Car to Split time with M5??

Yupkwondo · 17th August 2002, 01:57

I was wondering, what would everyone suggest as a car to split driving duties with the M5? I have a Mini Cooper S on order, but I just don't think I want it. The car will be my winter car, and also something that I would like to be able to track..so it'll have more purposes than everyday driving.

Right Now I am putting about 25-27,000 miles on my M5 a year, and that is not driving it for about 3 months in winter. And I want to be able to keep it at or under about 15,000 a year from now on. I was thinking a new SMG M3, as I've heard they are pretty good in winter with snow tires and the M-Diff in the winter. But I really don't know. I do know that the car has to be sporty, fun, reliable, and be a car that I would want to drive everyday, so that I don't have to drive the M5 for enjoyment.

The M3 is about the high point of my spending limit, I don't want to go more than 55k...I have about 20k to put down on whatever I get. I am really at a loss for what to get, so I am turning to my favorite place to get hard questions like this answered. Thanks In Advance.

~ Jason
2001 Lemans/Lemans

P.S. ""(Shameless Ad)"" If there is anyone interested in taking my spot for the Mini, let me know via P.M. or E-Mail, all I am asking is you repay my deposit amount, and the order is yours, I will also provide more details to what I have on order if interested.

SWing · 17th August 2002, 02:00

Jason:

What abt the current S6 Avant? It is very nice..4.2 V8 with goodies and awesome 4wd...put some coilovers on and they're pretty good handling. I remember seeing them for real cheap nowadays.

Sugi

Yupkwondo · 17th August 2002, 02:07

Sugi,

I would look into it, but I've had pretty bad luck with Audi's...I had an 2000 S4 that blew it's turbo's twice, had a bad clutch and 2 bad syncros, traded that for a A8l, had bad brakes, bad transmission...I'm kinda scared to buy another Audi, if you get my point....but I'll keep it in mind if all else fails.

~ Jason
2001 Lemans/Lemans

Richard in NC · 17th August 2002, 02:18

Yupkwondo;
I'm in the same boat. I wanted a 2nd car to keep the miles off the M5 and to be a winter beater. Since I didn't have the funds to buy a 2nd really good car, I bought a relatives '98 Neon R/T. Besides being a cheap "beater" car, I've heard they can be fun to track. However, I have a problem every morning. Neon or M5? Duh, which would you choose? I might lean to a 325Ci auto next. It would be a great car for arround town, nice enough to want to drive, and with all season tires & DSC, plenty good enough for Charlote winters. It also has some utility with a fold down rear seat standard. If you want to track your 2nd car, maybe a used M3 would be better. The M roadster I drove at the M5 DE was also a fun little car but might get old day after day.

wpcalvin7 · 17th August 2002, 02:23

I think a 325xi or even an 330xi will be good, try and find an X5 3.0, first or second hand. The X5 3.0 with snow tires will do good in snow.

SWing · 17th August 2002, 02:26

OO..another suggestion:

2001/2002 Brand new Boxster S. I know that dealers are giving deals for these cars as the face-lifted Boxster will arrive soon. There're still brand new '01 Boxster S that I think dealers are dying to get rid off.

Only drawback...not a good winter car but an AWESOME track car

IMHO, u cannot have the best of both worlds..hehe..either one or the other. The S6 Avant should be ok since the engine has been used for a few years since the A8 and A6 model has been out a few years so I would think most of the bugs are gone now

Cheers,
Sugi

ps. on another personal side note: my folks are thinking abt getting a SUV...any recommendations? They're leaning towards the LX 470 tho I have found great deals on ML 55 recently...any thoughts guys?

Yupkwondo · 17th August 2002, 02:39

Thanks for the sugegstions so far, just so everyone knows winters here aren't (haven't been lately) horrible, but aren't great. I've driven a rear wheel drive with traction control car with snows (GS400 for reference) and an AWD car with all seasons (the A8) in winter, and the GS was by far the better car. I have to say that rear wheel drive in snow is predictable, the rear is always going to go sideways, and you can control with gas and steering. However what I've found is that on the A8 in snow it was totally unpredicatable to what it was going to do, sometimes the front would slide, sometimes the back, but what usually happens which scared the crap out of me the first time it happened, was the whole entire car goes about 2 foot sideways all at once, not fun! Even my dad who drove it a few times, didn't like how it handled the snow....So a rear wheel drive (with some kind of traction/stability control) car in winter is ok by me, I already planned on putting snows on it, so just to let everyone know that all the winter suggestions don't need to take priority, because this car will be driven an equal amount all year as the M5, just exclusivly in winter.

I was also thinking WRX, but I was pretty disapointed with the interior/build quality of one I've seen, so I'm still at a loss.
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Sugi,

My mom has a RX300, and it is a great little SUV, it is excellent in winter, and has a decent cargo capacity. If they don't need the huge size of the LX I would look into the RX. However, that's all I know about, because personally I really dislike SUV's as a whole, expect for maybe a X5 4.6is, they are about the only SUV I like.

~ Jason
2001 Lemans/Lemans

Yupkwondo · 17th August 2002, 05:29

I may have found my answer, there is a place in flordia importing, Mitsubishi lancer Evo 7's with 1 or 3 year warranty's...I think this may be my answer...AWD and as Fast as an M3, plus a great track car!! Now to find a bank that will finance the rest of the amount I need...Hmm!!

~ Jason
2001 Lemans/Lemans

TCM · 17th August 2002, 05:58

I like the idea of the Evo 7. I thought they were not coming in until next year? Just make sure their interior is nice/big enough for you. Good luck and please let us know what you end up with.

Need4Spd · 17th August 2002, 07:03

I got an M Roadster. Same reason. Keep the miles down on the M5. And it's way different for a different driving experience.