It's been a busy year. I married the love of my life in June last year after 7 years of being together. Shortly after we packed up and moved across the country. We planned on moving to California, but life happened, and we ended up In Memphis, TN. Not that it is a problem. We both love it here. In fact, we were driving to Cali, stopped here to stay with a friend for a few days, and decided not to leave. My wife found a job here that pays more than she was going to make in Cali, and the cost of living is WAY lower, and that equals a better quality of life. Also, BBQ and fried chicken.We've been busy getting settled here but things were up in the air for a while. The job she took was a 6 month contract. She just got hired for a permanent salaried position in April!
So now that we know we're going to be here for a while, and for the first time since I can remember, we have the money for a car payment. This brings us right around to the point. We're car shopping.We're looking for a 2nd car. We still have the blandmobile 04 Civic DX. As much as I dislike driving the thing, it's been nothing but good to us. We bought it in 2006 with 26k miles on it, and since then we've put an alternator and 1 set of brakes on it. It has 110k on it now. We considered selling the Civic for something nicer, but it's hard to justify parting with it. We love to take road trips, and it is awesome on gas. We went to Louisville last month and spent $73 in fuel for the whole trip. We know almost the whole owner history, and we've escaped the rust belt, so it's not gonna rust out on us. She wants to keep it until we give it to the kids lol. Personally I think she has Stockholm Syndrome.
With that said, we're not looking for another fuel efficient commuter. We considered it, as we were looking at a Ford Fiesta. But since I don't commute, and the 2nd car is going to be mine, it would be redundant. I'm still building old Nissans. Going to Neo swap my friend's S13 this weekend as a matter of fact. I was considering a truck, to tow and haul engines and such, but if I get something that can tow, and a nice trailer that will work, as I'm not going to be hauling a lot. So I'm not set on a truck. The other thing to consider is I'm doing sales and I want something that will look good when i show up to meet clients. A nice truck will still pull this off, but not a beater. So help me pick a car.
TL:DR I need a nice presentable vehicle that will tow.
Criteria:
MUST have a clutch.
RWD. I'd consider AWD, but I don't need it here as winter is a joke.
Good looking.
Under $20 grand.
RJ is trying to convince me to buy a CTS-V. I haven't liked a GM built after 1985 so I'm reluctant, but I haven't driven any newer ones. I'm considering a BMW 330i sedan sport, or a G35. Coupes would work, but I've always liked a good sedan. Call me crazy. I can spend up to $20g, but anything less than that would leave me extra cash for toys and projects. So if I can get a decent car for less I'd do it. The wife and I want to build an S14 for our next project so I'd like to start saving for that. The price range puts me into a new 4cyl Frontier, but like I said, I don't really need a truck. New cars do have the advantage of being easier to finance. I looked at Ford but Ford no longer sells the Ranger and you can't get a new Ford truck with a manual...
I'm sure you guys will have options I haven't considered. Maybe some feed back on the CTS-V and BMW would be helpful. Well NICO, what have you got to suggest?
