# New (to me) Non-ski car



## jaywbigred (Jul 23, 2010)

Okay, so the deal went through. I spent almost 3 months looking for a car like this:

1) old enough that it was cheap/young enough that I can finance part of it for 1-2 years so as to take adv. of my job's reimbursement plan (have to have a monthly payment)
2) presentable enough that I can have (often times wealthy) clients in it/take it to their houses for Will signings and such.
3) fast enough that I'm not bored
4) Have the features/colors I want (or close to it)
5) Have a combination of mileage and engine/interior/exterior condition that my buddy/mechanic gives 2 thumbs up to
6) clean Carfax with good maintenance record

Maybe in an ideal world it would have been AWD too, but that's why I got a 2nd car/SUV, right?

It is a 2003 MB CLK500. 51,000 miles, $17,000 (which was way below the Edmund's True Market Value listed, by almost a grand for the "Good" condition rating, and over a grand for the "Outstanding" rating. Mechanic and I agree it is certainly in "Outstanding" condition.) 

For that price, I could obviously have gotten something newer, Japanese/American, less mileage, but it wouldn't have fit all my criteria, and also this car only needs to last me ~2 years at the most (again, because of the way our reimbursement works, I am better of selling the car ["cashing out"] and buying another one, once this finance term is up), so I think it made sense vs., e.g. an '06 Acura TL.


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## deadheadskier (Jul 23, 2010)

very sweet

but is that an Automatic Transmission I spy in a German Sports Coupe :blink:


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## bvibert (Jul 23, 2010)

deadheadskier said:


> very sweet
> 
> but is that an Automatic Transmission I spy in a German Sports Coupe :blink:



Too bad, an otherwise very nice looking car.

Congrats, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!


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## severine (Jul 23, 2010)

Beautiful! Nice find!


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## RootDKJ (Jul 23, 2010)

Awesome dude.  That looks very fun to drive.


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## legalskier (Jul 24, 2010)

Gorgeous. It'll look even better with Jersey plates.


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## bigbog (Jul 24, 2010)

...Like the sunroof as well.


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## Glenn (Jul 26, 2010)

Sweet car Jay!


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## ctenidae (Jul 26, 2010)

Too bad about the transmission, but nice, otherwise.
You'll love the growl when you stomp it and it downshifts.


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## jaywbigred (Jul 26, 2010)

Fiancee put strict no-manual stamp on purchase process. This model also wasn't offered in manual in the U.S. at least during the production years I looked at. 

It does have tiptronic, so I can downshift and make the V8 growl if I want. Also, traffic-y driving in these parts makes me think manual might get old after a couple bad commutes.


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## bigbog (Jul 26, 2010)

Throw down the $$$ and get things fixed JayBR.  Be done with it so you can enjoy the thing.


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## ctenidae (Jul 26, 2010)

jaywbigred said:


> It does have tiptronic, so I can downshift and make the V8 growl if I want. Also, traffic-y driving in these parts makes me think manual might get old after a couple bad commutes.



I can idle at 4-5 mph in 1st, clutch fully out, so not too bad even in stop and go traffic. Of course, my car's only one year old, so I do benefit from new technology. It will, though it protests, go up the ramp getting out of the garage at work while giving it no gas. Amazes me.


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## jaywbigred (Jul 26, 2010)

bigbog said:


> Throw down the $$$ and get things fixed JayBR.  Be done with it so you can enjoy the thing.



I'm not sure what we're talking about...something needs to be fixed?


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## SKIQUATTRO (Jul 28, 2010)

nice ride, as u can tell, i'm a big german auto fan....but dont know if i can get past the automatic tranny in there.....


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## Geoff (Jul 28, 2010)

SKIQUATTRO said:


> nice ride, as u can tell, i'm a big german auto fan....but dont know if i can get past the automatic tranny in there.....



I have the VW DSG system in my GTI.  I did some soul searching about it when I sold my last one and decided that the huge discount I got on my current one outweighed having an automatic.   After 40,000 miles, I don't think I'd get a GTI with the 6 speed.   This isn't the slush-o-matic I'm used to on my SUV.   I have good control over the transmission with the paddle shifters for snow driving and avoiding the brakes in mountain driving.   If I want it to be fast off the line, it can shift faster than I can.


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## gmcunni (Jul 28, 2010)

SKIQUATTRO said:


> nice ride, as u can tell, i'm a big german auto fan....but dont know if i can get past the automatic tranny in there.....



just got rid of my bmw convert. i got an auto for many of the same reasons Jay did.  for  the 3 years i had it is secretly cursed my wife for not being able to drive a stick.  but botton line was i needed her car (CRV) for skiing so i had to leave her with something when i was out.


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## SKIQUATTRO (Jul 29, 2010)

every car i've had since i turned 16 have been stick, taught my now wife how to drive manual back in college, she has even owned a few manual cars...she loves driving the Audi....our other (and her main car) is the suv which of course is auto.....


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## WakeboardMom (Jul 29, 2010)

gmcunni said:


> just got rid of my bmw convert. i got an auto for many of the same reasons Jay did.  for  the 3 years i had it is secretly cursed my wife for not being able to drive a stick.  but botton line was i needed her car (CRV) for skiing so i had to leave her with something when i was out.



Looking to buy a used bmw convertible in the next two years.  (Not sure which one yet.  I do NOT want a hard-top.  My husband feels otherwise, but it's gonna be MY car.  ; - )

We saw a nice one the other day, but it was automatic.  Haven't had a stick since the kids were born. (LOL...oldest is approaching 30.  Soon after he was born, we sold the '76 'vette.  No room for a carseat. )  Back then, I didn't want to have one more thing to worry about when the kids were enough of a distraction while driving.  Now that we're back to just being two of us, looking to have something that's more fun to drive.


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## gmcunni (Jul 29, 2010)

jaywbigred said:


> It does have tiptronic, so I can downshift and ....





WakeboardMom said:


> Looking to buy a used bmw convertible in the next two years.  (Not sure which one yet.  I do NOT want a hard-top.  My husband feels otherwise, but it's gonna be MY car.  ; - )
> 
> We saw a nice one the other day, but it was automatic.



my bmw had the equivalent of the tiptronic (steptronic??).  when i was in an aggressive mood i'd downshift into corners and stuff like that. it was fun and always put a smile on my face.  BUT, my previous car was a saab turbo with 5 speed. there's nothing like spooling up the turbo and letting the clutch slip just a little bit


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## WakeboardMom (Jul 29, 2010)

gmcunni said:


> my bmw had the equivalent of the tiptronic (steptronic??).  when i was in an aggressive mood i'd downshift into corners and stuff like that. it was fun and always put a smile on my face.  *BUT, my previous car was a saab turbo with 5 speed. there's nothing like spooling up the turbo and letting the clutch slip just a little bit *



LOL...I'm sorry...I made a mistake in my previous post.  Last stick wasn't a '76 'vette, it was a '78...but still...not really anything at all like what you just described above.  The one before that was '73 Chevelle SS...another big block and again not something that handled anything like what you've described above.  We're looking forward to having something "fun."  ; - )

Has anyone driven a car from the '70's lately???  A few years ago, in some kind of nostalgia trip, my husband thought he might like to have something like that as kind of a "sunday driver." Then he actually drove a mid-70's Impala convertible.  Yuchh.


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## bigbog (Jul 29, 2010)

jaywbigred said:


> I'm not sure what we're talking about...something needs to be fixed?


*My bad.... was skipping around and caught someone's(ctenae?) sarcasim.


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## severine (Jul 29, 2010)

WakeboardMom said:


> Has anyone driven a car from the '70's lately???  A few years ago, in some kind of nostalgia trip, my husband thought he might like to have something like that as kind of a "sunday driver." Then he actually drove a mid-70's Impala convertible.  Yuchh.


My 78 Cherokee handles better than my 98 Blazer. Better turn radius and better overall ride.


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## wa-loaf (Jul 29, 2010)

severine said:


> My 78 Cherokee handles better than my 98 Blazer. Better turn radius and better overall ride.



There's a 70's International Scout for sale down the road from me if you want to add to the old SUV quiver. Says one owner on it ...


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## jaywbigred (Jul 30, 2010)

gmcunni said:


> just got rid of my bmw convert. i got an auto for many of the same reasons Jay did.  for  the 3 years i had it is secretly cursed my wife for not being able to drive a stick.  but botton line was i needed her car (CRV) for skiing so i had to leave her with something when i was out.



Ding ding ding. Being that my fiancee was awesome in agreeing to buy an SUV ski car instead of a gaudy engagement ring, when I take the SUV, I feel like I owe it to her to leave with a car she can drive.



WakeboardMom said:


> Looking to buy a used bmw convertible in the next two years.  (Not sure which one yet.  I do NOT want a hard-top.  My husband feels otherwise, but it's gonna be MY car.  ; - )


 BMW makes hard top convertibles now, so you should be able to find the best of both worlds. Of all the 3 series models, it's actually the car whose silhouette and styling I like the best. 



