Yeah, yeah. A "what car" thread.

You want either an S2000 or a Corvette.

DaewooOfDeath wrote: The world's nicest MKIII Supra with a big brake kit, coilovers and a bigger turbo. That should run you about 10 grand, assuming you go for top of the line everything. 28 mpg, all day comfy, tough as all hell (tighten the cylinder head bolts!), lots of torque, an easy 350-400 hp and it has the EXACT same suspension as the MKIV. Supra porn.

Why does that supra have 6 lug wheels?

Didn't read the whole thing. Lazy.

Anyone mention a Lincoln LS? V6 isn't anything to write home about, but manual, $10k gets you a nice one, and available manual.

Well, for better or worse (I'm kinda okay with it, though it wouldn't be my choice) it seems the decision has been made.

She is in love with, and not to be put off on, a 2004 Mercedes SLK 230. And we did indeed find a very, very nice one without too many miles on it. We also found a bunch more that were kinda beat to hell that people wanted more money for.

It was a very long weekend looking at a mess of cars - hell, I drove a 5 speed IS300 and there are, what, 11 of them on Earth? But it's her car, and that's looking like the answer she's set on. Neat car, kinda fast sorta, handles pretty good-ish and looks all-right. She loves it. I just wish the damn thing wasn't flippin' GRAY! Damn. I hate gray cars, which means, these days, I hate 99.983% of all cars on the road. What the hell people? Just missed out on a cool, kinda teal one with, no kidding, 29,000 miles on it. That would have been sweet. But 'tis what 'tis. She's pretty set and I'll be damed before I try to talk her out of it again.

The, uh, Boxster was way better, in my opinion. Never did drive a Z3 with a bigger engine. I'm pretty sure I'd have liked that better too. I'm kinda surprised how fast she went head over heals for the SLK- and she was not to be dissuaded.

She called the very nice young lady selling it last night and told her she wanted a couple days to think on it. Very nice young lady said she was about done dealing with craigslist buyers anyhow and was happy to wait for her to make a decision on it. She'll call tomorrow and do a deal-e-o. We'll probably be driving it around tomorrow night.

For what it's worth, the roof on those things is damn cool. That's a neat bit of engineering. And this thing will get parked outside in Colorado, so some kind of hard top is mandatory.

curtis73 wrote: Didn't read the whole thing. Lazy. Anyone mention a Lincoln LS? V6 isn't anything to write home about, but manual, $10k gets you a nice one, and available manual.

Yes! I did. Pointed them out several times and she looked at me like "what?" I'm pretty with you though, neat car.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I want, badly, the IS300 five speed. Damn. That car was just awesome. Fast as hell. The one we drove needed a windshield and a wheel bearing, but otherwise was good. Dirty as hell. That kind of put my wife off. Bet I could have gotten a hell of a deal on it with the issues. Guy didn't realize it needed a wheel bearing. He'd have heard it for sure if I took him for a drive.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: Well, for better or worse (I'm kinda okay with it, though it wouldn't be my choice) it seems the decision has been made. She is in love with, and not to be put off on, a 2004 Mercedes SLK 230. And we did indeed find a very, very nice one without too many miles on it. We also found a bunch more that were kinda beat to hell that people wanted more money for. It was a very long weekend looking at a mess of cars - hell, I drove a 5 speed IS300 and there are, what, 11 of them on Earth? But it's her car, and that's looking like the answer she's set on. Neat car, kinda fast sorta, handles pretty good-ish and looks all-right. She loves it. I just wish the damn thing wasn't flippin' GRAY! Damn. I hate gray cars, which means, these days, I hate 99.983% of all cars on the road. What the hell people? Just missed out on a cool, kinda teal one with, no kidding, 29,000 miles on it. That would have been sweet. But 'tis what 'tis. She's pretty set and I'll be damed before I try to talk her out of it again. The, uh, Boxster was way better, in my opinion. Never did drive a Z3 with a bigger engine. I'm pretty sure I'd have liked that better too. I'm kinda surprised how fast she went head over heals for the SLK- and she was not to be dissuaded. She called the very nice young lady selling it last night and told her she wanted a couple days to think on it. Very nice young lady said she was about done dealing with craigslist buyers anyhow and was happy to wait for her to make a decision on it. She'll call tomorrow and do a deal-e-o. We'll probably be driving it around tomorrow night. For what it's worth, the roof on those things is damn cool. That's a neat bit of engineering. And this thing will get parked outside in Colorado, so some kind of hard top is mandatory.

That's funny because when i suggested that car, i was thinking in the back of my head, "If you can find one." [Regarding a 5-speed version] I really like the IS300s as well-- one of the only cars i know of that come with more torque than horsepower from the factory.

EdenPrime wrote: That's funny because when i suggested that car, i was thinking in the back of my head, "If you can find one." [Regarding a 5-speed version] I really like the IS300s as well-- one of the only cars i know of that come with more torque than horsepower from the factory.

That's kinda the hell of it. After deciding she wanted a five speed, and looking all over the place, I found two SLK 230 five speeds to drive. Not as rare as a five speed IS300, but pretty hard to find. And after all that, she decided the auto with the "sport shift" was what she liked better. Jeez.

Like I said, her car. Actually, with her commute, I do understand. Only time I ever think I'd like a slush box is when I'm in traffic on the highway.

Well, with how much better the "sport shift" autos are getting, i don't even really scoff at Automatics anymore, so long as they have a contemporary and quick system to shift manually. It also means you'll never mis-shift, drop a valve and enjoy the beautiful song of your engine imploding.

But i'm happy you two found a car she'll be happy with. A happy wife = a happy husband.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: She is in love with, and not to be put off on, a 2004 Mercedes SLK 230.

I am very sorry.

I'll just leave this here...

I am very sorry.

Lol..

Just had an slk230 with 69k miles in the shop i work at. It had a TON of problems.

...the IS300 five speed...Fast as hell.

Lol...

But i would like one better than an old slk.

But i'm happy you two found a car she'll be happy with. A happy wife = a happy husband.

I may lol here and there but this is really the bottom line.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: IS300 five speed. Damn. That car was just awesome. Fast as hell.

Wut?

They are cool. Fast? They are not.

ProDarwin wrote:

fast_eddie_72 wrote: IS300 five speed. Damn. That car was just awesome. Fast as hell.

Wut? They are cool. Fast? They are not.

I'm guessing it's quite a bit faster than his race car.

No offense meant, Eddie.

93EXCivic wrote:

fast_eddie_72 wrote: She is in love with, and not to be put off on, a 2004 Mercedes SLK 230.

I am very sorry.

Meh, she looks cute in it. I made my best effort, but really, I couldn't fault the little thing. Only thing about it that kind of bothered me, and they all were the same- the steering didn't agree with me. Like I didn't have a good sense of how far to turn the wheel. It's one of those things I normally don't even think about. They were just kinda twitchy somehow. Weird. The Celica, with it's overboosted 80s power steering doesn't do that. Might be something I'd get used to if I drove it every day. I dunno.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I'm guessing it's quite a bit faster than his race car. No offense meant, Eddie.

lol. Yes, exactly. I'm a "slow car" guy. Faster than my NA MR2 and my 22RE powered Celica by a lot. Not really fast I guess.

fast_eddie_72 wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I'm guessing it's quite a bit faster than his race car. No offense meant, Eddie.

lol. Yes, exactly. I'm a "slow car" guy. Faster than my NA MR2 and my 22RE powered Celica by a lot. Not really fast I guess.

If it makes you feel any better, speed is relative. 300mph in a Boeing 747 is a bore, 300mph in a go-kart is exhilarating.

I have a friend with a SLK230, and she absolutely loves it. She bought it new, but it's had a massive amount of work done to it, some under warranty, some not. It's biggest issue is electrical. It's been to the shop numerous times with the top half up and half down. Last time it set her back almost $2k to have it fixed, but that's with dealer fees and not an independent shop.

But like I say, she loves it. Her 6'7" husband...not so much. He can't drive it, nor can he ride in it with the top up. His head sticks out above the windshield even in the passenger seat! Of course to the rest of us, that's worth her price of admission!

In any event, if she likes it, that is all that matters. And i don't think the Boxster would have been any better in terms of reliability.

the steering didn't agree with me. Like I didn't have a good sense of how far to turn the wheel.

"sporty cars" should not have recirculating ball steering... imo.

Vigo wrote:

the steering didn't agree with me. Like I didn't have a good sense of how far to turn the wheel.

"sporty cars" should not have recirculating ball steering... imo.

Well that tells you how closely I looked at the thing. I had no idea and I'm a little shocked. Well, didn't agree with me and that's probably why.

EdenPrime wrote: If it makes you feel any better, speed is relative. 300mph in a Boeing 747 is a bore, 300mph in a go-kart is exhilarating.

Let me fix that for you:

If it makes you feel any better, speed is relative. 300mph in a Boeing 747 is a bore, 300mph in a go-kart is DEATH.

In reply to singleslammer:

Exhilarating death.

Well, it's home and she's thrilled.

You know, it was way, way under our budget, which I really like, and it seems to be in great shape. I think she did okay. I'd probably get something else if it was for me, but I keep reminding myself it isn't. And she loves it. And that makes me pretty happy. Really fun to see her this excited.

The guy selling the IS300 called me today to ask if we were interested. I explained the SLK situation. I did tell him he might want to get the wheel bearing fixed. That noise will put some buyers off.

I'll get some pictures of it at some point. It's a neat little car. We spent more when we bought the 4Runner, but this is kinda the closest to a new car we've gotten. Yeah, a 9 year old car! lol. Oh, it's a 2003, not 2004. I keep getting confused. She's driving around the neighborhood with out son trying to see how many neighbors she can impress. lol.

So, here it is.

I drove it around for a while and I have to admit, it's fun to drive. She's loving it. Makes me happy to see her so excited.

Holy crap that is a chick-car if i've ever seen one. Perfect for the wife, though.

EdenPrime wrote: Holy crap that is a chick-car if i've ever seen one. Perfect for the wife, though.

Oh man, that is no joke. I drove it around for about an hour. I still feel a little gay. There is not thing one about that car that is macho, except for maybe the supercharger (which I'm taking on faith, 'cause I'll be damned if I can see it- I looked for a hole in the hood where a supercharger should go- nothing. No scoop, no belt, nothing.) It has a great stereo too, but I think all it will play is new wave hits of the 80s and show tunes.

But the thing handles better than I first realized. Fun to drive actually. Might even say it's fabulous! Oh, and the color complements my hair.... what's left of it.