Advice on non-miatas
 

First off, I freely acknowledge that this is entirely the wrong forum to be asking this question on. Sadly, my membership application for I_am_a_discriminating_professional_woman_in_her_30 s.net was rejected.

Let's say that, hypothetically, I had decided that it was time to settle down and appoint a Mrs. Perez. And let's say that, for reasons which are not open to debate, I'd decided that as a general weed-out it would be a good idea to focus my search on those with professional careers (law / medical / engineering), earning decent money, and who might tend to judge a person at least in part by appearances.

Now, given the above, I believe that my current car (a '90 with no top which is painted at least three different colors) might tend to present an image which says "I am a slacker who is unsuitable for your discriminating and fashionable lifestyle."

If we presuppose this to be true, then the question becomes what sort of vehicle might I not hate owning which would still present an image of someone who, for lack of a gentler way of putting this, does not drive a shitty old Miata, without making it seem that I have already entered a midlife crisis and am trying to compensate for some character defect.

At first glance, my thoughts include any of the following in late 90s / early 00s vintage:

SLK230 / 320
Z3 / Z4
911
Boxster

Shifting the train of thought slightly, I've always wanted a Delorean, and you can find good, running examples in about the same price range as the aforementioned. I wonder if that would be perceived as "Wow, a Delorean! How cool!" or "Wow, a Delorean, that's kind of pathetic."

And of course, a part of me still thinks that an XJS would be a fun car, though I know virtually nothing about them apart from horror stories.


Discuss.

First question: I assume you plan to keep the miata as a second vehicle?

There is a Delorean here in Portland that is used as a daily driver. I have seen it probably 15 times during my commute, but never had a chance to talk with the owner.

You know as well as I the Delorean will never be separated from its role in Back to the Future. For those of our generation it is one of the coolest cars ever from our youth. But it's not sporty, and any crash damage could be a significant problem to repair and involve significant expense.

XJS - just say no.

Images projected:

Delorean: "I can't leave my teenage years behind."

SLKs: "I'm a mature career guy."

Z3/Z4: "I'm a BMW guy." Duh, but I have found that BMW's in particular strike a love or hate response in your target demographic. Full disclosure - Ms Mobius is a physician, and she was one of a number of women in her med school class with a "no BMW's ever" attitude.

911: A number of different impressions, from mature professional to lover of finely crafted things to lover of classics etc.

Boxster: "I'm a mature well to do gay guy." Not the impression you are looking for, I think :)

My vote - 911.

Of the cars you didn't list, I would suggest a BMW 5-series.

1994 Mercedes-Benz E500.

http://static.cargurus.com/images/si...-pic-1017.jpeg

Or BMW M5 Touring

http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/...r_2_resize.jpg

I have this discussion at work quite often because my co-workers bash my car(until the ride with me, tehe)

A car isn't considered "female resistant" if you can:
A. Do manly work with it (truck)
B. Pull a lot of poon-tang with it(baller car)

Get a nice looking Audi or M5!

SLK230 / 320: No. If I where a woman I'd think "this guy won't have enough time to pay attention to me b/c he's gonna be fixing his Mercs electrical problems all the damn time"
Z3 / Z4: Maybe. I'd vote for something a little more practical.
911: Works for me.
Boxster: No. Too gay.

My suggestions:
E39 M5
E46 M3 Both of these say your a professional who makes coin. Remimber how much women love money. Ya know how much you love tits etc.? That's how much women love a dude with cash. How else would Pusha ever get laid?

Cadillac CTS-V (think '04)

If you don't mind me asking, how much are you looking to spend? That would help narrow down options.

of those you presented, the 911 and Z4 are really the only choices. everything else is driven by 45 year old women.

which you aren't.

and the delorean... well if you want to meet a girl who immediately starts calling you Marty...

I'd stick with an M3 or non M performance variant of a 3. Or something of that ilk.

What are your goals besides poon-search?

sl500 retracting HT. preferably v12 bi turbo.

