He's already said no to the CTS-V, Vette (IIRC) and I don't see the Viper being a "yes". For me, it'd be a different story.

Edit:
I have the answer: 335d M Sport Coupe

http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...r-335d-005.jpg

What year is your 335i coupe, Stein? I have always seen weights closer to 3600 pounds than 3200 pounds for those cars.

As a small-car guy, the weight was always a big turn-off to me (on paper; I have never driven one). I am the guy that engaged the traction control in his G35 sedan almost every morning on his daily commute, though.

I was surprised to see the 335i coupe is about the same overall length as a Sentra and significantly shorter, while sticking a bit longer wheelbase underneath.

Mine is a sedan, not a coupe. It's an 08. And yes, you are right. They are 3,600 I was mistaken. The thing that I like about DD this car is 300TQ at 1,400 rpm. It's so easy to drive. Steering is heavy, feels like a depowered rack in a Miata. Not some over-assisted numb wheel. It's nice.

Sentra is 179.8 long, BMW 178.2
Sentra is 59.5 tall, BMW is 55.9
Sentra is 70.5 wide, BMW is actually wider at 71.5

Still, pretty close.

haha no-homo-hi-5!

I wear a tshirt and jeans errry day to work.... when I'm not wearing shorts.

This is my buddy's $16k NSX:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/...492bb789_b.jpg
Pussy Control. This is probably the best looking, best driving, and best sounding car ever made. I don't say shit like this, frankly I never have...but it's "driving emotion". I don't think another car like it exists.

Also, please don't forget that since you're getting this car to fit social norms you'll need a black car, with black interior, with black wheels, and drive the car with one-hand at 12 o'clock. This is probably more important than the car you drive.

No NSXs, no Corvettes, no Vipers, etc. Wrong line of thought there.


So, no love for the Mercs in general. Even the SL500? That one was really starting to grow on me- the whole PRHT concept in particular.


And I must admit I'm surprised to hear about the engine issues on the 996. I hadn't really come across that so far, though I have seen a couple listed on AutoTrader that had received replacement engines, which now makes sense. Any word on the reliability of those that have been swapped out?

I'm really surprised you of all people are attracted by a Merc joe.
You want something interesting, relatively lightweight, presentable, and fun, and you lean towards a Merc? eww

2000 Nissan Altima GXEwill get you mad tang.

There is a device just out for the 996 that you screw into the oil drain hole that detects the beginnings of ground up metal which tells you engine failure is imminent. You then perform the pricey bearing upgrade that fixes it, which is much cheaper than an engine replacement, obviously. Said device is like insurance, because it's much cheaper than the bearing upgrade.

If I'm not mistakin your kind of an eccentric. Your car should reflect this in a stylish way.

Also remember about "good" women. You don't meet then at bars, you meet them at some kind of activity. Get some cool hobbies like swing dancing, scuba, car racing, AA, gun club, metal detecting, gardening, wine club, book club, idk etc. You won't meet them trolling hipsters, wearing those shirts, and generally not with a mustache. I agree with Hustler about not pretending to be a rich douche, you dont want that kind of girl. However, you do have to make yourself presentable at first. You can regrow the mustache and wear a crazy shirt after she gets to know you as a person. First impression are very important. Shaving your molestache, solid color 2 button shirt, and a nice classic polo hat isn;t going to kill you. Have nice dress clothes for dinner too.

you guys keep failing to realize that joe isn't doing this to go
"roll up to da club on dubz and swoop sum madd hoez y0"
but rather to appear "presentable" and "not a dirty hippie" to your typical successfull carreer woman.

but like y8s and others said: if you really do wear hawaian shirts everywhere they have GOT to GO!!!

Would upgrading the suspension on the 996 to the M030 or some other factory suspension (GT2?) "fix" this "problem"?

My ex-boss (engineer) bought a mid-late 90s SL500 'vert in the early 2000s after a messy divorce. He bought it to console himself and try and speed up meeting women. He ended up selling it after only about a year because he said "it attracted the wrong kind of women". He ended up buying a 5-year old VR6 GTi because he liked it, and this was what he was driving when he met his next wife, a down-to-earth cutie who's a Genetic Engineering researcher.

