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Have you changed your thoughts on keeping said car long term? If so I think it changes things quite a lot especially if you are just going to keep it for x ammount of months and then flip it , maybe you should go for something more frivorless (i.e. something you wouldn't buy yourself) giving you an opportunity to live as you described it "the baller lifestyle" and then latter go for practicality.

i still have to rely on it to get to work everyday, so i'm prob not going to go for some super exotic option. just something nice with good resale value.

altough i wouldnt go for a second hands alfa, they have a pretty bad history in used cars...
if you really want a good used car, buy a bmw, you wont regret it

BMW seems like the best choice right now.

Shame the Alfa was a lot of fun. I've got a brand new 320 and love it. Although, as you can tell. It's all about Benz. If you can afford one, go for it!

Life is too short to drive shit cars.

Benz don't seem to hold their resale value as well as BMW. i only looked quickly, but that's the initial impression i got.

seems like savinforabenz isnt that great of an idea then

how about a crap car + nice bike?

that's phase 2 of my plans.

I don't understand the plan to buy a baller car then sell it and buy a cheaper car, I mean if you are going to do that why not lease a Porsche GT3 for a year or 6 mos., get bored of it then buy a car. Trading in frivolous cars or even selling them to a 3rd party is going to cost you a ton in depreciation.

If you want to run a car into the ground buy a 3 or 4 year old Mercedes/Audi/BMW that was baller 4 years ago and it will last forever, and still be pretty baller.

the luxury car is just a means to receive the gift in full. i'm not actually a baller (microstakes balla', shout out to my peeps!), so i wouldn't want to pay insurance and routine maintenance on a luxury car forever. but obv i could change my mind if i get attached to the car.

i hadn't thought of the lease option. but i don't know how to explain that to my aunt, either... if i just say later "i'm trading in this car for something i can afford," i think that wouldn't make her think i'm scamming her. but i am, sorta, but not really since she wants to buy me an expensive car. do you think?

Get a BMW and every winter is going to give you more fun than ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRywA-ZRqsE

Usually it's better when a car is being used quite often, at least better than keeping it in a garage. Please tell us how many km (or miles) you plan to travel everyday, but I think E90 318i/320i are quite good options for you. You can also consider 1-series, this car rarely breaks down. Like above, search for E87 118i/120i (it's a 5-door hatchback).

so it is true. interesting... well, i should be ok then.

i'll be driving about 20,000 km a year. just 15 drive min to work. and i'll look for the 318i/320i displacement models since i actually like the better fuel efficiency.

BMW hatchback... mmm. so much utility, so much power. something else to look at. thanks!

seems like savinforabenz isnt that great of an idea then

Huh?

Get a BMW and every winter is going to give you more fun than ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRywA-ZRqsE

hmph, the 318i, 320i, and 323i was only for Eu/Ca markets, and the 325i was only made up to 2005. bummer...

328i is pretty much where i have to start. and i do have a heavy foot (kinda have to driving around in a 15 year old Honda manual). oh yeah, we're gonna have some fun.

no more worries about high maintenance costs on a BMW. all routine wear (oil, brakes) as well as the standard warranty stuff is covered for first 4 years or 50k miles regardless of owner. really cool. i can just sell the car before coverage runs out, which means i should buy 2010 or later.

and how about the 128i? same 3.0 L inline-6 w 230 hp as in the US 328i's, but shorter and a smidge lighter. sadly, same gas mileage as 328i due to worse drag coefficient.

since i want to stay in warranty, the 328i's seem a bad choice since i can only afford the 2009 models with low mileage. but there are 2011 128i's w 15k miles selling just under $28k. it's a cheaper car, but still a BMW and should maintain resale value.

and i think i might go with an auto broker instead of looking at certified pre-owned stock at dealers. anybody have any experience with brokers?

I haven't read all the posts, but unless you are buying new, Honda/Toyota crush the German cars in maintenance - both not needing it and being cheaper when it does. And stay away from Audi/VW. You'll need the coverage new German cars get, so buying used is just asking for shelling out $$ regularly.