The question is largely impossible to answer without a price range, but - in general - it is my experience that the notions above about (nice) trucks/SUVs and European sedans is a safe option.

I can't imagine anyone ever taking someone seriously that drives a delorean. I'd take the Z3 off the list as well, their looks are dated enough that I doubt they'd do much to attract the ladies.

Personally, I've always liked the 97-02 (B5) Audi S4's, but I've never driven one. They've always seemed to have that same smug, cocky, confident aura you seem to be going for.

2003 6-speed 540i / M-tech like mine which I scored for $8k is lotsa car and looks for little money:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1309307192

People think it's a $30k car, and I feel like a BOSS driving it.
4.4l V8 290 hp.

z4 ///M if I were picking from the list in OP.....
or what Jason suggested in above post. definitely comes off as a serious/gentlemans car while still being fun.

delorean only if you want to attract men.

The V8 definitely gives the car a muscular feel. The suspension tuning is spot on for real world roads. Very comfy but competent in the twisties. Big suspension travel eats dips and bumps even at 'bahn speeds. On bumpy higher speed backroads I find myself going faster than in the miata. The big 265/35/18 rear tires give it a baller look. Chicks love the luxurious interior and the hushed ride, and when I'm hauling, they can tell the car has serious balls.

I cross shopped a B5 S4 but they like blowing up turbos and trannies. The 5-series likes breaking little shit but not big expensive shit. I also considered the M5 but they are *seriously* expensive to maintain due to the very low production volume wear parts such as $500 front brake rotors, etc. The 540i/Mtech is 80% of the M5 with 30% of the cost.

One other car I might consider for the money, is the 2001 CTS-V. Price in the teens, nowhere as nice inside as my 540i, nor as quiet, but they handle better (phenomenally easy to dorifto) and have a shitload more power. The image however, is a bit "old fart", to non-car enthusiasts.

Or a 996, a Z3 M-coupe (clown shoe), or a 2001+ M3. Don't get the E36 M3, they are a dime a dozen - too many kids drive them. Don't get an E46 non-M car, they are too common - my dental hygienist drives one.

Of all the above, next to the 996, I think the 540i/M is what would impress poon the most, because of the luxury feel inside.

Jason has your car!

I wouldn't go 3 series; they are too low on the BMW totem pole. The M3 still has boy racer connotations. M5, maybe. But M's are more expensive to maintain. Jason's car is perfect in my opinion.

I think Jason has the answer. I thought about suggesting the E39 540i but I thought there was something wrong with the V8 cars, or am I thinking of the I6 cars? Either way avoid the B5S4, there way coow and all but they aren't reliable. Maybe a Charger or Mercury Marauder? Lexus IS300?

My "I bought a 540i" thread.
https://www.miataturbo.net/showthrea...highlight=540i

Since knee surgery 2 months ago I've only now been able to drive a clutch, and started driving it. I went hammering through the twisties on the way to work - oh how I missed the car.

The 4.4L (300 ft-lbs) of torque is sooooooooooooooooo much nicer than the 6-cyl. The V8's like to spring an oil leak in the valley pan gasket, but that's like an $80 part and about 5 hours labor. That leak will burn oil and make it look like the engine has bad rings. This is why I got the car so cheap. Compression test was good.

The 6-cyls are more prone to warping or cracking their heads when they overheat. The best preventive maintenance for all BMW's of this vintage is to replace the water pump and thermostat, replace the plastic driven fan with an electric one, and put in Evans (zero-pressure) coolant. BMW likes to run the coolant very hot and the resulting high coolant pressure likes to bust radiators.

C5Z, cts-v, or the 911 listed. You'll quickly get bored with the rest.

A clean Miata as a daily driver is not a slacker indicator, it demonstrates that you appreciate an era when cars were stripped down and pure. Get a shiny 1.6, put 6ULs on it, swap the power train over, get Exited seats, and the car will command respect. I incessantly recieve favorable comments on ky green car and its respected by most.

They are often more expensive than an m5. But the 540i m-sport is on my list for sure.