I think that gen SL500, and SLK, look bland. The SLK looks short and stubby and funny to me. Very feminine looking to this miata driver. The later, more muscular looking ones are much better.

Thus the E24 635 CSi. ;)

"AA, gun club, metal detecting..."

i bet there are some hot hot 68 year old, worn out, paranoid bitches at that kind of event.

You could buy one of these and then justify the purchase of an oscilliscope and a feature rich multi-meter.

There's a hot, new SBC swap kit for the 996...that's a Porsche I would consider.

Do you need a :) after some of my posts?

I have about 5 decent friends in Corpus, 2 of them just picked up 6 series last week. One is a 78 grey import and one was a rich guys 79 hpde car with a built motor. They are neat cars, but I would assume Joe would want one fully restored for what he is lucking for. How hard is it to find a 90% like new one that can be drivin across the country?

That's funny, this thread is making me think about how good I have it. My GF and I have a short list of expensive restaurants, we prefer scary, dirty ethnic food, you'll rarely catch me without flip-flops, we're both "cat ladies", and when she pisses me off, I show her my "under-carriage".

Another vote for the 635csi.

I hear cooking class is a great place to meet diverse ladies. As I recall from a TV dinner thread, Joe could use the lessons.

What about the BMW 850? Anybody know anything about these? They look retarded good.

Yeah, it uses an LSx, but Joe already said "hell no" to it a few pages back. That was the Porsche hybrid link.

The 996 had the soggy suspension to try to gain a more mainstream audience. It lost the core Porsche buyers. The 997 brought back the sporty suspension. and they cured the expensive "engine eating itself" problem.

Yeah, the problem with the Hawaiian shirts is that you might see yourself looking like this:

http://image.toutlecine.com/photos/m...-1988-02-g.jpg

or

http://images4.fanpop.com/image/phot...26-960-540.jpg



But they see you as looking like this:

http://i.cdn.turner.com/dr/teg/tsg/r...s/noltemug.jpg

or this:

http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content...ng-arizona.jpg

http://mimg.ugo.com/201004/41999/raising-arizona.jpg

:rofl: This thread is quickly getting away from Joe...

I ran a 2001 996 for a year or so. There are known problems but some of them are myths. The two common problems that I remember most were cracked cylinder liners and lunched gear boxes. Each costing about $10k for a remanufacutured unit (if memory serves). Awesome car. Great to drive. Comfortable. Gobbled up the miles on road trips. Decent on gas. Insurance was a huge suck, cops were magnetically attracted, and outsourcing maintenance and repairs was financial ---- rape. For example, one bank had a leaking valve cover gasket, so I took it in for a quote, and they wanted $1100, but that included an oil change. Never before had an estimate hurt my feelings so badly. And it wasn't very easy to work on, at all. And it requires quite a few special tools. If you do go this rout, as with any Porsche, buy the cleanest, best maintained example you can, and records, records, records.

Yes and bill's from V12 look retarded, so its no no 850, go with 840 V8 if you have to have one. Somehow both V12 from 90's (mb&bmw) arent as good as they should be.

If you can reach out, go with new 1M.

its funny you say that, considering its a very similar block (the 850) to the v12 in the F1.

I think the 850 is a fine car, but I have no idea on its reliability or maintenance costs. If anything, its not going to be cheap, its a fuckin bmw.

High maintenance like all older bimmers but even harder to find parts for than normal.

Let's face it. Normal cars that don't make chicks think you are either eccentric or an arrogant cock are pretty boring.

BTW, are those light up rings around the headlights of BMWs called cock rings? I ask because everybody I've run across that has them is a cock.

Lol.

