First car possibilites

[CJ]

Okay, so I'm looking around eBay and realizing that I really don't want the Camry as my first car.  My dad and I have been talking about this as well.  So, I've narrowed it down to a few vehicles. 

In order:

1.) W124 300 TD or TE wagon with less than 150,000 miles
2.) Volvo 740 Turbo sedan or wagon with less than 125,000 miles
3.) Hyundai Elantra GT hatch withunder 75,000 miles and a manual transmission


But here's the catch...It can't be more than $5,000.  On a budget, and it's a very tight budget.  We'll sell the Camry and use that money for my car.  We'll also get my dad a new car so everyone will have transportation.

[the Teuton]

Location?

[Raghavan]

Um, congrats?

[Colonel Cadillac]

I'm not so much a fan of the Hyundai, but it may be one of the more practical choices. I have no idea how the 740 Turbo held up, but it does have a turbo and those at higher mileages may be bad news.

[CJ]

Greater Dallas area.

[sandertheshark]

The less miles the better.  If that's all you're looking at, I think you should go for the Hyundai.  How willing are you to expand your options?

[CJ]

I'm looking extensively on eBay and Auto Trader. 

[the Teuton]

If you got AWD, which you really don't need, would you rallycross it?

[Raghavan]

I'd get an Accent or something as to have the lowest amount of miles possible.

[CJ]

The less miles the better.  If that's all you're looking at, I think you should go for the Hyundai.  How willing are you to expand your options?

Very.  That's just what comes to mind at this point in time.

[CJ]

If you got AWD, which you really don't need, would you rallycross it?

I would LIKE to, but that wouldn't be possible...this IS, in fact, Texas.

[sandertheshark]

Very.  That's just what comes to mind at this point in time.

Okay, what's your overall criteria? besides the price tag.

[CJ]

I want to have something better than the Camry that HASN'T been wrecked.  And I'd like a sunroof.  That's about it. 

[TheIntrepid]

I want to have something better than the Camry that HASN'T been wrecked.  And I'd like a sunroof.  That's about it. 

Better than a Camry, not wrecked, and a nice sunroof.

[ro51092]

You probably could find one around your range too. But I'd drive an Intrepid over my dead body.

You could find a B4 Passat for around $3.5-4K

[CJ]

Umm.....I'd rather not drive one of those.  They're way too big, too expensive, and, being a Chrysler product, reliability will be iffy, at best.

[TheIntrepid]

Umm.....I'd rather not drive one of those.  They're way too big, too expensive, and, being a Chrysler product, reliability will be iffy, at best.

160k and I've yet to see any problems. Too expensive? HA! Too big, maybe.

[CJ]

Are B4 Passat's reliable?  I like the look of them, but I'm not sure how reliable they are.

[ro51092]

Umm.....I'd rather not drive one of those.

I'm with you on that, bro.

[TheIntrepid]

Are B4 Passat's reliable?  I like the look of them, but I'm not sure how reliable they are.

They're VWs. No they're not reliable. Seriously. VWs are great cars but horrible reliability.

[ro51092]

They're VWs. No they're not reliable. Seriously. VWs are great cars but horrible reliability.

No, Trep, ELECTRICS on VW's are unreliable. The mechanicals should be absolutely fine.

[CJ]

160k and I've yet to see any problems.

Oh really?  What about your thread in The Garage about your climate control?  That's a problem, is it not?

[ro51092]

Oh really?  What about your thread in The Garage about your climate control?  That's a problem, is it not?

On second thought, stick to the Camry.

[ifcar]

I don't think I need to name my top choice at this point, but just in case CJ has missed every other cheap used auto advice thread:

[TheIntrepid]

No, Trep, ELECTRICS on VW's are unreliable. The mechanicals should be absolutely fine.

Exactly. It's unreliable.

Oh really?  What about your thread in The Garage about your climate control?  That's a problem, is it not?

My dealer said I fucked it up by leaving the A/C on and just turning the fan on and off. I don't need the fan on when the A/C's off, so I just leave it the system off when I open my sunroof/windows (which is 90% of the time). I don't see how I messed it up, but I guess I did.

[ro51092]

Exactly. It's unreliable.

Define unreliable.

[sandertheshark]

Ok, I plugged that (<$5000 and <100k mi. +sunroof) into cars.com for the Dallas area and found a '94 Volvo 960, a '97 Nissan Maxima, a '94 Infiniti J30, a 2000 Mazda 626, and a '98 Civic.

[CJ]

Huh....I'm looking at a '98 Passat 2.8 GLX and it looks to be a pretty darn good deal.  Pretty cheap to boot.  I think the B4 is a serious contender now.

[the Teuton]

I say Legacy 2.5 GT. 

[CJ]

Oh, and I'm also looking atlate 90's-'00 Saturn SL2's.