We started off thinking about a Wrangler. We both love them, but they are a lousy vehicle to commute in. Bad mileage, although the new ones get close to 25 on the highway. Problem is a new one costs 35k plus and our max budget is 25k. I can still get employee pricing from the Jeep store but...we're still going to be 30k plus for a Wrangler with wind up windows and manual door locks.
The car store has a Mazda Miata, a 2018 Grand Touring model. Less than a thousand miles on it. It has leather, Navigation, good audio system, all the goodies. a Miata is a fun car to drive and they get 30 plus miles to the gallon. Cakes is ambivalent about it. We'll drive it this weekend.
She doesn't want a Honda or a Toyota, a Kia. Not in her wheelhouse, not close.
We should have bought her Volt when the lease ran out. She loved that car.
Even the model 3 is too expensive. (50k on average) I don't trust Musk, my guess is that one of the major car makers will buy Tesla within the next few years. Interestingly the Tesla Model 3 is the best selling premium sedan in the US. 140,00 were sold. That's a lot of cars, but Ford sold 4 times more F 150s. Wrangler sold 240,00 4x4s last year. So Tesla sells, but it's a drop in the new car bucket.
You can buy a low mileage Mercedes C Class, she likes the coupes, a 2015 or 2016 is in our price range.
There was a white one on the market a few weeks ago. 17,000 miles, another one showed up with 11k. They were gone in a day. The turbo 4 Benz gets 30 on the highway and they last forever. We put 152k on her last Mercedes and other than consumables and regular maintenance, the car didn't cost us anything to own. Of course when we bought it new, the sticker read $54,000 dollars, so there's that. Those days are over.
I love our Grand Cherokee, I'll drive it until the wheels fall off, if I last that long. The Grand Cherokee was in the shop for a few days and the dealership let Cakes drive a Chrysler 300 sedan, all the bells and whistles.Driving the 300 back and forth to work she got mileage in the high 20's in the big sedan. I can get a Certified 300, a few years old with low mileage in our price range. Cakes liked driving it, but she is concerned that it's just not her "style". I like the 300, but it's going to be her car, not mine.
We bought a used, one owner BMW 550 last fall, high mileage car for short money, it was a nice car, but shit started to go wrong with it and we sold it to a mechanic and dodged a bullet. Whew. It soured Cakes on Bimmers for good. I had several over the years and they were bullet proof for the most part, but service rates were high and if anything went wrong...you'd have to get into your retirement fund to get it fixed.
We'll see what happens. Now if it was up to me, I'd, ahhhh,, but it's not...
I should have never sold my C6 Corvette...funny story about the Vette. We were driving back from Phoenix, running at about 85 miles an hour, 1650 rpm in 6th, the car was smooth, comfortable and quiet. At 85 the mpg read out was showing 34 miles to the gallon. We got past by a Prius, probably the first time in automotive history a 400 plus horsepower Corvette was getting better mileage than a Prius.
Shoulda kept the 'vette. I'd go for the Miatta. Mazda makes great cars and they don't nickle and dime you to death.
ReplyDeleteWe've been in a Honda CRV lane for many years, since I gave up my Cadillac STS Northstar that produced something like 320hp. It fit like glove, held the road like it had ground effects, was smooth as silk and very, very quick.
ReplyDeleteused Caddys are dirt cheap. The little ATS with the Volt Powertrain are great, but hard to find. The CTV is a super car.
DeleteThat black Wrangler do look good Bobby!
ReplyDelete