If you are looking for a presentable car to take nice women out on dates you should just get a four or five year old Acura sedan or a Maxima or medium size Lexus or something. You want to look sensible and normal without coming off too flashy with the cash. Something that says you are at least management level and can be trusted not to bang the secretary. And you want something you won't need to work on or that will be at the dealership all the time. And you are likely to get a girl that likes being around you and isn't trying to figure out how to separate you from your money. This is what I am reading from happily married people like Brain (Altima), Y8s (minivan), and myself (Camry). We weren't driving fancy cars when we met good women. It just needs to be clean and not ragged out. You are more likely to find a sensible woman when driving a sensible car. You are more likely to find a flashy woman with expensive tastes and an interest in "what's in it for her" with a flashy car.

I hate to say it but you need a really nice, well optioned appliance car that serves its purpose as a clean, comfortable, date mobile. It should be something that exudes an aura of stability and normalcy. You should get a fun car, too, but once you get the comfortable car purchase out of the way you won't have to compromise at all on the fun car. It can be all about what you want. It can be light, noisy, impractical, and uncomfortable. And it can be fun.

In my world, everybody needs a tow vehicle but I'm weird that way. If you get a newer 4Runner or something like it, you could tow your UltimaWestfieldNoble to the track on the weekends.

I cross shopped an Acura TL with the 6spd, Torsen, and Brembo brakes. Nice car, but I like my 540i better. More luxurious, nicer interior, quieter, RWD, V8 is ballsier around town. It was also like $6k less.

Talk about the horrid De Lorean
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=341913

I think the e39 540 is a good choice. Nice car, reliable, has a v8, and its pretty classy but not new enough to be cocky.

This won't fix your eternal virginity, but at least you would look cool driving around alone.

http://image.europeancarweb.com/f/35...river_side.jpg

Bond you know the two best days on Ferrari owner life are when they buy it and follows by the day when they sell it.
To be fair, one 355 owner stated that w8 Passat was more expencive to own than 355

348s and 355s are fuckin ridiculous to maintain. Example the 355 has two radiators up front. They break all the time. Ferrari wants 4K a piece for just the parts.

Manifolds crack. Im pretty sure you have to yank engine for belts and it has ridiculously short interval like 15K miles or some shit.

The 355 is one of my favorite ferraris and I would never own one, if I still worked for my money.

I remember some teenage dude on cardomain working on a Deloren. Bunch of little stuff to get it reliable and pretty. Last page said he traded some random dude straight up for a 355 and was no driving around Seattle looking for a place to do a clutch job. He was so screwed.

With Mondial T/348/355, first belt job and two post car lifter paid it self back.
They can be used and serviced by common man but parts arent just miata cheap (nothing is).

Any thoughts on a Tesla?

Solved it.
http://image.automobilemag.com/f/rev...arter_view.jpg
LS Power
Cheap to fix
Reliable
Pretty
And when it came out all the magazines where comparing it (with good results) to the 5 series.

Friend has one it is a very good car, and down right sexy in red or white,

Apparently not what he's looking for. I think he'll end up with a 930 or 996.

Shit I didnt see where he said no to a G8. NVM then.

6.0 Diesel Excursion?

This will get you laid:
http://www.decodesystems.com/gremlin-gt-ad.jpg

And this is horrible:

The new Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S should be a little bit bigger than a Honda S2000 and is being compared (from a handling and power perspective) to an MX-5. ~2700 - 2900 pounds depending on options. Likely to be priced in the low to mid twenties.

Just throwing that out there.

Hmm I really like the m6/635csi but for your purposes I think an E28 or maybe E34 M5 would be better. They are smaller more nimble cars than the 6 series and have less of the lounge lizard element that the big 6 coupes had. I think the e28 is the best looking 5 series and has more style than the e39 which I think is a bit generic but that is just an opinion.
They are much more practical,have the same engine(s38) as the m6 and aren't that expensive to maintain.
Anyway just a thought

^Yea, good luck finding an E28 M5 (if that is what you were trying to say). Although I do agree the E28 is a sexy car. I still put my vote down for the e39 540i. an M5 will have some ridiculously expensive maintenance overall, and I think Joe seems like a frugal spender.

