havanahjoe Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 It's always there, but it's been biting at me more than usual lately. I still love my '08 Spec.B, it has 95k and has no issues, but it's missing lots of the goodies and gadgets that come with newer cars. Being a geek, I wish I had those. There are some mods I can make to get some newer functionality (already have Bluetooth audio). This all started when I realized Volvo is bringing the wagon back. The V60 is sexy and I have always wanted a wagon. (If Subaru had sold the Spec.B wagon, I would have bought it in a heartbeat) It comes in 325 HP T6 AWD or 250 T5 AWD trims, and has all these fancy gadgets and features. It also comes in Rebel Blue http://www.autogefuehl.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/VolvoV60_R-Design_Autogefuehl002.jpg Unfortunately, it also only comes with a slushbox that doesn't even do rev-matching on downshifts. It does have paddle shifters as of 2015 though. So then I started looking at what other options are out there that still come in 6-speed manual, and there aren' many. The S4 and the 335xi exist with a third pedal, but, owning any of those vehicles past their warranty period is probably not a good idea (unless reliability has improved in the latest models). And of course these are sedans and easily go over $50k if you add the tech gadgetry. I don't think there are any wagons that can be found with a manual that would be worth looking at used. A used 2007 S4 wagon is the newest one that can be had, but again, owning that V8 out of warranty sounds scary. The ATS-V wagon, if it materializes with a manual, could be a good option. The CTS-V wagon is a monster that can be had with a manual, but even used they are still over $50k. I'm considering the V60, even as an auto, because it would satisfy a lot of car cravings I have had for a long time. With Volvo phasing out the 6 cylinder T6 in favor of a 4-cylinder T6, these T6 R-Design wagons are the last of their kind. And then there's Volvo's Over Seas Delivery program which pays for two plane tickets to go pick up the car in Sweden, 15 days of European insurance, free delivery to the US, and has no destination charge, special pricing and color/option combinations not available with a US delivery. It's too tempting to take advantage of it and go drive around Europe in a hot wagon. The V60 Polestar edition looks hot and would be over $50k, and as much as I'd like to own a unique wagon, it probably won't hold value any better than a normal V60. Am I missing other cars in the US that would be appealing? Manual, wagon preferably, but a sedan that is only 0-2 years old would be nice too, for under $50k? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL21376 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 If you absolutely must have AWD, I think you're missing the Acura TL, which is available with AWD and a manual. What about leasing an S4 or 335x and getting out of it in a couple years and into something else? Or buy a CPO car and trade it in before the warranty expires? I'll be shopping with the same criteria as you in a year, and my hope is that the new CTS (V and V Sport) push down prices a bit on the previous generation CTS-V. Scoring a manual wagon would be awesome. If not, I'll probably lease a 335i. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCSpecB Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 V60 is SICK. We were just looking for an SUV for my wife and hit up the local Volvo dealer for an XC60 and they had a V60 T6 R-Design in red....GORGEOUS...aaaaaand 45k. I would imagine a Polestar will be closer to 60k unfortunately. Amazing car though, will probably consider one when it comes time to replace the specB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 If you absolutely must have AWD, I think you're missing the Acura TL, which is available with AWD and a manual. What about leasing an S4 or 335x and getting out of it in a couple years and into something else? Or buy a CPO car and trade it in before the warranty expires? I'll be shopping with the same criteria as you in a year, and my hope is that the new CTS (V and V Sport) push down prices a bit on the previous generation CTS-V. Scoring a manual wagon would be awesome. If not, I'll probably lease a 335i. Hmm I had not considered the TL. It hasn't looked that good since the redesign, but the 2014 doesn't look too bad. Honda manuals are usually pretty good. I'll have to look into it more closely. I have thought about leasing a V60 and keeping the Spec.B. I do a lot of driving every year, more than 15k, so my lease would be on the higher end if I kept only one car. And I don't know about putting down a lot of money towards a lease and be left with nothing in the end. I'd rather look into a vehicle that I can keep for at least 5 years, so good reliability would be a plus. V60 is SICK. We were just looking for an SUV for my wife and hit up the local Volvo dealer for an XC60 and they had a V60 T6 R-Design in red....GORGEOUS...aaaaaand 45k. I would imagine a Polestar will be closer to 60k unfortunately. Amazing car though, will probably consider one when it comes time to replace the specB. Canadian pricing was announced for the Polestar editions there, and based on percentages, from Swedespeed, it could look something like this Canada 2015 Volvo V60 Polestar: $66,895 2015 Volvo V60 R-Design (fully optioned): $58,700.00 $8,195 = 14% premium USA 2015 Volvo V60 R-Design (fully optioned): $52,175.00 2015 Volvo V60 Polestar (estimated 14%): $59,479.50 So yes, pretty much $60k. Would you consider going to an auto after the Spec.B? When would you replace it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 The TL is on its last generation, and even though it comes with a manual, my Spec.B is not too far from the 280 HP that this NA V6 makes. The technology part is pretty outdated, look at that LCD display! For 2014 (and a $40k price tag), the interior is pretty lame http://www.acura.com/images/2014/TL/photos/2014-tl-interior-with-technology-package-and-ebony-interior-nav-screen.