Advice is free right?

[Hawktel]

Well I've been screwwed one last time by my job. I found out that some guy in india needs the job more than me. I'm still employed for the short term, so I'll keep the companies name out of it.

Luckly, I have a new job about 90% lined up. This makes me much better than the poor slob that sits next to me who's wife just poped a second kid. He's in a bad way. I feel horrible for him.

But, Now i have to make a decision. I"ve been tucking away some cash for a nice early car or even a SC if I could find one for about 10 grand in the spring. I have about 7500 now.

If I get the new job, its a communte of 45 minute, highway miles. My Wrangler at a stupifing 12.8 miles to the gallon, and no top or doors is hardly going to work for that kind of commute, so I need something for the new drive.

So, what would you do?

Drop the 7.5K and the wrangler on a local dealership and get a 87-89 Carrara, or even a 90-92 964, and suck it up on the payments and daily driving the beast to work. I think I can find one locally for ~ 20K. Here in utah I'd be driving it in the winter, and they salt the road, It would be Hard on this vehicle. It would be my only form of transportation.

Or go for a Early 911 and to hell with it, I'll wash it every other day and spend my weekends cleaning it in the winter to get the salt off. (i'd love a 72 to join the 4 door club)

Do the Safe thing, Drop the wrangler on the local dealership, get a Econo box, and drive commute, keeping the 7.5g for a future date with a 911 ownership?

Head over the the 944 side and pick up a nice 951 turbo with the 7.5 G sideline the Wrangler and daily drive the 944. Or Perhaps not a Turbo but just a bog standard 944?

I don't fit in the 914, or 986's. More than a little large, so I'm not able to consider them. I'm trying to keep gas mileage up, but I'd be happy with between 20-30mpg from the car. What would you guys and girls do?

(BTW i am a single guy, I have no one one to worry about, and my GF would support any of these options. No children/animals will be harmed in the making of this decision)

[moazam]

I'd sell the Wrangler and get a 944, paid in cash. Then again, maybe I'm saying that because I already have a 911. :/

Some of those mid-late 80s 944s look reaaaallly nice.

[Early_S_Man]

1. Sell the Wrangler individually ...

2. Get 8 - 10-year old Honda CRX or VW GTI/GLI ...

3. Continue to save for the 911 ...

[svandamme]

relying solely on a 911 for your commute might backfire badly...

if something goes wrong on your engine, you could be looking at a really , really steep cost to fix it... let's say something dramatic happens
and you blow a piston... parts don't come cheap on a 911...

and yeah , they guzzle a lot of fuel as well...you could drive conservatively with it.. but these engines like to redline regulary...

as for an early 911 ... you better not be stuck in traffic a lot... there's no fancy powered clutch , or brake assist... traffic jams means cramps in my leg to me.... and a numb left pinky toe
besides, finding one in good rust free condition , especially a 72 will not be cheap... the salt/rust thing would be another thing... even if you do wash it a lot... there's going to be little places where you can't reach but the salt/water can...

[Aussie]

Sell the Wrangler, and buy a cheap reliable ****box to drive to work in. One that you dont care if it gets rusty.

Buy an SC or a Carerra and don't drive it in the snow.

An early car might be pushing the budget a bit, and if you buy it anywhere locally, its probably full of rust and been driven throught the salty snow over the years.

If you get an early car without the galvanized body, and drive it in the snow, sit back and watch it rust before your eyes.

[svandamme]

i bought myself a 924... with rust holes ( cheap anti theft )
it fit's my purpose as a beater, since i don't have to commute much...
there's one thing wrong with it : it guzzles fuel , but i don't care...

[Garyo4]

I'd advise you to sell the Wrangler, buy a good econo-box for your daily commute and keep saving if you can. There'll always be Porsches for sale, hang in there, keep the cash in a can somewhere 'till the "deal of a lifetime" pops up. One step at a time is always the best.
Regards,
Gary

[ZOA NOM]

You could move to Bombay. With $7500, you could live like a king.

[Dutchie]

Sell the Wrangler and get a typ2 golf 84-92 cheap (i had one with 230.000 kms on it diden,t even use oil ). Then get that 72 you want is my advice. The 72 is the one to have i think and a great car to work on yourself Hope your new job works out for you.