Only $18.5k in CA!

http://bringatrailer.com/2011/12/05/...5-bmw-m635csi/

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

Joe, to expand on the 911 notion that Blaize started, you might consider a 90-94 911 (964 series).

964s were ~85% new compared to the outgoing 911 of the day, and addressed all the things you hated about the '82 911 -- better HVAC (a/c actually works), power steering, hydro clutch, a vastly better shifter... etc. They're at the bottom of their depreciation too, prices have ranged from 17-25k for years, yet still a good chunk less than a 993 which is mechanically largely similar to the 964.

Plus they don't scream desperation the way other (formerly pricey) older cars currently do.

Not sure if this has been suggested yet but how about a Lotus Evora? It's light, seats "4" and is a little more rare and sophisticated as Mr. Perez himself:


http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/cro...c-2_460x0w.jpg
It might be a little too flashy though, but I think it might be a good fit, it's a least more fun than a 5 series and if you're really considering a 911 I think this might be a good contender, although probably more pricey than a 996 or the other ones you're looking at.

Bad boys bad boys, watcha gonna do!

http://www.imcdb.org/i002561.jpg

A lesson in putting your money where your mouth is, this arrived in my driveway yesterday

Attachment 186398

You live in a tent?

That's how he managed to budget for the Porsche. :idea:



Details? (on the car, not the teepee)

that's a photo from the sellers ad. You guys won't believe this, but I traded an old VW bus for it. When I moved to England I brought my VW with me as I knew they were/are worth MUCH more over here. Well I paid $2400 for the bus in Seattle 5 years ago, and just traded it in a straight swap for the 911 that was advertised for £11,000 ($17k). Saw the ad for the 911 on eBay and in the text he said he was selling in order to get a camper, emailed him, one thing leads to another, and bang. Straight swap. Sadly the Miata will be going on to a new owner this week as I damn sure don't need both and don't want to insure or pay road tax ($400/year) on two cars. But I am getting £4300 ($6.7k) for the Miata, so will be able to do all sorts of dumb shit to the 911 right out of the gate. To be honest I have even been looking at the megaquirt forums for Porsche's.

Its a 1984 carrera 3.2 and a euro model so a bit more power than the US ones. Stainless decat and muffler, K&N cone, and a chip. Bilsteins all round. Its been poorly maintained by the guy I got it from, but he only had it 14 months, and needs a load of maintenance done. But as I said in an earlier post, I was a dealer tech in New Orleans up until Katrina sank my house, so I still have all the special tools and manuals (dealership stayed dry).
It also had lots of elec bugs but I have most of it fixed already, all dirty/loose connections and blown bulbs. Its in fucking amazing shape, and everything works.

This is what I traded for it

Attachment 186397

I've looked at the 964s, and was rather surprised to find that, around here anyway, they seem to price out in about the same territory as the 996s.

The other thing that bugs me, to be quite honest, is that the 964 is really starting to look like an old car. I still think they're cool, but more in a "poster on a teenage boy's bedroom wall" kind of way. Even the 993s are starting to show their age, and not just on the outside. I've never liked the interior layouts in any of the older 911s- to me, they look like something that British Leyland might have produced in the 1970s had they taken the time to stop being on strike and actually design something.

I'm really kind of liking the 996 idea, to be honest. SixShooter commented a while back on their suspension being a tad lackluster, and while I haven't put a lot of research into it yet, I have to assume that a solution to this exists in the form of some revalved dampers and new springs. From what I can tell, there's nothing particularly exotic about the mechanical design of the 996 suspension apart from having the word "Porsche" stamped onto it. Heck, Bilstein has both HDs and PSS series shocks available for them- how hard can it be?




At the risk of thread-jacking, I'm curious as to the details of your situation here. I really know nothing about immigration law in the UK- are you what we in the US would call a "permanent resident?"

Sort of. I'll give you the short short version.

My mother is British, my father American. They met in singapore, he was bombing things in 'Nam, she was modeling, I was born a US citizen In California, when I was 20 they split and she went home.

