GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm asking here to get an unbiase opinion.It comes down to two choices.1. 2008 MBenz 300C2. 2008 (2007) Dodge Charger Daytona1. The three pointed star. I never own one. Family never own one. Status. Once in a life time thing. It's not show off, but just treat myself nice. It's smaller, easier to park. MB quality. Keeping it 100% factory stock. Blends in with every car in the neighborhood. Keeping the car for a very long time.2. Love to tool around big V8. Exhaust mods. Brings me back to the good old days. It's big, flashy, draws attention. Lots more room. The attention could also be negative, car thieves, racers, cops, etc. It may be a collector car in the future. Pass it along to my sons 15 years from now. How cool is it to have a "classic" muscle car when we are all driving electric cars. Both will cost about the same. Cost about the same for insurance. Not sure about repair or maintenance, but I'm sure MB will cost more. Wife will also drive it, so smaller is better. I can't have both. I consider the alternative, but I'm pretty much set on these two.

i say hold off and wait for the camaro!

if i had 30k to blow i'd snag an STi, but i also live in new york and the awd would be clutch!pics of said vehicles? do you know what colors? options, etc you want?

I would say the Dodge Charger Daytona, American muscle is coming back in style and the modding bug with start biting soon after you get other car it always does

If I was given the choice of either car and insurance was the same, I would go with the MB. But once that warranty is up, bye bye.

Quote, originally posted by mistertwo »pics of said vehicles? do you know what colors? options, etc you want?No options on both. I take them stock as is (to keep the price down).Color? Not sure about the MB, maybe silver like everyone else. For the Charger. If 2007 model - Plum Crazy (Purple) 2008 - Hemi Orange.And to answer why not a Camaro (or a Mustang?) I need 4 doors. Althought we do have a minivan, I need 4 doors to carry kids and parents.

that's a hard choice...If you get the benz get it in black is the SRT8 over $30k? They look pretty badass

does the Chrysler product come with their lifetime power train warranty? That would be excellent for a car you plan to keep for decades.Other than that, buy American

I would say buy a nice used car to save some money and invest the rest of it.

the charger looks pretty cool when all done up daytona style.(but I'd get an STi... )

30k is gotta be the ultimate Base model 300C. The new C is a nice looking car, but they msrp at $31 for a base, not counting that since your moving to luxury, you have to pay a luxury tax (we have one in CT) and not to mention service and maintenance is gonna be killer.If you want a nice car like that, give a short wait and pickup a 1 series Bimmer. If you need 4 doors, I would skip all of your above choices and wait for the G8!!!

My 2000 impreza Rs would smoke any of the cars mentioned.... I'd go STi, but, i'm a Subaru guy, in a Vibe world.....

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »i say hold off and wait for the camaro!+1 the new Camaro is going to be sweet!

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »My 2000 impreza Rs would smoke any of the cars mentioned.... I'd go STi, but, i'm a Subaru guy, in a Vibe world..... Your 2000 Impreza RS has gobs of mods done to it, it's a monster with a cage.

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »Your 2000 Impreza RS has gobs of mods done to it, it's a monster with a cage. This is true, but, it's also a stock motor (2.0L) with all bolt-ons.... no internal work at all....

more subarites. Drunken, you get the kettle, I'll start a fire

i'm not eating that crap joat!

LOL. whatever... if given a choice, i'd go with the MB. high resale value (much more than a doge charger... not sure why someone thinks those actually hold resale value), quality, most of the higher end luxury cars include your basic maintenance, looks more grown up (if that's what you are going for). however, both of these cars do different things, so i guess you should figure out what you want it for. the chargers look nice, but not too impressive imo. if you went that route, i'd have to agree with the others, hold out for the new camaro! now that's gonna be a beaut!

if i had 30,000..i'd go either bmw or subaru

BMW... MMMMMMMMM but $30K is a good down payment unless you buy used. LOL

personally...i wouldn't be caught dead in either.i agree with what someone else said: hold out a few months and nab a G8.

MB like others said, will hold its value better...and well its not a dodge hahah better reliability and maintenance, but after that warranty is up on the MB...the repair costs will be high...

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »more subarites. Drunken, you get the kettle, I'll start a fireQuote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »i'm not eating that crap joat! Man, where was I for this! I say Charger of the 2, but I'd wait for the G8 or Camaro as others have said.

MB has had numerous problems in recent years, see Consumer Reports last few years. I know two former MB drivers - one went to BMW and one to Lexus, just got tired of going back to the dealer constantly for various electrical and other glitches.That said, MB has been addressing the problem, so new ones may be much improved, time will tell.

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »does the Chrysler product come with their lifetime power train warranty? That would be excellent for a car you plan to keep for decades.Other than that, buy American Only the bland models come with the lifetime powertrain warrranty, no diesels, no SRT models.I'd pass on both, and maybe look at a BMW 355i (twin turbo).

just repeating what jimincalif said, MB was placed last in a consumer's report for quality/reliability about a year ago. That merger with chrysler helped chrysler out and hurt benz. yeah, i wouldn't spend 30k on a brand new car, specially a chrysler or MB. you could get a much better used car (even one year old) for under 30k.

If I only have those two to choose from, I'd go C-class

2008 Mercedes Benz C300 Sport Sedan in Artic White with Grey/Black interior and you are golden my friend. As you said in your post, once in a lifetime and you will keep it for a very long time. Post pics when you bring it home. You know deep down the Benz is the car you want, so just do it.The Dodge is somewhat cool now but there are a number of muscle cars coming that will cause us to soon forget about it. And don't feel bad about driving a Benz, a C class cost less than most suvs and some minivans. Benz, Benz, Benz!!!

