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What's the best vehicle for my needs?

1145 messages,  Last post on Sep 17, 2009 at 12:59 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying


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#1076 of 1145
Re: Still struggling to find the car for my family. [exb0] by carstryke
Jul 23, 2009 (6:03 pm)
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Replying to: exb0 (Jul 22, 2009 4:22 pm)

get a toyota venza.....a camry/hylander mixed into 1 vehicle and it will literally eat all your storage items
#1077 of 1145
Re: Desperately in need of help/advices [british_rover] by dave8697
Jul 25, 2009 (7:56 pm)
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Replying to: british_rover (Jul 20, 2009 7:37 am)

people who drive 145 miles a week to work can expect to save $25 a month with high mileage vehicles. That amount goes up by $7 a month for every additional 6 mpgs that the ultra high mpg vehicle gets. Bounce that off the $5000 up front cost of a TDI and you'd better be driving 100000 miles in the 3 years to recoup. Then why tout resale value? 100,000 miles is time for a new turbo unit.
#1078 of 1145
Re: Still struggling to find the car for my family. [sebring95] by dave8697
Jul 25, 2009 (8:06 pm)
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Replying to: sebring95 (Jul 22, 2009 6:59 am)

Minivans are anything but mini. Our Odyssey is as big as our previous Tahoe and weighs almost as much...except it handles better, is quicker, gets better mpg, and hauls people/stuff better.
 
My BIL just reached the exact opposite conclusion. He got rid of Ody and got a Tahoe several months ago. His family outgrew the Ody. Loves the Tahoe in comparison. Typical roadtrip for him is 3 adults and 4 children.
#1079 of 1145
Re: Still struggling to find the car for my family. [dave8697] by sebring95
Jul 26, 2009 (5:46 am)
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Replying to: dave8697 (Jul 25, 2009 8:06 pm)

My BIL just reached the exact opposite conclusion. He got rid of Ody and got a Tahoe several months ago. His family outgrew the Ody. Loves the Tahoe in comparison. Typical roadtrip for him is 3 adults and 4 children.
 
I'm not sure how he could come to that conclusion. I put up with the Tahoe for 3 years and tossed it for the Ody. Cargo space with 3rd row is tiny in the Tahoe compared to Ody, 3rd row doesn't fold in the Tahoe, access to 3rd row is compromised, rear doors are more difficult to get in/out. The only dimension that's a little better in Tahoe is width. The Ody and Suburban were the only choices I could see that made sense. I'm normally hauling 2 adults, 2 college kids and all their stuff or four adults and two toddlers. All the stuff was the kicker and I hate roof-top carriers which is what we were forced to use in the Tahoe.
#1080 of 1145
Re: Desperately in need of help/advices [dave8697] by sebring95
Jul 26, 2009 (5:50 am)
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Replying to: dave8697 (Jul 25, 2009 7:56 pm)

Then why tout resale value? 100,000 miles is time for a new turbo unit. Says who? I put 180k on my TDI before it was wrecked. In that time I spent a lot of time on the TDI forums and the funny trend was that the only folks that ever needed a turbo were ones that had a dealer service their cars. That's the first thing a dealer throws at them because they don't understand how the cars work. Sucks, but that's why I say if you need to rely on a dealer...don't buy a TDI. $ for $ on equally equipped cars there won't be a $5,000 difference anyway. If you want to compare a lower-end car to a laid-out TDI....that's the only way.
#1081 of 1145
Re: Still struggling to find the car for my family. [sebring95] by dave8697
Jul 26, 2009 (11:37 am)
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Replying to: sebring95 (Jul 26, 2009 5:46 am)

My mistake. It was a Yukon which is Suburban sized. His 3rd row passengers are 3-4' tall and don't encounter difficulty with egress. I forgot the Tahoe is shorter than the Yukon.
#1082 of 1145
Re: Desperately in need of help/advices [sebring95] by dave8697
Jul 26, 2009 (11:41 am)
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Replying to: sebring95 (Jul 26, 2009 5:50 am)

My neighbor was on his 3rd turbo for his Jetta TDI turbo at 70k mi and they told him he now needed his fourth one. He told me maint and repairs averaged out to $300 per 1000 miles driven over 4 years. He had long got away from VW dealers doing his work.
#1083 of 1145
Re: Desperately in need of help/advices [dave8697] by sebring95
Jul 26, 2009 (2:17 pm)
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Replying to: dave8697 (Jul 26, 2009 11:41 am)

Somebody doesn't know what they're doing or there's another problem causing his turbo's to "go bad". There's a pile of sensors that can make the turbo act goofy and if someone doesn't have the ability to diagnose the problem properly....guess what gets replaced? The turbos are actually very strong Garrett units, which show up in tons of OEM applications. I had no issues with mine even with major power mods starting around 50k miles. That turbo would just whine......really diesel turbos are relatively low boost and should outlast a gas turbo 2-1 easily.
#1084 of 1145
Something Old-School? by plekto
Jul 26, 2009 (6:02 pm)
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My turn:
 
Here's my criteria. I'm not open to compromising on any of these.
 
1 - Rear Wheel Drive - absolute must
2 - Manual transmission - same here. Old-school push-start-it-possible manuals only.
3 - Can be had used for around $12-15K.
4 - Not a roadster. Needs a usable trunk and I'm not *quite* at my mid-life crisis - heh
5 - Not ancient. Cut-off around 2003/2004 or so.
6 - Not a truck (I've already narrowed that idea down to two choices, so no research is needed there).
7: Not Chrysler. GM is fine. Ford is fine but I hate the Mustang(bad interior, handles like a pig), so that gets a singular exception by me as well.
 
The optimal vehicle would be something like, say, a GTI with RWD, if such a thing existed. The last vehicle I had that made me happy and fit these criteria (years ago) was a Volvo 240 Turbo. Small, quick, and inexpensive to run.
 
I'd love to get a CTS, but they are still too pricey. I considered the RX8, but used they are incredibly dubious - loads of used ones need serious attention to the motor or were raced. I don't like the BMW 3 series at all and the 5s are too expensive by far in good shape.
 
So far my list is:
2004 GTO.
2004-2005 C230K Sedan (base model, no electronics to break)
GS300/IS300
 
Any other suggestions?
#1085 of 1145
Re: Something Old-School? [plekto] by british_rover
Jul 26, 2009 (6:10 pm)
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Replying to: plekto (Jul 26, 2009 6:02 pm)

Err the cheap Mercs are not the way to go. There are still plenty of electronics to break and those Mercs also have Fiber optic audio systems. They are the first gen fiber optics and while they don't break often they are insanely expensive to fix if they do. We just had a C-class that we sold lose the Nav screen and the amp. Total cost to fix over 3,000 dollars.
 
I would get a 2003-2002 3 series or 5 series. Either of the straight Sixes in those cars are great engines and they don't have any more electronics then a C230.
 
That gen five series is one of the best looking around and I have sold tons of them used with very few problems. I have sold one guy a couple of them. He buys one with around 50k-75k runs them out to around 250k-275k then gets another one. I think the most serious problem he ever had with one was the rear defroster went out. Not exactly a big deal.

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