Fun Sedans

I recently picked up a 2014 is350 being it was a 4door. I wanted a mustang but the back seat wouldn’t hold the kids. It’s not crazy fast but things I read said it had a touch over 300hp, I just hope it’s as reliable as the other yotas we have.
 
Considering the trend of everyone moving from sedans to SUVs, you’re picking a tough category to try to retain value.

I had a 328 M sport w stage 2 tune, while it was a fun car to drive, I took a bath on it after 2.5yr of ownership. And that was selling, not trading it. Don’t buy a euro sedan if you want to retain value.

A WRX is one of very few great options. I had a 13 hatch before the BMW. Very fun to drive, practical small sedan, easy to mod, inexpensive, and they retain value quite well.
 
Jerzsubbie said:
Considering the trend of everyone moving from sedans to SUVs, you’re picking a tough category to try to retain value.

I had a 328 M sport w stage 2 tune, while it was a fun car to drive, I took a bath on it after 2.5yr of ownership. And that was selling, not trading it. Don’t buy a euro sedan if you want to retain value.

A WRX is one of very few great options. I had a 13 hatch before the BMW. Very fun to drive, practical small sedan, easy to mod, inexpensive, and they retain value quite well.
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This on WRXs. Ive owned total
2004 wrx - owned it for 3 years and sold it for what I paid for it
2007 STI - owned it for 2 years sold it for more than I paid for it
2009 WRX hatch - owned it for 3 years sold it for more than I paid for it
2015 WRX sedan - owned it for 2/40k miles years and sold it for 2k less than what I paid for it.
 
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My daily ride was having some issues and I kinda have my heart set on a new bronco but not much availability untilnext year. Sooooo I was wanting a cheap DD that was kinda fun and had a little power and handling. Started looking at 3 series... LoL I have no idea why but I ended up with a Mini Cooper S R55 3 door. Obligatory photo. This lil guy is a blast!
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Infamous1 said:
My daily ride was having some issues and I kinda have my heart set on a new bronco but not much availability untilnext year. Sooooo I was wanting a cheap DD that was kinda fun and had a little power and handling. Started looking at 3 series... LoL I have no idea why but I ended up with a Mini Cooper S R55 3 door. Obligatory photo. This lil guy is a blast!
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These are fun to drive and surprising have a good amount of headspace and room
 
amnesia said:
This on WRXs. Ive owned total
2004 wrx - owned it for 3 years and sold it for what I paid for it
2007 STI - owned it for 2 years sold it for more than I paid for it
2009 WRX hatch - owned it for 3 years sold it for more than I paid for it
2015 WRX sedan - owned it for 2/40k miles years and sold it for 2k less than what I paid for it.
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My wife bought a 2014 STI new, sold it back to the dealer 2 years later while we were tackling some bills, She currently drives a 2015 wrx which feels as peppy around town as the STI did, but doesn’t pull the same up high. She also complains constantly about the wrx not having the same subbie rumble as the sti with its unequal length manifolds.

Hers is the white STI beneath the falls (back before they blocked it off)
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And her current ride:
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If you really wish to have ‘fun’ get an old 60’s Slant Six Plymouth Valiant that has good tires pumped up properly, drink a half pint of Jack, and go sit at the top of a mountain that has lots on curves and wait for Speed Racer to come by in his Porsche. The fun begins the second he realizes you wish to pass.
 
OldNascar said:
If you really wish to have ‘fun’ get an old 60’s Slant Six Plymouth Valiant that has good tires pumped up properly, drink a half pint of Jack, and go sit at the top of a mountain that has lots on curves and wait for Speed Racer to come by in his Porsche. The fun begins the second he realizes you wish to pass.
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Is the fun part when you crash and die from drinking and driving or when you escape that likely outcome and trade it for jail and butt rape?
 
4 or 5 year old WRX 1 owner is looking more and more like the way to go.

The non STI, anything special to look for?
 
MadMardigan said:
4 or 5 year old WRX 1 owner is looking more and more like the way to go.

The non STI, anything special to look for?
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Not really on that new motor platform. The only thing worth mentioning is check for a Cobb access port in the glovebox or ask if it’s been tuned.
 
Nothing to do with capability and everything to do with who did what with what and how was the car used. Unmolested gives you a blank slate with the high likelihood it was not ridden hard and put away wet.
 
matttahoe53 said:
Nothing to do with capability and everything to do with who did what with what and how was the car used. Unmolested gives you a blank slate with the high likelihood it was not ridden hard and put away wet.
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No I get what you’re saying.
The point I’m getting at is it’s going to be hard to find an unmolested wrx. My point was you shouldn’t have to worry if it’s been modded because the fa20 platform is more solid than the ej25
 
Ben Jefferson said:
Those little WRXs haul ass when properly molested.
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Mine would definitely boogie for a 2 liter 4cyclinder. The dang torque curve was absolutely nuts.
 
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GoWolfpack said:
A BMW will not retain value.

Whatever you get, if you really need to keep the resale value up then do not modify it. Find a car that's already set up like you want stock then don't mess with it.

Modification immediately limits the pool of prospective buys.
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Well I will disagree with this one in today’s market. Right now people are selling their 3 year leased BMW M3s to places like Carmax paying BMW and waking away with $11,000-$13,000 in cash. I could sell the wife’s 2018 M3 Competition for close to what we paid.

I agree about the mods. As soon as you mod the car you shrink the potential buyers and that is if you have a “known” shop do the work.
 
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amnesia said:
Booooooooooooooooooooooo!

the only other acceptable answer is Honda Civic SI :p
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The 2.0 accord is faster haha. 252 hp is up there with a WRX.

I have a 2011 V6 6 speed Accord and an Civic Si and the Accord is much faster in a straight line. The Si is much better in the corners though.
 
WadeWatts said:
The 2.0 accord is faster haha. 252 hp is up there with a WRX.

I have a 2011 V6 6 speed Accord and an Civic Si and the Accord is much faster in a straight line. The Si is much better in the corners though.
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I drive a faster car now, but I still miss my 2011 Si from time to time.
 
amnesia said:
My point was you shouldn’t have to worry if it’s been modded because the fa20 platform is more solid than the ej25
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The problem isn't the mods, it's the high likelihood that the owner has beaten the stuffings out of it after making the mods. There's no telling what kind of damage might have been done or what kind of time bombs laid for the next owner by the modder hooning the crap out of it constantly.

Would you buy a rental Camaro knowing how the renters probably treated it? Same thing.
 
wvsig said:
Well I will disagree with this one in today’s market. Right now people are selling their 3 year leased BMW M3s to places like Carmax paying BMW and waking away with $11,000-$13,000 in cash. I could sell the wife’s 2018 M3 Competition for close to what we paid.

I agree about the mods. As soon as you mod the car you shrink the potential buyers and that is if you have a “known” shop do the work.
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This current market, as I'm sure you are aware, is a massive anomaly. I wouldn't make any long term bets hoping that this weird bubble lasts two or three more years.sure it's true right now, but I can't believe it will be true three years from now.
 
GoWolfpack said:
This current market, as I'm sure you are aware, is a massive anomaly. I wouldn't make any long term bets hoping that this weird bubble lasts two or three more years.sure it's true right now, but I can't believe it will be true three years from now.
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It is true that this market is crazy I was reading and article the other day where a 1 year old Toyota Tacoma was selling on a dealers lot with 10K miles on it for more than its original MSRP. Still just like guns there are reasons some cars retain more value than others.

Within the BMW world the F80/F82 BMW currently has 2 things going for it in terms of value. The market for them is nuts right now within a crazy market. The new M3/M4 is supposed to be a great driving car but the bucktoothed front end is a huge turnoff for a lot of people. The leased F80/82s did not get driven as much as they would have due to covid. They have manual transmissions at all trim levels and the Comp package has the last of the M3 dual clutch automatics. BMW will have the current 2021 G80 for 6 years. The next point where there might be mid model tweaks is 3 years away.

For this reason the F80/82s are going to retain value over the new G80 for a bit. Who wants to pay $80 K for an ugly car even if it drives like a bat out of hell. The M3 E90 also held its value because it was the last of the naturally aspirated V8 engines in the M3. You can find 10 year old examples selling for $40,000-45,000+. That car sold for about $60-$65K when it was new. In general I agree with you that the avg BMW is going to drop in value in the first 3 years. Sometimes as much as 40% but the real enthusiast cars tend to hold their value better than others.

GoWolfpack said:
The problem isn't the mods, it's the high likelihood that the owner has beaten the stuffings out of it after making the mods. There's no telling what kind of damage might have been done or what kind of time bombs laid for the next owner by the modder hooning the crap out of it constantly.

Would you buy a rental Camaro knowing how the renters probably treated it? Same thing.
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This is true of any high performance car tuned or not. One thing everyone in the BMW warns is never buy a CPO car owned by BMW that shows usage in SC. It might have used at the performance center. 😲 I do not abuse my M550ix but it gets pushed a lot more than my truck. The wifes M3 has never been tracked but has been driven hard to red line on many occasions and I consider us to be on the moderate end of the spectrum in terms of pushing the cars to what they can take. I have found that most high performance cars have either been babied or they have been road hard and put away wet. It is not always easy to tell which is which. I think the older the car gets the worse it becomes. The wifes M3 as it gets older will end up on the track at some point. The amount of wear and tear from a few track days is a lot more than what you can do on the street and not go to jail.
 
Oh and to the OP I know it is out of your stated price range but the wife refers to her M3 as her practical 4 door car. LOL

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GoWolfpack said:
The problem isn't the mods, it's the high likelihood that the owner has beaten the stuffings out of it after making the mods. There's no telling what kind of damage might have been done or what kind of time bombs laid for the next owner by the modder hooning the crap out of it constantly.

Would you buy a rental Camaro knowing how the renters probably treated it? Same thing.
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I definitely get that - I'm saying its really hard to find a non-modded used wrx these days. I'm giving the OP some clarity on these engines and parts if he does find one that has been modded. The clientele of this price range wrx isnt the flat billed ricer that's banging all gets to red line. General assumption I know so maybe its a more in my experience statement.
 
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