[MarkR171]

The 128 is an awesome choice (hell, I love my 135.) Really really hard to get it under 25k though. 28k base MSRP + options and even invoice would be over 25.

To a poster above: Yes the US-bound Fiat 500s are getting a 6sp Auto option.

I actually think a Fiat 500 Abarth with the turbo engine and some minor mods (exhaust, tune, tires) would be a really really fun daily commuter. No Abarths until next year though.

I don't know about MINIs though... maybe you're girl will like it, but I personally hate MINIs. I just can't stand the interior, seats suck, trim sucks, giant flava flav speedometer in the middle... My brother in law, who has terrible taste in cars, had a yellow Cooper S as his daily, and a yellow Hummer H2 for the weekends. He sold the MINI and is looking to get another one with all the John Cooper Works goodies.... Price tag: $45,000. I told him he's an idiot for even considering to pay 45k for a MINI. He said "I only care about performance." LOL.

[Boost Gomez]

Don't buy your GF a $25k car.

[cuban335i]

Originally Posted by TK-421

Holy shit a Fiat 500 would be great. The new Jetta looks really nice as well

yea i checked out the fiat and it's just too small imo... it looks about the size of the smart for two

Originally Posted by MarkR171

The 128 is an awesome choice (hell, I love my 135.) Really really hard to get it under 25k though. 28k base MSRP + options and even invoice would be over 25.

To a poster above: Yes the US-bound Fiat 500s are getting a 6sp Auto option.

I actually think a Fiat 500 Abarth with the turbo engine and some minor mods (exhaust, tune, tires) would be a really really fun daily commuter. No Abarths until next year though.

I don't know about MINIs though... maybe you're girl will like it, but I personally hate MINIs. I just can't stand the interior, seats suck, trim sucks, giant flava flav speedometer in the middle... My brother in law, who has terrible taste in cars, had a yellow Cooper S as his daily, and a yellow Hummer H2 for the weekends. He sold the MINI and is looking to get another one with all the John Cooper Works goodies.... Price tag: $45,000. I told him he's an idiot for even considering to pay 45k for a MINI. He said "I only care about performance." LOL.

Yea I checked some out and without getting them 1 or 2 years old, they are a little too much brand new. I think I'm going to go with a 2011 mini cooper s with some good options for around 26-27k. Which should be pretty fun because they boosted the hp by 10 to 181hp.

Originally Posted by Boost Gomez

Don't buy your GF a $25k car.

It's not going to be in her name, it will be in my name and i'm picking the colors and everything out. I'm pretty much using it as an excuse to buy myself another fun little car besides my e36 m3.

[c0nstant]

you're probably the most stacked 21 year old i've seen

[MrRoboto]

Where in the hell do all you kids get the money?

[shipill]

Hyundai Sonata
VW Jetta 2.5L
Mazda 3

[Boost Gomez]

Originally Posted by cuban335i

It's not going to be in her name, it will be in my name and i'm picking the colors and everything out. I'm pretty much using it as an excuse to buy myself another fun little car besides my e36 m3.

Fair enough.

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

Where in the hell do all you kids get the money?

She's 21 but he might be older but honestly I wouldn't buy a 21 y/o girlfriend a car things are way to volatile at that age. I would maybe give her 1K-2K and tell her to go to the dealership fill up a credit application under her name and there you go she has her own car. That way when she goes you don't have no problems she just goes her own way.

IMO just put her give her the downpayment for a Mini so that we she has 250-300$/payments....you can use the car since you gave her the money for the initial downpayment, if she won't let you use the car let her go.......because it will prove that she is a unappreciative selfish person.

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by mtla4

She's 21 but he might be older but honestly I wouldn't buy a 21 y/o girlfriend a car things are way to volatile at that age. I would maybe give her 1K-2K and tell her to go to the dealership fill up a credit application under her name and there you go she has her own car. That way when she goes you don't have no problems she just goes her own way.

