Downgrade Maybe: Talk me out of it

[ojmcneill]

What's up everyone. First, allow me to pull on my flamesuit but here goes: Recently, with the bad weather and gloomy winter, I've somewhat been fantasizing about selling my 13 S4 to get into something I can pay cash for. Well, I'd even be open to something $25k or less. Here's my thinking, and tell me if you guys think like this:
Naturally, I love this car! I can't say that enough. With that said though, I feel like I spend all my time cleaning and worrying about keeping it clean and worrying where I'm parking and fantasizing about shit I can add on to it at exhorbinent prices, etc etc. I also fantasize about literally just paying cash for something, sure, maybe older, but still fun to drive. I mean, I love this car...When it's clean and nice outside and I'm flying around the roads of Kentucky like my hair's on fire, there's really nothing better. But, when that environment isn't just perfect, I'm back to worrying, thinking about cleaning, fantasizing about expensive crap to put on the car, mindlessly staring at Azine when I should be working, etc etc.

I'd see the benefits of paying cash for something still fun as being not as worried about it, cheaper to mod, no car payment, etc etc. Am I just being a cheapskate with the winter blues?

This post was prompted by an article about daily driving a WRX on yahoo this morning. Anyone have any thoughts on Subaru's? I'll be honest, they just seem so GD boy racer to me at times, but I know they're great cars, fun to drive and can be modded.

Hell, I've thought about going back to an SRT8, maybe a 300 or Challenger. I've had several Charger srt8s and loved them.

Anyway, give me your thoughts, talk me off this depressed ledge, something, anything. Someone's gotta stop me before I do something crazy that I fear I'll regret. If on the other hand, your a fan of watching car wrecks, forgive the pun, go on and push me off the ledge! At least tell me some options you'd consider. High mileage, fun alternatives that don't make you look like a 16yr old pimple popping punk trying to drop the panties of some second place prom queen runner up, lol.

Thanks everyone.
O

[carlosvjr92]

Subaru makes solid cars. Was debating going into an STI for my next car because I'd probably care less about door dings, little scratches etc and repairs/costs would be significantly less. I'm not sure how reliable they are with high mileage though.

[ojmcneill]

YEah, you know? I mean, imagine not really giving a poo about where you park or if it's a bit dirty as long as its fun to drive. Plus, no freaking car payment aint like having your teeth clipped by finger nail clippers either bud. I'm telling you, I'm thinking on it. I don't know if it's just the weather or what, but I'm thinking on it.

[blackfunk]

Truth be told even if you got a cheaper car you know deep down you'll obsess over it. Its the car guy in you and you'd be back to square one. I say keep it.

[chaos2984]

Well I don't know your financial situation. But I would guess if you can afford an S4 I would think you could afford a beater car. Also do you have a garage or not. You might want to look into a car cover. When I was at my previous house it didn't have a garage and I kept it outside and under a cover if it was not going to be driven for a few days. And in winter it doesn't move or go out when snow or roads are wet with potential salt on the roads. I bout a beater car. It cost me all total 1200 bux to buy and fix it up a little bit. Its a real POS let me tell you. Its a 97 Honda civic 4 door. I have that to drive when its not to nice out and to keep miles off the S4. I like you am an anal nut about the car. But at my new house I have a garage and its nice that I can keep the S inside and keep it cleaner. But my car cover helped when I had it outside. I wash the car every other week. Winter goes longer. I clean the interior once a month or more.

If you love the handling of the Audi and the interior its going to be hard to replace it. Yes paying cash is nice and no debt. But a car loan within reason is good debt and nothing to be ashamed of. The only good debt out there is car loans and home loans. So its nothing to be bummed out about. And right now with the age we live in, I would want to keep your cash liquid as much as possible to an extent.

If you don't like the high payments. Maybe look into a used S3 and put a hefty down payment on it and you can have really low payments for 4 or 5 years.

It really depends on how much you love the Audi all around. Its never going to compare to a WRX or an SRT8.

[pdqgp]

What's up everyone. First, allow me to pull on my flamesuit but here goes: Recently, with the bad weather and gloomy winter, I've somewhat been fantasizing about selling my 13 S4 to get into something I can pay cash for. Well, I'd even be open to something $25k or less

depending on your financial situation with the S4 you might not be saving all that much. Do the math and make an informed decision. I normally would have paid cash for mine but with my rate at 2% it wouldn't have made sense. I make far more with my money than the $500yr in interest I pay now with the cash I could have put down to have no car payment. Just like a home, if you're sitting on equity in one, then that money isn't working for you. Now if cash flow is an issue.....

I feel like I spend all my time cleaning and worrying about keeping it clean and worrying where I'm parking and fantasizing about shit I can add on to it at exorbitant prices, etc etc. I also fantasize about literally just paying cash for something, sure, maybe older, but still fun to drive.

Let go of the day to day worries. I do the same thing keeping it clean and parking safely, etc. but I don't mind at all. If and when it does bother me, I just let it go. In the end, it's just a car. It will get wear and tear on it but most is easy stuff to correct.

Truth be told even if you got a cheaper car you know deep down you'll obsess over it. Its the car guy in you and you'd be back to square one. I say keep it.

^^ this.

I'd see the benefits of paying cash for something still fun as being not as worried about it, cheaper to mod, no car payment, etc etc.

Again, do the math and see if it even makes sense. Even if you do, to have a $25k depreciating asset sitting in your driveway is a much greater risk and worry point IMO. Money there is doing nothing for you except being a liability.

This post was prompted by an article about daily driving a WRX on yahoo this morning. Anyone have any thoughts on Subaru's? I'll be honest, they just seem so GD boy racer to me at times, but I know they're great cars, fun to drive and can be modded.

Depends on your age. I suppose if you're in your 20-30's it would make sense or if you used it for a specific purpose. Otherwise, you might come off as an older guy trying to play young. I go back to what you can afford. If cash flow is an issue then make due with a WRX, etc. Otherwise, I personally would leave them for the younger crowd who perhaps can't afford more. Mod wise, just beef up the S4. I love my Stage 2 with TCU Tune. There's always someone faster but even a new 1LE SS is pushing up against what our boats are capable of with just a few thousand in mods.

Hell, I've thought about going back to an SRT8, maybe a 300 or Challenger. I've had several Charger srt8s and loved them.

Didn't see that coming. I'm not a fan. Driven them and while I could enjoy a Hellcat Charger for sure, I'm not a fan of them overall. Fit/Finish is poor IMO and they are a turd in the lbs. dept. Rented an sharp black on black R/T and while it sounded good, it was a turd that felt like it needed a confederate flag and a TV show to go with it. Interior wise, there's no comparing a Charger, even an SRT to the S4. Not IMO.

Anyway, give me your thoughts, talk me off this depressed ledge, something, anything.

My advice is wait for the next break in the weather, clean up your S4 and enjoy it. I would also suggest modding it. Completely different car once powered up properly.

[MrFunk]

Most of what you're saying is just part of being a petrol head. You might change cars but that doesn't go away.
Find yourself another hobby perhaps if you find you are obsessing about the car too much...

[Htown213]

I used to think about cleaning/modding also, but after watch Chris Harris' S4 avant he picked up used.... it became my inspiration. The former owner just trashed it, but you can tell he probably used it the way it was meant to be. Harsh weather, animals, dings/dents etc didn't matter.... just drove the crap out of it. He probably had a better ownership experience than most of us.

[ojmcneill]

I hear all of you guys! I really do. Great points all of you. I'll say cash flow and my financial situation is not the problem. I own a home and also rent a condo in the city where I work while renting out my home. (It's a weird situation but it works). I'm just sort of a tight wad I reckon.
I do recognize that these are all symptoms of being a petrol head, but you must admit, there's something attractive to having both worlds: A fun car like the s4 that you don't worry about and can beat the heck out of. Rest assured, if I didn't find the right one though, I'd always be pining over the decision.

I'm 38 yrs old, and maybe it's the weather or whatnot, but I find myself fantasizing about losing the $500 payment, getting a truck or some fun car and being worry free. I think your right though, if I didn't have the worry to clean up my s4 though, I'd probably bitch about that, lol.

IF you did it though, what cars would you consider? You can't really find a porshe or anything less than 20k in good shape. Maybe an older s4 or something? WRX? SRT8? No BMW (just can't past the brand). What would you do?

[The Fat Kid]

We were easily able to afford the S4 (so money isn't necessarily the issue) and I actually know exactly what you mean. I care about the stupid thing too much. I vacillate between selling it and buying a new M3 or a cheap pick-up truck.

We also have an older "beater" Corolla and I love that thing. Covered in ice? Beat it with the ice scraper! Only one really tight parking spot? Mine! Need to go to Home Depot? Throw that bag of X on the front seat! Speed on the highway? No way, because it feels like it is going to take flight when going more than 70MPH!

[mehware]

Heh. Buyers remorse. Do you own the S4? Why not pay it off and drive it til it dies?

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[Htown213]

Used fun to drive 20K cars:

Wrx like u mentioned
Mustang 5.0
Cobra Terminator
Honda s2000
Mitsubishi Evo
E46 M3
M coupe
C6 vette
C5 Z06

[chaos2984]

Heh. Buyers remorse. Do you own the S4? Why not pay it off and drive it til it dies?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using Tapatalk

This is what I am going to do with mine. Unless they bring the Avant back here.

[GTItoS4]

We all love them and do our best to keep then clean and ding-free (I'm a pretty cautious parker!). But at the end of the day it's a sporty sedan. It's not a rare/exotic car. It's specifically designed to be driven in inclement weather. Why worry about keeping it so perfect... for the next owner?? It's yours, drive the wheels off of it and enjoy it.

[S4'ed]

Buy a GTI....

[mr shickadance]

i moved from a 2014 sti into the 2011 s4.

the sti was a fun car to drive at 11, but when you are not driving at 11, it's a loud, bumpy, unapologetic car. I kept my sti completely stock but even so, it was loud enough for passengers to complain, and bumpy enough for me to almost feel embarassed when I would drive some co-workers out to lunch.

It truly is an affordable race car with just the bare minimum creature features to be called a street legal car.

I should caveat that this was my opinion of the car. I have heard the newer WRx's are a bit more tame vs the sti, so maybe YMMV. I did own a 2006 wrx and that car was a blast, but I was also 17 at the time, so I think a civic would have been a blast as well.

Personally, it was hard to daily the STI and not walk away thinking about if there was another car out there that better suited my needs. I am sure others find it perfect for them, but for me, between the road noise, engine noise, and near back breaking suspension I just wound up hating the car. I was out of it in 8 months, took a bit of a bath, and now I am in the s4.

The s4 on the other hand, feels heavier, the steering is outstanding compared to the sti (this is a known 'issue' with wrx/sti) and is def a bit slower, but the tradeoff is I have a car that is quieter, more comfortable, and all around a better fit for me.

Again, this is my opinion, so YMMV, but my advice to you would be to test drive the sti/wrx, and then test drive it again. Really give it a solid drive, take it on some shittier backroads, take it on the highway, turn the music completely off, see how loud it is. That loudness will not go away (my sti was fully dynamatted with no improvement), the suspension is not going to get more comfortable, etc.

If you can handle that, then get it. The car outside of those problems (which are largely personal) then go for it. Its a fantastic car to drive at the limit, and it's very rewarding in it's raw power.

[ojmcneill]

What's a Cobra Terminator btw???
You know, I did think about a used mustang. The newer ones have really grown on me. Alas, I'd even consider buying a used higher mileage S5 with the V8, you know? But then you begin to defeat the purpose with pricing getting up there. It'd be cool to have something I wouldn't be freaked out to mod in fear of TD1 although then you start wondering if something's gonna blow up that's a big ticket item.

If I could find an 08/09 s5 with that V8 and in a manual for the low 20s or even, wishfully thinking, high teens, by George I think Id do it.

That or maybe go out and buy a top of the line Toyota Prius...lol just kidding.

I don't know. I'm hoping its just this crappy weather and a touch of the Februrary Blues but I reckon we'll see. I sure do love hauling tail feathers up a curvy mountain road here in Kentucky though. I try and join the family for a trip to Gatlinburg each spring and I love driving her down there. Heck, for a 2013, I've just now turned over 30k miles on her. Who knows.

I appreciate each of you letting me vent though and listening to my lament....

O

[rick b]

I daily drive a 2006 wrx with about 130k on it. Rock solid. The best part of having the wrx is someone could pee on it and I wouldn't even care. With my S4 I'm completely anal like your description above ... constantly cleaning and worrying about it.

rick b.

[Brother Owl]

Buy a GTI....

This. Or a well maintained R32...
Or jump into a higher mileage (well maintained) 10-11 S4

[Victor Newman]

No need to be reactive to others opinions to the point that you wouldn't enjoy a WRX and saving money - actually being responsible. I'd say

1) don't obsess about the car you drive
2) don't worry what other people think about what kind of car you drive, boy racer or not
3) ask yourself if you'd personally rather have the money or if having the S4 is really worth that amount you're spending

With that being said, the S4 really is the sweet spot for me, and since I bought a used 2010, not a new 2015 at the time, I don't obsess over it. It had dings when I bought it, it has some more now, and I'll fix them if they start to accumulate. I park it wherever I want to park, my 2 year old climbs over the alcantara seats with dirty shoes. He then throws his snack across the other side of the seats. I just drove it up and down muddy mountain dirt roads to a vacation house rental with mud down the sides for a straight week, and I'd do it again to get the pleasure of driving it. I also don't care what others think and I'm not trying to put what I drive out there either. I like coming here to put stuff out there and see what other cool S4's are out there, but I chose to get black BBK calipers if you know what I mean. I like my car for myself and nobody else needs to like it or recognize it.

[eurotic]

I used to think about cleaning/modding also, but after watch Chris Harris' S4 avant he picked up used.... it became my inspiration. The former owner just trashed it, but you can tell he probably used it the way it was meant to be. Harsh weather, animals, dings/dents etc didn't matter.... just drove the crap out of it. He probably had a better ownership experience than most of us.

LOL. That car was in pretty crappy condition but I know where you are coming from. I am glad I don't care so deeply about the car being dirty, the fear of getting a ding or driving in bad weather (we have 6 months of snow mixed with sand and some salt). I don't want to drive a POS beater to avoid the headaches because I am not going to enjoy driving and I love driving my S4. For what I would spend to buy, insure, repair and operate a beater I could use the same money to fix the odd dent if I got it.

I wish I could have an immaculate car like some that I see on here and I have the utmost respect for those that keep their car in that good of condition. And I suspect to keep a car in that sort of condition would be expensive especially if some damage happened and you had to try to make it disappear. Not to mention the time commitment required. I simply have chosen to no look for imperfections because it lessens my state of bliss. I drive my car the way I want to drive it, I enjoy the hell out of it, I treat it right and make sure it is properly maintained and try not to worry about things that are somewhat out of my control. I try not to do things that are likely to end badly like squeezing my car into a tight spot or parking near some other vehicle where I think the driver might not care about swinging a door into me, or I will park at or near the top of a crest in a parking lot if I can so a shopping cart is less likely to roll away into my car. But I also will not go park half a mile away from everyone else because someone might ding my car...I also think that makes me a target for someone looking to ruin someone else's day.

[torinalth]

cobra terminator is the 03-04 mustang cobra. the first one that came with a supercharger. epic fun cars, but i wouldnt get one. so many of them were thrashed and overly modded. with 13 years of age on them i couldn't justify it. I'd rather get a 2011 GT (first of the 5.0 engines) and supercharge it.

The problem isn't the car it's the combination of the car plus your mentality. If you are dreaming of it being hit with shopping cars while it's still parked in your garage, and endlessly pouring overaudizine and vendor web pages, then going to a different car (srt8, WRX, GTI, whatever) will not fix the issue. The only way to properly rid yourself of THOSE specific concerns is to get a shitty car that is worthless to mod. You get something good, that is fun to drive, that is mod friendly, and you are right where you started but with money lost in the transition, even if the mods or repairs are cheaper. So you must get a kia, an older volvo (nothing with FI), ford fusion (non FI), or a honda element. This will lower your mod chances to almost nothing, be cheaper to own and drive, and have a much lower following in which to have vendor sites or a forum to be worth following.

That said, you can take some steps to make your current situation better. Get the car paint protection film wrapped to prevent small scuffs and whatnot. get it coated in opticoat, cquartz, or something like it or get a really nice setup of zaino on the car to make it effortless to clean. get a pressure washer and foam cannon and now you have the easiest time and shortest time needed to keep it cared for. As far as the mods, that is just discipline, same with the forum. only get on when you get home from work and cut it off after an hour. it can be obsessive, I know. Just gotta cut the time down.

I'd stay where you are and make some smarter choices to ease your anxiety

[kcobourn]

Either find a solid E39 540i or keep the S4.

After having a debate similar to yours I chose the S4 & did a bunch of upgrades recently that have ended the debate... For now.


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[bknewtype]

What's a Cobra Terminator btw???
You know, I did think about a used mustang. The newer ones have really grown on me. Alas, I'd even consider buying a used higher mileage S5 with the V8, you know? But then you begin to defeat the purpose with pricing getting up there. It'd be cool to have something I wouldn't be freaked out to mod in fear of TD1 although then you start wondering if something's gonna blow up that's a big ticket item.

If I could find an 08/09 s5 with that V8 and in a manual for the low 20s or even, wishfully thinking, high teens, by George I think Id do it.
That or maybe go out and buy a top of the line Toyota Prius...lol just kidding.

I don't know. I'm hoping its just this crappy weather and a touch of the Februrary Blues but I reckon we'll see. I sure do love hauling tail feathers up a curvy mountain road here in Kentucky though. I try and join the family for a trip to Gatlinburg each spring and I love driving her down there. Heck, for a 2013, I've just now turned over 30k miles on her. Who knows.

I appreciate each of you letting me vent though and listening to my lament....

O

not too hard to find. pre fl v8 s5's goes for low 20's from dealers here in NYC. manual is a bit hard to find though.

I don't think "downgrading" will help u worry less about door dings and such. youd probably worry just as much.

to put a bit in perspective, I downgraded from a v8 s5 to a 2.0 a5. couldn't deal with the 700$ monthly payments and only getting 8mpg out of the city. my a5 is paid off next month ( woo hoo ) and im gonna keep her forever and ever. its a daily driver, and I will always worry about door dings, and where I park, no matter what car. I still have my "beater" g35 coupe and I still care for it like its my a5.

[JMUNFORD]

I'm in your same boat OP I've been going back and forth about selling my s4... Mine is stage 2 exhaust etc and when it's nice out and I "drive" it I forget how nice it is .. But I also have a motorcycle so once the weather breaks I prob won't be driving the s4 much.. I've been thinking about getting something a little cheaper myself .. Maybe a wrangler, grand Cherokee something like that. But I sold my b8 it had high mileage but it was almost paid off and wish everyday I would have just paid it off and drove it until the wheels fell off.

[grovlet]

Yeah - I have a Legacy GT as my 2nd car (technically the wife drives the S4, and since she works from home so it sits the most). I DD the LGT with 120K on it and a slew of upgrades (new engine on it's way in as we speak) - but I still think of the things you are worrying about with that car too - but I'm able to let them go a little after seeing the S4 sitting next to it....

BUT - you won't find a similar car to S4 for $25K: Performance - sure $25K can get you into something - but it will not be as refined or if it is it will not match performance - the S4 is in it's own world in that it covers both. And if you need snow performance (AWD?) then it's really Subaru (next closest performance/price)- and trust me it's totally different car....

If you really want to forego the payment and some worries - then go with an earlier year S4 - otherwise you'll need to rank your wants/needs and go after the car that meets the top ones better than the S4, but at least understand which ones are left off the table

Ohh - and FYI - as "Gear Head" myself - I also own a Camaro for those times when I just want to abuse tires - so maybe your option is to think about multiple cars and replace your S4 with more than one to cover all types of fun - but it took me quite some time and lots of $$/trial cars to finally get the three cars that cover my ideal needs.... - and they always have more to go modification wise

[RudyH]

IMO going to a Japanese or well, American car is not the same.
I tried it for a short period of time, with actually the same thought process and I immediately jumped back into an Audi.

The thing you have to get over is, it will not feel or drive like your Audi, I absolutely guarantee that. Which of course caused me to spend money to make the car drive how I wanted it. When you are driving on the road, it will not feel like you are driving something solid, ask anyone that has made the switch, and that is something you can't put aftermarket parts to fix. Finally, more so with the WRX, you will think you are driving a tin can if it's 2-3 yrs old.

[Dr GP]

When I was forced to retire due to disability, it no longer made finacial sense to continue to lease my less than 1 yr old 2014 S4. I had traded my 2010 S4 in and ordered the 2014 to my exact specs. At that point, I had to decide what get to replace the car . I wanted AWD and a 6MT. Had had an E92 non Xdrive 335i before the 2010 S4. After considering all my options, I decided to buy a used 2011 S4 and finance it and then keep it long term. 2 yrs later, I'm still happy with my decision. Yes, there might be some other car out there that I could be driving, but after driving a B6/B6.5 s4 for the last 6 yrs, I still really love and enjoy this car. Plus I can drive it 365 days a yr.

[DEEZ]

Why sink a chunk of cash into a depreciating asset?

[raudiace4]

It's just a S4, not a vintage Ferrari. Drive it like it's meant to be driven, park in the back of lots and you'll be fine.

[bizzy]

I stopped caring about how dirty my car is and little dents, rock chips, etc after a few months of owning the S4.

It's not worth worrying over every little imperfection, you're the only one who notices/cares about them. In the end it's still a nice car lol.

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[S4NJ]

I'm in the same boat...I'm already kind'a bored so I'm looking to get a sweet Porsche Boxter on the side, manual trans, and proper RWD, FTW

[bhvrdr]

You could buy a 2010 S4 for your 20 grand beater car price right now. In a few years your car will be at that price range. Maybe you want to just hang onto it a bit? I've even thought about buying a 2011 S4 right now for a track car and then getting into an A8 or something nice like this for my DD. Would you rather have a 2010 S4 or a WRX or Charger? I know which one I'd want :)

Mike

[TexasDfwS4]

I have the same 2013 and at this point I feel the same as some are saying, just drive it! I just got a door ding (high up) probably a trunk and even though it pissed me off I believe karma will bite them in the ass. for the ding, I will wait for a few more and have it detailed out if possible.

[infinkc]

You could buy a 2010 S4 for your 20 grand beater car price right now. In a few years your car will be at that price range. Maybe you want to just hang onto it a bit? I've even thought about buying a 2011 S4 right now for a track car and then getting into an A8 or something nice like this for my DD. Would you rather have a 2010 S4 or a WRX or Charger? I know which one I'd want :)

Mike

This, a 2010 is so cheap now

[hotleadsingergu]

We were easily able to afford the S4 (so money isn't necessarily the issue) and I actually know exactly what you mean. I care about the stupid thing too much. I vacillate between selling it and buying a new M3 or a cheap pick-up truck.

We also have an older "beater" Corolla and I love that thing. Covered in ice? Beat it with the ice scraper! Only one really tight parking spot? Mine! Need to go to Home Depot? Throw that bag of X on the front seat! Speed on the highway? No way, because it feels like it is going to take flight when going more than 70MPH!

In that case, buy a cheaper old Impreza or WRX. You can buy a 10 year old Subie for super cheap, and it'll be a blast. Awesome AWD in a car that you don't care about? Literally the most fun you can have in the snow and crappy weather. I drive my S4 year-round, but driving an old WRX or something means every time there's wet on the ground I'm grinning like an idiot. Who cares if I touch grass around a corner or it gets filthy in a parking lot. I don't even care if someone opens a door into it.

[SteveYem]

I had a 2003 WRX which was my "beater" so I did not have to drive my 350z during the winter, or into the city, or any other situation that would cause any damage to the Z. (My Z was and remains in excellent condition, not one of those beat to shit ones that you see 19 year olds driving today). The WRX served its purpose but ultimately I was spending most of my time driving it while the Z accumulated maybe ~500 miles per year. Since I was spending so much time in the WRX I got the itch to upgrade my beater, so I traded it in for a 2004 STi. It already had some cosmetic damage so I wasn't hell bent on keeping it pristine. I spent ~2 years in the STi as my daily and realized "I really like the high power output, but I'm 30 years old and I want something with better creature comforts, technology, and maturity". So I sold it and bought a used 2012 S4 as my daily driver. The Z remained in the garage being pampered, so technically the S4 was my beater (albeit a beater that was valued at 3.5x my weekend car).

I enjoyed the S4 for two years but the paint color (brilliant black) started to wear on me, and there were a lot of rock chips all over the front from year-round DD activity, and I liked the car so much that I wanted to get a fresh start including the most up to date features available, so I traded my 2012 B8 S4 beater for my current 2015 B8.5 S4 beater. This time I paid extra hard-earned cash on clear film paint protection for the entire front end. Not to mention all of the rest of the modifications that this discussion forum made me do.

In summary - I learned the expensive way (vis a vis two Subarus) that I want to spend most of my time driving a nice car, not an inexpensive car which tends to be shitty on the inside. I'll even spend the money on a clear bra to keep that car looking as nice as possible without having to constantly worry about it. The 350Z still sits in my garage and gets driven only on sunny days.


EDIT - BUT, I have to say, I do miss having the freedom to drive my actual beater cars into towns/cities and just park it wherever, without worrying about whether I would incur bumper taps or door dings. As it stands now, I only drive into the city under protest, and if I do I end up paying way too much money to park in an overpriced city parking garage to minimize the exposure.

[Danny2323]

Wow, reading this thread is fun. I went from an E39 540i (6MT) to a G35 coupe (6MT) to and Evo IX to an S4. Out of all of them, the Evo is the one I still dream about. It was giggle-outloud fun. But even with the stock exhaust and deleted spoiler, there is just no way to make it a professional car. If I didn't have to portray a professional image for work, I'd be in an Evo.

[The Fat Kid]

In that case, buy a cheaper old Impreza or WRX. You can buy a 10 year old Subie for super cheap, and it'll be a blast. Awesome AWD in a car that you don't care about? Literally the most fun you can have in the snow and crappy weather. I drive my S4 year-round, but driving an old WRX or something means every time there's wet on the ground I'm grinning like an idiot. Who cares if I touch grass around a corner or it gets filthy in a parking lot. I don't even care if someone opens a door into it.

I would have done a used WRX hatchback in a heartbeat if my wife had any hope of driving manual. I will definitely buy a fun beater when we move to the 'burbs; maybe a stage III B5 S4.

[Jv218]

I would have done a used WRX hatchback in a heartbeat if my wife had any hope of driving manual. I will definitely buy a fun beater when we move to the 'burbs; maybe a stage III B5 S4.

I had a wrx hatch before my s4 and it was a great car just really shitty gas mileage


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