Mid 20’s guy. Recently minted lawyer. Making good money for a single guy with no expenses to speak of (100K), probably making amazing money in 5 years or so. Good looking fellow, tall (6’ 4"), definite fashion plate – looks very GQ at all times. Party guy, always clubbing and into the latest “spots” and “being seen at the scene.” Very into his image. (No judgement intended or implied. He’d agree with this assessment 100%)
The task at hand:
He’s looking to spend 30K on a car +/-5,000. Ideally a convertible, but coupe with sunroof will do. His current picks (in order of preference) are:
Mercedes C320 coupe
Toyota Solara convertible
Mustang GT or Mach1 convertible
I ain’t crazy about the list, except for maybe the mustang. The Benz looks like a glorified Honda and the Solara is a mid-life-crisis car, not a young guy car… But I also have to admit some choices simply don’t work for a 6’4" guy (e.g. Miata)… He primarily likes the Benz because he figures he’ll sell this car in 3-5 years and it will have better resale… Quite possibly true, but other “entry level” Benz cars have not upheld the high-resale-value ratio of the company overall (can you say “190”), so I’m not sure that’s bankable…
That aside from the fact that he’s determined to buy a new car, and I think he should pick up a 2-4 year old used car. But that’s been TOTALLY ruled out, so we need to keep it to new cars…
How many Volvos do you see broken down by the side of the road?
They are well engineered and (with a turbo package) perform admirably. If your lawyer brother has any brains he’ll get over his “little red sports car” fixation and consider buying himself some “real” wheels.
Thanks for the good, sensible advice in your first two sentences.
It’s true that I see few Volvos broken down beside the road. I don’t see many Mercedes or Toyotas for that matter. Come to think of it, I’d say the most common breakdowns I do see are GM cars…
However, the fact is he did consider the C70 (It turns out those Swedes make a sporty convertible themselves. I guess they lack “brains” too). He felt the cost versus benefit ratio was simply not compelling. I think he was correct. It’s not comparable to other $40-45,000 cars. And it’s also simply out of his price range.
As for the other Volvo models, if you seriously want to criticize a single, 26-year-old guy for wanting a sporty coupe - preferably convertible - and not buying a 4-door sedan, well, let’s just say it amuses me.
Well lets see: new lawyer, into his image and “the scene”… hmm… I’d have to veto all of the cars on his list, sorry.
Mustang - maybe if you’re in high school and like drag racing, or a college girl, otherwise a pretty unrefined car (no offense to mustang fans, of course, they are fast and cheap, and that’s why most people who love them love them).
Toyota - I agree with you, I can’t see why this is on the list
MB - closer than the other two to fitting the bill, and probably a nicer car to boot, depends on what “look” he’s going for. But it doesn’t look like a german luxury sport sedan type car.
Hate to be cliche here, but really, a BMW 3 series would be just the ticket. They make darn nice convertibles, and they can be had in his price range (probably closer to $35k though). Sounds perfect for him to me! I always had moral issues with BMW’s because of what I felt they stood for, but they are excellent cars all else aside (and if he’s looking at a benz, I doubt he’d have a problem with a bimmer).
I’ll at least second the Mercury Marauder, as I just got on one monday and it is very sweet. Nice engine sound, super tight suspension and since it’s a limited run, not as many people will have them, so he can be a one of a kind.
That’s really only if he likes really big, really black cars, though
I think an Audi A4 would suit him perfectly. You can buy one with the 1.8T engine for under $30k, then get an aftermarket ECU that will add about 40-50 HP. (usually those computer-chip-upgrade things are junk but it really works on this particular engine)
If he wants something a little sportier, the Infiniti G35 coupe is an excellent choice. It’s basically a refined (better looking too) version of the new 350Z, for about the same price.
If he wants to go a little more against the grain of the “suave” image, he should look at a Subaru WRX Sti. Awesome awesome car for about $32k. Won’t be available until summer though. It can be had without the big spoiler and the flashy gold wheels, he’ll probably like it better that way. 300 HP and all wheel drive is tough to argue against.
A loaded Honda Accord coupe comes with a 240HP V6. And it’s a Honda. Or an Acura bacuase it’s more expensive.
The perfect car, i just thought of this is an Inifinti I35 coupe. This is the car for him. It’s over. Tell him to to email me and tell me how much he enjoys it.
And I’ll chime in here to add nothing of value to this thread but a big, “Me Three” for dil and DaddyTimesTwo. I was car shopping a couple of months ago and the G35 was my runner up. In a saner world, I’d be driving one now…
scr4 - probably passe, I don’t keep track of that sort of thing (I always thought/still think them cool even before they were re-intro’d). However, having sat in one as a 6’ tall guy, I can assure you a 6’4" guy will NOT fit in one comfortably (maybe at all…)
I got the utterly impractical Honda S2000. As much as I liked the G35, I had my heart set on a convertible. Really, I still regret selling my last motorcycle had have embraced the car world only halfheartedly.
I knew I was forgetting a good one - for what it’s worth, I too vote for the G35 (near the top of my possible next car list myself, along with an Audi as dil mentioned).
I also want an S2000 (nice choice Pork Rind). But that probably won’t be very practical for a 6’ 4" guy, so I guess it doesn’t help the OP much. Too bad my bank account can’t keep up with my eyes when it comes to cars
The Z is basically a slightly stiffer, slightly louder (slightly uglier IMO) G35 coupe, so if your brother prefers the BMW-image, he should stick with the Infiniti. Seriously, they are basically the same car.
