Originally Posted By: Burt
Okay, so my last child is graduating from college and I am thinkng of redirecting(some of)the money that used to go there into a nice sedan. I was going to buy a used BMW from a private party off craigslist, but the supply of late model used cars seems to have dried up. And new BMW's seem overpriced by the time you add options.
At first I thought a loaded Maxima was the ticket. With a list price of $39k, they are discounting the heck out of them to $31.5. Then I looked at the Acura TL, Infiniti G37 and H. Genesis and the Maxima looked a little cheap. They all list in the $39 range except the Infiniti is about $3 more. Not as bad as I would have thought, but I don't think they will discount as much. Genesis is a little too sedate. TL is crisp and spiffy, but only a 5 spd transmission and no cooled seat option. Seems like they were behind the ball on latest technology. G37 is well built but styling is just not that exciting. I like that the 7 sp transmission has upped the gas mileage above the others . Older models had poor MPG.
Any thoughts on what I should buy? Normally I keep a car until death do we part. And I like to work on them myself.
Hope it's not too late to weigh in here.
From what I've seen of people in similar situations, this often comes down to their attitude toward driving.
If driving is something you have to do, but you kind of want to enjoy doing it, the 3-series and G37 probably will not make much sense for you. The other cars on your list will be PLENTY entertaining, should be cheaper to buy and run, and will almost definitely ride more softly. For all practical purposes, they will also be just as fast in real-world conditions.
If you love driving in and of itself, or appreciate serious dynamic engineering, it will be exactly the other way around, and probably even more so. After you spend some real time with them, the 3-series and G37 will be the only cars still on the map, and you might even wonder why you were even considering the other cars.
It's important to remember that none of those cars is really "better" than any other. It's all about suitability, i.e. which one matches your tastes. Figure that out, and then go price hunting.