Geoff said:


> I have the VW DSG system in my GTI.  I did some soul searching about it when I sold my last one and decided that the huge discount I got on my current one outweighed having an automatic.   After 40,000 miles, I don't think I'd get a GTI with the 6 speed.   This isn't the slush-o-matic I'm used to on my SUV.   I have good control over the transmission with the paddle shifters for snow driving and avoiding the brakes in mountain driving.   If I want it to be fast off the line, it can shift faster than I can.





severine said:


> My 78 Cherokee handles better than my 98 Blazer. Better turn radius and better overall ride.



This buddy of mine owns an (I think an 08) R32 with the DSG system and loves it, and has a lot of fine driving it, even though he is almost 6' 8"; he also owns a 78 or 79 Cherokee in this awesome very light yellow color, with black striping. We were driving it around his parent's farm/vineyard in the Finger Lakes a couple weekends ago and it was _awesome_.


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## Geoff (Jul 30, 2010)

jaywbigred said:


> This buddy of mine owns an (I think an 08) R32 with the DSG system and loves it, and has a lot of fine driving it, even though he is almost 6' 8"; he also owns a 78 or 79 Cherokee in this awesome very light yellow color, with black striping. We were driving it around his parent's farm/vineyard in the Finger Lakes a couple weekends ago and it was _awesome_.



VWs work really well for tall people.   For an econobox, the leg room and head room are really good and you don't feel like your elbow is jammed into the door.

My problem with the R32 is that you get the same fuel tank as the 2L turbo but the highway cruise fuel economy is about 20% worse.  That often ends up being an extra gas stop at a pricey gas station on a ski trip.   When I was a weekend warrior, I could just pick the cheapest gas station somewhere along my round trip route and I didn't have to stop for fuel on the way up if I needed to be there at a set time.

I've read that the 2011 4Motion version of the Golf is going to come through with the 2L turbo tuned to put out 265 hp instead of the 6 cylinder engine.   You get the best of both worlds with fuel economy only slightly worse than the FWD version, a lighter car, the extra horsepower when you want it, and the improved traction of the Haldex system.   The turbo lag haters will be unhappy but the small gas tank when you're getting 24 mpg highway at 0F in the winter is one of the main reasons I stayed away from the R32.


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## jaywbigred (Nov 16, 2010)

Well, it's been a few months and I just have to say that so far, this has been an awesome purchase. The only issues I have had are things I expected: the Nav is pretty antiquated, and the back seat is not very comfortable. I still haven't ponied up for the Bluetooth and Aux-In solutions I need to install. I think I will be getting one of them for Xmas, and perhaps the other for Bday. I guess my only other gripe is that occasionally the anti-slip mechanism interrupts an intended acceleration as I am turning onto a road from a stop sign, which means that in tight NJ traffic, sometimes the small window I had to pull-out into becomes even smaller because power isn't being supplied despite my attempt to accelerate. I guess if it crossed my mind, I could shut this off manually, but that is a big "if". 

This car is slightly slower 0-40 and maybe 0-60 than my G35x, but probably faster overall (certainly faster 0-80, and 40-60, and 60-80, etc...). It is more sport tuned than the Infiniti, which means at times a rougher ride, but also better handling.


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## severine (Nov 16, 2010)

wa-loaf said:


> There's a 70's International Scout for sale down the road from me if you want to add to the old SUV quiver. Says one owner on it ...



Good thing I missed this when you posted it!


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## dmc (Nov 16, 2010)

jaywbigred said:


> Fiancee put strict no-manual stamp on purchase process. This model also wasn't offered in manual in the U.S. at least during the production years I looked at.
> 
> It does have tiptronic, so I can downshift and make the V8 growl if I want. Also, traffic-y driving in these parts makes me think manual might get old after a couple bad commutes.



Don't worry about the he man chest thumpers..   

Automatic is fine... Especially with tiptronic...  Which I use all the time on my ride..


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## AdironRider (Nov 16, 2010)

I personally despise autotragics, but see their appeal to the average car buyer. 

Mercs are badass on the highway. Definitely my top choice for a retirement vehicle. I like the G wagons.


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## dmc (Nov 16, 2010)

AdironRider said:


> I personally despise autotragics,



Seems kind of dramatic...


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## wa-loaf (Nov 17, 2010)

severine said:


> Good thing I missed this when you posted it!



Still there along with a bunch of Jeeps. Seems to be the guys specialty.


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## severine (Nov 17, 2010)

wa-loaf said:


> Still there along with a bunch of Jeeps. Seems to be the guys specialty.



Evil Temptor!!!!! :angry: My 78 Cherokee was also only 1 owner before me...


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## RootDKJ (Nov 17, 2010)

dmc said:


> Automatic is fine... Especially with tiptronic...  Which I use all the time on my ride..


+1. Tiptronic is pretty nice & fun.


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