Need some guidance

[ispoonwithmugen]

Alright so I finally put the Subaru up for sale. I'm tired of having something that I'm worried about people hitting, scratching, denting etc. So the question comes for the next car. I'm debating as to what to do. I expect around $10,000 for the Subaru. I'm also purchasing Chris P's E30 in hopes of finishing that up this summer but that doesn't factor into that money from the Subaru. Here are some thoughts on situations:
1) Buy a cheap Civic and put 5,000 in the bank
2) Buy a Suburban, Avalanche, Tahoe or something equivalent
3) Buy a Subaru wagon and pocket the rest of the money
Here is some logic behind them. Number one is obvious, I would have a cheap daily but I wouldn't have anything to tow the E30 with in the future (I have a friend who said I can use his trailer whenever). Number two I would have something huge I could throw in, not care about, and tow with. But then I'm stuck with 10 miles to the gallon. The third option I would have space to throw things in and get decent gas mileage but won't be able to tow anything. I did some math out, and if I got an SUV that gets around 10 mpg then I am going to be costing myself another $1,900 a year in gas (probably more, that's based on if I drive 10,000 miles). With that money I could rent a Uhaul for a weekend to tow something. SO anyway, can you guys give some opinions, other options, and some guidance as to what should come next. The two big factors are being able to fit more stuff than my WRX can and to get "good" gas mileage.

[V1GiLaNtE]

3) What Subaru wagon are you looking at to buy? Because if you buy an 2005 Leggy I'd be equally worried about it getting danged up.

Honestly I'd go option 1.) That way you keep money in the bank AND DON'T TOUCH it. I'm not saying you won't but a lot of having high hopes of building up a track car/trail rig and it falls through or a project never gets finished. I'd buy the beater Civic and then figure out what you're realistically going to do. On the plus side when you figure what it is you really want around the summer time you'll probably get paid price if not more for what you bought the civic DD for. Especially summer time, parents will be looking for graduation cars for their kids.. $$$

[Jake]

I get the appeal of buying something now that could tow the E30. I would think that if you went that route, you could keep it on the smaller side (something 4Runner-esque?) and get a touch better MPG and have a slightly more driver-friendly size.

There's also quite the appeal in a cheap, good-on-gas "beater-ish" DD that lets you throw most of your money in savings and at the E30.

Can you make the E30 street-legal and just drive it to the track/auto-x events? Yes, it sucks to drive in a racing seat with no interior paneling or insulation, but when you only do it once a month, and have another fun/interesting DD, it's not so bad.

[D_Eclipse9916]

You are young, don't put yourself in debt, but dont dampen your dreams.

It only gets harder to track/project cars/dumb shit when you have a wife and/or kids. Dont let getting a car scratched dampen your enthusiasm. It is just a car, it will get scratched and dinged and guess what? You will have many cars in your lifetime. I see far too many people worry about their "possesions" and not use them.

If it was me, I would get a tow vehicle and already built cheap Spece30 (if thats the way you want to go). If you dont waant to track, get a fun car and stop worrying so much about dents/dings. You are only young once.

[ispoonwithmugen]

I get the appeal of buying something now that could tow the E30. I would think that if you went that route, you could keep it on the smaller side (something 4Runner-esque?) and get a touch better MPG and have a slightly more driver-friendly size.

There's also quite the appeal in a cheap, good-on-gas "beater-ish" DD that lets you throw most of your money in savings and at the E30.

Can you make the E30 street-legal and just drive it to the track/auto-x events? Yes, it sucks to drive in a racing seat with no interior paneling or insulation, but when you only do it once a month, and have another fun/interesting DD, it's not so bad.

I've thought of that. But then I would need to insure the E30. Technically it's old enough for the Antique tags which mean no inspection and driving to and from events (which I would be). Has anyone gone/done a similar route like that? I'm trying to gauge price. It's also pretty legal for the street. All I would need is the seat belts installed. Then comes the question if something breaks and I'm at VIR with no other vehicle, then what?

3) What Subaru wagon are you looking at to buy? Because if you buy an 2005 Leggy I'd be equally worried about it getting danged up.

Honestly I'd go option 1.) That way you keep money in the bank AND DON'T TOUCH it. I'm not saying you won't but a lot of having high hopes of building up a track car/trail rig and it falls through or a project never gets finished. I'd buy the beater Civic and then figure out what you're realistically going to do. On the plus side when you figure what it is you really want around the summer time you'll probably get paid price if not more for what you bought the civic DD for. Especially summer time, parents will be looking for graduation cars for their kids.. $$$

The Subaru wagon was more the though of a 2002 impreza wagon (WRX or non). That's a thought I had. Throw the money in a CD and buy some civic until I figure out some more logistics. The car won't be track ready until the end of summer most likely.

[ispoonwithmugen]

You are young, don't put yourself in debt, but dont dampen your dreams.

It only gets harder to track/project cars/dumb shit when you have a wife and/or kids. Dont let getting a car scratched dampen your enthusiasm. It is just a car, it will get scratched and dinged and guess what? You will have many cars in your lifetime. I see far too many people worry about their "possesions" and not use them.

If it was me, I would get a tow vehicle and already built cheap Spece30 (if thats the way you want to go). If you dont waant to track, get a fun car and stop worrying so much about dents/dings. You are only young once.

I'm not worried about debt. Anything I buy will be cash. I wanted the E30 so that I could run HPDE's with it and get more into racing. What tow vehicle would you recommend? It's not just the dents etc, I don't use the car for what is should be used for. It only has 75k miles on it and is actually "collectible" among Subaru folks and I really want something that I can throw more stuff in. My surfboards, snowboards, etc. Without everything strapped to the roof.

[Mike]

get the e30 streetable and drive it to the track. don't commit to the tow rig/towing thing until you're sure you're going to be tracking long-term. i did this for MANY years (and even dailied it, but that sucked and i cannot recommend unless you're just trying to save serious moolah) and it worked perfectly fine.
keep your wrx for daily duty and stop worrying so much; it's just a car and not one worth losing any sleep over.

[Jake]

Insurance on one car versus two is pretty negligible. I carried liability-only on the Miata and E30 when I had that duo, and Miata/E34, and Miata/E36. None of those cars are worth anything (much like if you had a cheap, 'worth nothing' DD) and the cost of having the second car on there was minuscule. Might have added $50 every six months or something.

[ispoonwithmugen]

get the e30 streetable and drive it to the track. don't commit to the tow rig/towing thing until you're sure you're going to be tracking long-term. i did this for MANY years (and even dailied it, but that sucked and i cannot recommend unless you're just trying to save serious moolah) and it worked perfectly fine.
keep your wrx for daily duty and stop worrying so much; it's just a car and not one worth losing any sleep over.

Well I do want to change it up space wise. So I don't want to keep this particular one, but am not opposed to a WRX wagon as a daily. I really am just looking for something that is 100% stock too.

Insurance on one car versus two is pretty negligible. I carried liability-only on the Miata and E30 when I had that duo, and Miata/E34, and Miata/E36. None of those cars are worth anything (much like if you had a cheap, 'worth nothing' DD) and the cost of having the second car on there was minuscule. Might have added $50 every six months or something.

I'll have to look into pricing for that. If that's the case then that is totally doable. For some reason my rate was like 30 a month last time I was looking at insurance for my old E30.

[D_Eclipse9916]

get the e30 streetable and drive it to the track. don't commit to the tow rig/towing thing until you're sure you're going to be tracking long-term. i did this for MANY years (and even dailied it, but that sucked and i cannot recommend unless you're just trying to save serious moolah) and it worked perfectly fine.
keep your wrx for daily duty and stop worrying so much; it's just a car and not one worth losing any sleep over.

Well I do want to change it up space wise. So I don't want to keep this particular one, but am not opposed to a WRX wagon as a daily. I really am just looking for something that is 100% stock too.

Insurance on one car versus two is pretty negligible. I carried liability-only on the Miata and E30 when I had that duo, and Miata/E34, and Miata/E36. None of those cars are worth anything (much like if you had a cheap, 'worth nothing' DD) and the cost of having the second car on there was minuscule. Might have added $50 every six months or something.

I'll have to look into pricing for that. If that's the case then that is totally doable. For some reason my rate was like 30 a month last time I was looking at insurance for my old E30.

Really depends on the car. My E36 liability for my convertible is more than the cost of my comprehensive 2500HD that is worth 4x as much. Selling my e36 vert will save me over $270 alone every 6 months. Get quotes first. I didnt think an e36 m3 convertible would be so expensive in insurance.

[ispoonwithmugen]

get the e30 streetable and drive it to the track. don't commit to the tow rig/towing thing until you're sure you're going to be tracking long-term. i did this for MANY years (and even dailied it, but that sucked and i cannot recommend unless you're just trying to save serious moolah) and it worked perfectly fine.
keep your wrx for daily duty and stop worrying so much; it's just a car and not one worth losing any sleep over.

Well I do want to change it up space wise. So I don't want to keep this particular one, but am not opposed to a WRX wagon as a daily. I really am just looking for something that is 100% stock too.

Insurance on one car versus two is pretty negligible. I carried liability-only on the Miata and E30 when I had that duo, and Miata/E34, and Miata/E36. None of those cars are worth anything (much like if you had a cheap, 'worth nothing' DD) and the cost of having the second car on there was minuscule. Might have added $50 every six months or something.

I'll have to look into pricing for that. If that's the case then that is totally doable. For some reason my rate was like 30 a month last time I was looking at insurance for my old E30.

Really depends on the car. My E36 liability for my convertible is more than the cost of my comprehensive 2500HD that is worth 4x as much. Selling my e36 vert will save me over $270 alone every 6 months. Get quotes first. I didnt think an e36 m3 convertible would be so expensive in insurance.