Since fuel economy is an issue, I'm guessing that is cost related. The TSX and many of the German cars take supreme. I don't know the compression ratios of the German cars to know if you can get away with running regular octane, but anything over 10:1 and I wouldn't suggest it. Turbo/supercharged cars can also be iffy since the compression numbers aren't counting the forced air.

You would like to buy 1er Coupe? It looks pretty good And 128i is going to be a rocket in such small body. My E36 Compact is a similar car, but considered as a 3-series. Same was in E46 generation and then the next generation of compacts transformed into a new 1-series.
Trunk in mine is amazing - looks smallish, but in fact you can easily pack there everything from your usual shopping.

I wish I had at least 2.5L inline 6 under the hood...maybe in 2-3 years

I haven't read all the posts, but unless you are buying new, Honda/Toyota crush the German cars in maintenance - both not needing it and being cheaper when it does. And stay away from Audi/VW. You'll need the coverage new German cars get, so buying used is just asking for shelling out $$ regularly.

agree with all of this, and i was crossing my fingers until i found out BMW covers all maintenance for first 4 years or 50k miles of the life of the car. pretty sweet deal. just have to buy a 2010 model car with 30k miles at most and i should be good for 2 years, after which it gets sold.

Since fuel economy is an issue, I'm guessing that is cost related. The TSX and many of the German cars take supreme. I don't know the compression ratios of the German cars to know if you can get away with running regular octane, but anything over 10:1 and I wouldn't suggest it. Turbo/supercharged cars can also be iffy since the compression numbers aren't counting the forced air.

did some research here, and most cars not turbocharged are fine on regular, even if premium is "recommended." it only affects hp in the low 1 digits, and only at very high speeds.

compression ratio however... 328i and 128i use same engine:

2009 3-Series 328i Sedan Performance
- 2,996 cc 3.0 liters in-line 6 front engine with 85.0 mm bore, 88.0 mm stroke, 10.7 compression ratio, double overhead cam, variable valve timing/camshaft and four valves per cylinder N52
- Premium unleaded fuel 91
- Fuel consumption: EPA 08 city (mpg): 18, highway (mpg): 28, combined (mpg): 21, 544 and 338
- Multi-point injection fuel system
- 16.1 gallon main premium unleaded fuel tank 13.4
- Power: 172 kW , 230 HP SAE @ 6,500 rpm; 200 ft lb , 270 Nm @ 2,750 rpm

hmm...

You would like to buy 1er Coupe? It looks pretty good And 128i is going to be a rocket in such small body. My E36 Compact is a similar car, but considered as a 3-series. Same was in E46 generation and then the next generation of compacts transformed into a new 1-series.
Trunk in mine is amazing - looks smallish, but in fact you can easily pack there everything from your usual shopping.

I wish I had at least 2.5L inline 6 under the hood...maybe in 2-3 years

yea, i kinda fell in love with the 128i last night. kinda hard not to. and i don't grocery shop, but it's good to know that just in case.

I don't know the compression ratios of the German cars to know if you can get away with running regular octane, but anything over 10:1 and I wouldn't suggest it.

[emphasis mine]

why wouldn't you suggest it?

i'm not beat up over losing a few hp since this is prob way too much engine for me anyway. so it's just which is more: money saved on regular or the hit to gas mileage when using regular in a premium car. are there more dire consequences i'm not aware of? but mileage is also heavily dependent on personal driving patterns, and i don't go around redlining my car all the time (not yet anyway).

this seems like a good explanation.

variable valve timing/camshaft

In BMW language, it's called "VANOS". I don't know how to clarify this precisely in English, but in general: it boosts your torque at very low engine speeds, so in practice you hit the gas pedal in 1.5k-2.0k RPM range and the car immediately surges forward, w/o any delay.

In BMW language, it's called "VANOS". I don't know how to clarify this precisely in English, but in general: it boosts your torque at very low engine speeds, so in practice you hit the gas pedal in 1.5k-2.0k RPM range and the car immediately surges forward, w/o any delay.

so VANOS is good and means i can safely use lower octane fuel?