IMO just put her give her the downpayment for a Mini so that we she has 250-300$/payments....you can use the car since you gave her the money for the initial downpayment, if she won't let you use the car let her go.......because it will prove that she is a unappreciative selfish person.

Actually since the car will be under his name, he isn't REALLY buying her a car. He's buying himself another car that she will be allowed to drive. If her name is on the car and they break up for whatever reason, that complicates things.

Still a very expensive gift for any age, but at least it's his car, not hers.

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

Actually since the car will be under his name, he isn't REALLY buying her a car. He's buying himself another car that she will be allowed to drive. If her name is on the car and they break up for whatever reason, that complicates things.

Still a very expensive gift for any age, but at least it's his car, not hers.

Thats why I say it's better if she has her own car....I'm not lending my car to anyone. They break up she smashes his car on purpose or she vandalize it or she refuses to give it back(he will have to declare it stolen etc) Let her have her own shit. If she was the mother of my kids then yes I would get her a car, otherwise even tho she can be the hottest girl around I'm not paying for shit. I'm old school mentality kind of guy. Honestly 1-2K is not much when she leaves well you don't care also you're not stuck with two cars, she takes her stuff put it in her car she leaves, you move on. Do what you want but I'm warning you so are others around here.

[cuban335i]

Originally Posted by mtla4

Thats why I say it's better if she has her own car....I'm not lending my car to anyone. They break up she smashes his car on purpose or she vandalize it or she refuses to give it back(he will have to declare it stolen etc) Let her have her own shit. If she was the mother of my kids then yes I would get her a car, otherwise even tho she can be the hottest girl around I'm not paying for shit. I'm old school mentality kind of guy. Honestly 1-2K is not much when she leaves well you don't care also you're not stuck with two cars, she takes her stuff put it in her car she leaves, you move on. Do what you want but I'm warning you so are others around here.

Yes the car will be under my name. And the insurance will be under both our names. But she's very mature and would never do something stupid like crash my car on purpose no matter how bad of a fight/break up.

The 1-2k idea of yours is stupid, because if she left me or if I left her then that would be 1-2k down the drain, but if she leaves me or I leave her and I own the car (i'm not leasing), I can just sell it or still keep it as a extra car. So it's a win-win for me in a way.

[cuban335i]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

Where in the hell do all you kids get the money?

Originally Posted by jh valley

you're probably the most stacked 21 year old i've seen

lol i work part time for my dad's company and make good money there. I also don't pay rent or tuition for my school. So pretty much all my money goes into my cars and my savings account (yes, I do have a savings account, i don't just blow all my money on my cars).

I plan on getting rid of both my BMW's in a couple years and stepping it up in performance (997.2 gt3 or GT-R) and the mini will be a great daily at that time. Or I'll buy another daily.

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by cuban335i

Yes the car will be under my name. And the insurance will be under both our names. But she's very mature and would never do something stupid like crash my car on purpose no matter how bad of a fight/break up.

The 1-2k idea of yours is stupid, because if she left me or if I left her then that would be 1-2k down the drain, but if she leaves me or I leave her and I own the car (i'm not leasing), I can just sell it or still keep it as a extra car. So it's a win-win for me in a way.

1-2K is nothing for a baller like you. You still have your credit free(no car debt) or you have 25K more in your bank account. A thousand dollar gift is nothing. Money comes and goes. 1K is nothing it's a few Moet bottles at a club or 1 trip in a year. You seem to make decent money what is a thousand dollars? Let's say you give your gf a watch or something will you take it back when you two breaks up because it put you in a hole? Just write her a check for christmas give it to her and there you go, you wont feel bad if shit hits the fan.

It's up to you but whatever I'm giving you good advice over here. I don't know you but it would suck that in a year or 6 months you post over here about your gf cheating on you in your own car or some kind of other crazy story that I see in the OT section.

