site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   1794 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 13, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

It appears that this forum is filled with city slickers in fancy German cars. What cars have you driven on a regular basis? If they were expensive, have you found them to be worth the extra money?

I have driven the following cars on a regular basis.

I have been driven around by my parents in the following cars.

I have never found fault with these cheap (not including the S60, I guess) cars (other than the Civic's poor rear visibility; I prefer hatchbacks to sedans) or seen any reason to get anything more expensive.

(Note that I purchased the Mirage, not to replace the Fit with it, but so that (1) I could sell the Fit back to my mother, and then (2) she could expunge from our household the Civic that I disliked. Another motive for getting the Mirage was FOMO on a car that was soon to be discontinued in the US market despite obviously being the best car there.)

Owned

  • 2005 Nissan Sentra for $5k - really awful little car but didn't have any major problems with it. Shared with my sister who has the unfortunate proclivity of leaving trash in the car, which soured me forever on sharing vehicles with family members. Had my first and only crash of my life which ended in a smashed passenger window.
  • 1997 Ford Ranger for $3k - Had absolutely beat-to-shit paint but was a really cool green. Would vibrate over 70. Despite being totally antithetical to my personality, it ended up being a sufficient panty-dropper because I kept it spotless inside and could help people move. I bought it with literally 3,000 miles on it from a grandma who used it for groceries. I sold it for more than I paid for it. I still have a core memory of meeting at a gas station with a guy who could barely keep his tongue inside his mouth he wanted it so bad while trying to negotiate for a couple hundred bucks off. Nice dude, but it felt amazing to say "You can hand me the cash now, or I have 6 other people lined up to meet today". I see why truck guys loved em.
  • 2002 BMW 525i for $6k - I graduated college, paid off my student loan debt, and had a couple thousand left over. I have always loved these cars from afar, and this was my first car purchase as an individual. The example I bought was.... fine. I can't help but wonder how much more fun I would have had with the manual 530i that was 45 minutes away I should have bought. I learned how to do my own mechanic work on this car. Sold it for $2900 after 5 years.
  • 2001 Honda Accord for $3k - Holy shit I hated this car. Ugly, poorly maintained, slow, un-fun to drive. I spent almost as much keeping it on the road as I did the BMW. Atypical, I know! Worse in every way. A lot of good memories associated with it but when I got rid of it i was happy. Had a bidding war to sell it which shows the power of the brand and just vacuuming cloth seats before posting on FBM.
  • 2017 Mazda CX5 for $23k - The replacement for the Accord. I had to push a bit for "us" to spring for leather and nicer speakers, and I was totally right. Useful car, no reliability issues at all, and this was pre-kid so I could keep it kind of clean. Some people think this is "fun to drive". No, not really. No CUV is going to be able to do that as well as a sedan or coupe even if they're trying. I believe the latest generation tightened up pretty much every complaint I had with the car so I would absolutely buy it again.
  • 2002 BMW M5 for $23k - If I go too long on this it'll come off weird. It's my dream car, I saved up for years to buy it in cash, and it's amazing.
  • 2019 Honda Odyssey for $32k - Had to push for a minivan. Insanely un-fun to drive. Insanely fun to move kids, dogs, bikes, and gear in. My pity for women who can't get a goddamn grip and upgrade to a minivan from an SUV is boundless. Great purchase, but I can already tell the depreciation will sting, given how poorly we treat it.

In terms of "worth the money" the extra ~$15k/car really went a long way, especially not all of that disappears when it comes time to sell. It should be obvious, but people who don't care about cars don't care about cars. You can drive the same age and mileage model and they're going to be radically different based on who kept up with fluids and tires. Spending the extra money to buy from an enthusiast in the used market is just a no-brainer.

Side note: I don't drive 100+ like SOME of our board members, but I'm a solid "84 mph almost all the time" guy. I've done one 2am cannonball runs at 100+ to make it to the last eclipse. A nice German sedan handles this far better than you'd expect if you haven't been in one.

I'm jealous of your M5. I've always felt like at some point I'd like to own a full-fat M car, but the added expense just doesn't seem overly worth it and I probably never will.

They're still the same price I paid for it 5 years ago, and honestly the money I've paid for repairs would be totally fine if I had tried to be efficient (splurged a bit). Getting one on the right foot has been awesome.

It's not a perfect car. But the feeling when I step back inside of it after a long stint without it never gets old.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats