Are Beemers getting ugly or Hyundai's getting cute?

PeeTex wrote

Ask yourself, would you rather have a high end Beamer or a yearly chopper trip in the Bugaboos every year? Until I have enough cash to have my own personal chopper waiting on call for every powder day - I'm not thinking about over priced toys with limited usefulness.

I don't drive a BMW, but I do very much enjoy driving.  For some, the extra expense is well worth it, since life is short and sometimes you just can't put a price tag on personal satisfaction and enjoyment.

mattchuck2 wrote

Small, fuel efficient, beater cars ftw.

Define small - anybody choosing a smart car for long skiing trips?
Fuel efficient - the less you  drive the less it matters
beater - that might change to "no beater" when you have a kid

Marcski wrote

  For some, the extra expense is well worth it, since life is short and sometimes you just can't put a price tag on personal satisfaction and enjoyment.

Agreed, CMH is booking up fast, most of the favs are already sold out of '15.

x10003q wrote

mattchuck2 wrote

Small, fuel efficient, beater cars ftw.

Define small - anybody choosing a smart car for long skiing trips?
Fuel efficient - the less you  drive the less it matters
beater - that might change to "no beater" when you have a kid

True.....for what I do a small anything wouldn't work for me. I need a fullsize V8 4x4 p/u...vroom, vroom...and I'll get 15mpg for the rest of my life

I was just about the plunk down the coin for 2013 jetta tdi one month ago...then my wife , who is the smarter half of team. talked me out of it and told me to buy a another legacy.. it's not fun to drive but the reliability  ,awd and 35mpg on the highway can't be beat..

JasonWx wrote

I was just about the plunk down the coin for 2013 jetta tdi one month ago...then my wife , who is the smarter half of team. talked me out of it and told me to buy a another legacy.. it's not fun to drive but the reliability  ,awd and 35mpg on the highway can't be beat..

Impreza 5 door Sport, 5 speed is another on my list of possibilities... but possibly the most boring.  We have a Forester already for our outdoor recreation.

I have this for my summer car:



Great thing about the Miata is:

1) It has the perfect number of seats for me and my wife, and for our around the town travels and for me to get back and forth to work.  

2) I own it.

3) It's cheap as heck to keep running.  Even the insurance is cheap.  Parts are abundant.

4) It gets 28mpg combined whether you drive it like a maniac or like a grandma.

5) It's easy to fix myself.  I understand every detail on this car.

6) OBD 1.  'nuff said.

7) It takes literally 5 min to wash.

8) It looks cool.

9) Despite being very low on power, it is fun to drive.  2200lbs - find me a compact today that weighs that little.  HA!

OTOH if I get hit or roll it, I'm dead

The truck is going.  I don't need to pull a big trailer anymore and I hardly drive it because it is so expensive.

PeeTex wrote

You can buy two or three Subi's for the price of one Beamer and your maintenance costs are a fraction - not to mention how much you loose on resale. But if you want to make a statement - go for the Beamer. My favorite car joke - what's the difference between a BMW and a Porcupine, the porcupine has the pricks on the outside...

The trick is to buy a fairly well maintained used one after the depreciation has been paid. I had a 96 diesel Mercedes for about 8 years. I bought it for 1/5 of the original price and put some money into it, but not any more than I would have with any other used car. Labor costs are about the same ($80-100 per hour). Some parts can be pricey, but you can usually find good prices on the web. After doing one winter in the north country with rear wheel drive (and snow tires), I decided I needed something with AWD. I wanted a used wagon with decent gas mileage - not an SUV. So the choices pretty much are: subie, mercedes, audi, bmw. Long story short, I bought this 2002 with 145k miles on it for $5500. It has a little rust and I know I'll have to put some $$ in it, but man it is fun to drive. Its a stick and comes with a neat little pass through ski bag in the backseat so you can tote your skis without a ski rack. Did I mention its fun as hell to drive? Its like a Camaro had sex with a Forrester. I tried many times to put it sideways in the snow. It can be done, but its tough:) If you don't drive like a maniac it gets 26-28 mpg.

campgottagopee wrote

 True.....for what I do a small anything wouldn't work for me. I need a fullsize V8 4x4 p/u...vroom, vroom...and I'll get 15mpg for the rest of my life

Hold on Grasshopper. Confucious say there are much smarter methods than that madness. A midsize crossover gets 10 mpg more, has way more Interior space for skiing, groceries and will pull a utility trailer that will haul at least 2x the weight a PU can and it has way more volume and is easier to load/unload.

Aluminum utility trailers are hands down, by far the way to go. Then you would truly be a most fortunate cookie.

Snowballs wrote

campgottagopee wrote

 True.....for what I do a small anything wouldn't work for me. I need a fullsize V8 4x4 p/u...vroom, vroom...and I'll get 15mpg for the rest of my life

Hold on Grasshopper. Confucious say there are much smarter methods than that madness. A midsize crossover gets 10 mpg more, has way more Interior space for skiing, groceries and will pull a utility trailer that will haul at least 2x the weight a PU can and it has way more volume and is easier to load/unload.

