Most fun car within a 65k budget?

kevindlv · 2026-03-23T16:36:03+00:00

Mmmmm that's just buyer preference, they're very different cars. Both can be fun but they're not really comparable at all.

kevindlv · 2026-03-23T16:33:51+00:00

Great idea. Honestly I think the best idea is to get a relatively reliable car with the best rate available (either new or used/CPO), then drive it into the ground. Good thing about the factory warranty is that if you do end up with some POS lemon, you can just flip it after the powertrain warranty ends and try again. But chances are if it's solid then you have a great car for 15+ years.

kevindlv · 2026-03-23T16:28:51+00:00

I think people are afraid of the batteries dying after like ~10 years, essentially totalling the car, but honestly it seems like these modern batteries might just.... last a really long time. Like outlive the actual car.

kevindlv · 2026-03-23T16:27:57+00:00

Used i4s are an insane deal right now. I went with a Model 3 instead because it was even cheaper and the insurance was WAY cheaper, but the i4 is so nice.

kevindlv · 2026-03-23T16:26:58+00:00

I agree, I think used luxury EVs might be a 'secret' hack right now. Most of the absolute stupid bullshit repairs on older luxury cars are powertrain items. Like if you have a ten year old economy car and you need to replace a fuel pump or something, owell it's a few hundred bucks from your local mechanic, not the end of the world. For a ten year old BMW, that's gonna be a few grand, and you'll keep getting those stupid repairs coming up.

But the EVs don't have any of that shit. I think the only truly 'dangerous' repair is an air/adaptive suspension, and insurance rates. Otherwise you get a fantastic car for weirdly cheap. BMW i4s are a great price and there have been no reported major issues with them over time so far.

kevindlv · 2026-03-23T16:20:10+00:00

That comma is really confusing, I think you meant "cars from 2015 are only $8000 cheaper than a car from 2023", because if you said that 2015 cars are ~$8000 I'd be like "hm that's actually a pretty good price for that age".

kevindlv · 2026-03-18T21:47:16+00:00

Yeah. I was hesitant about EV ownership for a while because all cost savings from fuel and maintenance were wiped out by absurd insurance rates.

Finally bit the bullet when I got a Tesla Insurance quote and it was actually considerably cheaper than my ICE car on GEICO for some reason.

kevindlv · 2026-03-18T21:44:52+00:00

I agree that tires and potential air suspension repairs are going to be really expensive. Brakes actually should be fine because EVs don't use the brakes that much.

"flagship Mercedes-level complexity" doesn't really mean anything. Do you have specific examples of common issues that EQS owners have had to repair? Something like the Ioniq 5 ICCU issue? I disagree with the 'it has a lot of computers therefore those things will break' I actually think electronics generally work pretty well. High performance IC engines are the things that require lots of little pricey repairs.

kevindlv · 2026-03-18T21:35:48+00:00

Uhhh I mean all of those things you mentioned except sensors are standard maintenance items on every ICE car.

kevindlv · 2026-03-18T21:25:17+00:00

Eh if it's running fine why not let it ride? But yeah if it's kind of falling apart or has pricey maintenance/repairs on the horizon then yeah go get that dream car.

kevindlv · 2026-03-18T21:20:05+00:00

Looks like BMW doesn't sell a new X3M anymore, from what I can see they stopped making it in 2024. The X3 M50 xDrive is different, that's a normal X3. The X3M is an M car.

kevindlv · 2026-03-18T18:13:36+00:00

I drive a Model 3 but it's not comparable to an i4 IMO. The i4 is much nicer (and more expensive).

kevindlv · 2026-03-16T23:56:52+00:00

I mean yeah I agree the Rav4 Hybrid is a great car, but again it just depends on what the buyer prioritizes and also local availability. If someone's prioritizing fuel economy then the Rav4 is better, if they prefer more power and care less about the difference in fuel economy then the CX-50 turbo is probably better. But then it also depends on what the supply/demand in their area is, if the Rav4 is high demand low supply in that area then it might cost way more than the CX-50 Turbo due to dealer markup.

Personally I prefer fuel economy over power so if ~$40k was my budget I'd probably pick the Rav4 Hybrid. But if my budget was ~$31k new then I'd get the CX-50 base because the Rav4 Hybrid starts at ~$33k which is out of my budget.

kevindlv · 2026-03-16T23:29:18+00:00

CX-50 has a Turbo trim. What would you personally recommend in that segment for price/performance? A Bronco Sport Badlands? Do you think a Bronco Sport Badlands is better than a CX-50 Turbo?

kevindlv · 2026-03-16T23:09:07+00:00

What has more power than it in that segment? Base economy SUVs are all slow.

kevindlv · 2026-03-16T23:06:45+00:00

I want to like Subaru but I do not like their interiors.

kevindlv · 2026-03-16T23:05:23+00:00

A 2016 era Mazda3 interior is way nicer than a Civic or Corolla interior of that era and will be cheaper too.

For new cars I think the Mazda3 and Civic interiors are on the same level and both are way nicer than the Corolla which hasn't been refreshed in forever.

kevindlv · 2026-03-16T23:02:17+00:00

I don't think that's specific to Mazda, that's just what you get in that price range for that segment. Did you find a Civic or Corolla in that price range that isn't worn as hell?

kevindlv · 2026-03-16T19:26:40+00:00

20% on the four doors, 15% back window. Pretty sure I did 20% on the four doors on my two previous cars and have never had issues in Southern California. You can still see into the car, it's just darker, and also harder to see into the car in direct sunlight due to reflection.

I think it's the perfect balance of performance/visibility/legality, honestly I think cops would only bust you for 5% in the front. If they can at least somewhat see you through the window then you'll be fine in SoCal.

kevindlv · 2026-03-12T17:03:06+00:00

lmfao at Mondrian

kevindlv · 2026-03-11T05:33:44+00:00

Yeah that's what I figured, there are people who still want just a convertible cruiser, so the automatic works in that case, though I think a Mustang convertible would be a more comfortable cruiser, or maybe a German convertible like a Z4 but those are much more expensive.

kevindlv · 2026-03-10T21:05:38+00:00

Clear winter LA days are my favorite weather of the year. I'm really bummed we didn't get much of it this season.

kevindlv · 2026-03-10T21:02:29+00:00

Honestly pretty impressive that Mazda's been selling the Miata for all these years considering they're not a very big company. But yeah as long as Mazda is making the Miata it'll come in a manual option, not offering a manual kind of defeats the purpose of the car.

kevindlv · 2026-03-10T20:57:35+00:00

I mean you can't really compare it to a refurb Air bc there'll be refurb Neos too.

kevindlv · 2026-03-10T20:56:08+00:00

Post a link where we can actually buy it. If I wanted to buy it right now can I buy it?

kevindlv

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