In his new, headline-only posting style, RF uncorked a bottle of worms (bottle of worms?) by asking if you’d pay $55k for a fully dressed Lincoln MKT. In this case, fully dressed means 355 hp/350 torques from the EcoBoosted mill, AWD and decent mileage (22 mpg) for a six-seater. Most people said, “Ha ha ha! NO WAY!” As a natural born contrarian, I wanted to simply point out that no one batted an eye while paying $60k for a fully loaded, less roomy, less powerful, F-150-based (meaning way crappo inside) Lincoln Navigator a few short years ago. And those monsters got 14 mpg. Jolly Jack Baruth took it a step farther and points out that the Ford Flex is all kinds of awesome, and the MKT has a better interior complete with individual DVD players. Jack actually likes the MKT. I just hate group think. But, here’s my question — if the MKT isn’t worth $55k, what is? To satisfy the Talmudic scholars amongst you, I refer specifically to passenger sedans. If you had to spend $55k (no more, no less) on a new car, paying list price, options included, what would you buy?
97 Comments on “Question of the Day: What Would You Pay $55k For?...”
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This is too easy, but I’ll bite.
I’d happily pay $55,000 for a new Ferrari Enzo. Red, please.
If it has to be a passenger sedan, then my fallback is the ever-appealing AMG S65.
What do I win?
Cicero :
Bastard. And I mean that in an entirely complimentary, non-flaming way.
What do I win?
Reading lessons.
In this case, fully dressed means 355 hp/350 torques from the EcoBoosted mill
Why are you speaking Clarkson?
The MKT happens to meet my needs, so my answer might be the MKT.
Without the impending arrival of my son, Heinz-Harald Baruth, I think I’d be likely to pick up a Challenger SRT-8 or the new Shelby GT500.
BMW M3
I wanted to simply point out that no one batted an eye while paying $60k for a fully loaded, less roomy, less powerful, F-150-based (meaning way crappo inside) Lincoln Navigator a few short years ago.
You’re right, Jonny, I wasn’t batting an eye. I was mentally vomiting every time I saw one, and laughing at the poor suckers who were dumb enough to buy these ultra-depreciation monstrosities. And what is a Navigator worth today?
C63 AMG
I think for me, it would boil down to 3 cars: Audi S5, LS3 Corvette, and Jaguar XF.
I’ll go with the obvious answer here:
M3 Sedan (base model $54850)
Edit: I think a lot of people skipped the directions
Honestly nothing new. The only things in that price range that one cannot get cheaper are the Corvette and Boxster. Everything else in that price range is just fluf put on top of a cheaper platform (i.e. the MKT on top of the Flex or the M3 on top of the 328i).
So my “only one new car at MSRP” answer is a new C6, checking performance option boxes up to $55K.
2009 Corvette Coupe 2LT
$50,110
Z51 Performance Package
$1,695
Rear Axle, 3.42 ratio, limited slip. Included and only available with 6-speed manual transmission.
$0
Transmission, 6-speed manual, short-throw. Includes 3.42 axle ratio.
$0
Exhaust, Dual-mode, performance, increases horsepower, adds 6 hp, aggressive exhaust sound.
$1,195
Wheels, 5-split spoke, Competition Gray-painted aluminum, 18″ front and 19″ rear.
$395
Corvette Museum Delivery, Acknowledgement form required.
$490
Delivery
$850
Total MSRP $54,735
The remaining $265 can go to buying antacid to deal with the disgust of buying a car from bankrupt, bailout sucking GM. The Corvette is the best car for $55K, but my next car will be a used Miata, probably for about 1/10 of that amount.
2nd on the M3
Also, Jonny, nobody (ok maybe 5 people) paid $55K of their own money for a Navigator. It was all leases and sub-prime auto loans, along with some cash-out refis. Some people don’t realize how much they’re throwing away when the dealer runs the numbers creatively.
The 2010 Audi S4.