Aluminum utility trailers are hands down, by far the way to go. Then you would truly be a most fortunate cookie.

Wouldn't work......you take a truck and trailer back in the woods and you'll have er twisted up like a hair in a biscuit

campgottagopee wrote

Subaru is where it's at for residule value....i've never seen any other make have such resale value.

You can add older Toyota trucks to that list. My 2003 V6 4x4 5-speed Tacoma is not only rare (the 5-speed) but probably worth $9K in Hinterlandian money. Had it since new, it is the most reliable vehicle I have ever possessed.

campgottagopee wrote

 Wouldn't work......you take a truck and trailer back in the woods and you'll have er twisted up like a hair in a biscuit

Confusious say ...." Ah so, truly that would be a most unfortunate biscuit ! Must yield to your backwoods wisdom. Failed to see through your camo that an unstuck truck in hand is a better than a two eggrolls in bush. ".

However Grasshopper, you education not complete. Confusious say ...Hunter profit from book " Antlers in the Tree by Hu Goosed the Moose ". Very enlightening.

 " Now 'scuze please. Drank tea so Olong ago. Must go pee, like ..... how you say? ..... a fast a horse. ".

Confusious say " Suggested reading for such a time...." Yellow Stream by I. P. Freely.".

Snowballs wrote

campgottagopee wrote

 Wouldn't work......you take a truck and trailer back in the woods and you'll have er twisted up like a hair in a biscuit

Confusious say ...." Ah so, truly that would be a most unfortunate biscuit ! Must yield to your backwoods wisdom. Failed to see through your camo that an unstuck truck in hand is a better than a two eggrolls in bush. ".

However Grasshopper, you education not complete. Confusious say ...Hunter profit from book " Antlers in the Tree by Hu Goosed the Moose ". Very enlightening.

 " Now 'scuze please. Drank tea so Olong ago. Must go pee, like ..... how you say? ..... a fast a horse. ".

Confusious say " Suggested reading for such a time...." Yellow Stream by I. P. Freely.".

I think you were drinking something with a bit more of a kick than Oolong tea.  :).

mattchuck2 wrote

Expensive cars are a waste of money.

Do you know how many ski trips (or years of living in a ski town) you could buy for $50,000? Or whatever that number is after 15 years of compounding interest?

Small, fuel efficient, beater cars ftw.

I agree with this in principle.  I'm usually traveling farther (by car) to ski then MC and I got a kid so my cars are above beater. But driving isn't enough fun to me to merit a big bugs car. And I need something a little bigger than small to carry all our crapola. I'd rather have a nice piece of land than an expensive car.

I get the argument though.  I've spent enough on skiing the last five years, if I had saved the money I could have a ~mercedes vs the honda I got.  You spend your dough on what makes you smile.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

campgottagopee wrote

Subaru is where it's at for residule value....i've never seen any other make have such resale value.

You can add older Toyota trucks to that list. My 2003 V6 4x4 5-speed Tacoma is not only rare (the 5-speed) but probably worth $9K in Hinterlandian money. Had it since new, it is the most reliable vehicle I have ever possessed.

For sure...any Toyota/Nissan mid-sized 4x4 will draw a premium if in good condition

At this point in life I spend 1300 bucks month on a vehicle.  WHen I retire I am going to have a brand new range rover in my driveway... save your pennies boys and girls the party starts after retirement.

tjf1967 wrote

At this point in life I spend 1300 bucks month on a vehicle.  WHen I retire I am going to have a brand new range rover in my driveway... save your pennies boys and girls the party starts after retirement.

Perhaps but life is short...a whole sh*tload can happen first IF one ever makes it to retirement age or that level of prosperity.

tjf1967 wrote

At this point in life I spend 1300 bucks month on a vehicle.  WHen I retire I am going to have a brand new range rover in my driveway... save your pennies boys and girls the party starts after retirement.

I am semi retired and I have no car payments, my last car payment was in 1981, I kept ahead of the banks. If I were to get a Rover it would be the Defender, I'd want every one to know that not only do I have a lot of cash but I also have giant cahoonas. Range rovers are for the furry Sorel crowd. Instead I prefer the low profile look, no sense in setting yourself up as a target.

PeeTex wrote

  Range rovers are for the furry Sorel crowd. Instead I prefer the low profile look, no sense in setting yourself up as a target.

I wouldn't worry too much about ole TJ ...... he doesn't shy away from a good challenge now and then

PeeTex wrote

tjf1967 wrote

At this point in life I spend 1300 bucks month on a vehicle.  WHen I retire I am going to have a brand new range rover in my driveway... save your pennies boys and girls the party starts after retirement.

I am semi retired and I have no car payments, my last car payment was in 1981, I kept ahead of the banks. If I were to get a Rover it would be the Defender, I'd want every one to know that not only do I have a lot of cash but I also have giant cahoonas and a tiny willy. Range rovers are for the furry Sorel crowd. Instead I prefer the low profile look, no sense in setting yourself up as a target.

fixed it for ya...

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog...