I guess you can call my a success story,
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=4059201#post4059201
Just be patient
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=4059201#post4059201
Just be patient
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first car hard choice
- Thread starter muffinman
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Are 90's VWs reliable?? How about 90's BMWs? How are 90's Volvo's??
Sorry, I am quite inexperienced in these, ahem, "older" cars. But, the R6 or the CLS 500 or the G37... oh gosh.
do you know the muffin man, that lives on drury lane?
I think early-mid 90's VW's are a lot more reliable than the new ones which are very costly to repair and break frequently- mostly electrical. A good thing about the 90's jetta's is that there are probably a lot of parts out there.
My mom had a Volvo back in the day- 1990?. She didn't particularly like it- bland, not very comfortable, but my dad wanted her to get it. I think it was pretty reliable. Like other euro cars it was expensive to fix here in the US.
BMW's I can't really speak for, but I know they have some of the highest repair costs around. Buying an old fairly high milage european car is sure to have problems not too far down the line so it doesn't exactly make sense to buy one that has high repair costs if you know what I mean.
I suggest trying not to buy a car with CV joints, they always seem to go bad between 90k and 110k and they are awfully expensive to fix, not all cars have them.
I will reiterate, be patient. Don't jump on something just because you want a car. You should see what's available, what the best deal is, what's in the best condition, etc.
Have you considered a Jeep? Literally all of my friends that bought cars have Jeeps- mostly grand cherokees and cherokees, a few wranglers, its totally ridiculous how many people have them. They are pretty comfortable, not too bad for an American car fit and finish wise, kinda quick for an SUV, average fuel economy for an SUV, reliable (aside from chrysler A/C products), inexpensive themselves and very cheap to fix.
I don't know... do I?
(annoying sarcasm)
The CV joint doesn't always go bad, but a new boot may be needed at some point.
Of course failing to replace the boot will get you a larger repair bill.
IMO, 80s Volvos are some of the most reliable cars ever. 90s volvos were good, but not nearly as great as the 80s. I know several peoples 240s that went for over 200k miles, and i have heard of a few that have gone over 400k 
(shocked)
90s VWs are great from what i have heard, but for the 2000s, the repair costs skyrocketed.
I have always wanted a BMW, but given the history of most german cars having high repair costs, i steer away from them.
(shocked)90s VWs are great from what i have heard, but for the 2000s, the repair costs skyrocketed.
I have always wanted a BMW, but given the history of most german cars having high repair costs, i steer away from them.
I'm very partial to BMWs, and given the relatively low mileage, I would definitely look at that. But then again, this is my personal choice.
Either way, have your mechanic (one that you TRUST) take a good look under the hood and verify it is in good working condition.
Either way, have your mechanic (one that you TRUST) take a good look under the hood and verify it is in good working condition.
Look at Kelly Blue Book and find the Blue Book value for each car. Divide the Blue Book value by the car's selling price to see how much of a deal you're getting. The car with the highest quotient wins.
Aside from this, I'd personally get a BMW. I always wanted a Bavarian car.
Aside from this, I'd personally get a BMW. I always wanted a Bavarian car.
Hah. KBB is so off with many of their prices. It's completely ridiculous to use when buying a car. It's only good when collecting money from your insurance company.
Edmund's True Market Value is much more accurate in telling you what you should be paying for a car.
I'm looking at a 95 Jetta III with like 110k miles for $3000 plus dealer fees. But i keep reading online reviews, and most of them have random stuff going wrong (door locks fall through the door, windows stop working, knobs falling off etc). All relatively minor stuff, but can be a bit of a hassle, especially since VW parts are a little hard to come by for a good price. Is this something i should be worried about?
Non-AWD BMWs have CV joints?
Um......yes, unless your hometown is a place called Disneyland. Otherwise, magical deals like this won't happen, no matter how hard you try to believe it's true.
Price-wise, I would say no, it's not too good to be true. Extensive modification like that usually lowers the resale value significantly. However, I still wouldn't touch it with a 10' shifter. I mean really, 20"s? What was he thinking?
Subaru is the automotive division of Fuji Heavy Industries. Toyota owns 8% of FHI, after GM sold their 30%. Reliability wise, they're pretty good. Easily going 150k+ with regular maintenance. Things to check for: wheel hubs, timing belts and tensioners, water pump, power steering (tends to burn out quickly if you keep the steering wheel at 100% lock while doing donuts in the snow
). You could probably find a 1.8L or 2.2L Impreza for about $5k.Honestly if you are concerned about about reliability you should not be buying a European car. Even if they are *somewhat* reliable, they are very costly to fix. I would be concerned if door locks stopped working. What do you do if your door doesn't lock? You have to fix it unless you want stuff stolen- like another VW driver that wants a new knob
. Windows aren't as big of a deal. Door's falling through the door seems pretty serious. I wouldn't get a "cool" car and have it be an absolute beater in a year because you can't afford to keep it up. Then you just look like an idiot driving around a car where nothing works. My friend has an 1988 BMW 325i- the windows don't work, the glovebox is missing and a pen in jammed into the dash to keep the light from turning on. All these false warning lights are also on. It also has this strange electrical problem that makes the turn signals blink inconsistently.
