Budget of ~$35,000 for a DD. What to buy?

[disclaf]

Here's the deal:
My wife currently drives a 2007 Honda Fit as her DD, and the GTI is my DD.

Lately she has been eyeballing my GTI hard, agreeing to all mods, and asking to drive it more often (yikes!). Needless to say, the Fit is finished...

What to do?

Of course, I proposition her - the GTI can be hers if I have a budget of around
$35K for my next car. She agreed! :thumbup:

So - advice is needed on the possibilities.

My first choices are:
2006-2008 Cayman S (chrono sport if possible)
2008-2009 S5

Second choices:
2008-2009 135i
2006-2009 S4

Other possibilities:
New Abarth 500 (mixed feelings, have not driven one yet)
Wait for Alfa Romeo to arrive in US (who knows when that will be, and which cars will be coming over?)
Wait for MkVII GTI (need more info on features and build quality)

This next car would be my DD, and it would also be used for weekend jaunts around LI and upstate NY. My commute to work is less than 5 miles/day. We live in an apartment building with secure parking, but not covered. Manual transmission only. I prefer a German marque. I would probably not mod this next car beyond stage 1.

Each car has its pros and cons, which I am currently exploring. Several members on this forum currently own or have owned some of these cars, and I would appreciate your opinions regarding reliability and costs. Feel free to include other candidates as well.

Thanks!

 

[barische]

lightly used BMW 335 or 135
get a brand new Evo or STI,

look into Nismo 370z

 

[plac]

i just dont see getting another car basically out of warranty already. especially expensive cars like that.

 

[barische]

go drop it as a Downpayment on a M3..

 

[barische]

Shit ii forgot ---- perfect golf R= ~35-36k

 

[plac]

go drop it as a Downpayment on a M3..

thats some truth...

 

[disclaf]

i just dont see getting another car basically out of warranty already. especially expensive cars like that.

good point - I would look to go CPO

 

[Thumper]

Shit ii forgot ---- perfect golf R= ~35-36k

That was my thought when reading your first post. If you can find a Golf R for that price it seems like a good fit outside of any other concerns (FSI engine, fuel pump mod for more power LOL).

But yeah, I would not drop that much cash on the older cars you listed, out of warranty with expensive service and maintenance and use it for a DD.

I would not drive the 500, like the old Beetle, just don't see a man driving it. LOL J-Lo is pimping it, nuff said, Abarth or not.....

If you are going for DD, I would really look for something new or one year old, with included service for a bit and warranty remaining.

 

[disclaf]

Shit ii forgot ---- perfect golf R= ~35-36k

Not a bad idea - not sure if we would want to have another Golf though.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[Isj]

too bad a CPO B8 S4 is just out of your budget, would have been my suggestion.

 

[C4L]

2013 CC 2.0T Sport Plus

Keep it in the family.

Personally, half of the cars that have been mentioned would make terrible daily drivers to me. Loud, stiff suspensions, hard seats, poor gas mileage, etc.

CC 2.0T with DSG hits 60mph in 6.4 seconds, gets 30+mpg, has a nice plush interior, and is fantastic to look at. All for around $32k.

The new 2013's should be hitting dealers sometime this month and they have more standard features than before including, xenons, led tails, climatronic, etc. ALL standard now.

My wife has a 2010 CC and loves it. The 2013 is even better.

Volvo S60 T5 would be on my list too. $36,525 (incl. dest.) for an S60 T5 w/ Climate Pack, Dynamic Pack, Premium Pack, and Xenons...

 

[maxtdi]

For DD I would get a 4 door GTI with comfort and convenience and pocket the 10k.

35k is kind a bad price range... you can't beat the GTI at about 25k after negotiating. Until you hit 40-50k which is when you should go S4.

If you don't mind the MPG or the stigma, Mustang 5.0 is impossible to beat at the 35k pricerange.

 

[CW_GTI1]

I would suggest the N54 135i. Very nimble and quick and I believe they are around $25k now. I was in the market for one before purchasing my MKVI.

 

[Stadpad]

i thought alfa was in the states. so i guess no guilliettas yet i was looking at the performance figures of the fiat 500 abarth and it looks quite good for its small size. with a few mods it could be a beast.

 

[maxtdi]

i thought alfa was in the states. so i guess no guilliettas yet i was looking at the performance figures of the fiat 500 abarth and it looks quite good for its small size. with a few mods it could be a beast.

500 Abarth ... is roughly the same price as the gti, its slower, it has a lot less space and its uglier.

GTI is really the way to go.