2004 Audi A8 ($25000). Then I’d spend about a grand to put independent turn signals in the rear (I wish whoever integrated them with the brake lights died a painful death).
2004 Range Rover HSE ($23000).
And spend the rest in gas driving around in style for a year.
In today’s economy – that’s easy. A house.
Or if you’re in Michigan, two or three.
Audi S5, and pick it up at the factory!
Corvette Convertible would probably be my first choice. Automatic because the great part about Corvettes is that you can be both hardcore and lazy with the same car. Automatic is good for the lazy part, paddle shifters for the hardcore part.
Mercedes Benz E350 would be my choice of a regular sedan.
I’ll take a black Infiniti M45 Sport for a couple hundred under 55K or a fully loaded G37x AWD for about 50K.
A decently optioned Miata and a decently optioned Prius. That totals about $55K, right?
Another option I’d consider would be a Volvo V70 wagon and I’ll take my change in Yarises.
I’m with no_slushbox — there’s nothing in that price range that I think would be worth $55K new except the Corvette, and I wouldn’t want a Corvette.
Caddy CTS-V, Audi S5, or the M45 Sport as lowmanjoe suggested
nudave :
In today’s economy – that’s easy. A house.
I’m with you, nudave.
I consider myself a car guy, and I’m glad there are phenomenal machines like the ‘Vette, M3, etc.
But even though I could qualify for the loan, and make the payments, I honestly don’t have any inclination to spend $55k for a car.
Give me $55k and I’ll purchase an old Mustang, Camaro, or even a Bug, and build a detached garage (paved floor), install a lift, and buy a whole bunch of tools to work on the car with.
argh, some of you guys are so lame. the game is what $55k vehicle would you buy, not what would you do if you won 55 thousand dollars in the lottery..
me? i’ve never driven anything even remotely close to a $55k car, but I have a feeling I would really like the Porsche Cayman S.
Guys, new car, list price!
If you had to spend $55k (no more, no less) on a new car, paying list price, options included, what would you buy?
Can it be a truck?
Dodge Ram Hemi Hybrid, or Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid.
I don’t think I’d want any car that cost $55k. But show me a big ass truck that can haul all my stuff and do it with the mileage of a sedan and I’ll take it.
Maserati GranTurismo … it’s only a small discount off the sticker price, in this down market, haha.
C O R V E T T E here as well.
If I were to spend $55k on a vehicle it better be making $ rather than consuming it.
I’d get a nice used pre EGR daycab semi-tractor. A Sterling A9513 with Detroit or KW T600 with a Cummins are good values.
If I had to get a car(s) I’d split it:
A Long wheelbase TJ Wrangler with all the aftermarket goodies installed by the previous owner.
A a nice 2nd gen MR2 or NSX as a track toy and daily driver. I might even have a shop do a EV conversion on the MR2.
This was tough since I wanted to stick to the “rules” as close as I could.
I narrowed it down to the Audi A6 3.0T, Lexus GS460, or the Volvo S80 V8 AWD. In the end, I would buy the S80 (+ collision avoidance package and a cargo mat) because that Yamaha V8 sounds awesome and the car comes with a heartbeat sensor. Final price: $54,987
So there you go, I pick a Volvo.
If I had it to spend…
Porsche Cayman
Lotas Elise
BMW M3
or
more likely a Miata and another Mazda3
I’m trying to beat-up– er “work with”– my Lexus dealer on a new (demo) IS-F. $55k ought to do it. If the salesman’s reading, less. Enough for a couple of set of snow tires. Oh, and does anyone really need that sixth seat? I reckon it’s either five (sedan) or seven/eight (minivan).
The post says passenger sedans, which isn’t an awfully good comparison.
For $55k, you can get a lot of nice sedans — the mythical M3 without options, or various fully loaded luxury sports or midsize luxury sedans, but none are, of course, going to offer nearly the passenger capacity as a MKT, and few are going to have similar engine output (of course, the MKT is a *luxury suv* as opposed to a sedan, and even with 355 hp isn’t going to be terribly agile).
