What should I go test drive?

[V1GiLaNtE]

MPG on the WRX isnt great, and it needs premium gas. Food for thought.

every car on that list takes premium and gets mediocre mpg

Wrong: Mazda3 takes regular and averages 27 mpg

[SlimKlim]

i love the 2.0T. its a big step up from the 1.8. its a pretty stout, economical engine that makes nice power stock and has a good ceiling if you want to push it further. there are 2 versions - the early FSI (MKV cars) and the later TSI (MKVI cars) engines. they are similar in numbers but the TSI is completely redesigned, and better. the FSI engines have a reputation for wearing down the cam follower that controls the direct injection, and both of them can be susceptible to carbon'ing up if you pussyfoot around in them due to the direct injection, although i think its signifcantly reduced in the TSI. my guess is that the only ones that will probably fall into your price range are the FSI engines.

Mike, Jay, and John at GetFast here all have MKVI 6-speeds and love them. my dad has a MK2 TT with the FSI/DSG combo and its fun, and feels quicker than numbers suggest.

don't get me wrong, A4's drive nice, but they're heavy, complex German cars. if that's your bag, you'll probably enjoy it. i'm just saying that they are needy cars and it sounds like the M3 has worn you down from that already.

tell you what, if you wanted an automatic, an IS300 would be perfect. autos are everywhere, they're anvil reliable, comfy, and not too big but still spacious enough for 4 people + luggage. plus they look hot and are RWD.

WRX's are "analog" cars for lack of a better word - simple, utilitarian, loud, and by some measures crude. its just how subaru does things. but if you want to get around in any weather and like a bit of good old fashioned turbo lag they're the most entertaining thing on the used market right now in that price range.

Awesome, thanks for the tips. If I end up having a bit more to work with in my budget I'm going to test drive both the A4 and MKV. I'd probably end up going for an MKV with the DSG, that combo has always really appealed to me for a DD.

That's kind of what I don't like about the WRX, but you can't always have your cake and eat it too. Also, a stock, lowish mileage WRX (if I can find the last one out there) can't be nearly as loud and rattly as my 180k mile M3 with a droney exhaust.

My wife had an 05 TL for a couple years; what a sweetheart of an engine. I think the tranny problems are overblown, internet gibberish. The prior gen TL had issues, but I think they worked that out by the time the 04-07s came out (I'm sure you can find cases if you look, but that is going to happen no matter what). We piled the miles on and it ran buttery smooth right up until we traded it in to get her Leggy.

Don't underestimate the idea of having a cheap, efficient econocar for tooling around and then something fun at home. I loooove driving the WRX, but I have a hoot of a time thrashing my 18yo, 130hp Accord and still getting 30+ mpgs constantly. Course, I cruise down the interstate with virtually no traffic compared to the hellhole that is DC, so you might feel the need for something else.

Thanks, that's good to know. Sounds like the "no reverse" issue on the E46 automatics. According to the internet every car ever blows out its reverse drum at 100k, when in reality its a relatively small percentage of the early production cars. I'll definitely test drive the TL and a 330i.

That's kind of my hesitation about going for a straight econobox. If I was living out near my parents, my commute would be a twisty country road, then a blast down an empty highway to wherever I was going. If that was my "commute" I'd have no problem rocking a 160hp fuel-sipper because I could get it wound up and never lose momentum. But up here in this shithole, I can't get 12 feet without someone slamming on their brakes from 60-25 and then flooring it up to 70 again in their 350hp Mercedes SUV. I feel like more often than not I'm forced to crawl down an on-ramp at 30 mph, then either floor it to get out into an open lane, or get stuck in the fustercluck in the right lane.

That's why I like the idea of something with more torque, but I'm sure I could adapt my driving style to deal with less power, its not like 160hp with a manual trans is *that* bad.

The IS300 doesn't hold a whole lot of appeal for me, if I was going to have a straight-6 and RWD (stick or automatic) I'd rather have an E46.

[SlimKlim]

I forgot one, how about a 05-07 Saab 9-3 Aero 6spd- 250hp, Turbo V6, FWD, not-awful gas mileage, pretty well optioned, comfy and fun to drive. Suuuure the company went in the shitter, but I'm pretty sure another company is still producing parts for them. You can get them super cheap... since the company went in the shitter.

Eh? http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/...1469&Log=0

[Evan]

MPG on the WRX isnt great, and it needs premium gas. Food for thought.

every car on that list takes premium and gets mediocre mpg

Wrong: Mazda3 takes regular and averages 27 mpg

maybe you should read the first post again, son.

[davej]

If I get more of a salary than I'm expecting, I'm still going to look at the A4/GTI, I just love those things even though I know better.

Screw everyone and common sense...go vag, I'll still be your friend. =]

[G.Irish]

If I get more of a salary than I'm expecting, I'm still going to look at the A4/GTI, I just love those things even though I know better.

Screw everyone and common sense...go vag, I'll still be your friend. =]

Well if you go VAG make sure you have VW Jesus (Blair) bless your car before you drive it.

[SlimKlim]

Is it completely crazy that I really like the Saab idea?

From what I've been reading they aren't particularly unreliable, if you stay away from the 03s and 04s. Otherwise its no worse than what an E46 would be. Parts shouldn't be an issues, there are plenty of the things around to keep parts in demand.

It has more power than the E46 and wouldn't feel like I was buying the same type of car (granted a much nicer one) that I already own, and its comfy, pretty nicely optioned and fun to drive. I might go test drive that black one down in Stafford, or see if one pops up a little closer.

[ButtDyno]

Cliff's notes: Saabarus are awesome.

Longer story: I had a WRX for a while, mostly dedicated autox car. I loved it and all but I had it for eight years. Sold it to buy an Evo, which I don't regret. But that car was tough and awesome and didn't have any failures I couldn't blame on autox. (and the "glass" 5-speed has over 1000 autox runs on it now).

I daily'd an E36 M3 from 2008 til June. I loved that car too, but it does require maintenance that is well out of its price range (i.e. it's still a $42K car even if you only buy one for $10K). I found a Saabaru for $9250, 77k miles and totally stock, heated seats/moonroof and bought it.

Here's my mileage since then - a couple highway trips have that skewing a little higher than reality, but it's probably ~1 mpg better than the M3 was. The only mod that's really on it is an uppipe (really helps w/ lag). It's a hatch, I can throw shit in it, I don't care what I park it next to, and the heated seat thing is pretty awesome. Better yet, it's a Subaru underneath so it should still be tough and reliable and awesome. And for $1K I can get a whole bunch more whp into it (will probably do that in the spring). One thing though, there aren't a lot of them period so there are even less with leather/HIDs. HIDs are the only thing I wish I had... leather can suck it in the winter/summer.

If you want to see one up close or something, LMK.

FWIW I do think the 9-3 is a great looking car, but I'd much rather have a Subaru drivetrain than a Saab one.

[SlimKlim]

Getting kind of turned off on the Saab after getting into the research. A bone-stock V6 Aero is still an option, provided it's had a clutch replacement or has extremely low mileage.

Apparently the freaking things have clutches made out of pudding, and its impossible to get a straight answer about it on the Saab forums. Everyone tells you to tune them and you'll be fine and you'll only have to spend $300. Then I read a dozen threads about people who had just done tunes, and instantly developed misfires (not that big of a deal) and clutch slip (a pretty big deal). They don't really have a good option for an uprated replacement because they use a dual mass flywheel, so you need a friggin engineering degree to find a clutch that will work.

Now I'm thinking I'll see how cheap I could get a DSG MKV GTI, plug an APR tune into it and drive it for a couple years without doing anything else. Either that or go full ecobox with the Mazda3 hatch.

I still haven't test driven anything...

[CaptainHenreh]

LOL, buy a GTI. You deserve it. After all, your BMW engine tried to commit suicide by fluid loss, so you'll be used to the GTI constantly trying to kill itself.

[SlimKlim]

I just might do that.

I doubt an MKV would be constantly trying to commit suicide over the next few years. And any shit that a 06-07 with 80k miles could throw at me would pale in comparison to what the E36 has put me through. I'm a German shit-pile war veteran at this point.

I have accepted the fact that all the cars I don't like are intelligent, financially responsible, and low-stress ownership experiences, and everything I do like completely sucks balls. It is what it is.

[CaptainHenreh]

That's a problem with you, not the market.

You want a 2004 Honda E63AMG, and they don't exist. I've looked.

[CaptainHenreh]

And any shit that a 06-07 with 80k miles could throw at me would pale in comparison to what the E36 has put me through. I'm a German shit-pile war veteran at this point.

And yeah, even a new VW would *never* give you any problems, right?

[SlimKlim]

Sucks balls he had to lemon law it. For what it's worth the GTIs are built in the Germany or South Africa plants, not the Mehico one.

But whatever, shopping for cars isn't fun anymore.

Maybe I'll just light the M3 on fire and buy a $30k car like everyone else. Except anything I'd pick would develop a transmission seep and no start in 10k miles.

Bicycle it is.

[V1GiLaNtE]

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Saw this.. In case you want to keep fighting the crazy german plague you have..

[SlimKlim]

I'd buy an E39 but thanks to Lauren I pretty much already have one to use on the weekends, so getting another would feel redundant.

One option I'm keeping in my back pocket is buying someone's finished project off of bimmerforums. There are some guys out there that enjoy the build more than the drive, I've seen some E34 540i's that are about as "restored" as you can get for well under $10k. It wouldn't have any of the features a post 2005 car would have, but it would be be drop dead gorgeous, ride well, and be easy to keep going (for me). Same goes for an E46, I know them well enough to be able to buy one with all the right maintenance done, and I'm familiar enough to do most repairs pretty easily.

I just like the idea of something doing something a little different. I've burned myself out on daily shopping/research for a little bit. Everything I get excited about turns out to be a bad idea when I research it, or I post it here and someone else tells me why its a terrible idea. I think I need to wait until I have cash in hand and settle on my budget and what I want actually want to do with the E36.

Rex I acknowledge the problem is with me, never said it wasn't.

[Jake]

I mean, it's not an issue of "picking good cars to own" I don't think. None of us want to DD a wheezy Honda Fit while our super-awesome toys sit in the garage. Anything interesting will have some quirks. You just gotta figure out what you want to be dealing with. If you're constantly going to be worried that the tissue-paper clutch in a Saab will explode as you merge onto 28 and bark the tires a little bit, then maybe you shouldn't get a Saab.

Most people don't go to forums to post about how much they love their car that never breaks. That's about as interesting to read as a blank sheet of paper. Go look at the E36 or E34 forums on Bimmerforums, and you'll think that the cars were shipped over here from Germany pre-broken.

IDK, I like the MkV GTI idea as something that is nice-ish and entertaining-ish. Or you could find the gray-on-gray automatic TL that started all this nonsense and call it a day.

[JustinG]

buy a XJ.....

[.RJ]

I dont think an MKV GTI would give you any problems... the only possible hangup I can think of is that if you get the DSG then fluid changes are expensive ($400 every 20 or 30k miles).

[SlimKlim]

Don't like XJs, only like WJs.

See:

I have accepted the fact that all the cars I don't like are intelligent, financially responsible, and low-stress ownership experiences, and everything I do like completely sucks balls. It is what it is.

;p