Car Opinions - Looking to Buy

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paulmichelsen
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Car Opinions - Looking to Buy

Post by paulmichelsen »

So my lady needs a car she has been using my truck for the last four months and it is getting old only having a truck for running errands, going on trips, etc. So I have decided to break down and buy her a car, we are looking at buying used as I refuse to buy a new car when i can get the same damn car used for a lot less money. We are looking at 2006-2009 and I don't want to spend more than 20k. Right now these are the cars I am looking at, we have to go test drive some cars to see what she likes as ultimately that's all that matters (right?).

Audi A4
Passat
Jetta
Accord
Volvo S40
Mini


Now my choice would be an Accord because my dad is buying my mom a brand new one so here 200X that has 50k on the odo. is going up for sale and I could probably get a really good deal. But it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that I think she wants.

Basically my truck was in the body shop a few weeks ago and we had a 08 Passat Turbo rental that she was driving and now she wants a new car that has the get up and go and all the leather, heated seats, etc.

So if you own a car on the list or know someone that does let me know your thoughts, comfort, repairs, etc.

Thanks for the help.
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kg1961
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Post by kg1961 »

DO NOT BUY A MINI :shock:
that was the worest car I have ever owned 2004 mini copper classic
It had 4 tranni, batterys, alt, power window motor problem shit I can do this all day. it spent 146 day of the first year in the shop
I bought a new bmw 2007 328 and got a POS
very happy now with my 2008 E90 335i
the vw/audi are nice just be careful if buying used on turbo cars
most of my gear is gone :liar:
2020 honda accord sport
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stipud
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Post by stipud »

My dad's 2000 Accord hasn't needed a single repair since day one. That's right, no repairs in 8 years of ownership. Still runs like new. Absolutely incredible reliability. All he's done is routine maintenance (fluid, tires and brakes). The engine is decent, but the automatic makes it boring as hell... it's so slow to shift, and will often kick down at the worst possible moment. Not the best for driving sportingly, but just fine as a DD.

The brand new A4 is a nice car. Again, I found the automatic to be a bit slow, which surprised me. Reliability on their newer models is much much better than the late 90's and early 00's.

I thought the 2.0T was much better in the Jetta and A4 than the Passat. With tuning it would handle the heavier car much better, but from the factory I thought it was a little underwhelming for a european turbo sedan. Then again I am used to a 300hp Saab, so my definition of necessary speed is probably higher than most people. The new Passat CC looks absolutely stunning however.... I would love one of those.

The Mini is like a go-kart. It's a driver's car... doesn't make the best DD.

I absolutely love the S40 (I have a thing for Swedish cars hehe). The biggest downside I can think of in that car is back seat space. It's practically nonexistent.

Some cars I have been eyeing recently are the VW Tiguan and the Volvo V70R. The Tiguan comes stock with AWD and the 2.0t in the base model, and they are heavily discounted... cheaper than Golfs in many cases. Interior is very good on them. The V70R is just a beast... 300hp AWD wagon with huge brakes :D

You should also add the Subaru Legacy GT to your list. Very quick and reliable.
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scorpio86
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Post by scorpio86 »

i mean w/ a girl no offense but you want somethin reliable so she doesnt hafta worry about anything.. i would go with a nissan or toyota of her choosing.. have had excellent luck with both.. course none as new as your speaking of.. always factor in cost of repairs.. more expensive usually.. for a turbo car if something goes wrong.. etc..
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stipud
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Post by stipud »

scorpio86 wrote:i mean w/ a girl no offense but you want somethin reliable so she doesnt hafta worry about anything.. i would go with a nissan or toyota of her choosing.. have had excellent luck with both.. course none as new as your speaking of.. always factor in cost of repairs.. more expensive usually.. for a turbo car if something goes wrong.. etc..
That's what I was thinking as well. Turbo cars are high maintenance and expensive... SOOO much fun, but you really have to enjoy working on cars.

