Social and status and money on a guy

[carhill]

bmws break, a lot, and are expensive to repair. most bmws you see are leased

Yeah, my stbx had a 530 before we got married and they'd burn you up at the parts window and in the shop. Pretty reliable though, generally. Her Integra gave me more nuisance problems, but the parts were cheaper.

 

I would say the 7 series BMW's are firmly in the luxury/status arena. Numerous friends/colleagues have owned the 3 and 5 series, mostly the 2 and 3 subvariants in the E30/E36 platforms, and they're just normal folks (not status conscious or wealthy). I'm looking for a E36 M3 right now and am seeing examples selling for less than one of my vintage Mustangs goes for. To me, it's just a nice handling car.

 

I've always owned vintage muscle cars ever since I was a teenager, and raced them for years. No status ever obtained from that stuff, except maybe amongst fellow hobbyists. Women could care less, IME. I drive older stuff that's easy and cheap to fix and definitely won't impress anyone.

 

What do you all think of Audis?

The old Quattro's, especially the sport models, are status amongst collectors but, in general, Audi flies under the status radar, IMO. My dentist just leased a new A6 and he likes it better than the BMW 530 it replaced. I think he gets a new car every 3 years so both are new(er). Nice car.

 

As to the rest of the 'status' stuff, I think there are good matches everywhere, at all levels of status. If a particular woman is moved by status and money, that's her motivation. No worries here

[skydiveaddict]

Gee wizz all i have is a yamaha 1100 v-star & a Ford Ranger 4x4 plus some skydiving gear. (oviously the most important thing)

[threebyfate]

Oh, before I forget to mention, betamanlet, the 135i, can run in the 11's and the 335i runs 12's - 13's. There's almost a 200 lb. spread between the two vehicles, hence the above numbers. So don't be so quick to knock the 1-series. Bang for the buck. If the 135i wasn't so fugly, I would be driving one right now.

 

The 5-series while being one of the prettiest that BMW has ever produced, was also the one that had the most issues. And yes, the M3 is for car enthusiasts, if you want a fun vehicle to drive. Why not the E46 M3, carhill?

 

As for Audi, previous to this generation, they were reknowned for their electrical problems, enough that some went up in flames. Thank goodness they appeared to have corrected the problems, in this gen Audi. But Audi's for what you're getting, you're paying more for less, compared to BMWs.

 

If you're shooting for status, look to Aston Martins or others, of its calibre.

[D-Jam]

I didn't look to the other pages...but the cheapest way to get women into bed with you is just to hit the gym religiously and have one of those bodybuilder/athlete diets.

 

Make yourself look like David Beckham, go out, find hot girls who are drunk, compliment them in a cocky manner, lie your brains off to them as you feed them more drinks.

 

Wait til one is weak enough and vulnerable enough to pounce...then take her home and bang her.

 

That or become the man every woman wants, but can't get. You'll have plenty of insecure hot women going crazy to try to get you to be theirs while nice guys complain how they get passed up.

 

 

I'm being sarcastic here. I've yet to meet a woman who is deeply into money and status that was some sweet down-to-Earth girl. Pretty much all of them were snobby bitches who get easily taken advantage of when the guy has enough money to toss around.

 

So the question is do you want the right woman? Or a trophy?

[carhill]

Why not the E46 M3, carhill?

 

At this juncture, they're too expensive for what I want to do, which is mostly rally and track. The E36's are now near their low, price-wise, and don't yet appear to have the collectible status of the E30's, which dominated their rally class in the 80's. Also, an E36 maintained to its standard will have expensive maintenance items replaced where most E46's will now be coming up on those items, examples being cooling system, vanos (variable valve timing), control arms, shock mounts, steering parts, etc.. Another consideration is, since the E36's have little status value, examples which have been 'let go' can be had for very little money, lending another aspect to a track build, rather than 'cutting up' a perfectly good example. E46's and newer don't really fit that profile, yet, IME.

[threebyfate]

Okay, that makes sense. I have heard that the new M3's coming out will be based on the E92 platform, so the E46 M3, will soon be in the position you want.

 

But I do strongly agree with you that the BMW isn't as much a status symbol, as bang for the buck, or at least BMWs below the 7-series. They're just fun cars to drive and most are pretty to look at.