If he has 30k, he is not looking at a C-class realisticly. He will get the base base model that starts at like $31. MB is just like BMW in that sure you can own one for 30k but your not getting a true model till you get upwards of 40k. After adding things like HIDs, leather, etc. And if you drive one without a set of HIDs at least, then you have the poor mans luxury car.Heck 30k, hold off on the redesign of the Acura TSX coming early next year. You will spend 30,000 dead even and get HIDs, a nice comfy car, bluetooth, XM radio, Navigation, leather, heated seats, and all the trimmings.Personally I wouldnt drop money on a MB or BMW unless I got a pre owned one that was fully loaded, i.e. 330xi or 328ci.

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »If he has 30k, he is not looking at a C-class realisticly. He will get the base base model that starts at like $31. MB is just like BMW in that sure you can own one for 30k but your not getting a true model till you get upwards of 40k. After adding things like HIDs, leather, etc. And if you drive one without a set of HIDs at least, then you have the poor mans luxury car.Heck 30k, hold off on the redesign of the Acura TSX coming early next year. You will spend 30,000 dead even and get HIDs, a nice comfy car, bluetooth, XM radio, Navigation, leather, heated seats, and all the trimmings.Personally I wouldnt drop money on a MB or BMW unless I got a pre owned one that was fully loaded, i.e. 330xi or 328ci. If he has 30k (and that isn't finaning allowed 30k but actually has it) then he could get a C-class for about 28k. I'v been looking around a bit lately at comfortable cars and looking for the best deal I can get paying cash and salesman I'v been working with have told me paying cash I can get the car for about 1k under invoice. If you need 4 doors get yourself the Evo X , a Legacy GT, a Saab 9-3, or my favorite sub 30K sedan..an 06 Altima SE-R.

Last I checked the unlimited does not cover the SRT or Diesel models

If I had $30K to blow, I'd put 15K into a 6 month CD and the other 15K into a 1 year CD. Every six months I would have some money available at which time I would renew and let them grow for five years. Then I would take the money I made from that and invest in either money market or stocks. I'd take the original $30K I started with and start the whole process over again.

Quote, originally posted by ebslopp »If I had $30K to blow, I'd put 15K into a 6 month CD and the other 15K into a 1 year CD. Every six months I would have some money available at which time I would renew and let them grow for five years. Then I would take the money I made from that and invest in either money market or stocks. I'd take the original $30K I started with and start the whole process over again.Of all the posts here, this one is the best advice of all with two exceptions.......there are better investment options than CD's (certificate of depression) and no individual stocks (can you say Enron). High quality growth mutual funds, both domestic and foriegn, would yield better returns.Are you really 89 and your parents are still alive?

Quote, originally posted by djb383 »Of all the posts here, this one is the best advice of all with two exceptions.......there are better investment options than CD's (certificate of depression) and no individual stocks (can you say Enron). High quality growth mutual funds, both domestic and foriegn, would yield better returns.Are you really 89 and your parents are still alive? mmmm investing money..very good idea. I have mutual funds....I like them a lot....for sure after many years of waiting :/ dang i need a time machine....

Investing money scares me now with the way banks are starting to flop, the market is tumbling. ect. I have no clue where to invest my money when I settle my accident.

Just make sure the places you invest in are insured. Then you should be okay.

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »mmmm investing money..very good idea. I have mutual funds....I like them a lot....for sure after many years of waiting :/ dang i need a time machine....Wow, 23 yrs. old and already investing in mutual funds, you dah man and will probably be able to retire at 50, if you so choose. Like ol' Dave Ramsey says "live today like nobody else so tomorrow you can live like nobody else".Just think, a one time deposit of $30K at 12% avg for 30 years is a paltry $1.07 million dollars. I'd be willing to bet it would be more.

Quote, originally posted by tangerine »Investing money scares me now with the way banks are starting to flop, the market is tumbling. ect. I have no clue where to invest my money when I settle my accident.You need to find a good financial adviser...........not one that has something to sell but one that you pay by the hour for sound financial advise.

12% a year might be a bit optimistic, but the point is valid. Saving early is a huge advantage.For example, someone 25 years old, puts away $1,000 a year for 10 years, and then never saves another dime will have over $105,000 at age 65 at 7% per year. If this person waits until age 35 to start saving, and puts away the same $1,000 a year, FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS, he will have just under $95,000.

haha I had a feeling this would turn into a "save your money" thread good advice, tho

Quote, originally posted by jimincalif »12% a year might be a bit optimistic, but the point is valid. Saving early is a huge advantage.For example, someone 25 years old, puts away $1,000 a year for 10 years, and then never saves another dime will have over $105,000 at age 65 at 7% per year. If this person waits until age 35 to start saving, and puts away the same $1,000 a year, FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS, he will have just under $95,000.12% AVERAGE/year is not optimistic or unrealistic at all. Yes, some years will be less, and some years may be double.Your example of saving is as good as it gets. It's not about more money, rather more time. Once you start saving, time becomes the key ingredient.............run out of it, and it's gone forever.

4x4 Ford Escape Hybrid...show how awesome you are - practical and fuel economy of a vibe

A Corvette!

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »My 2000 impreza Rs would smoke any of the cars mentioned.... I am sure weight is a factor in your favor here too Just curious, what are your dyno numbers at the wheels for your RS? Not what you think but real world.

Yeah, for $30,000 you could get a C5 Corvette Z06. You'd have trouble finding anything faster for the money.

my personal tasteMazda Speed 3Wait for the Evo XMugen Civic SiSaab 9-3 Areo sport sedan

Get you something fun, to hell with investing it you only once.

any update on this? did you get either one?

Quote, originally posted by Kamikaze »any update on this? did you get either one?Just want to reply with an answer. I need to take care of this first.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=30341I can't sell it with this problem and CEL on.Bottom line: Don't mod your car.