That Accord seems like too good of an idea to pass up. If that Accord is the V6 model, it would be no slouch either. The I4's are bulletproof and are lots of fun at high revs.
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scorpio86
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Post by scorpio86 »

yeah like stip said if you can get a good deal ona accord.. it would be hard to pass up.. but it depends on how good the deal is verse what she wants aswell...
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oldskoolmseriesfan
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Post by oldskoolmseriesfan »

Stay away from the Passat, I had a 92, biggest piece of dog shit EVER. Tranny took 2 mnths to fix 3000 out of my pocket and the shop that fixed it put another 3000 out of his pocket. 3000 was my quote he gave me, and he had such a hard time finding parts and then actually trying to fix it. He said he has never seen such a headache in his life. He said he has never let a car come out of his shop 100% fixed, thats why he footed the rest of the bill. Rebuilt tranny from Toronto was 6300, then it would be shipped by train to Van.
Anyways the car ran great after it was fixed (for maybe another 2 months) and then the electrical went and that was that. I asked around at different dealers (VW) and they said that model year was a fucken joke. My .02.
Id go with the Honda or the Volvo personally.
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Post by Half-Fast »

Accord. Maybe not the most exciting car ever, but reliable as a hammer.
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thedeal7235
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Post by thedeal7235 »

personally i luv my audi A4-2002, no issues, except at 95k the oil light came on, oil was full-the oil return lines were made too small, and the sludge build up caused the engines to die, so i got a new engine for free, with newer, larger oil return lines, catch was, i had ALL my oil change recipts when they were due, that was my saving grace-others werent as lucky, as they did not keep their oil change recipts, or they bought them used-that gave the factory the ability to say not covered-my nephew has the same as mine, diff. color, 2003, he bought used, and has had issue, after issue, after issue-wife has a 05 4runner, its a good , decent suv, but A4 has spoiled me with AWD, and if i let her, shed take the A4 everday-
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Jacampb2
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Post by Jacampb2 »

I have a 2001 Jetta 1.8T. It is my wife's DD and has pretty much been a trouble free car. The biggest problem was the fucked up plastic clips in the window regulators. The passenger window just dropped into the door one day. Turns out that the window is held to the regulator by two plastic clips that fracture and fall apart over time. I had it all pulled apart and was going to fix it myself when I read online that Audi and VW (they are nearly the same cars) were fixing it free as a courtesy, even out of warranty like mine. We were just inside the "extended warranty period" for it, and the local VW dealer replaced it w/ no issues. The new design is now metal, and should not have the same issues.

Anyhow, the car is very quick, nimble, and fun to drive. I like driving it nearly as much as my old '97 Camaro SS. My biggest complaint is it is really frigging small, however, it does have an enormous trunk, and when I get my wife something bigger for hauling the kiddies around, I am going to steal the Jetta and put a killer system in it :)

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Me-262
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Post by Me-262 »

VW and window regulators = lol. We were lucky, I had a 95 Jetta GLX, wife had an 01 Golf 1.8t and the windows were fine.

That said I do not recommend VW. They are VERY COOL cars, lots of oohph with the turbo or 6 cycl motors but Jesus Christ they can't build a solid car. I babied my Jetta, only drove it in the summer. Every year I had to pump in $700 to fix this or that. My wife leased the Golf from new, within a month the dash was creaking, took it in and the creak would come back a week later in another location. Literally took the car in 3x in a row over 2 months from new and gave up.

Towards the end of the lease the 1.8 kept throwing CE (check engine ) lights. Replaced $500 worth of f-ing sensors and it still kept coming back. While I took a look , I could see the main wiring harness under the hood was starting to crack. VW uses hard plastic around their wires and little bits chip off. This on a 3 year old car.

Bottom line = of all the cars you've listed the Honda will be heads above the rest. Want powaaaar , get the V6. Stupid Hondas will last literally forever, they build such an amazing machine.
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Post by gfunk_nz »

that's a pretty varied selection of cars, the passat is probably going to be the best equiped for the money and the biggest in terms of leg room, the A4 is a smaller platform and you pay a premium for the 4 circles, the S40 is just the entry level of Volvo and probably a close match to the Jetta, the Honda, well I've never been a fan of them but that's just me, I prefer euro's for the build quality etc.

Of course everyone will tell you something different, so just see what takes your fancy, one thing i do know from owning a bunch of VW's is they are pretty damn reliable and cheap to fix, cheaper over there as I get the parts sent from America anyway, more than I can say for a civic we used to own
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