NTM the pleasure you get when you realize you're driving a spruced-up brick. haha, really though, go with Saab if it's within your price range. My dad's owned Saabs since before I was born, and they are great.
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Would you recommend your car?
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NTM the pleasure you get when you realize you're driving a spruced-up brick. haha, really though, go with Saab if it's within your price range. My dad's owned Saabs since before I was born, and they are great.
Yeah but they're all gone - 2000 Chevy Prizm (aka the Chevota) 5 spd manual, runs like rabbit and barely sips fumes in 5th. change the oil, don't hit any deer and hey only the glovebox was a chevy part everything else toyota
You DO remember that reliability was specified as being important?
Having owned several Saabs, their reliability does NOT compete with Honda or Toyota.That's a vast over-generalization that isn't correct. Similar work on my 02 Accord and 94 BMW are, guess what, similarly priced, whether at a dealership or an independent shop. In fact, the BMW is often cheaper to work on because most of the things that need to be worked on are easily accessible because the tranny isn't shoehorned into the engine compartment. Of course, the tradeoff is that the BMW requires 4 serious snow tires to drive in the winter, but hey, that's easy! And worth it!
BiTurboMunkie, you by any chance have an old S4?? With the Bi turbo v6? Well i'm an Audi guy myself. And to comment on Toyota, the mid 90's camery is an indestructible car. My friend has one and that thing goes through hell. It has been off roading, is driven very hard, has hit things, had people jump on it, and is always carrying at least 4 teens around, at fairly high speeds, and has not given up yet.
yep, i had an 01' B5 S4. i have always liked audis since i was born. i still remember playing w/ a quattro toy car and seeing princess di's green B4 cabrio on the tube. i've gone through B5 1.8T > TT 1.8T > S4 > B6 3.0QT. i miss the biturbo v6 dearly, but my next car will most likely be a non-audi.
From what I've read, Saabs are one of the most expensive car's to fix if they break.
And I've heard that they do. A lot.
You DO remember that reliability was specified as being important?
That's a vast over-generalization that isn't correct. Similar work on my 02 Accord and 94 BMW are, guess what, similarly priced, whether at a dealership or an independent shop. In fact, the BMW is often cheaper to work on because most of the things that need to be worked on are easily accessible because the tranny isn't shoehorned into the engine compartment. Of course, the tradeoff is that the BMW requires 4 serious snow tires to drive in the winter, but hey, that's easy! And worth it!
I don't think its fair to compare a car from 1994 and 2002. Cars have changed significantly over the years and the ability to work on new cars is getting harder and harder. BMW's have some of the most expensive parts of any car these days too.
Tons of people around here have saabs for some reason. My mom had a saab about 14 years ago and its the worst car reliability wise she's ever had. Now that they are owned by GM I am sure they are better. Parts will expensive too and even though they are made by GM doesn't mean you can stroll into a chevy dealer and have them fix it. Its like taking a Jaguar to a ford dealer. They are nice cars but in terms of long term cost and reliability they won't compare to American and Japanese cars.
I will reiterate to the OP, look at a variety of cars- hondas, toyota, and some american things and decide which one or ones you like the most. Then find a deal.
American Cars:
Horrible Resale (good for you since you are buying used and I assume you want to hold onto this car for a while) so you can get a newer car with lower miles for a lower price
In general good reliability
Very very very cheap parts
Japanese Cars:
Cost More
Good reliability
Better build and materials
Tend to be stolen more (we know two people with civics that got theirs stolen, eventually recovered with pretty much everything taken out of the car)
Well, comparing the 94' BMW to a friend's '95 Accord, parts cost is directly comparable, as is labor at the independent shops we use. For example, a water pump for my car is $63.25, for the Honda, $70.02. Labor rates are the same.
You DO remember that reliability was specified as being important?
Ah yes, the good ol' 900 Turbo Cabriolet. Ran for 13 years. Then the transmission fell off.
not really, the difference is that the 9-2x and the 9-7x are truly badge engineered, while the x-type shares a platform w/ mondeo and gets its parts from ford's parts bin w/ jaguar's engineering. what i've heard is that some saab dealers actually needed to get subie/gm techs for the 9-2x/9-7x. i'm pretty certain that you can roll into a subie independent and have them service a 9-2x.
My Car
My car is a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. L6 Engine with pretty good gas consumption. 4x4 and automatic. Comfy interior with great cargo room. And it's actually a pretty responsive car. I got the car when I was 15 1/2 and it was my first ever Auto so I was ecstatic. My dad bought it for me for 3,500 bucks cash and it was verrrrrry well worth it. I mean, the car was in mint condition.
I highly recommend the Jeep Grand Cherokees, they're really a good bang for your buck. I live in the Lake Tahoe area and I do QUITE a bit of winter storm driving, this car is a BEAST.
Good luck mate.
My car is a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. L6 Engine with pretty good gas consumption. 4x4 and automatic. Comfy interior with great cargo room. And it's actually a pretty responsive car. I got the car when I was 15 1/2 and it was my first ever Auto so I was ecstatic. My dad bought it for me for 3,500 bucks cash and it was verrrrrry well worth it. I mean, the car was in mint condition.
I highly recommend the Jeep Grand Cherokees, they're really a good bang for your buck. I live in the Lake Tahoe area and I do QUITE a bit of winter storm driving, this car is a BEAST.
Good luck mate.
I have a 02 Subaru Impreza WRX. Love it. Very solid and well built car. Not a luxury car but a quality car. These cars are loved by all the car mags and car enthusiasts, that's how it came to my attention. It's like driving a Porsche with a station wagon body on it, a Porsche that's also great in the snow. Great seating position, great engine sound, rock steady, handles really well, very reliable, being a WRX it's turbocharged and very quick and powerful. There were some issues with some Subaru cylinder heads and trannys but they were limited to specific models and years. Look into it and you'll know what to avoid if necessary.
Some cars you might be interested in are the Ford Focus, everyone seems to like those. The Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, are under rated, good little cars that can be had for a song, as are some cars from the smaller Japanese companies, such as the Mazda Protege, Nissan Altima, etc. I like Mazdas, they are nice, well built, sportyish cars that are cheaper than the compriable Honda or Toyota. I also have a Miata and it's a great car, really fun and they have a great reputation for reliability.
Do your homework and read every thing you can before buying and you can get a great used car for surprisingly little money.
PS. Biturbomonkey is correct, the SAAB 9-2x Areo is a WRX with different front sheet metal and other minor changes. They are easier to find with an automatic I believe, as most WRXs have a manual. The 9-2x 2.5 is the non turbo version and has 170 hp rather than 230.
Some cars you might be interested in are the Ford Focus, everyone seems to like those. The Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, are under rated, good little cars that can be had for a song, as are some cars from the smaller Japanese companies, such as the Mazda Protege, Nissan Altima, etc. I like Mazdas, they are nice, well built, sportyish cars that are cheaper than the compriable Honda or Toyota. I also have a Miata and it's a great car, really fun and they have a great reputation for reliability.
Do your homework and read every thing you can before buying and you can get a great used car for surprisingly little money.
PS. Biturbomonkey is correct, the SAAB 9-2x Areo is a WRX with different front sheet metal and other minor changes. They are easier to find with an automatic I believe, as most WRXs have a manual. The 9-2x 2.5 is the non turbo version and has 170 hp rather than 230.
I have a 2000 Honda Civic EX Coupe.
I bought it new in 1999 and it now has over 120,000 miles on it.
I have never had any problems with it whatsoever.
I know that you are looking for a four door car, so my recommendation is a four door Honda.
It is hard for me to think of any other car when I have had absolutely no problems with Honda for over 8 solid years.
Also, I am in outside sales, so I certainly do a lot of driving, and Atlanta is the driving capital of the US.
I bought it new in 1999 and it now has over 120,000 miles on it.
I have never had any problems with it whatsoever.
I know that you are looking for a four door car, so my recommendation is a four door Honda.
It is hard for me to think of any other car when I have had absolutely no problems with Honda for over 8 solid years.
