Penguin Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 For now, yes. Between what most of my neighbors and all of my family have been urging me out of it, it is going to cost me more a month than I pay for a fully accessorized Forester XT Limited w/ Navigation, and the possibility of catastrophic engine failure(s)... It's on the back burner for now. Strained local economies = less road plowing in winter. I thought of a Sportwagen TDI, but the way they look reminds me of something a soccer mom would drive, not a single 30 yr old guy. Then the Jetta TDI, but good God they look so cheap inside. And finally the Passat TDI, which reminds me of what old people drive, plus I can't imagine a vehicle that size being fun to toss in the twisties. Sportage SX (AWD) seems like the best compromise. It uses 87 octane, on the highway people claim to easily exceed the EPA 25 mpg rating, it has lots of goodies (even an air conditioned driver's seat), ride height, sporty handling, excellent performance (1/2 second quicker at everything when compared to a FXT). My only worry about the Sportage SX is between the 2011 and 2012 models. The 2012 has a higher EPA rating than the 2011 model (but did they retard the performance for better EPA rating), and it gets suspension dampers to improve the ride comfort. . OK time to get something through your thick head: You are not a baller in the market for a Porsche, Ferrari, Benz, or BMW etc. So I'd suggest evaluating vehicles based on their functional merits. What other people think of what you drive, wear, do for a living, or where you live do not matter. Repeat DO NOT MATTER. You are no longer in f'ing high school, time to start acting like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShrinerMonkey Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 ^^^This. If you are that concerned about what people think of you based on what you drive then go buy a bimmer and get out of our hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godwhomismike Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Maybe you missed the part about buying a used Ranger, S-10, Tacoma, or Frontier with 4X4 and using that as a winter beater/truck when you need one. Spend $5K on one and it will probably last you for years, and get you around in nasty weather quite happily. Even better should you have an off road adventure due to snow where you may or may not collect a dent or two.... who cares! It's a truck, they are supposed to collect dents and get dirty! In the mean time that frees you up to look at some much more entertaining choices of primary daily driver vehicles. Hell you could buy a used pick-em up when your lease expires, knowing you have a winter vehicle covered and shop around for something you really like at your leisure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuskiTrombone Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I'll sell you my 2007 Honda Civic Si 4 door with 38,000 miles for $16,000 with navigation, bluetooth, sunroof, DVD, FWD, good gas mileage, 2.49% APR if you have good credit. I can also guarantee you that it won't be in the shop nearly half as much as any comparable VW and you'll have money left over to buy a 4x4 suv or truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Don't bother trying to talk sense into Mike, he isn't buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuskiTrombone Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Okay, back to Gauge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Holy cow, I saw the color that Rick just bought in person. It looks stunning, and I almost never say that about blue cars. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Mike, ask yourself how long you're going to own this diesel. Do some math. Figure out if the high initial price is worth the gas savings. Like I said before, if you're going to keep going through cars like you are now, then the only way you are going to save money in the long term is buy the cheapest car, not the one that gets the best gas mileage. In order for the mpg to make sense is for those savings to rack up enough to match and then exceed the price difference between the cheaper gas alternative vehicle. This is a mistake many make. They drop down a few thousand dollars more to buy a car that gets good mpg but then dump the car before they get that money back in savings. So in the end your mpg ends up being actually "less" in a sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuskiTrombone Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 In other words, weigh your cost per mile options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanGT Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I really like Penguin's idea of getting a used Winter 4X4 beater and then lease/buy a fun car with decent mpg like a Mini Cooper S for the summer fun driving. It boils down to a vehicle with good ground clearance for snow driving isn't gonna be fun to drive in the dry *UNLESS* it's a Cayenne Turbo or X5M. With those SUVs you are back to low mpg and affordability. . . I have enough drama for now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdisco Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I will admit to using the '00 F250 Super Duty with the 7.3 diesel (500lbs of cement blocks and 7.5ft plow) if the weather is really crappy. The body kit in the TDi may be plastic but it wasn't cheep. The Tdi is telling me I need to go for service in 16 days (1yr anniversary) but I'm going to wait until I hit 10k miles (8880 currently) which would be my first trip to the stealer. Averaging low 40s for mpg and loving it. Like that girl I knew in high school this thread was full of tease. Thanks for nothing Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuskiTrombone Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Like that girl I knew in high school this thread was full of tease. Thanks for nothing Mike. I knew her too, she eventually put out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I knew her too, she eventually put out. Duct tape turns "NOOOO!" into "MMMMM!" [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuskiTrombone Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Yup. Just hope she has a good Senior year next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 No joke, John Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane" just came up in my iTunes shuffle. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuskiTrombone Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Good song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I think so too. http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii287/bac52/yo-dawg-guitars.png [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I knew her too, she eventually put out. At least she knew what she wanted eventually, which is more than we can say for the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I really like Penguin's idea of getting a used Winter 4X4 beater and then lease/buy a fun car with decent mpg like a Mini Cooper S for the summer fun driving. It boils down to a vehicle with good ground clearance for snow driving isn't gonna be fun to drive in the dry *UNLESS* it's a Cayenne Turbo or X5M. With those SUVs you are back to low mpg and affordability. Well that is my plan going forward. I'll just keep Tundrasaurus Rex until it dies of old age, thus freeing myself to buy entertaining RWD cars that have no need to go in the snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I thought of a Sportwagen TDI, but the way they look reminds me of something a soccer mom would drive, not a single 30 yr old guy. Then the Jetta TDI, but good God they look so cheap inside. And finally the Passat TDI, which reminds me of what old people drive, plus I can't imagine a vehicle that size being fun to toss in the twisties. So how will either one of these two potential contenders do any better in the snow than a TDI Golf with snow tires (which would probably do really damn well)? I thought you were deathly afraid of getting stuck in snow in some remote part of Pennsylvania where there isn't a single other person for 500 feet you could ask for help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Wow! You can get a Passat TDI with a 6MT! And it's a full second quicker than the DSG variant. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoopMan Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Why don't you just keep the Forrester? It's only 2 years old, so you have probably taken it on the chin anyway by already paying for the most rapid depreciation in a car's useful life. You might as well keep using it then, it will be effectively very cheap to own for years to come, as long as you maintain it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanGT Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 ^^^^Oh Lordy, here we start again.... is it Round 15 already? . . I have enough drama for now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godwhomismike Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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