What Car: Seattle, US Edition
Discussion
Friend of mine has just landed in Seattle and is going car shopping tomorrow. He asked my opinion on what to put on the list. His list so far consists of a Cooper S, 370Z, Cayman and Golf GTI.
- Buyer: Male, 28 years old, 6.4", owns web branding company
- Budget: $35k ($40k max)
- US citizen moving from Florida, so no issue with leasing/insurance
- Requirements: Fun to drive, sporty, looks cool, reasonably reliable, decent-ish mpg and ability to attach bike to car occasionally,
He has just gone to sleep over there so I have 8hrs to compile a list as he intends on buying ASAP. Any helpful suggestions?
ETA: Zipcode is 98102
I pushed for a Lotus Elise but he wanted more space as his legs are long. I have no real knowledge of old Porsches but my vote went for this.
- Buyer: Male, 28 years old, 6.4", owns web branding company
- Budget: $35k ($40k max)
- US citizen moving from Florida, so no issue with leasing/insurance
- Requirements: Fun to drive, sporty, looks cool, reasonably reliable, decent-ish mpg and ability to attach bike to car occasionally,
He has just gone to sleep over there so I have 8hrs to compile a list as he intends on buying ASAP. Any helpful suggestions?
ETA: Zipcode is 98102
I pushed for a Lotus Elise but he wanted more space as his legs are long. I have no real knowledge of old Porsches but my vote went for this.
Edited by Justices on Friday 23 March 07:15
Edited by Justices on Friday 23 March 07:44
Thats a pretty good call,
My old Aunt who lived in seattle had one of these, it was a lovely old boat, sounded awesome in the way that old yank V8's do pontiac grand prix
My old Aunt who lived in seattle had one of these, it was a lovely old boat, sounded awesome in the way that old yank V8's do pontiac grand prix
While all these cars are very reasonnable choices in the UK, note that they will look like toy cars on the road in the US.
When I moved from the UK to the US I drove a Golf for the first couple of years. Smallest thing on the road, to the point of being unconfortable. Driving a E39 M5 now, and it is still a "small" car.
It may not be a big deal, and it depends where you drive, but driving a Golf-size car on the freeway when surrounded by huge cars is not fun. I remember driving next to a lifted F250 or similar, the bottom of his drivers door seemed higher than the roof of my car!
Forgetting all of the above, I would say, NSX.
Or maybe Viper.
When I moved from the UK to the US I drove a Golf for the first couple of years. Smallest thing on the road, to the point of being unconfortable. Driving a E39 M5 now, and it is still a "small" car.
It may not be a big deal, and it depends where you drive, but driving a Golf-size car on the freeway when surrounded by huge cars is not fun. I remember driving next to a lifted F250 or similar, the bottom of his drivers door seemed higher than the roof of my car!
Forgetting all of the above, I would say, NSX.
Or maybe Viper.
Buy the Golf GTi- he's just got there and what he doesn't need is the extra hassle of buying a used car and finding a decent mechanic to work on it, joining triple A etc etc.
Plus last time I looked you could buy a base spec GTi for $22K with a bit of haggling or lease one for under $300 a month.
Also assuming he's just arrived insurance is going to be high as he has no credit history- modern cars with safety features such as ABS and airbags tend to be cheaper to insure.
A boring choice but the smart one.
re: small cars in the US- I'd baulk at a SMART or an MX5 but although there are plenty of big vehicles I never felt in danger driving compact autos.
Plus last time I looked you could buy a base spec GTi for $22K with a bit of haggling or lease one for under $300 a month.
Also assuming he's just arrived insurance is going to be high as he has no credit history- modern cars with safety features such as ABS and airbags tend to be cheaper to insure.
A boring choice but the smart one.
re: small cars in the US- I'd baulk at a SMART or an MX5 but although there are plenty of big vehicles I never felt in danger driving compact autos.