Also, I am in outside sales, so I certainly do a lot of driving, and Atlanta is the driving capital of the US.
"Having owned several Saabs, their reliability does NOT compete with Honda or Toyota."
Saabs are rated as one of the most unreliable car manufacturers by Car & Driver magazine, as well as many other respectable auto publications. They are one step up from Suzuki in terms of reliability, which is not saying much.
Oh, but don't forget, they are engineered by Swedish jet fighter engineers. Ooooohhh, the mighty Swedish military.
Honda is the world's largest manufacturer of engines and they are that way because of reliability, not just because people feel like buying Honda engines for the hell of it.
Saabs are rated as one of the most unreliable car manufacturers by Car & Driver magazine, as well as many other respectable auto publications. They are one step up from Suzuki in terms of reliability, which is not saying much.
Oh, but don't forget, they are engineered by Swedish jet fighter engineers. Ooooohhh, the mighty Swedish military.
Honda is the world's largest manufacturer of engines and they are that way because of reliability, not just because people feel like buying Honda engines for the hell of it.
yeah, autos are definitely more common. kinda a good thing cos they tend to be less abused. now i'm kinda toyin w/ the idea of gettin an '06 aero manual w/ xenons+17" rims... its rarity makes it very appealing.
fwiw, '05 has two engine options: linear (naturally aspirated 2.5L 165hp 166ft-lb of torque) and aero (2.0L turbo 227hp 217ft-lb of torque). in '06, linear became 2.5i w/ 170hp and 166ft-lb of torque, and aero was upgraded to 230hp w/ 235ft-lb of torque.
I can attest to that. We have a power washer with a Honda engine. Nice smooth and quiet running little 5 HP engine. Besides now that it won't start because of my parents ignoring it maintenance wise( true culprit why a car breaks down most of the time these days). My only beef with Honda engines is why can't they design a high revving engine, but have low end power? They're gutless down low.
On topic, I would recommend my 2007 Saturn Aura XR. Good mid size car. It has ample power coming from the 3.6 V6 and the 6 speed auto delivers the power smoothly to the wrong wheels. Though a used one would run you up a bit higher then $10K.
Another recommendation about Honda Civic.
I have one 2004 year of issue. Excellent car! I got it for $18000 (in Russia). You probably know that in Russia cars much more expensive than in Europe or USA as our custom house adds about 50% to the price. I looked through German car-sell website. You can get nice Civic for $10k!
Main advantages of Honda Civic:
1) Fully satisfies your requests
2) Powerful (1.6 L, 110 hp, high rotational moment)
3) Comfortable
4) Nice-designed
5) Honda=reliability
Some possible disadvantages:
1) Ergonomics
I have one 2004 year of issue. Excellent car! I got it for $18000 (in Russia). You probably know that in Russia cars much more expensive than in Europe or USA as our custom house adds about 50% to the price. I looked through German car-sell website. You can get nice Civic for $10k!
Main advantages of Honda Civic:
1) Fully satisfies your requests
2) Powerful (1.6 L, 110 hp, high rotational moment)
3) Comfortable
4) Nice-designed
5) Honda=reliability
Some possible disadvantages:
1) Ergonomics
Attachments
I'm on my third Honda Civic, and all have been great cars.
Never had any pesky electrical problems, no major maintenance issues before 100,000 miles... great cars.
I currently have a 2001 Honda Civic EX 4DR with 115,000 miles. Original clutch, original brakes... only thing I've done is the regular maintenance and oil changes.
Hard to go wrong with a Honda.
Never had any pesky electrical problems, no major maintenance issues before 100,000 miles... great cars.
I currently have a 2001 Honda Civic EX 4DR with 115,000 miles. Original clutch, original brakes... only thing I've done is the regular maintenance and oil changes.
Hard to go wrong with a Honda.
I drive a 2000 Honda Civic (4DR). It's been a great car and I haven't had any problems with it. This car has treated me so good over the last eight years that I know my next car purchase will be a Honda.
Like Feverish Flux up top, I just stick to regular maintenance and oil changes.
Like Feverish Flux up top, I just stick to regular maintenance and oil changes.
