DaFunkyUnit

A while back, (If you had to pick a midrange European sedan....) I asked the members here what they thought about midranged sports sedans. Now, a couple years down the road, I finally have the financial facilities to actually buy a car now. And feedback from you guys is always great!

Let me explain what I think:

Lexus IS300: A decent car, decently priced. Is the interior still crap?

Acura TL: Kinda expensive for an Acura, isnt? Although boasting a 270hp 3.2L engine is... woah

Audi A4: Ok, so theres the A4 1.8T and the 3.0. I honestly don't know if going all out 3.0 is worth it or not. The numbers look good, but other than that, I have nothing to base it on. (I guess i should go test driving some time...)

Subaru Impreza WRX: Cheap car. But I'm not planning on racing or doing any rallies. STi?

VW Passat: I don't know much about this one. The W8 is expensive though.

Infinity G35: Also kinda pricey, but performance numbers are solid.

Mercedes C230: Probably the only Mercedes that I could possibly afford.

BMW 3: 325i? or 330i? Is the extra 20 or so horses worth the 7 grand?

price range: I'm probably thinking about leasing the car. Maybe throw down at most $2k down payment max, and hopefully $350 montly max. Any car that is above $35k, I start to feel woozy and light-headed

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SnowSurfer

voted for the g35...cause they just look hot...but def a coupe

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psycho-

Interior is utter crap though

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kimchicowboy

get the 4WD G35. sure, interior is kinda plastic-y, but it's something i don't really mind. cuz the performance speaks for itself.

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SnowSurfer

ohh hmm ive never sat in one...maybe i should change my vote to the sti...

brain

Good luck on leasing any of these cars for $350/mo (including tax) with only $2000 down. You might be able to pull it off if you got a completely stripped A4 or Passat. With a $350 monthly lease payment, you can probably afford a car in the $27k range. Keep in mind that when you have to get get insurance coverage on a leased vehicle, you'll have to get higher coverage $100k/$300k in most cases. It's also a good idea to purchase gap insurance as well. I'm assuming since this is your first lease, be sure to learn about cap reductions, money factors, residual values, and other miscellaneous fees that might get tagged on to your lease such as documentation fees.

A good bang for the buck is the Acura TL. It comes with everything you'll need. There really aren't any options for this car other than cosmetics and navigation system.

gear02

Yeah...I was gonna say...how can you get a luxury car at $350 a month?? I pay $345 a month for a civic (granted a 36 month term and I'm owning it, not leasing.

brain

He might be able to do it on a 60 month lease, but why would you want to do that? That almost defeats the purpose of it. Also, if you have your own business, it helps out financially since you are able to write part of the car off unless you can prove the vehicle is being used for business purposes 100%.

bachviet

Acura TL

The G35 sedan is a pretty good buy but the Acura TL looks better. If the G35C is in there, it would be my choice.

Here in SoCal, you could lease an 3.0 A6 for $399/month with $2000 down for 48 months.

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Tommy Boomfiger

if you are going to spend $30k, my first vote would be for the STi or EVO. dont have any personal experience in an STi, but the EVO is tons of fun and i can only imagine that the STi would be just as much fun.

id stay away from the passat, it doesnt really fit in with the rest of the cars you picked. if you want an audi, the difference between the 1.8t and 3.0 is pretty much turbo lag. both perform about the same, but youre going to feel the lag off the line. the audi has a little sportier suspension than the passat and looks a little more expensive inside but with less room than the passat.

and the bimmer is always a good choice due to its handling, which despite its numbers and price, makes me smile every time i go through the twisties. the STi is going to get you a lot more bang for your buck, but i cant imagine that handling would be as fun on the street as a bimmer. guess i need to go find out

attgig

I voted for the TL.

they're all decent cars, but you have a pretty big range of cars.

I just don't like the look of the lexus. it's a very standard boxy (vs the wrx which is boxy, but a different look).


I think the outliers are the wrx and passat. they just don't fit with the rest of the cars in there.

look at brain's post about his great experience with the benz.
the beamer is nice...but if i were to get a 3, i'd have to get a 330, and then the price gets to high.
the A4 is a nice car, and i'd stick with a 1.8 and chip it (there are chips that you can take out before you return the car).
the g35 definitely looks nice, and is the the clear 'wildcard' of the bunch
I actually think the TL's styling went down from the previous couple years, but I picked it simply because it's a solid car.

