If I splurge, what do you recommend?

[firewhen]

When my old clunker finally dies, I will buy a new car. (I prefer new, but try to keep it forever, so it is not the worst way to go). I had been thinking of something in the Camry/Accord/Altima class, but then thought that since I will keep the car so long anyway, maybe upgrade some? Here are my criteria:

family sedan
fairly common and reasonable to insure (i.e. no Saab or Peuguot--if they still even exist--hope I am not offending anyone)
good maintenance and reliability record
reasonable gas mileage
no particular price range but somehow I do not think a $100k Mercedes is in my future

My guess is I will not be able to ultimately bring myself to spend more than what a Camry/Accord/Altima cost, but sometimes I daydream about rewarding myself for decades of LBYM. Any suggestions?

 

[FinanceDude]

When my old clunker finally dies, I will buy a new car. (I prefer new, but try to keep it forever, so it is not the worst way to go). I had been thinking of something in the Camry/Accord/Altima class, but then thought that since I will keep the car so long anyway, maybe upgrade some? Here are my criteria:

family sedan
fairly common and reasonable to insure (i.e. no Saab or Peuguot--if they still even exist--hope I am not offending anyone)
good maintenance and reliability record
reasonable gas mileage
no particular price range but somehow I do not think a $100k Mercedes is in my future

My guess is I will not be able to ultimately bring myself to spend more than what a Camry/Accord/Altima cost, but sometimes I daydream about rewarding myself for decades of LBYM. Any suggestions?

Well, it's YOUR reward, not ours, so all that matter is what YOU think......... That being said, I have a couple thoughts on it.

I drive and Accord, and I love it. However, if I was "treating myself", I'd buy either an Acura RL or a Lexus ES350. I think either of those would be a "treat" to drive.......

And, if I REALLY wanted to treat myself, I'd probably buy an older Porsche Carerra just for the fun of it..................

I am intrigued by the Toyota Avalon.....basically the same as an ES300 but $5-6K less......................

 

[brewer12345]

I have been very happy with my subaru legacy wagon. If I chose to splurge when I have to replace it (years from now), I would probably buy the same car, but in the GT or Spec B trim. These are turbocharged versions with 250+HP and boatloads of torque, but still the same basic car I know and like. Probably will stick with the plain vanilla version, though.

 

[ladelfina]

I recently ended up renting an Altima, and thought it was pretty nice..

I'm a long-time Saab owner and would buy a new one without hesitation, if only they hadn't bastardized the sleek, low-profile 900/9-3 hatchback and turned it either into an Accord look-alike or a weird bloated wagon thing. Just an aesthetic prejudice.

I drive so infrequently that my '93 900s will probably see me through several more years; its replacement might be a Mini Cooper or a smaller Alfa. Hey, the Alfa Brera might be coming soon to your shores.. 2009? 2010? Later?.. [Hey! don't rush us! We're on our coffee break!]

I would love to splurge by now (14 years is pretty good as it goes) but the rub is, here all cars [where there are exact models for comparison] usually cost 50%-100% more than in the States. :-(
:-(

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i never splurged while i was working. even now i've just put down deposit on my compromise car, not quite lbym but not quite a splurge either, actually quite affordable.

my splurge car would have been the beemer 335i hardtop convertible. gorgeous car. but i'm saving that luxury for when i'm an old guy. i would hate to spoil myself this early in life.

if driving a convertible wasn't so important to me (i grew up with them and do not like being, um, couped up) i would have just selected the new camry. we drove around in my friend's rented toyota last week (my current car is a two-seater and we were three people). from looks to fit to performance to reliance, that camry is a great car.

edit: ladelfina, just checked out pics of the brera spyder. sweet. also, a friend of mine has the mini. it is surprisingly roomy inside. nice car.

for anyone interested in a well built reasonably priced car, i recently heard that bmw might soon bring the 1 series (selling in the 20s/30s) to the u.s.a.

 

[justin]

If you're into the Camry/Accord/Altima type cars and want something a little nicer for a little more, definitely check out some of the acuras and lexuses. A loaded camry/accord/altima isn't a whole lot less than a similarly appointed acura/lexus (since the base models come with a lot of "stuff" that are optional on the Camry/Accord/Altima type cars).

 

[bongo2]

If where you live is like where I live then every other car on the road has become a Mazda 6. There not much of a "splurge," but I like mine, and they are a good value.

 

[bright eyed]

if you run them to the ground then stay in the honda/toyota family - camry, acura or lexus -

if you want the lexus, then you will have to buy older, and keep in mind maintenance is really high - parts are more expensive (that's what my partner does =D)

he has also worked for mazda and would not recommend them and i have been in altimas and i think most nissan's are not nearly as impressive in terms of longevity, horse power etc. especially over time...

 

[kaudrey]

I have a Volvo S40 and love it - if you want to upgrade a little, check out the S70.

Karen

 

[whitestick]

Speaking of splurge, a couple of years ago, my mid-life crisis splurge was/is the Saab 9-3 Convertible -still have, still love it, hate to put the roof up.
Tonight, since DW is retiring at end of this month, we decided to "consolidate" the other three vehicles we had and signed for the Hummer H3 with significant amounts of "bling"(chrome), as her retirement present/her answer to my mid-life crisis. As we usually drive our vehicles into the ground before parting with them, this is both a splurge in trading ahead of time, and in the selection of vehicle. But this should get us through to the start of the RMDs, which may have to be used to replace them at that time.

 

[chinaco]

... Probably will stick with the plain vanilla version, though.

Isn't it amazing how much extra the step-up version costs. We purchased the DW a Volks Passat in 2002. It has been a good car so far... only complaints are that parts are very expensive. For example: I cannot get replacement front wiper blades (OEM). At the dealer, they are $60. Can you believe that. The other complaint. Got about 45K miles out of brakes and the rotors needed to be replaced. They build these things for extra maintenance cost to enhance the dealers income on repairs. Opps sorry for the rant.... had to get it out.

Anyway, I noticed that the base car was selling for something like (don't remember exactly) $24k. The next version up had a v6, alloy wheels, some additional electronics, a little fancier plastic inside. and it cost about $33k or more. The main additional feature was the V6. Some of the additional costs we way over charged. For example the heating and air had better controls (Thermostat controlled instead of just a manual switch). The extra cost for the heating and air could not have been much more than $5 worth of electronics, but that option was bundled into a car that cost about $10k more.

We tend to buy the base model. It seems to be a better value. Now days most of the thing that are a must have are included in the base.