I got married to a girl from Texas, honeymooned in England as we had somewhere to stay for free so could stay longer, she fell in love with the place. Hurricane Katrina hit, we were under 2 miles from the levvee break, and we lost everything.

wife decides she wants to go back to school for masters, as we have nothing we can travel light, why not a school in England. My mother of course loves the idea and between the two of them what can I do but go along with it. She finishes school and gets a job with the BBC, her visa changes from a student visa to a work visa, in both cases I am just on a spousal visa riding her coat tails. and thats where we are now.

Every time a visa expires we have to pay the "application fee" for the next one. its a total scam of course, there are set criteria and either you meet it or you don't, but all the same the fee is around $500 per person every time the visa runs out and has to be refreshed (she has a son so that's x3). The visa's last 2 years usually, just so they can get another fee from you.

after 5 years here we will gain dual citizenship and no longer have to play this fee game, but the clock only started when she switched to a work visa last year, so while we have been here 4 years, we are only one year into the 5 if you see what I mean. The "application fee" for citizenship is $1200 per person now and bound to be more by then (they are even more terrified of immigrants here than in the US, since joining the E.U. eastern europeans have been flooding in. All the low pay service jobs here are held by poles).

On the other hand, Her son had a MASSIVE overbite and it was going to cost well past $20k to have it corrected in the states. Its now fixed and cost me about $8 in parking fees at the hospital, so its not all bad.

I hear from brits who have done it going the other way, into the US legally, is even more expensive.

That's one reason I asked. A friend and neighbor of mine is a UK citizen and software designer who has been in the US for about 11 years on work visa, all the while pursuing LPR status, and it was only this past year that he finally got through the last of the hoops (which amounted to little more than a waiting game, really) and got his green card.

I have heard, anecdotally, about the large numbers of eastern Europeans flooding into the UK in search of work, and the subsequent popular resentment of same; seems quite similar to the situation here in the southwestern US regarding Mexican immigration.

Its pretty much identical. and of course causes massive public outcry for stricter immigration controls. Its actually even worse on this end in that respect because being a member of the EU forces them into an open door policy towards any EU citizen. So when they want to "crack down" on immigration, all they can do is make it more and more difficult for non EU members to get in. Frankly if we were to try from scratch now I doubt we would make it, it gets stricter every year.

anyway back on topic, buy a Benz.

Really?

I honestly don't know all that much about EU policy, but I somehow assumed, given the UK's seemingly separatist attitude (resistance to the EMU, criticism of EU energy and environmental policy, etc), that they would have placed into effect some kind of limitations on immigration policy even within the Union.


Wait, what?

A quick review:

Me: "The SL500 is actually looking quite nice."

Everyone else: "Mercs are unreliable crap. Don't buy one."

I guess the local population is oblivious to this possibility.

also I hear the UK ranks at the top of average breast size.

Yeah one of the fundamental principles of the eu (as I understand it, I am no expert either) is that any EU passport holder can go to live and work in any EU country, pretty much as they please. The wealthy Brits have all run off to Spain, and all the old Soviet bloc folks are here and france.

And look man, these people are all telling you to buy Vipers and Lambo's. They all drive Miata's. who are you taking advice from here. You want a Benz, so go buy one. They are mechanically fantastic, its all the electronics that fuck up, and you of all people will have no trouble with any of that.

Y8S- It beggars belief, Americans are known the world over for having dead straight bright white teeth, and we all pay thru the fucking nose for it, everyone in Europe gets it for free from the state and they can't be bothered to show up. I don't understand it at all.

Stay on track with the Porsche. Only bad issue about 996 is that value is still going down. Go with Carrera 2/4.

We have the same mass movement on smaller scale. All the jobs been taken by Estonians. I work on field that has the most immigrants and have moments where I'm the only Finn of 20 ppl, fine until 6 different national origins try to communicate with bad Finnish. Weird as this has been the last and loneliest dark and cold corner of Europe and now ppl want to come here to beg on their knees or half illegal work force.

Dunno why it took 36 years before I started to really taking "advance" of the free dentist (last week) instead of bi yearly maintain check.