Looking for a new car. What are your suggestions?

Hey everybody! Haven't been on here as much as I used to. Just been reading new posts and keeping up with things.

To the point...got a 2013 Toyota Avalon new when it came out, but I feel like getting a new car. I've asked for opinions on car-specific forums, but I want to ask Mac-Forums users for opinions mostly because I've come to realize I really value seamless phone integration into a car's infotainment system. My car is synced with my iPhone 6s Plus and I believe I can do better with newer infotainment systems.

I've been at this for abut 2-3 months now, and still am as clueless as the first day as to what I should get. I think I want an SUV, but I also was looking at luxury sedans and coupes. I looked at the new XC90, and really liked it. I looked at an M4, and also liked it. But, I could also see myself buying an LS460 or leasing an S550. I literally have no clue what to go with.

My budget is $1,300 a month after tax and 5k down, but that doesn't mean I'm targeting cars in that price range. That's how much I can safely spend on a car, but I'd prefer to find something close to $700-$800/m. Ideally, I would be selling the Avalon and getting the new car.

Some things I value(in order of importance):
Seating and driving comfort. Safety. Luxury and amenities. RWD/AWD. Reliability if I'm buying it, not so much if I'm leasing it. Ride quality depending on the type of car...meaning great handling on a sporty car, and great comfort on a luxury sedan. Craftsmanship.

Vehicles I'm interested in: Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe. Porsche Cayenne and Macan. Lexus LX570, IS-F, and LS460. Toyota Land Cruiser, Hylander limited platinum awd, Tundra TRD pro, and 4Runner TRD Pro/Limited. Jaguar XJ-L awd, F-Pace, and XE. BMW M3, M4, M235i Xdrive, and X5. Volvo XC90. Mercedes C300-450 AMG, S550 4matic, and E350 4matic.
Vehicles I've crossed off the list: GTR and all Nissan/Infiniti vehicles, Escalade/Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon(cheap quality masked by pretty interior/exterior), X6, X4, Mercedes GL/ML/GLE(pretty much all their SUVs). Anything from GM/Ford/Chrysler(they don't have anything I'm interested in). All Land Rover vehicles.

I told myself my next car will be an SUV, but I really want something that offers a plush ride, comfortable seating position, and can handle. So far, sedans have been delivering on the ride aspect more than SUVs, with exception to the LX570.

I'm slightly leaning towards Lexus and Toyota. Then again, I could keep the Avalon, and get a sporty car(340 or M235i Xdrive at ~$600/m lease).

Did I mention I'm looking at a motorcycle as well?


Agghhhhh...see what I mean! Is this what they call a mid-life crisis?
What would you do if you were in my position?

Go with what your wife/SO wants.

iggibar said:

...but I feel like getting a new car.

My budget is $1,300 a month after tax and 5k down, but that doesn't mean I'm targeting cars in that price range. That's how much I can safely spend on a car, but I'd prefer to find something close to $700-$800/m.

Did I mention I'm looking at a motorcycle as well?

Agghhhhh...see what I mean! Is this what they call a mid-life crisis?

Click to expand...

I wish I had such "problems"!!!

- Nick

toMACsh said:

Go with what your wife/SO wants.

Click to expand...

She wants a Prius or i3. That's not happening in my foreseeable future ;D

pigoo3 said:

I wish I had such "problems"!!!

- Nick

Click to expand...

Hey buddy, haven't talked to you in a while! I'm thankful things have been going well for my family. Everything's been going well at work. With the help of a few close friends, we started a non-profit LLC last year that is doing great. Being the president of that, while also having a full-time job, I'm definitely working for it. I've totally lost touch of the online forum scene I was accustom to, especially here.

iggibar said:

Hey buddy, haven't talked to you in a while! I'm thankful things have been going well for my family. Everything's been going well at work. With the help of a few close friends, we started a non-profit LLC last year that is doing great. Being the president of that, while also having a full-time job, I'm definitely working for it. I've totally lost touch of the online forum scene I was accustom to, especially here.

Click to expand...

Great to hear everything is going so well! I think that the last time you had some serious discussion here (if I remember correctly)...was when you were purchasing a Mac Pro computer.

- Nick

Yeah, seems like forever ago. My Mac Pro is alive and rolling like a tank. Hopefully, when bonus time comes through, it will get shifted to theater room duties only when a new MP takes over.

I have a neighbor who swears by his prius... I know it's not the most attractive car and you may not get the chicks with it. He is driving that thing over $400,000 miles and never has had a problem. Only changed the brakes and rotors once.. If your looking for a car that has no up-keep you can't beat the prius.

If you are like me, the Avalon was an under powered disappointment. Personally I would go the XJ-L.

Am looking at an XK8 convertible, 4.2 lite V8, British Racing Green with black vynil roof, and only 11,000 klms (less than 7,000 miles) sold to a Jag collector brand new July 1997. My main problem is the owner wants AUD$57,000.00 for it!

garypho said:

I have a neighbor who swears by his prius... I know it's not the most attractive car and you may not get the chicks with it. He is driving that thing over $400,000 miles and never has had a problem. Only changed the brakes and rotors once.. If your looking for a car that has no up-keep you can't beat the prius.

Click to expand...

If I ever get any hybrid or electric car, it's going to be a Tesla. Though I don't always require power, I enjoy knowing it's there when I need it. I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it, not have it, and feel unsafe because I tried to save a few bucks at the pump. Been there, done that. I don't drive slow enough to take advantage of what a Prius is good for.

harryb2448 said:

If you are like me, the Avalon was an under powered disappointment. Personally I would go the XJ-L.