Joe, would you by chance consider getting your car painted and buying a new top?

You would come out pretty far ahead finance-wise, and not have to worry about juggling two cars.

And, even if you get a 458 Italia, you will still have a "shitty" miata, it will still have three different colors, it will still have no top, and you will still run the risk of being seen in that car by your potential Ms. Perez candidates.

That will still erase any sort of an image you may have acquired, much faster than it has taken you to build.

Then, we will see this for sale sign for a mint 458 on CL.

95% of women I know like BMWs.
Also, "I have 3 cars" projects a pretty strong image.

edit: just don't get a Z3, they are fucking ugly as sin and most people hate them.

Some guy I knew once had about ten cars.

He was unemployed, and he would have to borrow a car from a friend to run to the store.

It's not the number of cars man..

His goal here is to be taken seriously. Or handsome/intelligent/doing well in life.

Those suggesting fixing up the miata, OMFG LOLOLOL you guys are fucking hilarious.

No one, NO ONE takes you seriously in a miata. Period. I dont give a fuck what kinda miata you have, you're either seen as a hippie, wine/cheeser, or racer/enthusiast.

And despite there being nothing wrong with any of those "images", its just not even close to what he's looking for here.
At least from what I got out of OP.

Truth. Or you could just say 95% of women like anything German and expensive

Although a Miata screams that you’re secure in your sexuality, it is one car that will never, ever get you laid. Especially by a career woman.

DeLorean just says that you have money and love chess and video games. One out of three will not get you laid. If your DeLorean is merely a hobby, then it’s considered to be quirky and unique; apart from that, it’s pure nerd.

Z3/4 is one or two clicks up from the miata, socially speaking, so not very good. The boxter another click or two. As mentioned, they’re basically “chick cars” as viewed by the stereotypical woman who is inclined to stereotype.

The 911 is the only example in the list which is acceptable for your stated purposes. I had a 996 for a spell and it drew a lot of attention. And this was a car I spent about $16k on. As far as the unknowing hoes were concerned, it may as well have been $150k. Definitely a huge help in wrangling tang.

The E39s are awesome. Fairly easy to work on, parts aren’t too expensive, decent road feel, practical, good looking, etc. But they’re starting to show their age after 16 years and they suck gas and tires like mad. Ask me how I know.

Sidenote: women fucking LOVE seat warmers, even in CA. Further, they like plush interiors and fancy gadgetry, however useless it may be. It’s tough to beat any of the creature comforts found inside most modern Audis. I rule them out for many reasons, but women sure don’t.

I’d shy away from the older benz offerings cuz they just come off as try-hard and pay-low. Unless your pockets are running deep enough to get a drug-dealer-esque CL or CLS, preferably AMG, preferably white with enormous black wheels and limo tint. You’ll be so boss, bitches won’t even see you. But yeah, fuck that.

A Camry hybrid might attract the attention of a professional from a tech company such as Google, but she’s likely going to have large thighs, BO and an outie belly button, so fuck that, too.

But back to reality-
I’d say 911 or 3.0 E39 or maybe a C230K, silver or champagne on tan. Nothing Jap or American or English.

A nice used Cadillac CTS wouldn't be too bad. A quick glance on autotrader has some with about 75K on them for around 11K.

if your budget is low 20's I'd also consider the twin turbo 335's like Stein got, coupe or sedan, either will work.
Great cars, tons of power and performance, great economy, definitely has the "image" as well.

Note to self:
The "respected man" operates an "appliance" that provides no enjoyment and blends into the masses as a statement of social programming conveyance and submission.

This logic may work with mindless middle-management and soleless whores, not with normal people. I had a $44k TT coupe which helped me meet quite a few women...who were all shit, every single one of them. Suddenly I found my current GF. She puts up with the Miatas just fine, she's the EiC of the only legal economics journal in the world, she's already a successful legal economist contracted by several powerful legal firms, and she is currently doing all this while she finishes her PhD. I should note that our first date was more like a job interview where we covered religion, politics, abortion, credit scores, and family in the first 15-minutes of our first date.

