With the inescapable fate of progeny looming in my future, The Wife has occasionally prodded me to trade in my current vehicle, a 2000 Honda Prelude SH with which I have a long-standing and admittedly perverse love affair, for something with four doors.
Car shopping is probably the only kind of shopping I enjoy, or even tolerate. For someone like me, car shopping is a journey years in the making. I generally don't prefer brand new vehicles, as their high prices and immediate depreciation make my bunghole pucker. However, when I know I'm going to need a new car in the coming three years, I'll peruse the current new models so that I know what will be on the used lots when I'm finally ready to buy. If you drive it while it's new, you'll have a baseline to compare it to when it's used. Plus, there's the no-strings-attached test driving.
Lately, I really like the 2008 Acura TL Type-S
. Of course, for that to drop into the price range I'm comfortable with could easily be three years. The '07's are still in the high twenties.
I thought briefly about the BMW M3, but quickly dropped that idea for two reasons. One, I don't think they come with 4 doors; and two, I may be a prick, but I'm not nearly the prick it takes to drive an M3. Of course, there are still a variety of 3-series sedans which can be had for the mid twenties with low mileage. That I could go for, but there's something about a BMW that makes my reliability gauge waiver. I'm just not sure they've got what Toyota or Honda do.
Speaking of Toyota, there are some very nice IS models out there. I remember when these first started coming out about four years ago. They fall perfectly into the sporty sedan genre. I was very close to buying one when I bought my prelude, but they were a little outside my range. NOw they can be had for the low twenties all the way up to the high twenties depending on model year.
The spoiler for all of this, though, is that none of these cars are all-around better than my current vehicle. The Prelude handles better than all of these sedans do. It gets better mpg than all of these sedans do. The only two areas where it fails are power (175hp vs the mid-200's these sedans make) and space. Lack of space is a fairly weak argument, since the Prelude has four seatbelts, so I could put a child seat in the rear.
Of course, it also doesn't help that the Prelude is paid for with only 63,000 miles on it. Which means two things:
1) It's a 'free' vehicle
2) No one will ever pay me what I think it's worth.
The autophile and the miser inside me are muddying the waters. The issue has become far too nebulous for me to make a clear choice. I suppose I should take that as a sign that it's not buying time yet. Sigh. I suppose I'll just keep window shopping until an ultimatum surfaces.
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No matter what you do, keep the Prelude. It's paid for, it get good mileage, it's fun, and it'll never get you what it's worth in a trade, so don't trade it. It also makes the 'second' car an easier choice as it doesn't 'have' to be sporty - the Prelude fills that role.
When we knew we were starting a family, my wife bought a Tribute so we'd have space for the family. It was a decent car, but, really - it gave us nothing. Bad mileage, not much space, a hefty payment and no love. All the while she'd been lusting for a G35x (then - sedan/auto only). One day, returning from a family thing with our 16 month old strapped in the backseat, a G passed us on the highway and my wife sighed and again proclaimed her love for a car she'd never driven. I paused, looked around the tribute real hard and said "what exactly would we be giving up, if we got rid of tribby for a G?" A week later the new G was in the driveway. Interior space and mileage are just about a wash (the G is marginally better on mileage, but it also wants the good stuff so $$ is about the same). Fun to drive and love - off the charts. I have some quibbles with the G - any true autophile will with almost anything, but it's a great car. And if we had it to do over again, I'd still opt for the slushbox (throttle tip-in being the biggest quibble making launches nasty with the stick), but I might change the color...
btw - Lexus has never made anything that excites me. It's like putting racing stripes on a Buick.
If you wanna go totally counter-culture, look at a used Forester XT. WRX performance, from a total sleeper. Even your wife won't realize you're buying a racer....
Prelude is just cool.you should keep it.then you may try others.thanks for sharing this in your post with us. like your way of writing.really smart.waiting for your next post like this.
CLANCY!
Thanks for your reply. I know this was a really self-absorbed post, but I figured I would draw some input from car-minded people.
I'm thankful for your recommendation of the G35 sedan, as I hadn't even thought of it. Sadly, all the G35 4-doors in my area that fall into even the upper range of my price zone, also fall into the upper range of my mileage zone. This is my cross to bear.
My dad has been looking very hard at the latest G35 coupes though, especially the G37S coupe. I told him to just buy a 350z and turbo it, but he's a pretty busy guy who doesn't want to go that far with a car if he can't do the work himself.
I will take your advice on the Prelude though. I made the mistake of falling in love with it the day I saw it, and i've been paying for it ever since. Of course, if I got a new car at any point in the next few years, I would have to choose between the Prelude being garaged and the new car being garaged (as we only have a two car, and The Wife gets one bay and I get the other). My lust would demand that I buy a $5,000 used sedan and park it in the driveway; because I couldn't toss my pearlescent mistress out in the elements.
I told you it was perverse.
It seems that if I want the future car I love, I must 1) forsake the current car I love, or 2) start making enough money to have a three car garage. And that way madness lies.
ok