ProV1

or if u really wanna save $, 08 hyundai elantra

great car

dombey

[QUOTE=y2ks2k,Mar 28 2008, 09:23 AM] I think I have a buyer for my IS350. It might go in a few weeks. Instead of buying a new IS-F or M3, I think I

enlightenment

Isn't Honda planning on a diesel engine? If you want efficiency that might be your best bet.

EVAN&MONICA

I think the EP3 civics are pretty cool. If i were you I think thats what Id get. Do you have kids or anything I dont know how much space they have. good luck!

jasonjm

Ah dude i'm just going to have to say go with the Fit.

I love that thing. It really does feel great.

rai

do you have a family or need the rear seats? I really liked the Mini S and supposedly the Mini (non-S) can get like 40 in the HW. I don't see the point of saving a lot on gas if you only drive 5K miles a year tho. I mean if the ISF gets 20 MPG and a Mini gets 33 MPG what's the savings on 5K miles? Maybe $33 a month? It's really nothing. If you only drive 5000 miles a year you are only spending $1K a year in gas and some people spend that in 6 weeks of driving (not a year).

My point is driving less is just as good as getting a high mileage car.

But by all means it's great to put a ton of money into an IRA or 401K don't let me talk you out of that..

y2ks2k

crap? Ira's are limited on the top? I didn know that. Im currently maxing my both my wife and I's 401K benifit ($15K each person).

rai

IMO

All this HIGH MGP mania really only pays off if you are driving a lot of miles. I mean if a Diesel costs an extra $2K and you only save $50 a year because you only drive 5K miles a year than it will never pay for itself.

IMO don't worry about the MPGs for this car. I mean if you want a Hemi or a Fit really the gas is not an issue. Other things that are an issue are insurance or initial cost but if you are just driving 100 miles a week gas costs are not a big deal.

sahtt

My brother's 07 civic 5spd is a good car. Civics have come a long, long way since I had my 96 hatch. A newer accord is also nicer than just about anything under 40k that was made in the 90's where it counts to me. A used GS300 is also quite economical since it holds its value so well it might actually save you $ vs a newer accord. I crunched the numbers and if you aren't driving more than 6k miles a year an 03-04 GS3 ends up costing the same as an 08 v6 accord. FYI the accord is actually faster than the GS3 but the GS3 is rwd etc.

rai

here let me go off topic

Max out the 401Ks don't worry about the IRAs. Just save and invest outside a IRA (in a non-tax shelter) all you pay for is the capital gains and dividends and the capital gains are currently 15% max (for a long term holding) and dividends (I think are also like 15% max).

Point is when you retire the tax shelter is going to be taxed as income so you don't pay the tax now but you do when you take the money out (uncle sam likes to get paid) now the theory is when you retire you will be in a lower tax bracket.

But the secret is you can keep the 401K or IRAs growing (tax shelter) if you have investments not in a tax shelter, say when you retire you can spend that first or part that and part the 401K and the money outside a tax shelter is almost tax free (just tax on capital gains).

There is a new rule for 09 (I believe) where you can convert a IRA to a ROTH (even if you are outside the tax bracket currently but you have to pay Full tax when you convert which is not a great idea if you are in a high tax bracket currently).

Also you can do what is called a non-deductible IRA even now (even if you are outside the income limit) check this out. It's like an IRA except you pay full tax on it now but since it's tax-paid money you don't have to pay as income tax when you withdrawl like you do with a regular IRA or 401K.