Yeah I will first. Any suggestions for next daily? Are there any trucks or SUV's that get decent gas? Maybe a Forester?

[SlimKlim]

Yeah it really depends on the car. Also with liability only you are your own insurance policy if you have an accident that's your fault. That's what always scared me away from doing less than full coverage on the M3. If I fell asleep on the highway and totaled it I'd be SOL. I think its just a balance of the cost of insurance and value of the car and whether or not you could replace the car yourself. Its silly to spend $2500/year to insure a $3k car but $1k/yr for a $5k car might be worth it.

When I got that miata and did liability only on it, it didn't add a dime to my policy. The savings just from driving the M3 less covered the premium on the miata. However, the quotes I've run for the DD's I've looked at are going to nearly double my monthly payment. Even listing the M3 as a "pleasure vehicle" and knocking the yearly mileage way down I'll still be jumping from $100/mo to $175-180.

Anywhoodles, whether or not you decide to do full coverage or liability on the daily, it's probably worth the time to run a few theoretical insurance quotes to see what a liability only, rarely driven e30 would add to the premium.

[CaptainHenreh]

Yeah I will first. Any suggestions for next daily? Are there any trucks or SUV's that get decent gas? Maybe a Forester?

SRT8 Grand Cherokee

[ispoonwithmugen]

Yeah I will first. Any suggestions for next daily? Are there any trucks or SUV's that get decent gas? Maybe a Forester?

SRT8 Grand Cherokee

Ouch on the gas. Anything that won't rape me as hard on gas?

[Ken]

Yeah I will first. Any suggestions for next daily? Are there any trucks or SUV's that get decent gas? Maybe a Forester?

SRT8 Grand Cherokee

:lol:

[SlimKlim]

Yeah I will first. Any suggestions for next daily? Are there any trucks or SUV's that get decent gas? Maybe a Forester?

SRT8 Grand Cherokee

Ouch on the gas. Anything that won't rape me as hard on gas?

He was kidding. Take a xanax and read the "Sport SUV" thread. There are more rustled jimmies in there than when the lights went out at the super bowl.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Yeah I will first. Any suggestions for next daily? Are there any trucks or SUV's that get decent gas? Maybe a Forester?

SRT8 Grand Cherokee

Ouch on the gas. Anything that won't rape me as hard on gas?

He was joking around based on the last thread.

Honestly 4runners/tahoes/tacos the like all actually have around the same gas mileage. I tried looking at 4runner and the likes before I bought a yukon denali, but realized 1 more mpg is not going to do anything. Only an "suv" that cannot tow will do any better, in which case you are wasting your money. My Yukon Denali runs on regular and with the tune never got below 14mpg, and typically was 18-20 on the highway. I dont want to discuss my diesel's fuel mileage till I get the tune on it :lol:

Subaru wagon/328i wagon etc are more fun. I wish I could recommend an audi avant since they are sexy, but run far away from those.

[ispoonwithmugen]

He was joking around based on the last thread.

Honestly 4runners/tahoes/tacos the like all actually have around the same gas mileage. I tried looking at 4runner and the likes before I bought a yukon denali, but realized 1 more mpg is not going to do anything. Only an "suv" that cannot tow will do any better, in which case you are wasting your money. My Yukon Denali runs on regular and with the tune never got below 14mpg, and typically was 18-20 on the highway. I dont want to discuss my diesel's fuel mileage till I get the tune on it :lol:

Subaru wagon/328i wagon etc are more fun. I wish I could recommend an audi avant since they are sexy, but run far away from those.

That's the thing though. I make trips to Richmond once a month and drive home once every two months or so. That leaves me with some long trips. My dad was trying to get me into an A3 wagon (I'm guessing those are pretty bad too). How are 328i wagons? I want something comfortable for the trips and it HAS to be reliable so I don't get stranded. For some reason I thought the Denali's were in the 10mpg range?

[SlimKlim]

I think the A3 is basically a rebadged Golf, so it wouldn't have the 18-link front suspension design or the V6 bi-turbo you can't even get your hand next to that DJ is thinking of. Still, unless you really need the Quattro, you might as well buy a VW GTI for a little less money. I think most of the A3s come FWD anyway.

The 328i wagon would be the E91 body style and probably out of your price range (a decent MKV GTI is going to be a bit more than $10k too, for that matter) but an E46 325i wagon would be well within it. Those are pretty cool little cars, a lot of them were automatic xi's, which kinda sucks, but they still made a fair number of stickshift and RWD ones. I saw a pretty decent looking one on bimmerforums a few months ago that was a 325iT sport pack, 5spd, rwd with like 130k miles for $7k in really good shape.

[Goodspeed]

If you're in a position to put $5g's into the bank at your age while in college, do that. Trust me - you'll thank yourself in the long run.

Spend the other 5 on a fun car that can pull double duty (E30 if thats your thing) and wait until you're out of college and financially sound before committing to the whole trak kar/tow vehicle fiasco.