O No another 'what car' and a 535d in one thread?!

[Hark]

Current car is Z4M. Love it, but fuel/tax etc are a tad irritating.

Wife is expecting first child and therefore looking at replacing the Z.

Option one is buy something quick, with 4 seats and room, reasonable economy and with some road presence.

E90 3 series seems an obvious choice. 335i or 535d both offer good performance. However I don't want this to turn in to 535d thread tbh. I want other options to look at...

Other option is to buy something that fits this bill but is half the budget. Therefore leaving the other half for a 2 seater weekender. Westfield/elise/vx220 etc

However I can't find much that fits the second option. Nice car, good economy,4 seats under 10k.


There must be loads, so help me out...what have you got?

[Hark]

Boba Fret said:

if you're expecting your first born and you reckon you can get away with a 'weekend toy' in the first two years, make that 4, you must have a VERY understanding partner!

She has told me to keep the Z4M, so I guess she is very understanding. You may still have a point though tbh.

In answer to the above post, you can get a 320d just about, but not 330d.

Have spent another hr or so on the classifieds. Sline A4 or A6s seem reasonable. 2.0tdi especially. 3.0tdi are a bit more.

[Hark]

Thanks for your input. I will be buying used, I like someone else to take initial hits on depreciation.

I haven't really gelled with the Z4M to be honest, so don't mind a change. I agree if I did get a 'toy' it would be hardly used, but would be good so I could go on car forum blasts etc

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HundredthIdiot said:

Maybe postpone any toy purchase until after the baby comes and you have a fuller appreciation of "zero free time".

lol You are all making fatherhood seem so inviting.

I wouldn't buy the toy till the following summer if I got that far.

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HundredthIdiot said:

Maybe postpone any toy purchase until after the baby comes and you have a fuller appreciation of "zero free time".

lol You are all making fatherhood seem so inviting.

I wouldn't buy the toy till the following summer if I got that far.

[Hark]

alock said:

Am I missing something? Does your wife not drive? If she drives and will be the stay-at-home parent then she needs the practical car, not you. I manage just fine with 2 young children and an S2000. The key is that my wife has the family car and we are both insured on both cars.

You only need a more practical car if you will both be doing nursery runs as part of your daily commutes and you cannot put a rear-facing seat in the front of your car.

You have a valid point.

My reasoning is simple if a possibly a little clouded.

M has no ISOFIX and no airbag swith and not even sure a seat would fit on the M Sport seats.
My wife drives a Rover 25, which hasn't cost us a penny in 20k miles since we got it. However I really want something nice to drive us around in on weekends, rather than the Rover. (bless it)

We could 'upgrade' her car, but she has no real interest in cars and so won't see the point. -_-

Anyway....I've just been and had a look around a BMW and Audi dealers today, while I had the day off. A4 Avant on 19s looked alright as did an S5 lol. Generally all very dull though an enjoyed getting in the M and hooning off to the next place.

BMW had some a nice alpina 3er which I hadn't even thought about. Looked at a 5 series, but I think it's too big tbh, coming from fairly small cars. 3 series was lovely inside, looks great from some angles, not as good from others.

[Hark]

You are going to compromise your daily car where the majority of miles are probably done by you on your own so that your wife can transport your child in an old and unsafe car during the week. Then, on a Saturday morning you are going to move all the baby clobber between the cars so you can drive your wife and baby in a sporty German barge and have the sports suspension wake the baby you've spent 40 minutes trying to get to sleep. The next day, you'll move all the baby stuff back to the other car ready for Monday morning.

There is a song (Snowpatrol I think?) that says 'It's hard to argue when you won't stop talking sense.'

When you put it like that it does give food for thought...
To clarify the Rover has only just done 40k and is in good nick tbh.

r129sl said:

Something else I meant to add:

You've got to look after yourself. Fatherhood is great. Fantastic. Unadulterated joy. There is no downside. You'll wish you did it earlier. It just is not a drag and certainly is not a case of zero free time. In fact, for the first few months, you're going to have tons of free time because all mum and baby do is feed and sleep. But it is important to keep your sanity, keep up your hobby, have some time to yourself. And keep yourself busy while mum and baby are... feeding and sleeping... still. If you go all martyr-ish, you'll just ps off the missus and be miserable yourself!

And yes, you're driving style is going to change.

And get some life insurance: it's cheap.

^^^ Made me smile. lol Cheers

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dave_s13 said:

Our now 2yr old is powered by some weird internal atomic clock that switches her off at 7pm and back on at 7am - since birth.

Please God let me have one like this.