[marvin]

Quote:

I know the car and specs.  Just wondered why there aren't any running around boosted to 1.5 BAR or otherwise.  Honestly I haven't seen one in over 5 years.  Yes FWD is a limiting factor for traction in high performance for sure.

Guessing low sales numbers (only 25k were produced) and much higher than normal attrition for the SRT4. Neons in general have been vanishing from the US as valuations are too low to be profitable on the US used car market, so they're off in Mexico or some third world country. They're certainly not the type of car that would inspire the sort of devotion that 80's and early 90's Honda and Toyota occasionally get.

 

[Uncle Erik]

A couple other "missing" cars come to mind.

One is the old K-car. Used to be everywhere but haven't seen one for years. I remember driving one for driver's ed in high school. A K-car might be retro/ironic cool today. Parts should be easy to find and cheap.

The other car I haven't seen much of but ran across one yesterday is the Chrysler Crossfire. The styling is unique, they're RWD and they came with a clutch. Might be fun, but its Mercedes engine would make me pee myself. Any major engine repair would likely clear five figures, while these are selling for $10k-$15k.

 

[cifani090]

Quote:

A couple other "missing" cars come to mind.

One is the old K-car. Used to be everywhere but haven't seen one for years. I remember driving one for driver's ed in high school. A K-car might be retro/ironic cool today. Parts should be easy to find and cheap.

The other car I haven't seen much of but ran across one yesterday is the Chrysler Crossfire. The styling is unique, they're RWD and they came with a clutch. Might be fun, but its Mercedes engine would make me pee myself. Any major engine repair would likely clear five figures, while these are selling for $10k-$15k.

Ya, i was at the Woodward Dream Cruise last year i saw a very nice black Crossfire with the lambo doors, and on that car it just looked amazing. It didn't look hilbillyish or anything, but it was bad azz. Every once and a while you can find them for $8000, but not in black. I think i may be able to get an Avenger after all. Just get a plain jane, than buy some leather seats at a junk yard, other wize if i were to get an R/T the insurance would be too high.
 

 

[Uncle Erik]

The Avenger is a nice ride. Not some extreme sports car or huge performance, but I drove one from LA to Arizona a few times and it was nice on the highway and around town. Didn't wring it out or anything, but it seemed like a good daily driver.

 

[Ishcabible]

I don't really want to hijack cifani's thread, but I don't think this question is worthy of a new thread, and I'm not in the mood to join a car site just to ask one question and never return.
 
So, we only have one car that my dad drives to work every day from 7AM to 8-9PM. Because of this, and my tendency to participate in way too many extracurriculars, presents the need for a new car. We're looking at a 4-6 year old semi-luxury car for me to drive until I get to college, then my dad gets to use it when I'm gone and my sister gets stuck with the minivan.

We'd go with something like an Accord, but something about a car with a nicer interior, fancier features, and seemingly more safety features--quicker handling at the very least in the event that it is needed, extra power (not really a safety feature, but a quicker trigger can help prevent an accident, at least in the terrible scenarios I make up in my head...), AWD because I live by Chicago and snow can fall from September to April here. (I'll admit it. I'm freakin spoiled in this case. I have a hunch that it's because I'm the only boy in my family, even extended family that I'm aware of. So family name thing. And my dad secretly has wanted one of these cars since they came out and if we bought them new my mom would kill him.) And then there's just the warm feeling that we have something more interesting than an Accord.
 
So far, we've narrowed it down to the following: a 2006 Acura RL for roughly $17,000, a 2005 Audi A6 for roughly $16,000, a 2006 Infiniti M35/M45 for roughly $18,500. The thing about the Acura is that we know someone who repairs Hondas and Acuras, so parts and repairs would be relatively cheap. I'm aware of the sketchiness of Audis--my best friend has a 1998ish A4 Avant that's in the shop pretty often, but I've also encountered people who've never had to take their Audi to the shop other than for maintenance. And the Infiniti seems to be pretty solid all around.
 
Has anybody happened to have tried/owned any (or all three?) that can provide input? Are we being impractical? Thanks

 

[N0sferatu]

I have a 2007 certified pre owned Audi A4 and it's been rather reliable except for 1 electrical fix I had to do.  Going the CPO route I got a 6yr/100K mile warranty on it was a really good deal so any repairs are a cheap fix.
 
It isn't that bad to insure (Infiniti I found was considerably higher to cover).
 
I have it with Quattro (AWD) and the V6.  As a 2007 model back in '09 I got basically a 2 year old car, fully loaded (nav, bluetooth, hid, MMI (theyre top tier audio setup), awd, v6, etc.) with under 30,000 miles on it for $24,000.  Can't really complain.

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

I have a 2007 certified pre owned Audi and it's been rather reliable except for 1 electrical fix I had to do.  Going the CPO route I got a 6yr/100K mile warranty on it was a really good deal.
 
It isn't that bad to insure (Infiniti I found was considerably higher to cover).
 
I have an A4 with Quattro (AWD) and the V6.  As a 2007 model back in '09 I got basically a 2 year old car, fully loaded (nav, bluetooth, hid, awd, v6, etc.) with under 30,000 miles on it for $24,000.  Can't really complain.

 
Oh, I forgot to include this in the post. We talked to our insurance people, and for some reason, the only factor in cost is the year. A Geo and a BMW of the same year would cost the same. An Accord would actually cost more to insure than any of my mentioned cars.
 
And that's reassuring, thanks! That's one point for the Audi.

 
 

 

[cifani090]

Quote:

I don't really want to hijack cifani's thread, but I don't think this question is worthy of a new thread, and I'm not in the mood to join a car site just to ask one question and never return.
 
So, we only have one car that my dad drives to work every day from 7AM to 8-9PM. Because of this, and my tendency to participate in way too many extracurriculars, presents the need for a new car. We're looking at a 4-6 year old semi-luxury car for me to drive until I get to college, then my dad gets to use it when I'm gone and my sister gets stuck with the minivan.

We'd go with something like an Accord, but something about a car with a nicer interior, fancier features, and seemingly more safety features--quicker handling at the very least in the event that it is needed, extra power (not really a safety feature, but a quicker trigger can help prevent an accident, at least in the terrible scenarios I make up in my head...), AWD because I live by Chicago and snow can fall from September to April here. (I'll admit it. I'm freakin spoiled in this case. I have a hunch that it's because I'm the only boy in my family, even extended family that I'm aware of. So family name thing. And my dad secretly has wanted one of these cars since they came out and if we bought them new my mom would kill him.) And then there's just the warm feeling that we have something more interesting than an Accord.
 
So far, we've narrowed it down to the following: a 2006 Acura RL for roughly $17,000, a 2005 Audi A6 for roughly $16,000, a 2006 Infiniti M35/M45 for roughly $18,500. The thing about the Acura is that we know someone who repairs Hondas and Acuras, so parts and repairs would be relatively cheap. I'm aware of the sketchiness of Audis--my best friend has a 1998ish A4 Avant that's in the shop pretty often, but I've also encountered people who've never had to take their Audi to the shop other than for maintenance. And the Infiniti seems to be pretty solid all around.
 
Has anybody happened to have tried/owned any (or all three?) that can provide input? Are we being impractical? Thanks

Your fine

My older brother just got his second car after crashing his first. His new car is an 1999 Infinity QX4, but about 4-5 months into having it, in the winter time, he hit a tree. It was a nice car, and were trying to find a totaled one with the front end intact to take the parts and transfer them.
 

 

[macshooter]

'10 STi  here.  Lots o' fun   Yeah, go Subaru if you want AWD.    
 
Quote:

If you will have to deal with snow, a well-maintained Subaru will be the best first car. A properly maintained Subaru should give you 250,000 miles of service easily. Note though that I am biased -- I had an '08 STi that is now modified by the new owner, and recently bought a '99 Forester for my dad. I also helped out a friend buy a 2010 WRX and later on a 2011 Impreza Outback Sport.
 
The older 2.2 subaru engine is practically bullet-proof, but slower than the 2.5's. A few unlucky pre-2003 Subaru's with the 2.5 engine have had headgasket issues -- luckily the internets have the info that you need to check for before purchasing.
 
If there is no snow to deal with, used Honda's and Scion's are almost always a good idea. Scion tC's are all over the place, you just need to find one that is not modified and/or abused with teenage street-racing.
 
While my 2001 Audi A4 2.8 5MT Quattro that I bought used last year, has been problem-free, I will still recommend that you avoid german cars outside of warranty. Things break, and that's why used prices are very attractive. Parts are getting cheaper for german cars, but labor is a killer. They are only worth it if you can do the work yourself, or know of a trusty mechanic that charges very little in labor.