I'm sorry dude, but chasing valet box groupies is going to lead you nowhere but failure. You state that you're looking for a career oriented woman with strong enough integrity to attain professional success which significantly narrows the field be weeding out waitresses, receptionists, and anyone who ever "goes clubbing". Do yourself a favor and try internet dating. I had a profile so severely limitting that women feared it...until I found Katie. You will either find your woman through a filtered search on the internet, through a friend, or at work. Don't expect to find a woman in a bar because people with solid careers and real hobbies don't live in bars and don't go looking in bars.

On a side note, every single woman who ever rode in my turbo car loved it and that car got turned a lot of heads when I was in central Texas. Besides, what's more attractive than "my hobby is racing a car."

I agree. If you get a chick solely because of your car, you will eventually be dissatisfied by her vapid, superficial personality. However, women in general – even the most esteemed EiCs – will expect that you know how to interact on a sub-communicated sexual level, you shave your face, you wash your ass, you have nice shoes, a nice watch, nice teeth and you love your Mom. A beat up car, Miata or otherwise, will not convey any of this and you will find yourself weeded out post haste. If you bring more to the table personality-wise, and your car is not the first material possession she observes, then yes, the car very much becomes secondary. At least with the good women. As far as having a “hobby racing car”, well that conveys an entirely separate set of traits, namely that you have a hobby to begin with, and also that you are a big brave race car driver. The fact that your instrument of danger is a 17yo Japanese beercan is immaterial at that point.

A lot of interesting suggestions here.

I don't really have a price in mind. From a purely technical standpoint, I could go out and buy a new Gallardo Superleggera if I wanted to, but on the other hand, I really hate spending money if I don't have to. Translation: there's a reason I'm driving an $800 car right now; I'm a cheapskate.

Right now I'm just sort of window-shopping.

I will not be buying a Cadillac. Or a Corvette. I don't care if they come with a horny Grace Park sitting in the passenger's seat. They could be the greatest cars ever built for all I know, but it just ain't gonna happen.


My general preference is for small cars. Always has been. The 5-series are ok, I guess, but they strike me as being kind of bland in general. I have about the same emotional reaction to them as, say, a V6 Toyota Camry. I'm not passing judgement on anybody who owns one, just saying that they're not exactly my cup of tea. (This has to be at least a little bit about me, after all.) I could see an M3, but like Mobius said, they're sort of in WRX STi territory.


I had literally forgotten about the M Coupe, and while the '06+ models are kind of nice, I've never been a huge fan of the Z-cars in general. I don't hate them, but they don't intrigue me.



Yeah, and I fully intend to paint it, replace the top, etc. And as soon as a CARB EO is available for second-gen NBs, I'll immediately sell it and buy an '01. I'm not getting out the Miata racket.


I expect you're right.

I just love the hell out of DeLoreans, and have always been looking for an excuse to buy one. To me, the DMC-12 has always evoked the same sort of feelings as the De Tomaso Pantera and the Lamborghini Miura, except they're reliable enough to drive further than the distance between your garage and wherever the tow truck will be meeting you, and you can actually buy one for less than drug-kingpin money.

But you're right.




I'm not sensing a lot of love for the SLK here, and that kind of surprises me. Too feminine? In terms of what really appeals to me personally, the SLK320 is right up there with the 997 Porsche.



To be perfectly honest, BO can be treated, and if she is a manager or better at Google, she'll do.

But I'm not buying a Hybrid of any kind. Koenigsegg could build a hybrid version of the Agera that makes 3,000 ft/lbs of torque at 500 RPM sell it for $99 and I wouldn't buy it. (Well, I would buy it and dismantle the battery pack to upgrade my bicycle, but that's beside the point.)


C230K? That thing looks like a Dodge Neon!