[cuban335i]

Originally Posted by mtla4

1-2K is nothing for a baller like you. You still have your credit free(no car debt) or you have 25K more in your bank account. A thousand dollar gift is nothing. Money comes and goes. 1K is nothing it's a few Moet bottles at a club or 1 trip in a year. You seem to make decent money what is a thousand dollars? Let's say you give your gf a watch or something will you take it back when you two breaks up because it put you in a hole? Just write her a check for christmas give it to her and there you go, you wont feel bad if shit hits the fan.

It's up to you but whatever I'm giving you good advice over here. I don't know you but it would suck that in a year or 6 months you post over here about your gf cheating on you in your own car or some kind of other crazy story that I see in the OT section.

I know this sounds cliche but my girlfriend would never cheat on me, I'd definitely be the one to cheat first in the relationship. But your idea sounds good if my girlfriend actually had money, but she has no money (hence her having a POS car). She is on financial aid at school and is paying the rest of the tuition herself (total tuition is over 50k and she has to pay 5k a year) and she barely works, so because of this, she can barely afford her phone bill. This is why giving her that little bit of money won't let her be able to do anything. I on the other hand have money to spare (not to brag) and would gladly spend a couple hundred bucks on her a month for something so necessary like a car. I guess we see things from two different points of view (a generous, trusting boyfriend vs. a selfish, untrustworthy boyfriend)

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by cuban335i

I know this sounds cliche but my girlfriend would never cheat on me, I'd definitely be the one to cheat first in the relationship. But your idea sounds good if my girlfriend actually had money, but she has no money (hence her having a POS car). She is on financial aid at school and is paying the rest of the tuition herself (total tuition is over 50k and she has to pay 5k a year) and she barely works, so because of this, she can barely afford her phone bill. This is why giving her that little bit of money won't let her be able to do anything. I on the other hand have money to spare (not to brag) and would gladly spend a couple hundred bucks on her a month for something so necessary like a car. I guess we see things from two different points of view (a generous, trusting boyfriend vs. a selfish, untrustworthy boyfriend)

I get your point, you seem like a good guy but good guys always end up last. Protect yourself, been there done that.

[ACZakka325i]

Im sorry but I am LOL'ing at the kid that lives at home with parents, doesn't work full-time, and wants to buy his girlfriend a $25k car. But I sure am happy there are people like you that push our economic wheel round.

Dude, go buy a home, get engaged, and THEN buy your fiance very expensive presents.

[cloakster]

Does she know that the car will not actually be hers and that if something goes wrong she will not be keeping it? It will make a big dif if she knows or not. If she donesn't know then she will think its hers to do whatever she wants with including taking it if things go wrong. Also, she won't be able to afford to sell her current car because she won't have anything to drive if you guys aren't together. If she does know then i don't know how she will feel about you spending 25k on a car for the both of you while she is having trouble even affording her phone bill. I really do hope you guys stay together forever, but it doesn't always work out like that.

IMO, it would make more sense for the gift to involve something that would help her out with her financial slump. Use your dad's connections to get her a job or offer to pay the phone bill for a while or something other than the 25k car idea. Just my 2 cents

Edit: Just finished reading your latest post...if your putting the car in your name, you can't truly trust her as much as you say you do. Actually buying her a fuel efficient (unless your gonna pay for her gas) and inexpensive car would be the better choice in my opinion if you really want to use a car as a gift.

[cuban335i]

Originally Posted by cloakster

Does she know that the car will not actually be hers and that if something goes wrong she will not be keeping it? It will make a big dif if she knows or not. If she donesn't know then she will think its hers to do whatever she wants with including taking it if things go wrong. Also, she won't be able to afford to sell her current car because she won't have anything to drive if you guys aren't together. If she does know then i don't know how she will feel about you spending 25k on a car for the both of you while she is having trouble even affording her phone bill. I really do hope you guys stay together forever, but it doesn't always work out like that.

