rare times she'd need to go out at the same time as me.
 

Rent Free

TCG Elite Member
Jan 26, 2015
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Nowheresville North Dakota
call greg pritt and weasel jonbob's old car out of him for a song....

I have already inquired about that. Been to gregs house twice bought a mountian of parts and 2 cars from him already. Im about 99% sure I paid for his landscaping. FML

However I do know with the "platinum return buyer discount" I can get it wayyyyyyy under 10k just to throw a number out there...... LOL. (2-3k under he's trying to buy rental properties to flip last I talked to him and whipple car is still at prj)

Also for the love of god [MENTION=9261]Mike[/MENTION]k going down 2 one car is crazy talk! That might require turning in man card.
I vote at the bare absolutle minimum keep one of the vehicles you have a buy another cheap dd yourself.

Same mess with my own household. Wife drives the new, and I daily a junk cammed wbody thats like working on a lego. Plus hopefully I'll have the caged car done shortly after I get home. Honestly I hate having less than 3 running vehicles.

But I do get you dont have room unless they are paid its expensive and blah blah blah everything else.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
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The problem is that when you live in an expensive city it's, well... expensive. :) Insurance, registration, smog, etc. It just makes no sense to have an extra car when we live in what is effectively a heavily urban area. The FX35 is sitting in the driveway solely for piece of mind. Really the only reason it's there is because I worry that if I'm gone and something happens to one of the kids or there's an earthquake they can get out. But even in that case a neighbor would help them.

As far as Jonbob's car... lol. I knew that I would happen. So much talk, such a long post that went on for years, so many nut swingers and then boom: nothing. There's a reason nobody runs the Whipple and we dropped the kits the moment turbos caught traction in the market.
 

Bru

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The Touareg is as much of a reliability mess as the Jeep. The XC90 is an unbelievable SUV. They took a giant step from "premium" and jumped right into the luxury game. I haven't driven the hybrid yet. That turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder is a great engine in other Volvo products. It's a high-performance engine stuck in an underperforming family sedan. You'd appreciate the driving experience of initial blower power and then top-end turbo pull. That twin-charged engine is a high-performance motor screaming to be in something other than a portly sedan or SUV.

Too bad the 328d wagon would likely be too small. That with all-wheel drive is like the car internet fan boys have been begging for. Wagon - Check. Diesel - Check. All-wheel drive - Check. Add in a manual transmission and it would have been the car that broke the internet. 328d wagon with M Sport package is a good looking wagon.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
The Touareg is as much of a reliability mess as the Jeep. The XC90 is an unbelievable SUV. They took a giant step from "premium" and jumped right into the luxury game. I haven't driven the hybrid yet. That turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder is a great engine in other Volvo products. It's a high-performance engine stuck in an underperforming family sedan. You'd appreciate the driving experience of initial blower power and then top-end turbo pull. That twin-charged engine is a high-performance motor screaming to be in something other than a portly sedan or SUV.

Too bad the 328d wagon would likely be too small. That with all-wheel drive is like the car internet fan boys have been begging for. Wagon - Check. Diesel - Check. All-wheel drive - Check. Add in a manual transmission and it would have been the car that broke the internet. 328d wagon with M Sport package is a good looking wagon.

Ok so Touareg out. I'm not a wagon guy any way you slice it so a 3 series wagon wouldn't ever enter my periphery. Interesting notes on the XC90 though. I suppose I'll have to drive one.
 
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