Need advice on DD and Tow Vehicle

[track_warrior]

Ok guys well im in a bit of a dilema right now and need your help. About 1 year ago i purchased a 2012 Ram Laramie Longhorn 2500 4x4 fully loaded, i traded in my c63 and my old ram 1500 since i thought of getting rid of two cars for one and using the new ram 2500 as a DD and tow vehicle and still have money left over in my pocket.... Big mistake, dont get me wrong i love the truck its got everything i need but it guzzles gas as a DD i get around 14 city 21 hwy and its a bitch to park, and its loosing value since its a dodge faster than the us dollar in the economic crisis.

MSRP on it was 63k i only paid 52k so i think i got a good deal. Now i can probably sell it right now for around 46k only because i have some mods on it and add a bit of cash on my side and have a total of around 54k as a budget to invest in a new DD and a tow vehicle, btw my truck is paid off.

So here comes the hard part, as a daily i need to find something under 44k thats fun, sequential tranny, and gets decent mpg over 20 city. And i have around 10k left for a tow vehicle for the FR-S and my boat. Both trailers loaded weigh under 4600 pounds

So far my thoughts for DD have been what else should i consider for under 44k:

-135I With M package
-B8 Audi S4
-Evo X MR Touring
-Range Rover Evoque ( if i buy this i dont need a tow vehicle any more)
-New Touareg TDI ( same as evoque it will be my DD and tow vehicle.)
-BMW 335I sedan (2013)

Tow vehicle options under 10k:

-Used Ram 2500 Diesel
-Used Jeep Liberty CRD
-Used Silverado HD diesel or gas
-Used Tacoma


Any advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

[powertrip]

If you are looking for a DD go used and cheap. Plenty of 3+ year old quality cars out there. Especially since you are just going to put miles on it and run it into the ground why spend more than you have to on maintenance, depreciation, and gas.

My DD is an 9 y/o Mercedes C class, I avg about 28mpg, costs me next to nothing in maint, is cheap on insurance, and i paid less than 10K for it 3 years ago.

Save the money for the fun weekend cars IMO.

[JoeBoxer]

The new Grand Cherokees are pretty nice, if you can wait on the 8 speed auto the mpg should be pretty good too. It may already be out i don't know.

I feel you on the Dodge resale value though i had a 2011 Ram R/T and the value plummeted when they introduced the Express models.

[EZWood]

touareg tdi. i think 04-07 had a v10 5.0.

[GTB/ZR-1]

Almost 200k on my '02 1500 5.3 Silverado. Been bery bery good to me... Bulletproof. Towed my Vette & old GT-R like a champ. I had a 2500 before, but that was too much for my DD...

[RYU]

We had a 128i for 2yrs but its not even nearly as impressive as the F30 328i M-Sport (4cyl Turbo) that replaced it about 2 months ago. For a DD that F30 motor is a beast of a 4 banger with only a tiny hint of turbo "lag" and I believe still gets 30+mpg with start/stop (which was weird to get use to). You're much better off with a 328i vs. a 135i imho. It's an impressive vehicle and i'm not a BMW fanboi.

For a tow vehicle.. buy a used high mileage Tundra and a TRD supercharger off ebay and be done with it. You won't be using this vehicle on a regular basis anyway.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by RYU

We had a 128i for 2yrs but its not even nearly as impressive as the F30 328i M-Sport (4cyl Turbo) that replaced it about 2 months ago. For a DD that F30 motor is a beast of a 4 banger with only a tiny hint of turbo "lag" and I believe still gets 30+mpg with start/stop (which was weird to get use to). You're much better off with a 328i vs. a 135i imho. It's an impressive vehicle and i'm not a BMW fanboi.

The N20 is one of the fanciest motors you can buy, and it is insanely fuel efficient and powerful.

However I've seen an F30 parked on the street, and it just seems so big...it's definitely grown from the E90 (which probably grew a bit from the E46). It's like a midsize car from the late 90s-early 2000s, not a compact. I haven't sat in one but I feel like it would feel really big and boatlike. Not really good for a sporty experience, more of a people hauler?

I also heard (from one of the members here on IRC) that the start-stop wasn't really smooth, which is pretty disappointing. I've sat in a Prius and it's actually kinda hard to tell when the motor turns on if you don't pay attention. Weird that a German luxury car would have NVH issues like this, but maybe said member was just too sensitive.

[RYU]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

The N20 is one of the fanciest motors you can buy, and it is insanely fuel efficient and powerful.

However I've seen an F30 parked on the street, and it just seems so big...it's definitely grown from the E90 (which probably grew a bit from the E46). It's like a midsize car from the late 90s-early 2000s, not a compact. I haven't sat in one but I feel like it would feel really big and boatlike. Not really good for a sporty experience, more of a people hauler?

I also heard (from one of the members here on IRC) that the start-stop wasn't really smooth, which is pretty disappointing. I've sat in a Prius and it's actually kinda hard to tell when the motor turns on if you don't pay attention. Weird that a German luxury car would have NVH issues like this, but maybe said member was just too sensitive.

You are right on on all counts.
1. Motor is a marvel.
2. It's BIG.
3. Start/Stop is not smooth at all. Actually, the one flaw of the engine is that it's clunky during start/stop and sounds like a diesel. Under throttle it's smooth. Too smooth. You can't tell what RPM you're in. The experience is a bit numb.

It's a different kind of car. The M-Sport steering wheel is fantastic. We also got it in the stick but it's certainly does not yield a go-cart like driving experience. "Boat" is probably more accurate depiction but not in the derogatory sense. Overall it's the best 3 series i've driven since the E30 (not including M models).

[JoeBoxer]

The new Cadillac ATS is pretty badass, this one already has coilovers from D3.
Silver one is stock, i really think this car could be awesome if done right.

[whataboutbob]

Buy a used tacoma 6cyl for the tow vehicle and be done with it.

[JoeBoxer]

Scratch the ATS, $47k for a 2.0T model with the premium package(have to get premium to get the limited slip rear). Audi S4/S5 seems like a better deal.