>>>>>>>I have great appreciation of the collected wisdom here and have upon occasion asked for advice. This is one of those times.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>As some of you may recall, my father died last May. He was a successful man and I am due to inherit some money next month.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I do not intend to run around blowing the inheritance extravagantly. Most of it will be spent on my daughters' college educations and left for them to inherit. It will not be spent wildly. Having lost about half my net worth during the recession, my investments will be extremely conservative. But I do have one indulgence in mind. Bear in mind that I have not indulged myself in years. I have not been on vacation in years. My car is over 10 years old and has 120,000 miles on it.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>So I am thinking of running a little amok --
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=newcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=104744155&listingRecNum=31&criteria=sf1Dir%3DASC%26mkId%3D20053%26stkTyp%3DN%26mdId%3D20770%26rd%3D30%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId%26zc%3D60073%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-1-0%26stkTypId%3D28880%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26sf2Nm%3Dlocation%26isDealerGrouping%3Dfalse%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national&listType=1
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>It's not a very expensive car. The Camaro has a high percentage of the Corvette's performance at a much lower percentage of the cost. 22-23K for a beast like this, wow. Great reviews. If I go ahead it will be hard to decide between yellow and orange.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Allie told me last night she thinks I'm nuts. Opinions?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>What's nuts about getting a new car when you need one?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That is not even moderately expensive. My own preference would be for something in the Chrysler 300 series, but the Camaro looks great. Not enough leg room in a Vette. I seem to remember you are even taller than m 6'2" so just be sure it is very comfortable for long drives.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I drive the STS mostly for the leg-room but would probably go to Chrysler 300 for my next car... A certified car about 2 years old usually gives you a better warrantee than new and in the case of the STS or Eldorado I get every couple years means a Cadillac at the price of a new Toyota. You can pick up a 300C or 300 Touring with some pretty impressive goodies for the same price as the Camaro, if you get a certified car about 2 or 3 years old that originally listed for 47K +.
>>>>>
>>>>>But the 300 has a shorter wheelbase than my 2002 Stratus. Having a 6' 3" husband with long legs, our next vehicle will probably be some form of crossover.
>>>>
>>>>My daughter drove a rental Stratus and loved it. She was convinced it was going to be her next car. Then she fell in love with the Dodge Charger. When it came time to buy, we settled on the more economic Chevy Malibu. At least the grille is great :) All kidding aside, it's a great car and drives like her Pontiac G6 which we drove to Colorado and back and was very comfortable. The interior is almost identical too.
>>>
>>>A Malibu? That will keep her imagination from running wild ;-)
>>
>>My daughter leant to drive in her great grandfathers old car which he had given up driving (a Honda) . Mechanically (engine,brakes steering etc) it was in tip top condition but the body work was shocking. He had whacked almost every panel into something in his final driving years.
>>
>>It was stolen after she'd used it for a couple of years and we received the princely sum of £25.00 from the insurer.
>
>25 pounds, LOL. But not unprecedented. When I met my wife she was driving an old beater until it dropped, literally. She had to pay someone to haul it away.

Someone I know had an old car which she loved but finally decided to sell. It was on the marker privately for £200 for some time before selling. On the day the buyer was due to collect she loving polished it up and vacuumed the inside. When the buyer arrived she tearfully went to meet him with the keys, service history, documentation etc. He had a lorry with one of those three-pronged grabs, stuck them through the windows and lifted the car up by the roof. She was in tears as he drove away....

>
>She was an accountant and viewed cars with a green eyeshade POV. In her own words, she thought of cars as a means of getting from point A to point B. When we started dating I still had the second Vette and taught her how to drive a stick shift one Sunday morning. She engaged first gear cleanly, pressing down on the pedal like she had to do with old Betsy (her nickname for her car). It leaped forward like a tiger. "Oh!" she said involuntarily. Oh, no, I thought, I've created a monster.
>
>The funny thing is the last speeding ticket I have received was driving Betsy on the way back from a weekend getaway in Wisconsin 25 years ago. It was a classic speed trap. The speed limit went from 50 to 35 to 25 in the space of about 200 yards, with a trooper sitting just past the 25 mph sign. I didn't know Betsy had it in her to get caught speeding.