A very well-kept, sporty, comfy modern classic, like this one, says "I have taste, I can afford anything I want, but I choose to drive a modern classic for its uniqueness and beauty"

http://www.biser3a.com/wp-content/up...W-635Csi-0.jpg

I had one of these as well. The ergonomics were shit, it was heavy and slow and it handled like Cutlass. A great I6 and it looked nice, but it all ended there.

Was it Joe who once said something about his fondness of the Kharmann Ghia? Although fairly faggy and far from modern, I imagine a super clean (gleaming) restored example could be readily accepted by a woman of quality. But it would need to be a masculine color (black), and you'd need something else for road trips.

Oh my god. Yes yes yes.

However, do you think a woman will respect a car that old?

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/up...bs-240x180.jpg

Saabs are great, quirky, but great. Dirt cheap too. Just stay away from anything with an automatic, no exceptions.

Also, stick to Top Gear, seriously. Cocks are moving from BMW to Audi apparently, so stay away from those. Mercedes, meh. Too easy a choice. Hence my Saab suggestion. Fun, luxurious (you'll never find a more comfortable seat than a 9000/95), cheap, and interesting.

Hustler: Short answer- Yes

If she's that cynical and snub nosed that a classic BMW isn't good enough for her, how do you think she'll be with everything else in her life? Its a pain to find that balance...

Joe, a very clean/sorted Pantera can be bought for about $30K nowdays. My buddy has 3 of them and they are great panty droppers, second only to his 930.

The ergonomics of the Pantera sucks. Not a very realistic daily driver.

-Raj

Ok, new info, new suggestions.

BMW 1 series: Small. nice looking etc.
Porsche Caymen S: How come nobody suggested the Caymen S?
Pantera: Great band, great car. Doesn't seem like it would have reliability issues since it has a Chevy 350.
Mini Cooper S: Small, quaky, fun.
Ferrari 308 GTB: Cheap (relatively) to buy, it's a Ferrari.
DeLorean: Not my cup of tea, but you seem to really want one and you only live once. Pull the trigger.

mini cooper S - BIGGEST FAGIT PIECE OF SHIT IN THE UNIVERSE. even gayer than a miata

Posche Cayman S - VERY good idea. I completely forgot about them. Co-worker has a white one, and makes me drool every time I look at it.

This thread largely seems to reinforce Joe's original premise.

The Pantera came stock with a Ford 351 Cleveland. Pretty reliable motor. It used to have a bad rep due to overheating. There are readily available solutions for it. It is pretty cheap to hotrod these motors and make fun hp/tq.
It is a very fun car to drive if you are willing to put up with the limited space and hard ingress and egress. I love the Pantera. I am gonna get one some day.

-Raj

Hmmm...

I don't specifically dislike the looks of the newer Sixes. I'm just not particularly enamored with BMW in general for some reason. The more I look at that picture, the more it grows on me, though... What year is that?



Yeah, but my ACVW days are in the past. The Ghia is a beautiful car, but finding one that's in decent shape is damn near impossible these days, and quite honestly, the suspension, engine, transmission, ergonomics, etc., on all of the Type 1's were shit.



Like the Ghia, a Pantera is something that I'm probably happier thinking about than I would be owning.

It's funny that you mention the 930. That's another car which I find absolutely beautiful to look at, yet absolutely horrid to drive.



Wait. A Boxster is f4ggotry, but a Caymen is cool? I has a confused.

Besides, they cost more than 911s at the moment.


I absolutely love the 308, but like the Muira it's a 30-40 year old Italian car. Great for posters in teenage boy's bedrooms, but I can't imagine May or Clarkson making it to the end of a challenge in one.

If it's not too much trouble, could you please go die in a fire? :D

:bowrofl:

Well if you like small cars and want something nice
Infinity M45 or Q45-styling might be bland but the have a nice V8/RWD and the handling/reliability seems to be ok. G35/37 nice care but bland for me.
Lexus IS300 good luck finding one in really good shape but they are pretty nice an older GS400 could be made to look nice and has some grunt.
Hell, executive type ladies around here all want a Range Rover.