Am looking at an XK8 convertible, 4.2 lite V8, British Racing Green with black vynil roof, and only 11,000 klms (less than 7,000 miles) sold to a Jag collector brand new July 1997. My main problem is the owner wants AUD$57,000.00 for it!

Click to expand...

What model year did you have? I believe my Avalon has too much power. The front weight distribution easily upsets traction. It has never left me needing more power, but I would like to have it in a rwd/awd setup. That would be so much more useful for this engine. I can be rolling at ~35mph in sport mode, gun it, and totally burn spin both tires. This is while I have one of the best tires rated on TireRack.

I love the XJ, and it currently has really attractive lease rates. Looks fantastic in black! I have a 60-day lease rate lock on an M4 convertible for $899x36m. However, I've been negotiating a deal on a certified Porsche Cayenne Diesel. White exterior, [FONT=Helvetica Neue, arial, sans-serif]red leather adaptive sport seats with full carbon fiber package(steering wheel and literally everything available in carbon), sport package with air suspension and PASM, Burmester system, and a few more packages/options. I have financing ready at $914x60m, but I'll be going in to see if I can negotiate a better deal on in later today. [/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, arial, sans-serif]To be honest, instead of an XK8, I'd rather get a used Aston Martin for about the same price. The XK8 variants don't hold their values well at all. So, IMO, if you're already buying used one, go for the Aston, or buy an XK that has been driven a bit more and has depreciated a lot more. Much better value proposition if you ask me. [/FONT]

Nah AM for 007 only. The XK8's hold their value here big time, right hand drive country hence the $57,000 for a '97 model hardly used. At my age, the main value for the XK8 is when I leave it to my sons (according to them)!

Avalon might have been okay in cities but woeful handling and performance on rural roads.

Late post, but... You have a car that's pretty new and are going to lease another, i.e. interest payments, etc. Rather save your money.

After a long search, I ended up buying a Mercedes E350 4matic with the AMG Sport pack and a few other options. Been loving it! Had a horrible experience trying to get a Lexus, and have been permanently turned off to Lexus.

Congrats on the purchase Iggibar! You had quite a list of "Interested in" vehicles to narrow down…so I'm sure it wasn't easy.

- Can we assume this was a new vehicle?
- Just curious…how long do you expect to keep it?
- How well do you figure its going to do in the Cleveland snow?

* Nick

lol iggibar consider the Lexus a Toyota and you have no more interest in it after the Avalon.

harryb2448 said:

lol iggibar consider the Lexus a Toyota and you have no more interest in it after the Avalon.

Click to expand...

Good one Harry…a very concise & practical way of putting it. I've never been much of a Lexus fan. As you mentioned. Maybe just a "better Toyota" (which isn't necessarily bad). Just not something to get super excited about or overly impressed with.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Congrats on the purchase Iggibar! You had quite a list of "Interested in" vehicles to narrow down…so I'm sure it wasn't easy.

- Can we assume this was a new vehicle?
- Just curious…how long do you expect to keep it?
- How well do you figure its going to do in the Cleveland snow?

* Nick

Click to expand...

I got a certified 2013. I'm not a fan of the new exterior, or the engine start/stop feature(can't imagine what might go wrong with that one). It's in mint condition, with my preferred color combo(white exterior/brown leather on black interior) and extended unlimited mile warranty until 2020.

It was down between the Cayenne S-hybrid, GS, and E350. The Cayenne died during the test drive...that experience, along with waiting for a tow truck while on a test drive totally killed it for me. The GS was killed by the UNBELIEVABLY horrendous salesmen and management service at my local Lexus dealer. I decided to pay my local Mercedes another visit after the Lexus incident, and saw they had just taken in my current E. I negotiated and took delivery of it the next day. It's one of those times when you know you stumbled on to something good that wont come again. To be honest, I kind of knew I was going to get a Mercedes, it's just that I don't like the current style of the E-class, and knew the chances of getting a certified with the options and condition I wanted was pretty low. I believe I got lucky, and I'm way below budget. I intend on keeping this for as long as it's financially feasible.

I'm already looking for a decent set of alloys to make a dedicated wheel/tire combo to destroy this Cleveland snow!

How about MOTORCYCLES? Did I MISS that part of the thread?

Triumph, Ducati, BMW, MotoGuzzi. Depends what you want them to do.

If you want a big touring bike, you're better off with an Indian than a Harley. They are smoother, more powerful, and dare I say, a bit more reliable. The ONLY real upside to the Harley, is high resale. I did LOVE my Road Glide, but muscling a 1000 lb motorcycle was becoming cumbersome.

I have no issues with any of the Japanese bikes, but much like their automotive counterparts, they tend to be a bit characterless and cookie cutter.

Bikes I know a bit more about than computers.

ken

hempomatic said:

How about MOTORCYCLES? Did I MISS that part of the thread?

Triumph, Ducati, BMW, MotoGuzzi. Depends what you want them to do.

If you want a big touring bike, you're better off with an Indian than a Harley. They are smoother, more powerful, and dare I say, a bit more reliable. The ONLY real upside to the Harley, is high resale. I did LOVE my Road Glide, but muscling a 1000 lb motorcycle was becoming cumbersome.

I have no issues with any of the Japanese bikes, but much like their automotive counterparts, they tend to be a bit characterless and cookie cutter.

Bikes I know a bit more about than computers.

ken

Click to expand...

I'm going to wait until at least spring or summer of next year. When it comes to bikes, I'm very picky, and there are only a few I like or am willing to pay for. I've tried a few, and when it comes time to owning one it will be one of these: BMW S1000RR, Ducati 899/1199 variants, Suzuki M109r, Kawasaki Ninja ZX6R/ZX10R, or a Harley VROD. That's it.