What Car?. Opinions upto $35k approx

[Rye GB]

I'm about to trade a 5 year old Lexus IS300 with 97k on the clock for a new used car. I'm not interested in brand spanking new.

I recieved a speeding ticket 18 months ago for doing 119mph (I was in a Dodge Wagon, forget the name but it was a beast) on the way upto San Francisco near King City so my insurance is steep to say the least.

My dream car is an M3, if not for the insurance issues I could cop one with about 40k for $35-38,000 a little over my budget, but heh!..dream car.

My other options are an 03-04 Audi A4 wagon, 03-05 BMW 3 series wagon, 03-06 Volvo Cross Country or 04-05 530 BMW sedan.

I'm shopping around yahoo, carmax and socal BMW and Audi sites. Any suggestions?.

I also have a 2000 Chevy Tahoe that's my workhorse so no more SUV's.

Cheers.

 

[skalogre]

Outsider choice? Subaru Legacy in wagon form. Much more reliable than the two, much more of a sleeper and less likely to attract attention of the Police and people willing to vandalise your car. My gut feeling is that the insurance will be lower, also. The Volvo's are nice but unfortunately the modern ones have been suffering from some serious reliability problems. The PAG penny pinching has seriously damaged Volvo's once unassailable reliability. My wife's old 1987 (I think) 740GLE went all the way to 293000 miles before the slushbox transmission gave out. Mind you it never had much maintenance, was full of oil sludge, et.c. We only got to drive it for maybe 7-8 months before it died (was handed down to us). Would have easily made it to half a million miles I think if properly maintained

 

[Rye GB]

Thanks,
I was considering the WRX Wagon or Forester but my wife hate's those.

 

[kronik]

Originally Posted by Rye GB

My dream car is an M3, if not for the insurance issues I could cop one with about 40k for $35-38,000 a little over my budget, but heh!..dream car.

Ditto.

I have nothing constructive to add.

 

[DMcG]

I have a 2005 Legacy GT Wagon and love it. I had a 2002 WRX Wagon before it which was also great (until it was totalled). The Legacy is a more "grown up" car in every way. Nicer interior, more sedate exterior, more comfortable. A lot more cargo capacity too. I never would have been able to fit a twin size mattress or a 50" rear projection LCD TV (in the box) in the back of the WRX. The Legacy is also faster in a straight line.

Like skalogre said reliability should be better than the options you listed and though I haven't compared things I wouldn't be surprised if maintenance costs are lower.

That being said it won't feel as solid as the other cars. I don't have much hands on experience with the latest Volvo's but my girlfriend's 1997 850 feels better put together than my Legacy even though its older and has more miles. I also had an E46 BMW wagon for about a month while I was working in Germany and it also felt better put together than the Legacy. You do get something for the extra money.

 

[Rye GB]

Originally Posted by kronik

Ditto.

I have nothing constructive to add.
Any info as far as maintenance and running costs?. I hear both sides of the coin. I guess the people with serious cash find the upkeep nominal, and then others groan about dealer only oil changes and back tire costs etc. Do you know how far they run before transmission replacement?. I also know that 01 and 02 cars had problems. Apart from that I'm pretty naive about the specifics of the M3.

The 08 400hp V8 is insane, I'll probably have a stroke the day I see one on the road. There will be plenty here in LA!.

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by Rye GB

Thanks,
I was considering the WRX Wagon or Forester but my wife hate's those.

There is also the Saab Sportcombi but again, unfortunately, modern-day Saab reliability is not what it used to be.

A few more ideas:
Jaguar X-Type wagon

Mazda6 wagon

VW Passat wagon

Subaru Outback Wagon

Subaru Legacy Wagon

For ease I linked them to the Edmunds site, you can use that to compare.
The only ones that are known to be reliable are the Mazda6 and the Subarus. The Passat is nice but reliability could be an issue. Ditto on the Jaguar.
You may find somewhere used the Lexus IS Sportwagon, I know not many of them were sold, could be worth a look. I remember that primarily due to that advertisement with the faux rally stage footage. That was rather insulting considering that the Celica (and to some extent the hatchback Corolla) held Toyota's head high and proud in the WRC yet Lexus is who gets the association in the USA, but I digress...

Now ideally if you were able to, the M3 Touring (IIRC) or the Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon but that is a pipe dream...

 

[DMcG]

Originally Posted by skalogre

There is also the Saab Sportcombi but again, unfortunately, modern-day Saab reliability is not what it used to be.

Speaking of Saabs, if you're looking at used cars there's also the Saab 9-2. AKA an Impreza Wagon in Saab clothing.

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by DMcG

Speaking of Saabs, if you're looking at used cars there's also the Saab 9-2. AKA an Impreza Wagon in Saab clothing.

Excellent point!
While the whole notion of a SAABaru is insulting to Trollhattan (sp?) cars. at least they picked an excellent car to base it on. Better than the 9-7 truck abortion they released.
Maybe they will go for good prices used, too!

 

[zjpj83]

I have an Outback and a WRX wagon, and both have been pretty good for the money. I will be replacing the Outback soon, probably with another.

If you bring in used cars, there are MANY options.

 

[Rye GB]

Thanks, keep it coming.

For M afficianado's the M5 Wagon is my deam car that I'll never be able to afford. I believe it will sell at $90,000+. Anyone seen pics of the rumored M3 Wagon?.

 

[Rye GB]

Originally Posted by zjpj83

I have an Outback and a WRX wagon, and both have been pretty good for the money. I will be replacing the Outback soon, probably with another.

If you bring in used cars, there are MANY options.

I'm only looking at used cars with a max 35k on the clock.

 

[DMcG]

Originally Posted by skalogre

Maybe they will go for good prices used, too!

When the whole GM family was running huge discounts this included Saab and the 9-2 was a fantastic bargain. I'd assume this would trickle down to the used market but maybe not.

And yeah the 9-2 was much less an insult to Saab's history than the prettied up Trailblazer (I think thats what the 9-7 was based on).

 

[skalogre]

Found a review of the 2002 Lexus IS Sportcross

A side effect is that if you liked your IS, this is more of the same with more space. You even get the same tremendous JDM aftermarket if you are interested in that as this is just the US version of the Japanese Toyota Altezza.

 

[DMcG]

Originally Posted by skalogre

Found a review of the 2002 Lexus IS Sportcross

A side effect is that if you liked your IS, this is more of the same with more space. You even get the same tremendous JDM aftermarket if you are interested in that as this is just the US version of the Japanese Toyota Altezza.

Its a shame that wasn't available in the US with a manual transmission