Which car to buy as daily driver?

[OneEightSeven]

So I'm having a better than expected year. I'm going to go through the process of turbo charging the camaro as my fun project car. However instead of waiting til next year to buy a new daily driver I want to get something soon. What should I shop for? Feel free to suggest other cars, but they should be:

1. Attainable within a budget of under 45K and have reasonable miles within that budget.

2. Rear wheel drive or awd.

4. No convertibles. (t-tops, targa, etc.. are ok though)

5. No 4cyl (ie. no WRX, EVO, etc..)

[Mogobs30th]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

I wouldn't ever consider a Mercedes, I trust their reliability as much as I trust the homeless running an honest 3-card monte game.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

I wouldn't ever consider a Mercedes, I trust their reliability as much as I trust the homeless running an honest 3-card monte game.

I know what you mean, but those two cars are just so nice on the inside. The s-class in particular is just such a nice place to sit in :).

The other German car brands are not very good these days. Everyone is making junk. Audi/VW are making everything out of plastic. My buddy's new GTI just had the plastic dip stick tube crack and fall into the crank case. Wtf? My other buddy just bought a BMW 6 series, not even a week later the plastic trans oil pan warped, failed and cost him $5K. Apparently BMW makes transmission pans out of plastic now...

Merc seems like the most trust-able of the German brands right now :-/. The high miles scare me though (s-class mainly). I would sell any of these cars after a couple of years.

[96blackmaro]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

If you have a family then the G8 but if it's only you that is gonna be in it then the C6.
C6 would be faster, handle better, and get better MPG, but the G8 is a beautiful car and is great for family.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

If you have a family then the G8 but if it's only you that is gonna be in it then the C6.
C6 would be faster, handle better, and get better MPG, but the G8 is a beautiful car and is great for family.

No family. The G8 is cheaper than the C6 which is why it made the list. The G8 is a LOT of car for not that much money. C6 is definitely more sexy.

The american cars appeal to me because I'm familiar with working on them and I'm not going to get raped by the dealer all day long like with the mercs.

[96blackmaro]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

Either one would be good, so it's up to your tastes.

[mtscorvette]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

I love the c6. Its a beautiful car!

[Docta]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

G8 all the way. But what model? Gt/Gxp? Hopefully a GXP. Those are some nice cars. You get wayy more than you pay for.

[sac2165]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

The C6 gets rough on long drives and scary in the rain. I'd go for the G8 for an all around daily driver.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

I do like the G8 GXP since you can get it nearly new (under 10k miles) for under $35k. That's a lot of car for $35k. I'm a bit worried about quality and not completely sold on the looks of that car. I feel about it much the same way as I do about the Mercedes CLS. Not sure about quality, not 100% sold on looks. They are the weaker two of the lineup I'm choosing from, but they're cheap compared to the alternatives (C6 and S-Class) which makes up for looks/performance.

I'm not supper worried about the rain, Houston is pretty reasonable weather wise. I typically just fly for long trips. I've driven Boca Raton to Houston in the Camaro and that was pretty awful. I've also driven to New Orleans from Houston without much trouble and that's about as far as I would be willing to drive. So long as the C6 is roughly as comfortable as the Camaro I should be fine.

[1997Canadian3.8]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

G8 by a mile. Love the vettes but I wouldn't DD one. The G8 is just a perfect car, if I had the money I'd have one for sure.

I wouldn't go benz- buy American (my .02) Although, of the cars listed you really can't go wrong.... Every consider an Audi? (If you like the German cars)

[StrtRacer98]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

+1 for the G8, Love those cars!

[RPDRed6]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

I've driven a few CLSs and countless S-Class Mercedes and heres what I think. Go with the CLS, its got the performance there when you need it, looks sexy as hell, drives amazing because it feels like a coupe, the interior is unique and classy, and **** its a mercedes cls. or you could always go with an S Class, the king of luxury sedans

[Bird_Of_Prey]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

Stay as far away as possible from out of warranty german cars, or buy a GOOD warranty. My BMW had plenty of little **** go wrong, but it was all covered with minimal hassle. In that range, I'd look pretty seriously at the S5 Audi. You look like a broke **** in a previous gen Merc, which is why the values tank. C6's are fun, but don't relay a really professional image. I never got behind the styling of a G8, and that's sayin something since I had an 06 GTO.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Which car to buy as daily driver?

Stay as far away as possible from out of warranty german cars, or buy a GOOD warranty. My BMW had plenty of little **** go wrong, but it was all covered with minimal hassle. In that range, I'd look pretty seriously at the S5 Audi. You look like a broke **** in a previous gen Merc, which is why the values tank. C6's are fun, but don't relay a really professional image. I never got behind the styling of a G8, and that's sayin something since I had an 06 GTO.

Yea. Thats what worries me about a merc. I was considering a used current generation sclass but the new gen is about to come out. Im going to go over the s5 and see if its maybe a fit. The c6 rellllllllllly appeals to my 8 year old inner child.

Thanks for the feedback guys.