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppertone Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I agree one of the gents that I do business with has one, and I'm really shocked by how busy and dated the interior looks. As far as leasing the one time that I did that, I went with 3yrs 45,000 miles and I did that in a year and a half lol. Traded out of that and paid cash for the next new car. Lease are great for weekend vehicles or if you really do not travel. Also by keeping your Spec B and doing a lease, how will your insurance be ? 2010 2.5GT limited is for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL21376 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 The TL is on its last generation, and even though it comes with a manual, my Spec.B is not too far from the 280 HP that this NA V6 makes. 305 HP, but yeah, it is kinda dated. It's AWD and a manual though, and stock for stock, probably a little quicker than your Spec B. http://www.acura.com/engine.aspx?model=tl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 New WRX? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 I agree one of the gents that I do business with has one, and I'm really shocked by how busy and dated the interior looks. As far as leasing the one time that I did that, I went with 3yrs 45,000 miles and I did that in a year and a half lol. Traded out of that and paid cash for the next new car. Lease are great for weekend vehicles or if you really do not travel. Also by keeping your Spec B and doing a lease, how will your insurance be ? LOL, that would probably be me and my luck that I'd need to drive even more when on a lease. Living in such a large state, you can't lease unless you never leave the city (and even then, it can still be close with a long-ish commute). I haven't checked what insurance would be adding another car that they consider sporty, but when I checked a while back about adding a Golf TDI, insurance only increased by about $100 a year. I was surprised, but the annual mileage was divided among the two. And in this case, the Spec.B became the weekend car and the Golf the daily driver, so I'm sure that helped the quote come in so low. I put out a request to my agent with some hypothetical scenarios. 305 HP, but yeah, it is kinda dated. It's AWD and a manual though, and stock for stock, probably a little quicker than your Spec B. http://www.acura.com/engine.aspx?model=tl Oh I didn't notice the SH-AWD model had a slightly larger 3.7 liter engine with 305 HP. The only way to know would be to drive one of course, but its dated interior is not helping. There is one manual model in stock in all of San Diego. New WRX? I actually kind of like it, but I would like a wagon more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCSpecB Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 So yes, pretty much $60k. Would you consider going to an auto after the Spec.B? When would you replace it? I was thinking to replace it fairly soon, but since we just bought the wife a car, it'll probably be at least another year or two. Most of the cars I have been considering have been autos- A6 3.0T M37/56 SRT8 Charger XF Supercharged Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grovlet Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 We are looking at the 2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport Road and Track Review Car and Driver Review MotorTrend Review Also on the list is the Audi S4 - although that may break the $50K threshold.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 We are looking at the 2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport Road and Track Review Car and Driver Review MotorTrend Review Also on the list is the Audi S4 - although that may break the $50K threshold.... The IS would be the more reliable of the two (between S4 and IS) since that V6 engine has been around for a while. Personally, I am not a fan of the IS, probably because you see them everywhere in SoCal (usually they're IS250s), but you also see 3 series everywhere. The S4 is definitely a more performance oriented vehicle with 4.9 seconds 0-60 with the DSG vs the 5.7 seconds of the IS350 AWD (the V60 T6 AWD does it in 5.9), so the IS is pretty fast. Just adding the DSG to the base model puts it $500 under $50k, and of course any other options will push it over. The V6 in the S4 is supercharged, and I think this is a pretty new engine configuration? So who knows what reliability would be like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 The 3.0tfsi first appeared in MY 09. Some of the early b8 S4s had water pump issues, but