Edited by Motorrad on Friday 23 March 07:20
Edited by Motorrad on Friday 23 March 07:22
PaulB81 said:
I would have thought he would get much more for his money buying American. If it was me I'd be looking for something you don't get over here rather than something dull like a golf.
He would but I assumed from the list the OP gave he doesn't want to go blue collar.If he did then a V8 Mustang is the way to go- it's possible to negotiate big discounts and they are great cars (I'm biased I'll admit). Along with costing peanuts to maintain given $30 6 monthly service prices.
Sorry, forgot to add: - US citizen moving from Florida, so no issue with leasing/insurance.
I agree on the whole small car angle. I've driven the Elise from Miami to Orlando a good few times and you feel tiny on the road. I was pulled over for pressing on once in a SL55AMG and the State Trooper told me "you need to be careful in an itty-bitty car like that on these roads, you don't want to wake up dead". I was baffled. More by the fact he thought the car was tiny.
I agree on the whole small car angle. I've driven the Elise from Miami to Orlando a good few times and you feel tiny on the road. I was pulled over for pressing on once in a SL55AMG and the State Trooper told me "you need to be careful in an itty-bitty car like that on these roads, you don't want to wake up dead". I was baffled. More by the fact he thought the car was tiny.
About the "buying american will get him better value than buying european", surprisingly enough this is not necessarily true.
Golfs are amusingly cheap here, which is why I had bought one. New 170 bhp Golf for $18k... I actually attribute it to the size issue, i.e. they are too small to be expensive!
About the Mustangs: the US image of the Mustang is very different from what it is in Europe. I have been told by locals that in the US, Mustangs are only driven by military, and women. And I will add to this list, foreigners. Not that it matters, and I am not saying anything about the car itself, but the image thing was a surprise to me.
Golfs are amusingly cheap here, which is why I had bought one. New 170 bhp Golf for $18k... I actually attribute it to the size issue, i.e. they are too small to be expensive!
About the Mustangs: the US image of the Mustang is very different from what it is in Europe. I have been told by locals that in the US, Mustangs are only driven by military, and women. And I will add to this list, foreigners. Not that it matters, and I am not saying anything about the car itself, but the image thing was a surprise to me.
StefV said:
About the "buying american will get him better value than buying european", surprisingly enough this is not necessarily true.
Golfs are amusingly cheap here, which is why I had bought one. New 170 bhp Golf for $18k... I actually attribute it to the size issue, i.e. they are too small to be expensive!
About the Mustangs: the US image of the Mustang is very different from what it is in Europe. I have been told by locals that in the US, Mustangs are only driven by military, and women. And I will add to this list, foreigners. Not that it matters, and I am not saying anything about the car itself, but the image thing was a surprise to me.
That is surprising. I never would have thought that. Especially the bit about the mustangs !Golfs are amusingly cheap here, which is why I had bought one. New 170 bhp Golf for $18k... I actually attribute it to the size issue, i.e. they are too small to be expensive!
About the Mustangs: the US image of the Mustang is very different from what it is in Europe. I have been told by locals that in the US, Mustangs are only driven by military, and women. And I will add to this list, foreigners. Not that it matters, and I am not saying anything about the car itself, but the image thing was a surprise to me.
StefV said:
About the Mustangs: the US image of the Mustang is very different from what it is in Europe. I have been told by locals that in the US, Mustangs are only driven by military, and women.
Didn't know about the military stereotype but a Mustang is very much the 'secretary's' car in the US. Didn't bother me though because I'ma: man enough to wear pink
and
b: an ignorant brit
Justices said:
Sorry, forgot to add: - US citizen moving from Florida, so no issue with leasing/insurance.
That changes things. If he was a Brit moving there I'd (ask 300bhp/t to)suggest all sorts of entertaining muscle cars, but as he grew up over there I imagine the novelty factor isn't there.Given his proximity to the skiing some sort of 4x4 seems appropriate IMO.
Oh well. I tried pushing the Porsche angle for 2 days straight.
He went with the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Track Edition in the end.
He went with the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Track Edition in the end.
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