I've decided. After my parents leave in June from their visit, I'm going to trade in both cars and get an Infiniti FX35. The 4Runner was a wedding gift from the in-laws and the 350Z will always be Shirley's car.
I think I'll end up getting the blue one since the other color options are essentially white, gold, silver, gray, and black. The two cool colors (Autumn Copper and Beryllium) I really like cost an extra $4k.
I don't like the way Infiniti structures the option packages though. It appears that they're all interlinked so if you want one option, you have to get a whole bunch of other stuff that you may not want. I thought about getting the sports package ($1950) with the 20" pimpin' wheels but that requires the hands-free package ($600) which requires the touring package ($1300). I don't get it, why do I need to get a Bluetooth phone and a sunroof in order to upgrade suspension/wheels/tires? I'll probably end up only getting the towing hitch ($600) so I can carry my bike rack that I hardly use but have nowhere to store since I moved to the apartment. I think I can get the FX35 for less than $40k before trade-in.
In addition to the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, my boss also bought a Mercedes-Benz ML500. I got to drive that around the block too and it feels more like a luxury sedan than a SUV. He thinks that I should get one as well. I'm not sure if I want to spend the extra money for a V8 but the ML350 may be an option, althought the option choices are even more confusing than the Infiniti, and leather seats are not standard. I was also considering the Acura MDX but unless they come out with a new model for 2007, the MDX exterior looks kinda dated and boring. Finally, the Lexus RX350 models make you choose one of two $4k+ option packages so effectively raising the base price to about $44k. I still need to go and test drive all these SUVs too.
1 comment:
did you ever think about getting the x3? it's a pretty popular suv among my friends, though i've always found the concept of luxury-suv kind of an oxymoron-isn't the point of suvs that you're supposed to be "roughing" it?
i think it's a good thing to replace things at the end of a major transition in our lives. while these things do represent memories, sometimes they can also trap us from moving on. when i moved to my new apt, i used that as a means to get rid of a bunch of stuff. old clothes i used to wear around her, lots of furniture, CDs, little gifts, things that reminded of her. i think the only thing i kept were pictures, and those i put away in a shoebox. someday when i'm ready, i'll go back and look at them. but for now? i'm just fine starting anew. i can honestly say after i cleaned everything out and got some new furniture, it felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. i was free to breath and live again. maybe this will do the same for you as well.
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