you did the math / writing in reverse.

my wife's previous apt she lived in, a guy drove a sl65. don't even know how to value that. people do things for whatever means they think is worth it. it's their problems, not mine. but when i read about people thinking / doing contradicting things, that's when i have problems with

 

I guess it depends on what condo you own. Mine has an R8, 3 NSX's, GTR, and a new M3 in it. I doubt it has much to do with value, as I would guess our condo's top out at 600k max.

Like you said, people value things differently. I personally prefer to spend on items which generally provide a return on investment.

 

Some of us are house poor... good house, commuter car.

Some folks here are car poor.. nice car, but live in an apartment.

And the truly successful or wealthy have both the houses and the cars.

Turby

 

Some people live in Condo's because they don't NEED a house, so they are actually being smart with their money. If your single, or just married with no family, might as well get a condo. There was a guy who lived in my old condo complex with a brand new Porsche Cayman and Mercedes E55 AMG. Looked like he was enjoying his life though, nice toys and seemed to be bringing home a different girl every week Don't need a house for that!

 

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'm not in the market to buy a car, still on the looking, deciding, researching phase.

Earliest I can get a new car is October 2012, lol.

After reading all this, I'm just gonna stay away from German cars.

I want something Japanese (maybe Korean), and still under warranty.

Sometime next year, I should have a better idea if what I want.

 

When I used to live in a condo, this lady a few buildings down had a 760Li and a SLK55. I really want to upgrade my ride by the end of the year. I guess I have a decent house and nice cars?

 

In Macau, I saw a relatively-new Mercedes S class (S350).......yet his house looks like some third-world commie block from the Soviet era.

Hah so all his casino winnings were spent on an uber premium car rather than on his ultra cheap-**** house

 

Reliable and German should not be used in the same sentence.

 

yes, and I LOVE CARS, but lets face it, it is worst investment you can make.

there is pretty much nothing that drops value like car... if your stock drop 50% in 3 years, you would think it is terrible, for cars thats great.

so if you put half of your income into car, you just dont priorities straight and sooner or later it will catch up with you.

just facts of life... i have told myself that I will not buy a new lexus until i am well into paying off the new place and some decent amount stacked on the side.

3 years ago, i would have had it already

:-)

 

VWs, after years of poor reliability, are showing significant improvement. So are some M-B products. So has the Audi A4 and some BMW 3-series models. Unfortunately, for the rest of the U.S.-market German vehicles, you are generally correct.

 

this is very good summation except looks i would rank bmw - audi - mb

i can tell you that german cars use some nice tech, some are hit or miss. a little more advance than some of the japanese stuff i see in certain areas (alum cast control arms vs stamped steel, geomet fastner coating vs di chromate zinc plating) of course this is not the always true, as every model varies, but overall i feel the germans engineers are ahead of the japanese. and the american, well all they care about is profit so ya not much more to say about that

but then again im asking myself y did you design a plastic part that you know will break from heat alone in a turbo car stuffed inside an engine bay where it is crammed to hell.

then again again i ask lexus why did you design an oil filter thats really hard to get to, and when i take it off spills oil on the subframe every time, couldnt just engineer an extention bracket 3" extra so its easier to reach and in a better position? would that have increased production cost beyond the profitability threshold?

 

True, the A4 has at least an average repair record (which, among other things, is required for a CR recommendation). But CR is still leery of many Audis, though, when it comes to reliability. The company, overall, still ranks quite low on the general-reliability-by-brand list....Scion is now at the top.

 

When I mention apartment, I'm talking about the one that are run down and probably not in the best neighborhood.

Well, my sarcastic remarks are toward people who don't have their priority straight, just scraping by while trying to drive a nice car

I see families where their parents drive reallly old cars, not in good condition while the son (first year in college) goes out and get a brand new expensive car while living in a crappy neighborhood.
Makes no sense to me, but oh well, no preaching on my part

And for people who have the means to afford a nice car, it doesn't really matter where they can afford to live-that's a different story.

Yes, it's much cheaper to live an apt./condo than to own a house and all those expenses that come with it.

Anyways, back to the topic of unreliable German cars.

 

which just gives another approval to the CR... this is same stuff we can read at perspective forums.

 

I have always been told German cars are no more expensive then any other make, just have to know who to take them to, they are slightly more expensive cause of the performance edge, but that is a given, my buddys father buys used 7Series, and drives them until they have 150k on it, he says they are among the most reliable cars, he rates it the same as his wife's Lexus SC.

I will say most of the German cars, the previous owners neglected so much maintenance.

If you want the best of both worlds, buy a 300C with a Hemi