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DaFunkyUnit

my friend's sister was able to snag a Passat for $306 a month, with $2500 down.

according to BMW's website, with $2000 down and $350 a month, you could get a 325i.

but yea, maybe i'm being too aggressive with the price...

brain

Wow. That BMW deal is a hell of a deal! It's only a 24 month lease. Granted, you only get 10k miles per year and the car is pretty basic. It's still a REALLY good deal!

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Tommy Boomfiger

dude, you forgot your sarcasm tags again

brain

I'm not being sarcastic. It truly is a good deal.

Tommy Boomfiger

guess i dont see the 10,000mi/year as a good deal for a bimmer. maybe if you only drive a little and write it off...

brain

The key thing about this lease is that it is only 24 months. That is why I think it's a good deal. For me, this lease wouldn't work out since I drive way too much, but my brother in law's little brother drives very little so this would work for him.

gear02

How do you write of a car? Can you do it for a personal car?

brain

You can write off the expense of your car if you have your own business. Please contact your local tax professional for more information.

jetblack

TL or G35 one of the two. I think the TL has the G beat on the interior, but the G has a more sporty suspension and gets my vote for 'fun to drive' factor. Either way, you'll be pretty happy!

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rasetsu

I voted for the G35. I'm suprised to see that many votes for the 3 series when the G35 and the TL provide more hp for less money in fully loaded trim.

I don't think the G35 interior is crappy at all. The styling is edgy and a little cold so I can see why someone who was used to German interior styling would not like the interior of the G though. For those who find the G35 interior to be crappy, then definetly stay away from the WRX.

The only reason I place the G35 over the TL is because the TL is FWD. The G35 sedan also makes only, what?, 260hp? As opposed to the coupes 280 and TL's 270.

The STi is a BLAST to drive. The EVO is fun too, but I found the power delivery on the STi to be smoother and the quality and feel of the interior materials and seats seemed a little better on the STi. The EVO is a little more stable on corners though. I hear that the EVO will have leather Recaros for '04 models. I've driven both the E36 M3 coupe and M3 sedan and I had a lot more fun with the STi and the EVO. You just can't beat the AWD and that thumb wheel on the STi that allows you to manually control the center differential to adjust the amount of power that is distributed b/w the front and rear wheels. Awesome. The Ms were torquey, but fun factor goes to the AWD cars.

IMO, the two cars that are outside your spectrum of what I see to be near-luxury sport sedans would be the WRX for the lack of luxury and the C230 for the lack of sport.

I would never consider a Mercedes unless I had money for an AMG model. I would also never consider a BMW unless I had money for a M model. To get a BMW with numbers similar to the competition, you'd have to look at the 330i with sport package costs which way too much.

nhbilly

damn spoken like a performance freak!

I AGREE WITH YOU!

BMW only M, Mercedes only AMG

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DaFunkyUnit

yea, i only wish i could afford an M or an AMG. so you can get EVOs now? you don't have to import them anymore?

brain

The EVO has been available for a while from your local Mitsu dealership for about $29k.

rasetsu

Are you sure you live in CA? You've probably seen several of them on the roads and you didn't even realize it. The Mitsu dealer in Santa Monica has been running specials on EVOs every now and then for $27K.

attgig

http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/leaseoffers

325i:
$289 First month’s payment
$2,500 Down payment
$300 Security Deposit
$3,089 Cash due at signing

Total lease payments is $7,464.00.




325xi:
$329 First month’s payment
$2,500 Down payment
$350 Security Deposit
$3,179 Cash due at signing

gear02

sweet...i never knew they had such deals for leasing. Now I know why there are so many luxury cars out there.

This is also helpful because I've been wanting to get my parents a luxury car when they return to the states (Living in malaysia right now). They've never owned any good car so I figure it would be a great thing for them to have. But I never knew how to pay for it.

DaFunkyUnit

ya, i guess I don't pay too much attention. If I see a mitsubishi sedan-like car drive by, I'd assume its a Galant.

Airencracken

Get whichever one hauls the most ass. Period.

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rasetsu

Most EVOs out there are either red, silver, or blue. Colors that most Galants don't come in. Also, look for the carbon fiber spoiler and fat intercooler behind the front bumper. Kinda hard stuff to miss. If you start looking for these things, I'll gurantee that you'll start seeing EVOs on nearly a daily basis.