A lot of my friends see to be getting SAABs, but I wouldn't recommend them. I would say Volvo is your best bet- everyone owns them around here so they must not be that bad. They've got class (no style IMHO but w/e) and must be pretty reliable. They're pricey to fix but I doubt they will break as much.
Get what you want, as long as you can afford to maintain it.
Alright, i'm thinking no on the VW
But I did find a 1995 Subaru Legacy LS with almost 160k miles but new tires, and a recent tuneup which replaced the timing belt and water pump. It just passed inspections. Anything else I should know about/look for? Is this a decent deal, or should I try to negotiate?
But I did find a 1995 Subaru Legacy LS with almost 160k miles but new tires, and a recent tuneup which replaced the timing belt and water pump. It just passed inspections. Anything else I should know about/look for? Is this a decent deal, or should I try to negotiate?
Get the BMW. After two years of non stop research, I finally decided on a '93 325i (the '92 is the same chassis, E36, but has what some say is a slightly more reliable engine than the '93-'95 ones). Overall BMW's are very reliable, easily topping the list you provided. When you drive one is feels like it just drove off the lot. Mine has 105k/mi with nothing more than basic maintenance and still turns heads, accelerates like a sports sedan should, and regularly takes 30 mph turns at nearly double that speed –*and feels too slow!
The E36 is now a 15 year old design and is considered to be one of BMW's most successful product runs. Parts are the same as any other car (actually cheaper to fix than my mom's toyota suv). As with any used car, there is always the possibility of getting a lemon, so have the car checked thoroughly by a trained mechanic and get a list of everything that is wrong – it won't be very long on a Bimmer with those kinds of miles.
When it comes to used japanese cars, there is a reason the '99 civic is the same price as the '93 BMW. The Japanese build great engines (I personally believe the Germans are just as good, if not better. Old Mercedes and BMW's regularly go passed 300k/mi, some as high as 600k
I've never seen a japanese car do that.) that are reliable and easy to fix. However, they lack the refinement that German cars possess, and, as they age, tend to feel quite cheap. The reason they're so inexpensive to begin with is because the car is made out of thin plastics and sheet metals that is easy to mass produce. Up until the early '90s all Mercedes cars were individually inspected by a white gloved engineer! If you look around you'll notice that many of the design cues and refinements that first made their appearance in BMW's are now copied onto every other car out there. The E36 in particular contributed greatly to modern car styling, performance, and handling. BMW (and Mercedes!) are always the first to try something new and revolutionary, with all the other companies playing catch-up (sounds like Apple, doesn't it?
)My car:
Good luck!
Given that you don't live in the snow belt, I'd go for the BMW. A '92 sun belt car, with only 70,000 miles does indeed sound fine. I'll second the advice some have already mentioned, and have it checked out by an independent mechanic. The seller should not protest this. He is asking you to part with a sizable chunk of your cash.
As always, drive what you like.
Talking about the Mercury and the insurance company basing the rates using the old fart car discount method, added a used 07 ... it added about $575/year to the insurance policy for full coverage.
Sort of odd seeing that for a year long policy, instead of the old policies 6 month cycle.
Sort of odd seeing that for a year long policy, instead of the old policies 6 month cycle.
If you look around you'll notice that many of the design cues and refinements that first made their appearance in BMW's are now copied onto every other car out there. The E36 in particular contributed greatly to modern car styling, performance, and handling. BMW (and Mercedes!) are always the first to try something new and revolutionary, with all the other companies playing catch-up (sounds like Apple, doesn't it?
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but you can't say talk about revolutionary car companies without mentioning Audi. They invented all wheel drive and were the first to make cars with high belt lines and smaller greenhouses which everyone is emulating now. I like BMW (at least up until a couple of years ago) and I think the E36 is one of the best looking cars ever made, but it was Audi who really pushed modern car design forward.
I wasn't necessarily recommending KBB for anything. It was just the one service I thought of at the time. Besides, they were only mentioned to convey the concept of buying the best value car.
By the way, who is to say that a particular service is more accurate than another? Unless you've completed a comprehensive comparison of the different services and their results, your opinion doesn't matter much. Edmunds can't be entirely accurate, either. It just goes to show that if you want a truly accurate price, get someone to appraise the thing correctly.
