I think car shopping is fun and it shouldn't be stressful. You have all the power and can abuse the dealers anyway you want. If you don't like their price, then walk away. Who cares. I usually put 5-8 dealers on a car and see which one can get me the best price. This is all done by email usually and the lowest bidder wins. I even forward the bids to the other dealer to show what is on the table. My advise is to try not to have any phone conversations and just handle it via email.

 

Was more using the example of body on frame Toyota’s being a higher class vehicle than an entry level Audi or BMW. Cost is not relevant as they are all the same frame with a few extra accoutrements. It’s about perception of those crowding the car your driving as that seems to be an important factor in your calculous


This has a been a great thread as I teach my boys not to live their lives based on what other people think as it causes too much unnecessary stress, and this thread has confirmed what I’ve been teaching them. They want you to know they’ve enjoy led reading through this.


buy what floats YOUR boat

 

I think he's looking for a car, not a trailer.

 

I couldn’t agree more. I find it very fun when you aren’t pressed to get a car out of necessity. It’s really why I lease because after three years max I’m usually ready for something new and half the fun for me is for the six months before the lease is up, doing research, test driving different cars, etc. looking for the next car.

Davyjordi - if the process isn’t fun for you maybe it’s not the right time.

 

agreed. For me it was Easy. 3 minutes with the salesman and 16 minutes to sit. All the paperwork and out the door with a new Truck

decide what you want and the price your willing to pay and when you find it buy it. It’s that easy

OP wants an Audi S4. In his shoes I’d be buying the RS4 Avant. It satisfies the utility of space and scratches the patrol head itch in a big way and to top it off checks the exclusivity box with a big fat check mark.

 

No you wouldn't, because Audi doesn't sell any version of the RS4 in North America, much less the Avant. The RS6 Avant is available here (and is amazing), but is $109k to start, and $140k the way I would probably option it. Or exactly double OPs revised budget.

 

Oops. Been a while since I shopped for an Audi

 

Even when you have to buy a car, car shopping should still be fun. Whats the worst thing that happens if you don't find the car you want before you need a car? You rent a car for a month. No big deal.

 

So, update: I went this morning to the local Audi dealership and test drove the S4 Prestige that they had in stock because no one wants the x2 lol. my SO doesn't want it, i don't want it, but i'm willing to keep it for a period of time although i need some help rationalizing my experience today.

Pros: it's silky smooth to drive, but it's not amazing; it's quiet and composed on the road and it handles better than the X2 as expected; the acceleration feels much more linear and smooth compared to the i4 in the bmw, but the bmw isn't any slower than the s4 or at least not perceptibly; the interior is amazing for the price point in every single way, from the quilted red leather to the suede door inserts to the carbon fibre accents; the technology is stunning with google earth in the gauge cluster and central display.

cons: the car looks really nondescript, i feel like it could be any 35k a4 driving down the road for all i can really discern, it's one off those stealth wealth machines which isn't a bad thing at all, but the styling is just very, very conservative; the performance, while more linear, isn't perceptibly any quicker than the bmw (although the bmw has a jb4 on it, but still...)

the thing with the bmw is that while it's a good little car, it's not one that i ever really find myself looking back at when parked in a parking lot, or going outside to the garage to give it detailing attention. it's just...okay. it's practical and while, yes, it's more performance oriented with the m35i's high-output engine, it just isn't special, but i feel like the audi is the same way -- it isn't special.

so i'm kinda at a crossroads with just keeping the x2 because i can't think of another car that will satisfy me at the moment save for the s4. i did look at the s5 coupe and i didn't like it a whole lot, but i didn't drive it either because i just didn't like the horrible wheel gap. the sportback i already knew i didn't like from just seeing them around.

advice? just keep the x2 for now? but we do need a second car...


also, i agree that it should be fun and i totally have the financial power and upper hand here and dealerships know it. i've secured financing so i don't have to rely on bs f&i tactics at the dealership. if i need a car (and we do because we are still a one-car household with a classic porsche 911 that's rarely driven) then i'm in a good place.

 

Keep the X2 for now, get an IS 500 in the Fall

 

i saw that reveal this morning and was surprised that lexus actually made that happen! i would get an is500 if it looked stunning, but i don't like the way the car looks at all. also, we need a second car in the next few weeks, not in several months.

 

Get the IS500. Now that is a looker and has the power you crave!

 

i don't think i need that much power haha, but i wouldn't buy the car anyway because i don't like the way the new IS looks.

am i justified in thinking the S4 looks plain jane or am i not seeing it as i once did perhaps because i was influenced by a number of people here who stuck it in my head that it looked plain jane rather than elegant as i once saw it? if not for my newly-perceived notions on how the vehicle looks, it's otherwise a fantastic car and the cabin is no doubt what i'm looking for.

 

I still think you should explore switching to non runflats. I've done it myself, and the difference in ride, noise and handling can be significant.

But if you're hellbent on a new car, I still think you're missing out on the best car in the segment (and by some margin, real M and AMG versions etc excluded) by discounting the M340i xDrive....

 

yeah, that's what my dad has told me as well but the interior and the exterior of that car just don't do it for me.

even still, the x2 m35i is a functional machine but it's not elegant. i want something that's quite understated and elegant, but after reading the commentary here, i saw the s4 in a light that i never had before and that was one not of understatement but rather one of plainness and i don't know if that is justified or if that is the product of reading so much of that here and within private messages here that it's distorted the perception of the s4 that i had prior.

and i'm not completely hellbent on buying a car, but we do need a second vehicle and my SO doesn't want the x2, and i don't either and since we have to buy another vehicle anyhow, it has to be something.