they seem to be fixed. The engine seems to be very reliable and it's used in many Audis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grovlet Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 The IS would be the more reliable of the two (between S4 and IS) since that V6 engine has been around for a while. Personally, I am not a fan of the IS, probably because you see them everywhere in SoCal (usually they're IS250s), but you also see 3 series everywhere. The S4 is definitely a more performance oriented vehicle with 4.9 seconds 0-60 with the DSG vs the 5.7 seconds of the IS350 AWD (the V60 T6 AWD does it in 5.9), so the IS is pretty fast. Just adding the DSG to the base model puts it $500 under $50k, and of course any other options will push it over. The V6 in the S4 is supercharged, and I think this is a pretty new engine configuration? So who knows what reliability would be like. There is also very little aftermarket performance add-ons for the IS - It's got an encrypted ECU so nobody has cracked it yet (and due to low demand probably won't) - so if your looking to get more power as time goes on your out of luck... Can't even get it tuned without a full piggy back system! Basically I feel like the Audi is indeed a little more performance and has good aftermarket support - but it's "pay to play" (IE more expensive all around - Parts/Initial Cost) So I'm sure either car is a good option - just need to decide on some goals and such... Just pisses me off though as Subaru had a GREAT option in the LGT at a much lower price point with quite a bit of aftermarket support for longer term power add-ons.... and they decided to go after the basic car arena and leave us out in the cold.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 There is also very little aftermarket performance add-ons for the IS - It's got an encrypted ECU so nobody has cracked it yet (and due to low demand probably won't) - so if your looking to get more power as time goes on your out of luck... Can't even get it tuned without a full piggy back system! Basically I feel like the Audi is indeed a little more performance and has good aftermarket support - but it's "pay to play" (IE more expensive all around - Parts/Initial Cost) So I'm sure either car is a good option - just need to decide on some goals and such... Just pisses me off though as Subaru had a GREAT option in the LGT at a much lower price point with quite a bit of aftermarket support for longer term power add-ons.... and they decided to go after the basic car arena and leave us out in the cold.... I hear you! I was very sad the day the LGT died! Aftermarket tuning is the same with the Volvo. They also encrypt the ECU and no one has cracked it. The stock turbo on it is pretty much maxed out, but you can't make any changes because the ECU cannot be changed. Compared to how easy it is to tune our LGTs, it's just shocking and sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 The 3.0tfsi first appeared in MY 09. Some of the early b8 S4s had water pump issues, but they seem to be fixed. The engine seems to be very reliable and it's used in many Audis. Good to know! It has to be better than the 4.2L V8 in the previous gen. At least there should be more room in the engine bay to work on the 3.0 V6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanahjoe Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 This is still on my mind, so I'm still looking. I went and drove a 328i wagon that the local BMW dealer had on their CPO lot. It was an auto, but wanted to check out the engine and chassis. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/ScreenShot2014-09-11at55525PM_zpsdfb5f298.png Man that thing was slow. The auto sucks, but even with a manual, I can't see it being a replacement for the Spec.B. Way too slow. It would have to be a 535xi Wagon, but those are even rarer than the 328i wagons, and much more complex (ie failure prone). I was also annoyed by the sun visors being flimsy plastic. What's up with that? The Spec.B has thick cloth ones that feel much more upscale. The interior space was really nice, but the BMW interior is ugly IMO. Today I stopped by the Mini dealer to check out the new Cooper S Hardtop http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/ScreenShot2014-09-11at111456AM_zps8a9740ad.png Power has been bumped with the new BMW twin-turbo 2 liter engine. It's making 189 HP and 221 lb-ft of torque. It was definitely more fun to drive than the 328 wagon. The shifter is nice, the clutch was a bit soft but easy to get used to. The car felt peppy and tossable. The downsides of course are it's small for carrying things and it's FWD. There is a stage 1 tune for it out already which gives it an extra 30 HP and 40 lb-ft. Wouldn't be great for launches, but should be good enough for even peppier driving. It had a very annoying armrest. Whoever thought putting it there was a good idea does not drive a stick http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/havanahjoe/9294006997_zpsecd07af9.jpg I also keep sending my insurance guy VIN numbers to quote, and in every single quote, keeping the Spec.B is expensive. It's as expensive as all these new cars even with having the Spec.B on with limited miles driven each year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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