Real Car Buying Decisions using Sim Racing Titles

A mixture of old and young reviewers on YouTube so far. For the manual tranny, people complain that it does not engage well on the first 2 gears. It seems that you need to rev match perfectly to get the tranny to engage. As for the automatic, some reviewers just report that they have a fairly significant failure rate and that the auto trannies need to be replaced often. The reviews that mention that are usually from owners that explain the woes that they have encountered over time.

As is often the case, it seems to be a hit and miss proposition. Some people rave about their car other do "5 things I hate by my car" videos.

It is a bit similar to reviews about BMW cars. Some people will rave about the reliability of their cars others will say these are the worst cars to buy used due to high maintenance costs. As for the BMWs, people consistently complain about two things:
  1. After 160,000 km, you might need to replace the water pump. Replacing the water pump is costly because the pump is hidden in an hard to reach area of the engine.
  2. Over time, seals, gaskets, o-rings and such start leaking fluids. I think that this is due to people using these cars over long periods of time. It is not uncommon for BMW cars to go through several owners over a few decades. So, it makes sense that these kind of issues come up more often in that context.

Alright, lets just skip on the Genesis. I don't want to be the person that steers you towards one that is a lemon. I'm just glad that mine is not going through any of the noted issues.
 
I must admit that I am increasingly intrigued about AWD cars. At first, I was considering RWD only. Now, I am not so sure anymore. I am also considering FWD hot hatches aw well. As you can see, I am all over the place.

The more I do research, the more I am confused. I wish I could just win the lottery. I would get myself a Ferrari 458 Italia and call it a day... :roflmao:

There's no shame with owning an AWD vehicle. I've got four of them and maybe a fifth one might be on its way.
 
Last night, I went to a dealership and I road tested a car, for fun really. I am a bit ashamed. It is a bit unrelated to the discussion but I feel I have to come clean. I road tested a 2013 Hyundai Genesis Sedan; a grown up car. I was intrigued by that car after watching YouTube videos. I have found expert reviews that claim it was a great value and I agree it is. A great value overall, expect for the car that I road tested yesterday.

I showed up at the dealership with an appointment taken last Friday. The Salesman was busy so he just took a photocopy of my driver's license and he gave me the keys. I drove the car in all sorts of situations for 45 minutes by myself. I had a good time. In the reviews, It is portrayed as a big luxury "Poor Man" Mercedes-Benz E-Class wannabe. It is in some ways and it is not in others. Leather everywhere, faux-wood trimmings, 8-way front seats, etc. As for the ride, it is a bit more taut than expected. I drove it hard in a couple of corners and the car just goes where you tell it to go. The steering is compliant and the suspension is firm enough not to induce much lateral weight transfer in corners. I was impressed. The brakes are good too with a smidgin of neck dive when you brake hard. The transmission is a 7-gear auto that is configured for economy but in manual mode it is good. Not spectacularly fast on shifts but OK.

I came back to the dealership with the car, the salesman was eager to talk numbers.Then, I asked him to show me a CarProof report for the car. I learned that it was a fleet car with a $5K insurance claim and that the dealer spent over $2K to refurbish the car on top of that. The salesman wanted $11,599 CAD for it. I countered with $10,000 because, after I saw the CarProof report, I was in no mood to buy that car. He came back with $11,299 and he knocked 0.5% on the interest rate for the financing. I said thank you, shook his hand and I walked out.

When I was running around with that RWD car, it was cool to feel the back end push the car. Since that car is kind of big, it reminded me car rides from the 70's that I took in my Dad's and older brother's cars.
 
There's no shame with owning an AWD vehicle. I've got four of them and maybe a fifth one might be on its way.
When it comes to AWD, I am really comfortable with Subarus for a used car purchase and I am very hesitant with all other brands. Subaru has AWD figured out. AWD is their core competency. I would not fear that in a year or two I would have to spend thousand of dollars fixing the drivetrain.

However, I am a bit petrified in by an BMW XDrive or a Mercedes-Benz 4Matic. If there is major repairs on the drivetrain, it is either spending thousand of dollars to fix or send the car to the junk yard.
 
Your searching is over. With this badass beast you'll need nothing else...Lol!
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It is on the list, I am a bit concerned whether theses cars are roomy enough on the interior. I am a big guy 6'/300 lbs...
Hmm, have you considered a turbo Beetle? I used work with an ex linebacker for the Patriots. He drove one because it had some serious interior room for something small and sporty. He was NOT worried about driving a "chick's" car. :p
 
I think this is just a normal thing where you have to decide what your priorities are and whether it's worth it to you. I know a bunch of people who picked up some classic car or modern sports car at this stage in life and in less than a year decided it wasn't worth it. It didn't matter if it was a new Mercedes convertible or a classic Corvette, keeping the car just didn't stick.

The people I know who keep a sporty car now have owned them on and off their entire life because it was a priority for them. My take is that if you have gotten to this point without one, it's probably not that important to you.
 
The voice of reason... :D

The more I look into it, the more the expenses look frivolous. I have the financial means. It just does not look like a sound investment.

I am thinking more and more of improving my sim racing rig instead.
 
The only reason people have the financial means to do things they care about is because they didn't blow their money on things that don't matter.
 

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