With current incentives, *if* you could find a base G37 (as unoptioned luxury cars are about as common as leprechauns on dealer lots) for $30k; the $25k above that is paying a premium for fairly minor upgrades (until you hit the M3, but then you’re looking at unoptioned for $55k) to a very solid car. So it’s not that great of a comparison — to get a $55k sedan, you *have* to drop cash on overpriced premium features. Not so much with other car classes.
That said, if you gave me $55k for a sedan (and I couldn’t buy a G37 and pocket the rest), I’d load up a 335i, tick the “European Delivery” box, and ask to spend the leftover in the process of picking the thing up.
M3 if it had to be a new car, but I’d rather spend the money like this:
$10k or so for a used wrx wagon, for camping and snowboard trips, etc.
$5k for a used truck for hauling and towing duties.
$10k for a 240z in good shape with minimal rust.
and the last $20k to turn that 240z into a track monster, soup up the wrx a bit and maybe get a motorcycle.
Oh, and if it were any vehicle for $55k, helllooo ‘09 Boxster S.
Since I can’t afford to get the M3 convertible it will have to be a 335i convertible with Logic7, cold weather package, metallic paint, comfort access, and iPod adapter = $54,750.
I just threw all the options on the335i xDrive configurator and it came out to $55k. So, that’s probably a good choice. I’m pretty sure it won’t be difficult to get a S5 up to that level either.
People seem to be ignoring the “passenger sedan” constraint. But I’ll do one better.
As far as luxury minivans go, there aren’t many, so the MKT is probably the best. What are you going to get a R350? I think not.
But as for what they should have bought, the luxury wagon, the correct answer is Audi A6 3.0T Avant
I would have picked the Buick Park Lane straight from AUS $51,000 (6 litre version, not the Chinese 3.6)
Hell no. Another Detroit 3/4 ton dinosaur.
Anyone recognize that Obama intends to kill off all of these vehicles?
The Ecobost is the ICE of the near future. Direct fuel injection eliminates much of the diesel advantage. Better choice would be intro in the Fusion\Milan. Hogs are dead.
Where to begin?
2010 Audi S4, BMW M3, AMG C63, Porsche Cayman.
Plenty of tempting toys for that kind of cash – just not from Lincoln.
What Corvette goes out the door for $55k? The dealers here(in Warren MI, so that says a lot)would be delighted if you handed them $40k for one. And give you an Impala for about $14k to drive in the winter.
Cayman
No car is worth $55k. I can think of at least 10 new cars right now that would put a smile on my face every day for under $25k. The extra $30k is another year I can retire early.
Seriously, I don’t care how much money you have, work sucks, family is awesome, and that’s that.
ca36gtp:
“Why are you speaking Clarkson?”
Clarkson’s true greatest innovation to auto journalism is his realization that most people aren’t engineers.
Hence rather than writing “350 lb-ft of torque,” I write 350 torques. Much easier.
I stole that directly from Jeremy Clarkson. I admit it.
You want my lawyer to contact yours?
Hyundai Genesis and a new boat.
The best luxury and real-world sports cars are worth $30K to me, and supercars are worth $150K to me (if I had that kind of money.) Everything in between sounds like a down payment on a house.
A fully loaded 335i 6 speed sedan, thanks
Okay, someone here needs to represent the “going-down-with-the-ship” Panther contingent, so I will:
2009 Lincoln Town Car Signature L, fully loaded at $54,710 (What other new vehicle offers a whitewall tire option?)
Just an amused observation =)
It’s nice to see all the love for the ‘Vette. The Vette, Cayman/Boxster and Elise/Exige are the only cars out there worth $55k in my opinion. You can’t really go wrong with any of those choices
If it has to be a sedan, I’d take a G8 GXP with a 6 speed and get a motorcycle to go along with it
I’d go with a base model 535xi wagon, thank you very much. $55,800 or thereabouts.