My turn for a "What car should I buy?" thread!

My old ~250k mile '99 Passat 1.8T finally crawled to it's last mile yesterday. Now that my sister is out of a car, my family is trying to decide how to make up the gap.

We could either buy my sister something cheap and reliable, manual, and practical; or we could buy my mother something marquee, late-model (like an end-of-lease) and give my mother's '02 Acura TL type-S to my sister.

Haven't put too much thought into it yet, but for my sister I was thinking a hawkeye Imprezza or a Saabaru (she loves old Saabs but doesn't/wouldn't know the difference). My mother would love something like an E90 328xi. She may even go for an Allroad Quattro with a coilover swap to make it more reliable.

GO

:attention_whore:

Here's what I've sent them so far. Warning: sounds like a sales pitch.

Mom: BMW E90 328xi - This is an AWD sedan. The engine platform is pretty old with this particular model so it's a reliable drivetrain. Being an I6, however, the engine is as smooth as it gets. This particular generation has been replaced with the F30, so prices on the 2012 an below are artificially deflated because demand has moved onto the new platform (regarded by many, including myself, to be inferior to its own predecessor). Also, in my experience, BMW's infamous "the ultimate driving machine" slogan carries truth, on the whole.

Sister: Saab 9-2x. This is a manual AWD wagon. It's actually a Subaru platform from Subaru's best years, but without the recognition of a Subaru badge from their best years it doesn't carry the inflated price. Not to mention the suspension was tuned by Saab so it drives better than the rather lifeless Subraus. We would need to make sure that this generation of Subaru's H-4 engine doesn't have the "ringland" issue, which happens intermittently and requires an engine rebuild.

Sister: Honda Fit. Honda's Fit also just went though a redesign recently so they're looking to get rid of old stock, artificially accelerating depreciation of the older but excellent model. It's a very small, anemic car but has a lot of driving character. Has unintelligible practicality for its size. They do have interior panel issues in the long run, though, which could lead to panels rattling. Also had some seal issues in the rear hatch and sunroof in early models, but may have been fixed. I'd have to check up on that.

Mom/sister: Audi Allroad Quattro. These are cars that are known for their poor reliability, but it all comes down to the air suspension. This is a car we'd buy at a relatively low price, then fit some aftermarket coilover suspension. The coilovers can be chosen to suit the purpose - comfort, sporty or racey, and don't fail or need service every 10k miles (also, contrary to popular opinion, good coilovers last longer than OEM suspension typically does). So you're left with a really great 2.7L twin turbo V6 engine, good chassis (it's based on the Passat's) and Audi's full-time AWD.

Definitely not a quattro and the fit, imo.

What's the budget here?

Also, depending on the budget, why not just lease a new car (on the cheap) for one of them?

Lease is throwing money away. Get your sister something practical, it's what women want.

9-2X Aero. It's a Subaru WRX with better suspension, better interior, and a subdued body kit.

^ This. Leases make sense when you like new cars and have to take care of cash flow. Not really the situation here, although my parents are saving for retirement.

Tkulhanc134 said:

Definitely not a quattro and the fit, imo.

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Why not the fit? I think it makes the most sense financially.

snobrdrdan said:

What's the budget here?

Also, depending on the budget, why not just lease a new car (on the cheap) for one of them?

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The budget is a point of contention in the family, lol

My dad wants to fix the Passat. Says "his guy" found an engine for under $3k. No ECU. This is what we're dealing with here. He's replaced the engine in my sister's old Volvo for about 3k (which was totaled a year later), replaced the front suspension of the Passat for 2k when it didn't need replacing at all, and now he thinks its the best idea to put a new engine in the 16 year old car rather than pay an extra $2k for a car that won't have problems for at least 5 years.

His stance, though he'll never say it out loud, is that my sister ought to pay for her own car. And he has a point, given she's out of college now. What he doesn't consider is that she's been turning down job interviews because they're too far away and she can't make the drive with the Passat.

Point out to your dad that replacing the engine in a 16 year old car is like putting a new floor on a rotted subframe....

The only thing i don't like the idea of fit is slow as a turtle, the car is fine otherwise.

VR6Growl said:

Point out to your dad that replacing the engine in a 16 year old car is like putting a new floor on a rotted subframe....

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I wish there were some rust to point to, but VW are fucking rust-proof. 16 years of winters with salted roads and the thing has zero frame rust.

Tkulhanc134 said:

The only thing i don't like the idea of fit is slow as a turtle, the car is fine otherwise.

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Eh its for my sister. She doesn't care much for kinetic energy.

Pass down the '02 TL and replace it with a '12 TL SH-AWD.

Do not get an allroad (or any 2.7T audi) for anyone who is not a mechanic, period. They ARE reliable cars but only with a lot of maintenance and a lot of little mods/fixes to deal with design issues. I would own another allroad myself, but I would not recommend one to a friend or family member.

If you want to go Audi, go 3.2 or 3.0T in an A4/A6. The 2.8 is also reliable if you get a manual. Skip the 3.0 at all costs and skip the 5-speed automatics, those are time bombs.

On the super cheap side, B5 A4 2.8 quattro 5MT is similar to the passat and will run forever. You could probably buy one for the "$3k" you're thinking about putting into the passat.

The ultimate cheap+reliable+manual+practical car is obviously a base 03-08 5MT Pontiac Vibe. See us on the other side for more tips.

sounds like at 250k miles on passat... id buy another passat, couple year old one shouldnt run too high. i saw some TDI passats out there priced right at $20k. 250k out of a 1.8t... good for you guys. thats a commitment.