New (used) car advice!!

[Nathans_Dad]

Ok, since the semi-demise of my 99 Accord (and since I was planning on selling it in 9 months anyhow), I have decided to get rid of it and get another car.

Our current vehicles are: 2002 Chevy Tahoe (wife's car, primary kid hauler), 1999 Accord (my work commuter) and the 1984 911 Targa which only sees duty on weekends and nice days.

My wife currently does not work and takes care of the kids at home. I haven't had to pick up the kids in the Honda in about 4-5 months, however there is a possibility of having to pick them up at one point or another. I'm looking for a sporty car with a manual transmission that is fun to drive, decent gas mileage is a plus.

My original thought was BMW 3 series, then I looked at Boxsters and really like those cars. The problem with a roadster is seating. I couldn't carry more than one kid with it and if our Tahoe went down for some reason we would have to rent a car to haul kids.

Budget is $30k or less, I am looking at used cars with less than 30-40k miles on them. Ideas?

[Dantilla]

My wife also wants a Boxster, but it makes no sense for us to have another two-seat car. She is also a convertable freak.

We are going to go see if a Mini Convertable has enough room. Fun, and great gas mileage. I don't like front-wheel drive, but I'm willing to give a Mini a try. One drawback is that they are holding there value extremeny well. A used one is almost as much as a new one. There is a six-month wait for new ones. They were first offered in 2005, so I suppose in another year or so the used ones will become more affordable. A cheaper way to go would be to get a used coupe.

[cegerer]

'02 e46 M3. 4 seats. 0-60=4.8. Top speed 175MPH (with limiter removed). How can you go wrong?

[scottmandue]

Hmmm that's a tough one Boxster not sure what you should do Boxster I mean roadster wouldn't be very practical Boxster but whatever you do don't take advice Boxster form a crazy middle aged bachelor Boxster with no kids Boxster

[Moses]

I just bought a 2003 BMW 325Ci still under warranty for $20,000. Never owned a BMW before, but what a great car! It'll do everything you ask and it's fun to drive.

[williecoyote]

Moses,
I'm looking for the same. Did you buy it from a dealer, or private?

( Sorry for the hijack)

[williecoyote]

Rick,

How about another Accord? They are pretty much trouble free, and you could fit the kids if the situation arose.
A 3 series is nice too!

[williecoyote]

Sorry to keep posting, but Acura TL comes to mind too.
It's a step up from the Accord, not as sporty as the BMW, but probably cheaper to maintain.

[Nathans_Dad]

I'm not too keen on going with another Honda, I really appreciated the reliability of it, but I want something more sporty and less econobox looking.

I think I have my choices down to about 2 (pending any new revelations, lol):

Used BMW 3 series (M3 is out of my budget) or 2006 Ford Mustang GT Coupe.

BMW will be a bit cheaper (although not by much) and will have miles on it. Also interest rate will be higher.

Mustang will run around $28k for the one I want, Ford is offering 0% financing for 72 months on 2006 models. Would be a new car instead of used.

Maintenance will be cheaper on the Mustang, resale possibly better with the BMW. I like the looks of both and both have a back seat which can haul the kids in a pinch. Obviously the back seat in the BMW is larger.

I'm leaning towards the Mustang, mainly because of the financing deal. The average APR for a used vehicle loan is about 6.5% which makes a big difference over 4 or 5 years vs. 0% with Ford.

[Nathans_Dad]

It would be a NEW Mustang vs a used 3 or 5 series, Mr. T...

[Moses]

Originally posted by williecoyote
Moses,
I'm looking for the same. Did you buy it from a dealer, or private?

( Sorry for the hijack)

eLeaseReturns in San Ramon, CA. I'm sure you have something similar locally.