need a replacement for my stg2 b5 s4, please help!

[pippin]

hey, so i joined this website to get some help deciding on a new car. i currently have a stg2 b5 s4 with around 340 crank hp. i love the car, it drives amazing, and the engine is one of the best feeling engines ive ever driven.

the only problem is that its extremely expensive to maintain. ive spent around 11k in the last 2 years just on repairs. if you factor in the normal maintenance i could have bought another car for the price ive spent on this in two years, and i just cant keep it anymore.

so anyway im looking for a good replacement, the three cars ive been looking at the most are an evo 8, a subaru legacy gt wagon (i can get a used one already modded to between 350-400whp and coilovers for the price im looking at) an e30 m3 with a modded s50 swap (so around 300hp in an e30 m3)
and an e39 m5.

so im looking at the evo because living in colorado, awd is great to have, and snow drifting is one of the most fun things you can do in a car. its cheaper to maintain than european cars, and i could kinda beat it up. personally i hate the looks, i love the sleek, sleeper german sedan look, and the evo is one of the flashiest looking cars you can buy, it looks like a japanese lambo. i dont know if i could ever get over the looks, but i could have a ton of fun with it, and i wouldnt mind banging it up a little on the dirt roads around here, hell some dents and scratches would make it look even better imo.

now the reason im looking at a legacy gt is that its probably the closest a japanese car can get to a german type car. its somewhat nice on the inside, and it isnt flashy at all, and the wagon looks anything but fast. and the fact that there are tons of them for sale with around 350-400whp for the price im looking at is a huge plus.

now the e30 m3 is definatly one of my favorite cars ever and one of the best cars ever built, and it would be sooo awesome to own one. i have driven one, it was stock, and it was just too damn slow, it handled better than anything ive driven, but it just had no power. so i started looking at swapped m3's which are very popular. and having a s50 powered m3 with 300hp, or more if i could get the euro version, would be sooo damn fun. there are people who say the s50 messes with the weight distribution, but only being 50 lbs heavier everyone says its only slightly noticable on turn in, and if you do some suspension work, and/or mess with the weight ballance, they say there isnt any difference at all. on dry roads atleast im certain that this would be the most fun out of any of my options.
ive head the s50 makes it much much more reliable than the unreliable s14 engine, which hopefully means much more reliable than my s4. but on an almost 20 year old car, there can be alot of problems that come up. and im really not looking for a car that i have to constantly be fixing.

now the e39 m5 is a great car, but the only way id be able to afford one is if it had around 100,000 miles. ive driven one and stock for stock, its easily better than my s4, but compared to my s4 the engine feels less "lively" and i havent heard much great things about reliability. its a very very cool car, you feel like a badass driving it and its definatly a drivers car. i have a friend who owns one and he said he will give it to me for under 20 grand but it has 100,000 miles which scares me.

so sorry for the long post, i like to ramble.
but anyway, can anyone help me choose? ive been looking for months and its just so damn hard to decide.
remember im looking to spend only around high teens to very low 20's it doesnt need to be amazing for reliability, i mean like 1500 a year on repairs would be fine with me, anythings gonna be better than my s4.
so please help me out!

[DaSilva]

Hi pippin and very much welcome to GCZ

First;
Cars like your S4 and M3 & M5 (don't know about the Legacy)
are all cars that costs alot to maintain .. They are expensive.
Their parts, their tecnology, their badges, ect..

So:
I must say I love the way you describe the EVO I agree 99%
Because I do infact like the looks very much.
but just like you, I feel even more love for the sleek and powerfull germans.
Still again there are some exception out there and
the EVO is clearly one of them!

I can see you like to mod a bit on your ride and update the power
the EVO is made for it!

I'd say you go for the EVO and make it a worthy piece of art.
(NOT RICE!)

If not, forget the tuning and buy a newer M model!
They can only do you good.

Good luck

[Choleric]

I'd go with the Subaru.

And have you found a buyer for your S4? If youre in Colorado youre close to me and a B5 S4 is something Ive had my eye on for a while.

[pippin]

nope i havent found a buyer. im taking it in to a mechanic next week to get everything looked over and get it ready to sell.
just tell me if your very interested. its definatly a great car, just be ready to spend a bit of time and money on one.

[pippin]

Originally Posted by DaSilva

Hi pippin and very much welcome to GCZ

First;
Cars like your S4 and M3 & M5 (don't know about the Legacy)
are all cars that costs alot to maintain .. They are expensive.
Their parts, their tecnology, their badges, ect..

So:
I must say I love the way you describe the EVO I agree 99%
Because I do infact like the looks very much.
but just like you, I feel even more love for the sleek and powerfull germans.
Still again there are some exception out there and
the EVO is clearly one of them!

I can see you like to mod a bit on your ride and update the power
the EVO is made for it!

I'd say you go for the EVO and make it a worthy piece of art.
(NOT RICE!)

If not, forget the tuning and buy a newer M model!
They can only do you good.

Good luck

i agree that evo's look good in some situations, like while rallying or on a track, better looking than an sti. its just so darn flashy for being a daily driver, like to me i only really like it when its going fast, otherwise its sooo out of place.

one thing that i like about how sti's and evo's look, is how good they look dirty and/or slightly messed up, my friend owns an sti, and i never cared for it too much when it was sparkling clean. but after we went mudding in it and the whole thing was caked in like an inch thick of mud and with a chunk taken out of the bumper, it looked amazing.

so i could get it as dirty as i want, break the bumper, scratch it, etc... and not feel guilty, until i have to spend like 5 grand fixing everything when i sell it.

it would definatly be a relief from the audi. the audi is a great cruiser, for jut driving around quickly and stuff. but i never want to push the hell out of it or anything. the audi is great for mountain passes, actually amazing for them, it has tons of torque for uphill stuff and corner exits, and you dont have to feel guilty cause your not pushing the hell out of it, you dont have to push it and be at the limit to have fun.

the subaru would also be kinda trashable, its tough and looks better dirty, and somewhat made for it.