A bit more on the car deal, from a reader.

I thought I'd move this to the homepage, since not everybody reads the Musings page. It's aperson's view on my car situation, and which I should buy. Pretty interesting.. : )

You know "all cars are not created equal". So it is unfair to ask. Most people are prejudice about the BMW. If your good friend said, "Hey come for a ride in my new 325xi sport car!", how would you respond? 'Oh gross!, no way am I going to ride around in that thing.' Obviously, every one reading this would say, "I wish I could own this car!" No one wants to just ride in it. They are itching to drive it! They want to drive it fast because it was designed to drive hard. Put it to the test! It makes my palms sweat thinking about it!

Of course, that's until we sit back and think of the cost of ownership, ie. insurance, maintenance, car wash, gas, tickets, points, scratch repair, the list goes on and on.

Now the second choice, the Audi A4, lots of money, drives great but you ask your friends if they want to ride with you, how do they respond? "Well, okay." They don't realize that it is a great car and cost nearly as much as the BMW. So for a few extra bucks, why not buy the BMW?

Now we come to the 3rd car. The Lexus. That car is quite exceptional to look at when it passes you at 85mph on Route 80. But only if it is in white, silver or perhaps black. It is new to the market, here in the USA, but Lexus has had an excellent reputation. The maintenance cost is relatively low when compared to the BMW. Parts. I believe that that is the issue. $$$$ That's the issue here. Rear seat legroom on the above mentioned are all about the same; none. But then again, it's fine if you are a Rudloff, 3 people only use one seat at a time anyway. :)

The Infiniti G20ti, looks great on the road. I was behind one today. Looks aren't everything. How about owning a car that looks like the Lexus, but has the engine of the Altima. Think about that when you want to impress the women. Granted, most people go for looks, not what's under the hood. But in this case, man, under the hood is everything. The 'any car under $21,000" is rather noncommittal but it includes anything from the Mercedes to a Kia. Considering these facts, every one should have picked 'anything under $21,000' choice. There are some really nice used cars for $21,000. Maybe the bottom line is, when Ian pulls up in front of your house and invites you for a ride, what do you want that car to be? What a stupid question. BMW.

Thanks for taking the time to write that!