What daily driver would you buy for $15k?

[Jeph]

Fun to drive was my #1 priority. (That means RWD is a must.) I'm coming from an Acura TL that was just too soft, squishy, and conservative for me.

Other requirements included 4-doors, sunroof, and xenon.

So what did I end up with?

2004 BMW 330i (with "ZHP" Performance Package)


It'll arrive next week and I could not be anymore excited! I went over the $15k budget a little, but I think it will be worth it. I drool over this color and that Performance Package sounds really slick (thicker anti-roll bar, stiffer springs, tuned cam, wheels, and some other goodies from the BMW factory).

I still long to be reunited with the Porsche family, but I've always wanted to own a Bimmer. My Porsche days are far from over, but hopefully this will hold me over.

So that's what I did. What would you do with $15k for a DD, or slightly more?

[Immortal1520]

Currently, my daily driver is a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's good, nothing overly spectactular about it, but nothing horrible about it either.

Though, in terms of a daily driver for 15K... I'd probably go with a hatchback. Mazda 3 maybe a VW Golf. I'd maybe even consider a hybrid car if I had to do more driving, but considering that my daily driver is an SUV that drinks about as much gas as a typical muscle car, it's clear I don't.

Congrats on the new purchase though, BMW's 3-series has always been good.

[NickCats]

Sweet ride, Jeph ! As always, you have great taste in cars...

I would probably go with a 2004 MB C240 AWD Sedan.

Definitely not as sporty or fun to drive as the BMW, but I would need the AWD up here in the the winter.

My winter car hit 150k yesterday, hopefully I can get a couple more years out of her :



Still waiting to see what you replace the Boxster with ( 2004 911 40th Anniversary maybe ? )

Nick

Very nice, Jeph! Now stay away from the valet stands.

Pretty soon you can buy a new Z06 for $15K.

[renzop]

For 15K I would get a Miata. If that's too small then I would get a Honda Fit (not RWD but fun and practical). Other possibilities - MR2 Spyder, Boxster (yes, you can find '99 to '01 Boxsters for 15K), '05 Mustang GT, Pontiac GTO.

[Topless]

Nice ride Jeph. Last year I tried to get my wife into a sweet 530i that I liked. She wouldn't have it... Lexus gal all the way.

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by NickCats

I would probably go with a 2004 MB C240 AWD Sedan.

Definitely not as sporty or fun to drive as the BMW, but I would need the AWD up here in the the winter.

Still waiting to see what you replace the Boxster with ( 2004 911 40th Anniversary maybe ? )

Nick

Instead of the MB, you could get a 325Xi/330Xi. Those have AWD.

I've scoped out those 40th Anniversary Carreras. Those are slick, but they are so close in price to a 997 base. I was really close to a Cayman S in yellow, but got cold feet at the last second.

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Very nice, Jeph! Now stay away from the valet stands.

Pretty soon you can buy a new Z06 for $15K.

Haha! You won't let that down, will you?

A new Z06 would be pretty good. My uncle has one that he's gonna dump pretty soon. If it weren't black, I'd probably want it more. The power of the Vette would be awesome, but in the long run, I think I'd be happier with a Porsche. Time will tell.

[Mike_Yi]

LOL! I bought my '99 Boxster for $15k as my daily driver. It fulfills that purpose marvelously.

[r9i8c7k]

Originally Posted by Mike_Yi

LOL! I bought my '99 Boxster for $15k as my daily driver. It fulfills that purpose marvelously.

Ditto...got my '02 w/ 22K miles on it for $16K. With tiptronic it is a great daily driver.

[markzeronine]

yep I got my Boxster for my daily driver but I don't have a family so it's easily do-able... I don't like riding around with more than one other person anyway.

For that price and 4door, I would have done the same thing

[sb01box]

my commuter vehicle use to be '04 330i zhp, for the last 2-1/2 years, bmw is in the garage with battery tender attached.
01 boxster (top down) is my daily drive.

[E Kaplan]

My dd is a Jaguar XJR 2004. The car is a mixture of luxury with a large 8 cylinder supercharged engine. Changed the pully and got about 400 horsepower. Much faster than my boxster. Believe it or not, with the 75,000 miles I have on her, it's only worth about $17-18,000. Had no problems with the car so far. Great car, but when I get the chance, I drive my Boxster.

[coreseller]

Very nice car Jeph!!! My brother in law has the same car, color, wheels, etc. His has the sport package, beautiful shifting 6 speed, very cool alcantera steering wheel (which he had the dealer replace under CPO program), etc. I beleive that car has about the perfect balance of size, weight and power, Great Choice.

[Ruby]

If the weather is good and I can drop the top its the Boxster, if not I have a '99 Maxima with 133M trouble free miles for my daily 80 mile commute.

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by sb01box

my commuter vehicle use to be '04 330i zhp, for the last 2-1/2 years, bmw is in the garage with battery tender attached.
01 boxster (top down) is my daily drive.

Talk about your BMW. Has it been a good, fun car? Has it had any problems? What are some things, if any, I need to look out for?

Originally Posted by coreseller

Very nice car Jeph!!! My brother in law has the same car, color, wheels, etc. His has the sport package, beautiful shifting 6 speed, very cool alcantera steering wheel (which he had the dealer replace under CPO program), etc. I beleive that car has about the perfect balance of size, weight and power, Great Choice.

The carfax report on mine indicates that the steering wheel has been replaced. I understand that the alcantera wears very quickly. If that happens to mine, I'll probably end up getting a regular leather wrapped one.

A six speed would have been nice, but I have a feeling my girlfriend is gonna want to borrow it.

I've already mapped out some of the mods I'll be doing... (dark tint, LED tail lights, de-ambering, M3 Side Mirrors, and so forth.)

[Moostang]

2005 clk 500 coupe. decent mileage in the 15 + range in these parts. I always loved the pillar-less b pillar of the coupe. And a V8 .. thats got my vote.

[vath2001]

Honestly for $15k, I would get a Nissan Versa as a daily driver. Enought room to haul all the stuff I don't need and its ready for the $4 gas.

Boring, but bullit proof.

[coreseller]

Originally Posted by Jeph

Talk about your BMW. Has it been a good, fun car? Has it had any problems? What are some things, if any, I need to look out for?



The carfax report on mine indicates that the steering wheel has been replaced. I understand that the alcantera wears very quickly. If that happens to mine, I'll probably end up getting a regular leather wrapped one.

A six speed would have been nice, but I have a feeling my girlfriend is gonna want to borrow it.

I've already mapped out some of the mods I'll be doing... (dark tint, LED tail lights, de-ambering, M3 Side Mirrors, and so forth.)

Regarding the steering wheel, last time we were at a family get together I noticed my brother in law putting on driving gloves before leaving. I chuckled but I guess it makes sense, to each his own.

[Jeph]

This car was located in Springfield, MO. I flew up Tuesday afternoon and drove it right back home.

It's been too long since I've driven a Porsche because this thing feels pretty tight. (BMWs are much more impressive when you don't drive them back to back with a Porsche -ha!)

Behold...





Tomorrow she goes in for window tint.

I think I shall call her Beverly, "Beverly Cruise" or "Beverly the Bimmer."

[Fskof]

I just picked up a 2005 Mini cooper S with 26,000 miles. Its my daily driver to work. Good on gas and fun to drive