Stealth 993

I'm not going to quote every one here, but I'll try to get all the major points.

FWIW, I have a 2 year old (birthday was yesterday) and she rides in the C4, the wife is quickly loosing passenger space. Just about every time we are int he car it's cramped, then add the Dog. This goes to my other point is my C4 is very, very nice. Using it this way will not keep it nice. I'd say it's a 9 out of 10 993, optioned better then any other NB car I have ever seen. I don't want to trash it, and feel it's something special. Hence the search for something bigger (key) and fun. My plan is to NOT sell the C4. My hopes is the wife will want to trade in her MINI Cooper S, or just get a 4th car. She is not keen on that idea now. All cars are paid for, we can take on a car payment.

My goal is something FUN, fast/quick, quiet/smooth, easy to drive in traffic, don't care where I park it. Something we can take on a road trip and throw the dog in and not care.

E90 M3 with the Competition package it's a 2010, and loaded. I love the power, the styling, the feel and it drives awesome.
E92 M5 also loaded, I kind of liked the SMG, it's way better then shifting every 3 sec in traffic with the C4. I know it's BIG, but I kind of need BIG right now. A MINI Cooper is our BiG car, it's not working out so well.
E46 M3, another great car, but not really what I want now. I did find a nice Competition package car that I might check out. I always wanted one, just like the E39 M5. Both of the newer BMW's still have a warranty.
E39 M5 is awesome, I used to have a 525i, they are getting hard to find with low miles and in my area, not going to do a country wide search for a commuter. Really, I need to sell the wife on this, so she needs to see it and drive it. That keeps me local.

1M Love it, but they are STUPID expensive for what they are, and very hard to find. If I was looking at 135i, the 335 would be mu choice. I tend to go for ///M cars.

Audi, yes, the S4 is a good car, but had one, it was totaled, and replaced with the C4. Audi's are nice, but really I only lust after the RS6, and while it's in the budget, I know what it cost to fix 'em + how often they need it. A RS4 would be nice, it ticks all the right boxes, for some reason it hasn't been on my radar. Some of it might be the Audi club was really not my thing, and I still have a ton of friends in the BMW club. You can read between the lines there.

MB, they are nice, but just don't do it for me. never had, maybe in a few more years, when I'm as old as you are Bruce.

RudyP

I DD an E92 M3 and I love it. It is a great dual personality car - comfortable, cushy commuter or very hot sports coupe depending on your mood.

Can you keep the 993 as a second car? I think that is the winning scenario. As much as I do really enjoy my M3, I would not want to get rid of my Porsches.

Quadcammer

Not in my book. Terrible car, hated just about everything about it except the styling.

2003-2004 211 E-classes are not exactly the paragon of reliability. In fact, they are downright scary bad in terms of repairs. If you get a 211 e55, get an 05+. The initial higher cost will be worth it when you aren't fixing everything.

f8vr993

I went Audi route as I needed a car with 1)good looking not bangle style 2)comfort but sporty DD, and 3)Space/room 4dr.
May I suggest, have wifey change to Audi A4/S4/RS4 Avant and get your self a Bimmer.

For202fly

Yes, sell the C4...to MEEE!!!!

JPP

Ha ... yeah, if you decide to sell it, somebody here is going to get a very nice car. That's going to be a very hard decision when you get to it ... can you buy the new car and hold on to the C4 for a year before making a move?

chaoscreature

For driving 80 miles per day in traffic I would get a Passat, 328i or something equivalent. What's the point of having 400Hp, 18mpg, high depreciation etc. just to sit in traffic. I feel much more relaxed wading through traffic in my VW than in my Porsches.
Just my opinion but I would keep the 993 and get a commuter car.

CamsPorsche

BMW's are so meh...

Why not get a VW GTI or R?

I daily drive my 08 GTI 80-100 miles every single day and LOVE IT! Its DSG works awesome, has all of the bells and whistles (HID/Xenons, kick *** stereo factory, sunroof, awesome seats, etc. etc).

Plus you'll easily get the wife, daughter, dog, cat, and groceries in the back.

Seriously get the R if you want even more performance.

Quadcammer

sorry, a bmw is meh but a golf is hot stuff?

I also like your bells and whistles description?

i'd take even a base model 3 series over the v-dub any day of the week.

doberdog

The 335i with Dinan upgrade to the CPU gives 385hp and 425 lb.-ft. of torque for roughly $2000. Great upgrade and a perfect car for daily driving. Do they sell the 335d in the US? The diesel has 425 lb.-ft. of torque, amazing power and efficiency. This is a very nice car but might be hard to find, they are in Canada.

RocketJohn

After moving from years of BMWs to Porsche, I wouldn't want to go back...

But I would never want an 80 mile daily commute... that would suck... I don't like my 30 mile roundtrip commute.

Stealth 993

Not my thing, I'm a car guy and need something fun and dual purpose. The depreciation thing is not really an issue, they are almost to the bottom of what they will be. Using my C4 the way I am it's going to loose more money if I keep things up. I can do a base 335 but for the same money, I can get a M3, so that is what I'd rather have. Plus I like ///M cars!

I like the GTI, and test drove a Fahrenheit GTI with DSG, and was really surprised. I did like it. However, we already have a MINI Cooper S, and IMHO that is a superior car to the GTI. I'm not selling my C4 for a GTI, I also have no lust for one.

BMW M cars are much more special to me then most.

Stealth 993

Just got home from looking around, drove....

08 E60 BMW M5, warranty, low miles, every option out there. Including AC in the seats, and a HUD. It drives beautifully! It's STUPID fast! Like 0-100 in less time then the 993 0-60.

03 Audi RS6, good shape needs a little cleaning up. Cheap (under $30k), service up to date. Slush box. Liked the way it drove, like the styling, generally liked the car.

05 Maserati GT, little rough around the edges, not as fast as the 993, is the smallest and most nimble on the list so far. Not much of an "upgrade" over the 993. Might drive a newer one to see if it's better. This one was under $30 with 34kmi.

08 Audi RS4, loved it. Most expensive so far, also the only 6-speed. Feel it's the same as the C4 but with more HP and room. It rode a bit rough and loud. Man, awesome power, and handled way better then I thought it would.

Still going to drive a E39 M5, and couple more E90 M3's, and make a decision.

I passed the C4 parking the MINI from our trip, honestly, I can't see me with out it. Got to do some sole searching on this one.

dcdude

I just bought an E46 M3 after selling my C2. Steering is a little light, but I like the fat wheel. Bigger was the idea in my case. Suspension on stock 18s is pretty nice, IMO.

M3 gets about 24 MPG on the road, my 993 got around 25. Wish I could have kept both.

993: 251 lb/ft @ 5,250. E46 M3: 262 lb/ft @ 4,900. Again, close.

Space was one of my key issues. Toddler seats in a 993 render the front seats unusable, which makes driving difficult. At 6'3", even by myself, I never fit very well. I also wanted a cab in a less conservative color. "It's no Porsche," but only six quarts of oil to change and the oil filter is sooo much easier to get to, and I don't have to remove any wheels No plans to daily drive this one, either:

goofballdeluxe

Chuck, is that car painted Riv Blu?!? Hell, that thing is probably worth over $100K in that case!

Nice ride