IMO, it would make more sense for the gift to involve something that would help her out with her financial slump. Use your dad's connections to get her a job or offer to pay the phone bill for a while or something other than the 25k car idea. Just my 2 cents

Edit: Just finished reading your latest post...if your putting the car in your name, you can't truly trust her as much as you say you do. Actually buying her a fuel efficient (unless your gonna pay for her gas) and inexpensive car would be the better choice in my opinion if you really want to use a car as a gift.

well considering the mini gets ~35mpg... i'd consider that to be pretty fuel efficient. and I'm putting it in my name because she has no credit at all (not 1 credit card), so it'll be easier just putting it in my name (i do trust her). She isn't really in a financial "slump," her parents just don't assist her at all with anything financial. And she doesn't really have a job due to the amount of school work she has (she's premed at Princeton). Anyways paying her phone bill would be really lame.

Also, about the whole her knowing that it's hers or not. She wouldn't take it for granted that if we broke up she'd keep the car. But let me put it this way, we've lived together over 2 years, I am about to move out of my parents house into a house of my own with her (by the middle of 2011, and paying for it will not affect my payment on this extra car), and we've already talked about getting married multiple times, but I just want to wait until we are older because I don't want to be married so young (if that makes any sense at all). So, all in all, it's a pretty solid relationship that isn't going anywhere. I'd honestly be able to bet a kidney on that lol.

[cuban335i]

either way, i didn't ask for advise on if i should buy one or not... i asked for advice on what car to buy. i don't need love life advise from you guys (no offense) that don't know me or my girlfriend.

BTW - i'm going for a 2011 mini cooper s hatchback and getting it flashed (it should produce ~200whp at that point which should be fun coming from that little car)

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by cuban335i

She wouldn't take it for granted that if we broke up she'd keep the car.

I'm surprised nobody has brought this up, and I'm not sure all the legal details, but isn't giving her a car (even if it is in your name and you are making the payments) considered a gift? You'll be presenting it as such, "Hey honey! I got you a new car!" not "Here's MY new car that you can drive." If you break up can't she sue you to keep the car because it is a gift?

I'm not a lawyer and I'm too lazy to look up the details, but I have heard stories of things like that happening in the past.

[cuban335i]

^ lol she'd never EVER sue me for anything... she's extremely humble and not very materialistic at all. I said she was a "brand whore" mainly because she knows nothing about cars except the hierarchy of cars (like cars like honda and nissan are below acuras and infinities and those are below bmw's and mercedes etc etc), meaning that she would rate how nice her car is mostly off the brand it is, not what comes with it (engine-wise or feature-wise).

this is quite frankly getting out of control... i needed CAR advice, not advice on what i should do with my money or my love life.

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by cuban335i

^ lol she'd never EVER sue me for anything... she's extremely humble and not very materialistic at all. I said she was a "brand whore" mainly because she knows nothing about cars except the hierarchy of cars (like cars like honda and nissan are below acuras and infinities and those are below bmw's and mercedes etc etc), meaning that she would rate how nice her car is mostly off the brand it is, not what comes with it (engine-wise or feature-wise).

this is quite frankly getting out of control... i needed CAR advice, not advice on what i should do with my money or my love life.

Well, lets assume that she gets rid of her current car and then relies the Mini as her primary form of transport. God forbid, however remote, you break up and take the car. She is now left without transportation. You said she has a lot of expenses with school and doesn't get help from her parents, so it stands to reason she wouldn't be able to run out and purchase a new car. That combined with the possibility of messy breakup (you don't know if you will break up or the circumstances so you can't predict it will be amicable) and she might decide to sue for the car. Look at Paul McCartney. He and his wife loved each other very much when they got married and she ended up taking him to the cleaners. Same for Hulk Hogan. Don't say it can't happen. Also, if she ever injures somebody while driving the car the victim can come after you since the car is owned by you. Is that a risk you are willing to open yourself up to?

As far as car advice, it seems like you settled on the Mini so not much that we can do from that standpoint.