[ChrisBennet]

Get a relatively cheap used car with good AC that won't suck money for many years so you can save for a 911 and continue to drive winters after that.

As much as I like VW's (I've had a bug, 2 GTI's and my sweetie is on her 2nd GTI) the quality just isn't that great. I would look at a Toyota or Honda for better value (but less fun).

-Chris

[Fishcop]

My 2 cents...

Econo-box

Keep saving for that "special 911" for weekend driving.

Good Luck

[masraum]

I used an '88 Carrera for a 25 mile commute daily for 3 years. If it breaks and you don't have time to fix it and have to take it someplace it can be very expensive. If you do the work yourself it's not that bad, but then you have to have time to do the work. Mine was very reliable for my 3.5 years and 50K miles.

Depending upon how I drove during the summer I got 17-19 mpg and the winter was 15-17 mpg. I'm a fairly aggressive driver, but not the most aggressive here. I did probably average 70-90 mph most of the time. On long trips running 90 I got about 23 mpg. The AC is good enough when it's in good shape, but it's not as good as 95% of the other cars out there.

Oh, I know how you feel. I worked on the Cisco TAC in Houston, we were already an outsourced company from Cisco, and now they have more outsourcing in Manila, Mexico, India, Costa Rica. Fortunately Cisco's customers have *****ed enough that they have pulled back a tiny bit, but not before half of the people that I worked with were laid off (40-50 people) Fortunately many of the people who were laid off were slackers who should have been fired a long time ago anyway, but there were still plenty of good people who were let go.

Good luck with the new job.

[dillinger]

I sold my Infiniti G35 last fall and bought a 1996 Volvo 850 GLT for $6,500 cash. It is a great day car that gets 25mpg. I bought my '83 911sc in May. Life's good here!

Don

[rcm]

Don't buy a VW, just sold a Jetta VR6, not a good car.

Glad you lined a up another job.

[Milu]

Trade in the wrangler for a good 3.2 and start saving for an econobox like a Honda. It's not the intelligent option but who cares! It's about quality of life

[Grady Clay]

I see a trend here. Sell the gas hog, buy a used, inexpensive, good mileage, Daily. Keep the money working for you.

You should be constantly looking for a 911. It doesn’t cost anything to look. With that education you will be able to recognize the “deal of a lifetime.” With cash in the bank, you will be able to jump on it.

Best,
Grady

[mtelliott]

I'm going to disagree with most on one part. Keep the jeep. It's a known entity. How bad are you going to feel if you buy some econobox and it ends up costing you. You'll be kicking yourself.

If you want a porsche, buy the one you love. Don't buy it for the image: buy it for the ride, the handling, etc. Porsche's are not cheap when they break, even if you work on it yourself.

[deanp]

Why is the Wrangler at 13mpg? What year? 4.2L or 4.0L (probably not the 4 banger with that milage...)? I assume lift and 33's or 35's for use on the trails out in Utah, but what gearing? Buy a soft top and doors, change your gearing to still be trail capable, but highway friendly and skip the payments on a new / used vehicle. I have a '91 Wrangler that now gets used primarily for winters with the 4.0, OME lift and 31's and average gas milage is about 18mpg. Not the 20-30 you're looking for but better than 12.8. I used to do an hour commute with the Jeep with soft top, or no top, with 40 min of highway and 20 min of secondary road.

[masraum]

Skip the Honda, if you decide to go the economy car route get a miata. Most people are getting 30+ mpg, they are reliable (the engine is based on a turbo motor so it's over engineered, sound familiar), they handle well, and are fun. I still think a 3.2L car is a good commuter car. I'm sure a 964 is even better.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Fishcop
My 2 cents...

Econo-box

Keep saving for that "special 911" for weekend driving.

Good Luck

I think I agree with this reply the most. A lot of good thoughts throughout this thead.

One thing to consider is that with a new job, you want to be on time every day. No breakdowns. I think with the choices you have, I'd consider something like the Grand Cherokee from the early 90's if you happen on to one that has been cared for and is a great deal. I had a 2000 that got decent mileage and Techweenie flogs one with parts in it every day.

They always show up when you least expect it. A good reason to have some cash stashed.