Trying to downsize to 2 cars. 1 sports sedan but auto and a truck.
 

I currently have 3 cars with my wife.

2015 Acura MDX awd

2016 Mustang GT

2010 Subaru Legacy.

We have been thinking of going down to 2 cars to have more room, less insurance etc.

The "useless" car of course is the Mustang GT. I love the car but only put maybe 4k miles the first year I have owned it.

So it is really just mostly sitting in garage depreciating.

I have really been wanting a pickup truck. Most likely an Ecoboost F150 super crew 4x4.

If I get rid of the Mustang and the Subaru Legacy I would get another fun sport sedan or similar. Problem is my wife doesn't drive stick and won't learn. I've tried teaching her and it wasn't pretty haha.

I'd hate to not have a stick car anymore but if it's a fun enough sport sedan I may be ok.

Any idea's? Anyone go with a dual clutch car and enjoy it? I really love manual trans. Makes it so much more fun for me but to get down to 2 cars (for now) I would have to sacrifice I think if I want to have a new truck as well.


budget would be around 35-40k most likely for the sedan.


Some idea's I've had have been CTS-V(I feel the auto would be really boring though)

Golf R DSG

Evo X MR

S4 DSG

Lexus IS350? Never driven one of these or any Lexus for that matter.

Chevy SS sedan

Another factor is I want to make sure it is a car that is popular to mod so I can use it for business and advertising some as well. Allows me a partial tax deduction and also sales boost in that market.

Any suggestions? Anyone go through something similar and not get bored with the auto trans?

Maserati Qporte could fit the bill.

I don't want to deal with maintenance or repair costs with that though.

4 door M3?

Chevy Astro will fill all your needs.

4 door M3 could be good. I've never driven one. I think I'd like newer turbo model more than the V8 one.

Let me tell you something, maybe it will register, maybe it won't. I've been without a manual transmission for almost 3 years now and I want to punch the got damn wall. Don't make the same mistake I did. A couple months will go by, and you'll regret it, believe me. I'd pick up a WRX or STi for myself, and pick another new Subaru for the wifey, maybe the FXT so you could be AWDATT. Both can be modded and written off, just don't overdo it. I've been in your shoes, bought a truck twice, at two different times of course. What I quickly found is that I used the bed so infrequently, it was just dumb to foot the gas bill for it, as well as the purchase price. Unless you have heavy chit to tow (boat), they don't even have as good as crash ratings as a unibody. They suck to park (full size) and most of the new full sizes, you'll have your hands full trying to even park it in the garage. They also handle like absolute shit. At first you love the spaciousness, the laidback deal of it all. Then all of a sudden when going from highway to highway at speed, you notice how shit the handling is and you'll get rid of it pronto.

WRX/FXT combo is about 60k for both combined. I know where to get the cheap too. Good luck, just my $.02. Feel free to ignore my post. I've just been there and have the t-shirt.

Yeah that's what I'm worried about! I think no stick would drive me crazy as well. I may just stick with the 3 cars. Get rid of Acura and get a truck. I really want a truck to try and get into truck market. Not many suv's with much aftermarket around I don't think. Maybe a keep grand Cherokee there would be. Not sure. F150 is biggest market of any car or truck I think.

Dude, this. The newer turbo ones are out of your budget, but from what I've read, it's a mixed bag going from the last V8 gen to the current TT I-6 one. You gain a ton of midrange torque, overall capability, newer interior/exterior (love the CF roof) but lose some steering feel, ride/handling polish, and that 8,400rpm V8 sound.

I got a V8 (E90) M3 sedan (with 6MT) 6 months ago, and I absolutely love it. It's comfy enough when you're just cruising normally and amps up the aggression when you press the "M" button on the wheel (can be programmed to fit your tastes on throttle mapping, suspension damping, stability control, shift speed for the DCT, and steering effort). The handling really is great and that engine is just plain awesome. So far the only real negative is truly pathetic gas mileage. Also, you can get the M3 with the DCT - although I'm also an MT die-hard, the DCT is a pretty impressive transmission.

I'm sure CosmosMpower will chime in, as he owned an E90 M3 and now has the current gen F80 M3. I think he likes the new one more, so as I said, you may have to try both. But the E90 is definitely a much lower $ outlay at this point in time.

I'd go for the Chevy SS personally, but for buisiness purposes the golf R would be the best bet. The SS is not a common car and does not appeal to a wide audience.