 

 

[Ishcabible]

Disregard the choices before, I talked to my dad about it again last night and wants an Acura. He's considering the aforementioned RL, a 2008ish RDX, and a 2008 MDX all for around the same price, but the RL is a thousand or so cheaper after haggling and stuff. Anyone have any experience driving the MDX? I don't want something that feels huge, but it's the most sensible for us. I abhor driving a minivan because of how unwieldy it feels to drive which makes me slightly worried every time I park or come across a 90 degree turn without a stop, and anything even slightly better would be fine with me.

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Disregard the choices before, I talked to my dad about it again last night and wants an Acura. He's considering the aforementioned RL, a 2008ish RDX, and a 2008 MDX all for around the same price, but the RL is a thousand or so cheaper after haggling and stuff. Anyone have any experience driving the MDX? I don't want something that feels huge, but it's the most sensible for us. I abhor driving a minivan because of how unwieldy it feels to drive which makes me slightly worried every time I park or come across a 90 degree turn without a stop, and anything even slightly better would be fine with me.

The MDX is a large vehicle (7 passenger seating does that) and does't shrink at all when you're driving it. Better than the box on frame SUVs that GM puts in this class, but worse than the 2011 Chrysler minivan I rented a couple of weeks ago. Doesn't come with the packaging advantages of that minivan either. Rearward visibility also kinda sucks, so the back up camera is a bit more than a "nice to have".
 
Far as sensible goes, a new low option midsized sedan is pretty difficult to beat in the long term total cost of ownership department. The Accord (larger), Camry (smoother), or Altima (sportier) are only a couple grand more than the high end of the range you've quoted earlier. A compact sedan would be well within your price range and have an even lower total cost of ownership, but may be too small for your needs.

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

The MDX is a large vehicle (7 passenger seating does that) and does't shrink at all when you're driving it. Better than the box on frame SUVs that GM puts in this class, but worse than the 2011 Chrysler minivan I rented a couple of weeks ago. Doesn't come with the packaging advantages of that minivan either. Rearward visibility also kinda sucks, so the back up camera is a bit more than a "nice to have".
 
Far as sensible goes, a new low option midsized sedan is pretty difficult to beat in the long term total cost of ownership department. The Accord (larger), Camry (smoother), or Altima (sportier) are only a couple grand more than the high end of the range you've quoted earlier. A compact sedan would be well within your price range and have an even lower total cost of ownership, but may be too small for your needs.

A new car would cost more for insurance than a used luxury car for some reason...I don't get it either. We could have gone with an Accord if it wasn't for that. But like you said, it'll probably have a lower term cost than a used car even taking insurance into account.
 
I've tried driving a Traverse and that was absolutely no fun to go around in. But if the MDX is even slightly better, then that would be an acceptable trade off for the extra space my mom wants for IKEA trips, for band gigs, fencing meets, golf outings, and impromptu situations we may have to stuff extra people in a car. Not as good as a minivan, but better than with a sedan.
 
I misread the post; the Chrysler minivan is better? Dang. How comparable was the visibility?
 
Thanks!
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Why no Lexus IS/GS AWD choices?

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

Why no Lexus IS/GS AWD choices?

Totally forgot about the IS, I should look at that. And two reasons I didn't consider the GS are rather shallow. Y'see, there's this girl that thinks I'm really creepy for some reason, and her parents happen to have a GS, and if we got one, I'd never hear the end of it. Well that, and my dad has this stigma that Lexus sedans other than the IS are for "old people" and refuses to even consider it (The RL isn't? Well I've seen more "riced" RL's than any of the others, which maybe gives him the idea that it's a bit better in that regard?). And then there's the fact that I haven't seen one dip under $22,000. Shame, since before my friend thought I was creepy, I rode in hers and it was super comfy.
 
Anyone have experience with Volvos? Particularly the older S60, S80, and XC90

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Dang. How comparable was the visibility?
 
Thanks!
 

The MDX suffers from the usual CUV visibility issues when compared to a minivan. Vehicle height is about the same, but the extra ground clearance pushes seating positions up while the stylishly high beltline cuts down on the amount of glass. I'd say rearward visibility is poor in the MDX, but not the worst I've seen.