tihsyloh

So I may start trying to save to buy a home (first time) and this $1350/month payment and $100 gas/week isn't going to help. Really good deals on 335 lease right now. Pretty well equipt around $550/month. Factor in the extra gas and that's nearly $1,000 less per month. It's not that I can't afford the RS4, I'm just not sure that it makes a lot of sense right now. I'm not saying I'm going to do this, but I'm thinking about it.

So here are my questions:

A) Has anyone driven the 335 and what are your thoughts? Rear drive against 4 wheel drive. BMW paddles against DSG? The reason I have picked this car is that it seems like the best bang for the buck. Great lease rates, good performance/handling, good interior fit and finish, fun to drive. I thought about an A3, but it seems like that would be a little too boring to drive coming out of an RS4.

B) Since I'm talking about the A3, does anyone have any thoughts on this car? Never driven one, but I would assume the "fun to drive" factor could not compare to an RS4 or a 335.

C) What can I realistically expect to get for my car? Checked the payoff quote and after 8 months it's around $72,000. Now I know I'm going to lose money, but what can I expect to get for my car. Will I have any luck trying to do a private sale? Also is the maintenance package transferable?

D) For those that are older/wiser than I, is this a smart thing to consider or am I just being overly-mature and should I just enjoy life for now. I'm 30.

Any thoughts, comments or suggestions welcome.

TIA

Bob W.

are you married? if not, I'd wait on the house. wait until you've been married for a little while before you buy a house (unless you plan to never marry). why? let's say you buy a house now, and then get married in a few years. if it doesn't work out, bye bye house. i've seen it happen, and it's not pretty.

another consideration is this: short term, you probably won't make more money on the house as an investment than you'll LOSE by trading in the RS4 now...if you wait a while (either until the lease is up, or you pay down the loan) you'll lose less money.

the only other comment I would make is that the A3 is pretty fun to drive. I've driven both both stock and modded A3 2.0Ts with DSG. Interior definitely not as nice as the RS4/S4, if that's important to you. The only real downside with the A3 2.0T is that it's only available in FWD...no quattro unless you get the 3.2 (last time I checked).

hardy

offer your lease on www.swapalease.com ...I had someone assume my lease on an M3 a couple years ago and I paid a $2,000 inducemnent to have them take over my lease. I wanted to be sure to get it done so I offered an incentive but many people don't. If you have driven under the average monthly mile allotment there is less need for you to compensate. good luck with that.

Bob W.

"lease my used car for $1350/mo"...that's gonna be a tough sell.

tihsyloh

There are 3 on there. $1299, $1460 and $1551/month. If this is a legit concept seems like a good fit

Bob W.

but hey, there's nothing to lose by trying.

tihsyloh

It just kills me to be paying $2650/month to RENT an apartment when I would feel so much better about owning my own home. Less to do with the ability to make money than with the fact that I want something of my own.

If I stayed with Audi (which my past 6 cars have been), I would have to get Quatrro. I guess I need to drive one to find out if I like it.

Bob W.

...you are, in a sense, throwing away the money on rent, but you could also potentially throw away a lot more money by losing your house (or half of its value) in a divorce. most regular working guys like you and I don't really consider a pre-nup, but if you own a house before you get married, I think it's wise to have *something* legally binding that at least says you get to keep whatever assets you brought into the marriage for X number of years. I'm not saying don't buy a house, just be careful.

MARKNMTT

say that at this point I will lose more on the sale of the car than I would save in payment difference...it would be well over a year before I made up for the 5 to 8K bath on the car. Right there not worth it. If you are trading it in you do save considerably on sales tax however and so going to the 335 you will not pay any sales tax so if that trades off with the loss amount on the value of the car you come out even or even quicker.

Buying property will save you substantially on income taxes however so you will also gain more net savings that way too.

I can go either way on your question, when i bought my RS a couple of years ago I told myself i was going to be renting awhile...didn't work out that way as I bought a condo and now I am a little tight with a car I cannot sell without really taking a BIG loss...had I leased it I could walk away from it in a year. But I still am happy I haven't sold it as I enjoy it wayyyy too much. And as a family and other things could be on the horizon I will say I don't really regret front loading as otherwise I will probably not have the experience again.

Bob W.

good points on the tax stuff.