Having seen a couple of deloreans in person and helping work on one, I can say they seem like huge pieces of shit. Having gone for a ride in one, I can say they are slower than shit. There is something that tickles your wee-wee every time you open the door and slide into the seat though. I'd own one for sure.

Besides, doesn't a 2JZ fit in there? That would certainly fix the slow problem.

Oh, this was about getting chicks. Thats not gonna happen in a DeLorean.

And who says that the ladies dont like miatas? They always complement me and want to go for rides with the top down. And having one with a turbo and 3" exhaust makes their panties wet for sure. I also think that they use the inverse logic of "big trucks mean small weeners" so driving such a faggy little car must mean that you're packin for sure.

1988 635 CSi. E24 chassis.
https://www.google.com/search?q=bmw+...=1920&bih=1109

They're the "shark nose" BMWs:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4860010...1583/lightbox/

Oh I forgot the car with the biggest chick magnet: DODGE VIPER.

If you're going to get a second car, you might as well make it something practical that isn't solely going to be useful for attracting someone.

4 door luxury sedan with folding rear seats is pretty utilitarian, while still maintaining the desired aura. IMO, no point in getting a second car that won't get you any more functionality than you already have.

Personally, I have a 98 A4 and the miata, and it's a pretty workable combination. The only better combination I can think of is a miata and a crew cab truck, but that's probably not what you're looking for.

Well alright then. How about a mid to late 90's porsche 911? Or any other model for that matter: It's a fucking porsche! Something like this, perhaps:

Porsche 911 Carrera

No seriously, Saab.

I have a solution!

Porsche Speedster Replica. It's basically a miata that gets punani. Bonus geek points if you purchase it in more than 5 pieces.

http://classiccarsplus.net/thecars/1...E/IMG_0069.JPG


this selection earns double bonus points because you can base it on your first love. VW Beetle underpinnings.

Back to the topic of "that car is nice, how will women treat it?", my 9/10 interior in my 1999 M3 was raped by bedazzled jeans of a female. Now I rock hockey jersey seat covers.

Obviously, get an e36 M3. Cheap and easy to floss in. Sounds awesome with an intake and an exhaust.

Damn you for planting this idea in my head...


The 996/997 911s are definitely at the fore of my mind, right beside a silver SLK. I like the styling of both, and they're both convertibles. The 911 has always intrigued me in the way that it seems to defy both physics and reason by actually handing well, and I must admit that the retractable hard-top of the SLK appeals to me. It does kill some trunk space, but a co-worker of mine has one (well, it's his wife's, but they're separated and somehow he wound up with it) and it's quite nice. I'd probably offer to buy it from him if it weren't bright yellow.


Really?

I've never really looked all that hard at Saab. I've always associated the brand with "I am a tenured professor of history at a small, private university. Do you think that this tweed blazer goes well with this mahogany pipe?"



Yeah, specifically the underpinnings of a pre-1969 Beetle featuring the horrid torsion-bar and swing-axle rear suspension in which camber changes as the body rolls.

(Why Thunder Ranch has never made an IRS version of that car with support for A-arm suspension is beyond me...)

I appreciate the thought, but no. I'm quite well aware of all of the various 356 / 550 replicas on the market, and I do not want one.

even if it's not the beetster, i think a classic car of some sort might be pretty neat. unfortunately you'll have to contend with prices and technology.

Well, that's sort of my thinking concerning the XJS. It's an unbelievably gorgeous car, and while running examples can be found at reasonable prices, finding one that doesn't look and run like a 30 year old car is getting tricky. I already have one restoration project in the garage right now, not looking for another.

So spend the money and have a reputable shop do one of these kits for you:

http://www.jaguarspecialties.com/XJ6C-P1.asp

I bought a silver SLK320 for my wife (women seem to love these cars) about 3 years ago and it's been a great car. In many ways I like it better than my Miata, especially if it was a car that I would be driving every day. Things like the power retractable hardtop, build quality, trunk space (when the top is up) and the engine (somewhat powerful yet refined and smooth). A few things that I don't like about the car is the amount of cowl shake over big bumps, understeer at the limits and the amount of hate it draws from Miata owners (I've never understood this one). Overall it's proved to be very reliable and has been relatively cheap to maintain. I've even managed to do a few track days in it when my Miata was broken. Lately I've even been using it as a daily driver while the Porsche goes under the knife. The only thing I would probably do different next time would be to take a closer look at the SLK32 AMG and drive both before making my decision.

Italian muscle for $20k+:

2002 Maserati Coupe 6-spd:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Maser...ht_4233wt_1165

Convertible:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Maser...t_51448wt_1165

http://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/pi...der.6824-E.jpg

Coupe:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CW0Bk2RjM9...bE/s1600/6.jpg

If you get one, get a 6-spd and the "skyhook" semi-active suspension.

Those are beautiful, and give me another idea. How about an Aston Martin? They are also beautiful, and scream "I've got some $, but I have taste too."

No kit cars, no engine swaps (I live in CA), no bullshit.





I keep getting pulled back to the SLK vs. the 911. These seem to be the real contenders in my mind.

I'd love to own an AMG55, but that's probably a tad more money than I'd be willing to spend. The AMG32 looks nice, though they're fairly rare and from what I've seen, their owners tend to have a rather optimistic opinion of their value in the secondary market.


You know what's really interesting? This whole process has been quite a learning experience for me in terms of my perceptions of what constitutes "expensive" in the common vernacular.

I've always owned cheap cars. Granted, my current '90 is the cheapest I've ever had, but in general, I've just never seen the point in spending money on things I don't have to. I suppose I'm one of those people to whom another might say "You have a bunch of money, why are you driving an old car and living in a crappy apartment?" to which my retort would be "I have a bunch of money because I have always lived in crappy apartments and driven old cars."


So here I am lamenting whether to spend $20k vs. $30k on a nice status car, and it occurs to me "Wait, I think I've heard of people paying this kind of money for Toyotas and Kias." So I do a little Googling, and sure as hell, people actually seem to be paying $20-$30k for brand new Camrys and Kia SUVs and 4Runners every day, and they're taking out loans to do it. I'm not going to hijack my own thread about it, but that just really surprised the hell out of me. I honestly had no idea that new "average" cars were so expensive.

I mean, I understand that, from a macroeconomic standpoint, it was necessary for someone to pay $20k (adjusted) for an A-package Miata a bit over two decades ago in order to set into motion the chain of events which resulted in my buying that exact same car for $800 last year. If there were no new cars, then there could be no used cars. I get it. And that, in and of itself, sets off a whole existential chain of thought along the lines of "Gee, I wonder what things this car has experienced over the past 22 years. What places it must have gone, what people must have driven it..."

What I don't get is the thought process which goes on inside the brain of an otherwise sane and reasonable person which convinces them that it's perfectly acceptable to pay $25,000 for a Honda Accord with a couple of options when, for the exact same money (or less) they could be driving a 911 or a 5-series BMW or whatever high-end German car happens to fit their lifestyle need.


I'm dead serious. This is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night.


Ok, that's enough of that.


It's funny- I can specifically remember recommending a Maserati Coupe several months ago in somebody's "what reliable DD should I buy" thread, and being told (and I'm paraphrasing here) that I was an idiot.

I'd more or less forgotten about them in the time since, but you're right, those are some very nice vehicles.




I looked at Astons, and unfortunately, there's not much in the way of offering around here. Those which are on the market seem to be fetching $30+, and for that money, I'll take a 911 or an AMG Mercedes, thank you very much.

I am dead serious: I think about shit like this all the time as well.
I've come to the conclusion that people simply don't give a shit.
The amount of time put into sitting down, doing homework, putting together a game plan and a list of wants/needs is about 5-10 minutes on average.

They walk into the stealership, get a good pitch thrown at them, and say "fuck it".....


You, me, and a few others on here are the 1%:giggle: