What car do you drive? (Austin: buy, maintenance, cost of)

[Huckleberry3911948]

2003 camry i like it i love it can get nuf of it. sing it

[RomeandJill]

We will be moving to Austin on the 25th of May and will be bringing our 2000 Lincoln Town Car. It rides like no other and the climate controlled front and rear AC is KILLER

[bgrn198]

1998 bmw 318i

[Florinator]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Austin is full of all kinds, ranging from Nissan Leaf electric cars to various Hondas, Toyotas, pickup trucks, lots of CUVS and SUVS, and Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins.

Yep, Ferraris! I stopped right next to a black one at a traffic light today. Boy was it nice! And the sound...

I, for one, drive a Mazdaspeed 3, turbo, mucho zoom zoom (for a tenth of that Ferrari's price, most likely )

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Florinator

Yep, Ferraris! I stopped right next to a black one at a traffic light today. Boy was it nice! And the sound...

I, for one, drive a Mazdaspeed 3, turbo, mucho zoom zoom (for a tenth of that Ferrari's price, most likely )

I got a pretty good chuckle out of seeing more than one Ferrari on Maui ! I know, I know...they handle GREAT at 35mph!

Also, a famous tennis teaching pro used to keep a 308(I believe) at his Hilton Head home...before any of the expressways were built. Don't think he could get past third gear on the Island! At least 'we' have the toll roads for 'frisky' driving, should one be so inclined .

Heck, one of our vehicles is rated at a top speed of 145...somehow I don't think I will ever get to test that.

[Florinator]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Heck, one of our vehicles is rated at a top speed of 145...somehow I don't think I will ever get to test that.

Let's drive to the Texas Mile in Beeville and find out, I'm dying to try out the Mazda before the turbo gets too old and loses some of its zoom zoom

[10scoachrick]

But seriously folks...depending on how much driving you do and where around Austin you do it, sitting higher can be a real plus when surrounded by all the SUVs and trucks. We swapped our AWD wagon on a CUV primarily for the enhanced visibility. There is a considerable difference between driving the XC60(which is not all that tall or big but certainly taller seating than our wagon was) and the C70 convertible. It would be hard to get rid of the 'vert, but I would choose the taller vehicle if I could choose only one.(And this comes from a couple who used to drive a Miata!)

Again, it depends on your driving needs, but I'd sure consider something tallish AND economical for my first Austin vehicle. You don't need to join the F-350 crowd, but take a look at a CRV, RDX, XC60 or similar if you need a little capacity...Pilot, Venza or one of the domestic smaller 'utes', also. Even the Korean cross-overs might make sense. Just depends.

[Florinator]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

But seriously folks...depending on how much driving you do and where around Austin you do it, sitting higher can be a real plus when surrounded by all the SUVs and trucks. We swapped our AWD wagon on a CUV primarily for the enhanced visibility. There is a considerable difference between driving the XC60(which is not all that tall or big but certainly taller seating than our wagon was) and the C70 convertible. It would be hard to get rid of the 'vert, but I would choose the taller vehicle if I could choose only one.(And this comes from a couple who used to drive a Miata!)

A friend of mine gave me a ride in his souped up Honda S2000 (lowered) and when I noticed how much lower we were sitting compared to EVERYBODY else, he told me "sometimes I wonder if they see me waiting at the traffic light in front of them" :-)

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Florinator

A friend of mine gave me a ride in his souped up Honda S2000 (lowered) and when I noticed how much lower we were sitting compared to EVERYBODY else, he told me "sometimes I wonder if they see me waiting at the traffic light in front of them" :-)

Oh yeah, it's a little disconcerting when the vehicle headlights behind you are pointed directly at your head! And I've had more than one vehicle attempt to back up when we were sitting behind them. One actually did that when my darling was driving. Their rental car bumper lodged right in the middle of the hood. Got a new hood, bumper and paint job two weeks later.

[mickey65]

2001 Toyota Echo. $20 worth of gas goes a long way - altho it also helps that I only commute 5 miles a day too.

Sometimes I can make a full tank last about a month! And that's even with a few trips out to Georgetown or Cedar Park from where I live (Round Rock).