I currently have a 2007 MDX for my wife as her "haul the kids around" while I"m at work car. We use it on weekend trips,etc.
I have my 2000 boxsters. which I drive to work on Friday's and on the weekend for fun, or on date night.
My DD is a worn out, old 99 Volvo sedan. it has been a pretty good dependable car, but it has about 150k on it. the A/C just died and i was quoted about a grand to fix it. the car is worth maybe 3-4k max... i really don't want to dump another grand into a car worth so little. i have a buyer lined up who wnats dirt cheap wheels and doens't care about the A/C iss ue and will give me a couple grand for it...
SO - I'm thinking of something to buy as a DD.
cars i'm considering.
Acura TL Type S
BMW 330 / 328 / 335
Acura RL (06-07 model)
i have three kids - and this car would likely get used sometimes as an alternative to the MDX. rather than drive the MDX to death and rack up miles too fast, it would be nice to have a second car we could take for smaller trips - so it needs to be a car that can fit three kids in back. two are in boosters, one is not.
the TL and 3 series will fit three but it's very tight. the 3 series is slightly smaller than the TL. the 3 series is RWD and likely more fun to drive.
you can find a decent 3 series for about whqat the Acura dealers want for a certified TL-S. I'm kind of partial to the Acura as we like our MDX, and the TL-S is actually a pretty fun car to drive despite being FWD, but the BMW is clearly more the driver's car.
Whatever I buy will be dealer bought, certified. i'll get an 07 model. I can likely get a TL-S in the mid to high 20s. like 26-27k max. which is a more comforatble price point for me.
I could get into a 3 series in that price, but it would be a 328 or 2006 330. The 335s are starting around 31-32k for lesser equipped models. 5k isn't s ahuge difference, but it all adds up.
i'm also thinking long term reliability and maintenance costs. assumikng either car has roughly 25-30k on it, and is "certified" for up to 100k and 6 years from teh date it was sold..assume each sold around mid to late 2006/early 2007, then it means the car would be covered for another 3-3.5 eyhars. i'll likely do a 5 year loan. so toward the end of ownershp, i'll be OFF warranty.
advantage would go to the TL for long term reliability and low maintenance costs - I woudl think.
i can imagine horrid repair $$$ on a twin turbo BMW.....
I have never been a big fan of Infinit, but honestly have not driven the G. so i can't say it's not something I'd like.
littler cars like Civics, Mazda3, etc are alll too small.
the RL is larger, but honestl, my parents have one, i drove it, it was really n ice, but it felt kind of like an "old guy" car. I'm 36.
of course I could always sell my boxster too and just buy a new M3... .
(seriously, I don't know if a new M3 would really be as much "fun" as a boxster - top down, on a twisty road... yeah it's faster, beats it on the specs..but for FUN FACTOR, not much can compare to my boxster....which is why I love it so much.