Lease will be up and I will be looking for a new daily next year. The Z most likely won’t cut it for daily duties, and I’m kind of running down on motivation with it, maybe might sell it down the road (that will definitely push me towards something more sportier, but will have quite a larger budget as well).
I’ve stuck with JDM for quite a while, I’d like to forray into the German market next.
Requirements/restrictions:
Looking for something 2000-2010, (avoid the insane RTA tax)
Not FWD
Not something overtly large (7 series, S-class, etc), I tend to prefer smaller cars in general although I’ve grown to appreciate wagons and sedans lately.
Budget: ball park 10k or so at the rate I’m saving, I can spring for more, but I’d like to keep some in reserve for maintenance, we might revisit this if the Z goes.
Cars that have caught my eye:
328xit
335i, 335xi, 2 door or 4 door variant
535xit
E55 AMG 2004-2005
Porsche boxster S.
I’m quite enamored with the E55 AMG at the moment, good power, pretty good looks, decent drivetrain reliability. The Achilles seems to be the air suspension which could be replaced with standard type spring and shocks or Arnott springs. There was a nice local example with low miles, but searching revealed a mechanical damage auction.
The milage on this one is high, but seems to have a much better history.
On the other hand if we ever got the 335xit that would be at the top of my list, I know the direct injection causes problems with fuel pump, dirty intakes, etc and the turbos can be problematic, but seems like an awesome do everything mobile. However since we were never graced with that all the variants close to it are (328xit, 335i/335xi, 535xit).
The older Audi Allroad was on the list, but a friend had the roughest time with his which made me hesitate. I’ve read about some critical engineering failures with the engines in the year range I’m looking at so I’ve kind of kept them off.
Thoughts? Suggestions?