Okay all you Station Wagon owners - what do you drive and how do you like it?
- Thread starter MMcG
- Start date
Its a 1999.5 Audi A4 Avant 1.8T Quattro. God I love this car. I can go to the snow with it, haul my bikes, etc. By far the best car I have ever owned (out of 9 total).
That looks like a nice clean wagon. Additional advantage is that it probably has the 2.2l motor which was not subject (AFAIK) to the blown head issue that the 2.5 had.
Nice, for sure. But probably not in the price range at which our esteemed colleague is looking...Its a 1999.5 Audi A4 Avant 1.8T Quattro. God I love this car. I can go to the snow with it, haul my bikes, etc. By far the best car I have ever owned (out of 9 total).
True. I found mine for $13k after all of the transfer fees etc. Its a bit more than hes looking to spend.
That 97 subie is still available - I hope to test drive it tomorrow.
That thing has *really* low miles.
Make sure you have the mechanic check the CV joints & the cam seals.
CV joints?
Cam seals?
Cam seals?
so what should I be on the lookout for with these two items? Hopefully this is at a reputable dealership and they will have done a thorough inspection before selling.
Nice. If you like it, I'd start your offer at 4350. I personally wouldn't go above 4800 for that car, unless it's spectacular. Remember if your financing it, the used car rate is 6%, so for a three year loan (for 4800) that would add about 500 bucks to total cost to you for the car. Just something to consider.
Cam seals have a tendency to go bad & leak oil.
CV joints have a habit of wearing out - especially if there are any cracks/breaks in the CV boot.
Haha, that's an oxymoron when dealing with used cars.
Seriously, have you thought about a mid 90s BMW wagon? My wife drives a '95 525iTouring. You can find them in great condition from @ $4000-$8000. They run forever if you change all of the fluids regularly.
Wow, Subies sound expensive where you're at. I thought they were overpriced here...myself and Caitlin are looking at Outback wagons at about the same age with a smaller budget (4000-5000) and we're not having trouble finding stuff, some of it with lowerish miles. Can someone elaborate more on the 2.5 head gasket issues? I was limiting my search to the Legacys with 2.5 engines because of the relative gutlessness of the 2.2s, but yeah...
While we're on topic, stevew, any idea how reliable a VR6 engine is? Specifically one inside of a mid-90s Jetta...
While we're on topic, stevew, any idea how reliable a VR6 engine is? Specifically one inside of a mid-90s Jetta...
I put a 150K on my VR6 with no problems, that era VW had major issues with the ignition coils but it was one of those things where they have all probably failed and been replaced with better ones by now. The rest of the car is a different story.
Didn't the 2.2L have head gasket issues that were corrected on the 2.5L?
Thanks CP!
How do you know so much about buying and selling??
$4800 is great.
Maybe I could or should be setting my sites higher then though?
Explain...I keep telling myself not to buy a VW, but if I find a VR6 Jetta or GTI with low miles it will be hard to turn away.
There were a few mechanical things like a wheel bearing, not unheard of for 100,000 miles. Had a leak in the AC system and the ABS went out on me. I never got the ABS fixed, just pulled the warning lamp.
The real annoying thing was how the aesthetic stuff just fell apart. Rubber trim on the side of the car kept falling off, all the climate control knobs had to be glued back on, glove compartment would pop open when I hit big bumps, water used to collect in the spare tire well (I think it came in from underneath because the hatch didn't seem to leak). Basically the interior was garbage.
~20k miles per year just in my daily commute, then tack on all the weekend road trips.
I'm looking to be right there with ya. I've got about 13k on my truck now, had it since June.
Why did you get a house so far from work?
My first Jetta wagon accumulated 75K miles in just under two and a half years because of doing downhill racing/riding every weekend.
Our house is exactly halfway between my office and MBC's office. She drives an hour the other direction.
I don't mind my commute. It's about 45 minutes and relatively free of traffic. Sirius helps as well. Having a job I like outweighs the extra $2000 or so I spend each year on gas and car maintenance (compared to the 15 mile commute I used to have).
I commuted an hour or so for a while. The hour drive was actually pretty nice - gave me a chance to kind of wade into the day in the morning then wind down from work before I got home in the evenings. Effectively losing 2 hours a day kind of sucked, but the actual drive was rather nice.
I did some calculations and if all goes well that 97 subie should be right where I want to be. I'll have to bust out my old cassettes though. 
speaking as a former 2.5L owner, i can attest to that being a real issue.
Not that I know of.... the 2.2 is generally considered Subaru's "bulletproof" engine, IIRC.Didn't the 2.2L have head gasket issues that were corrected on the 2.5L?
The 97 I'm looking at has the 2.2 Liter engine in it.
slant eye or bug-eye? I have not heard of any major problems with the bugeye 2.5L engines... I know the slant eyes had problems though.
good luck, Mark. I have an older Corolla and am looking for something a little bigger and with 4wd or awd. I love Toyotas (4runner, highlander), but it's hard to compete with a Subie for price, safety etc.
I know people who have had really good luck on ebay (and you're fortunate enough to be in a major metro area to test drive the car). And if decide that you want a '96 Corolla, I can hook you up
I know people who have had really good luck on ebay (and you're fortunate enough to be in a major metro area to test drive the car). And if decide that you want a '96 Corolla, I can hook you up
The info I've heard was that the 2.5 from the first generation of Outback ('95-'98?)...
I was just thinking the exact opposite!
I'm near Tahoe, and man, Subies are SPENDY out here! I really want a wagon, would prefer AWD, but I just don't see paying $10k for a car with 100K+ miles on it, no way in hell.
Now that car I'd snap up in a minute! When I'm ready to buy though, I don't intend to buy one around here...
Maybe look at the 02/03 Mazda Protege5's. Pretty roomy and maintenance free. Ive had one for about 2 years now, no problems, just oil changes and headlight bulb replacement. Handle great, only problem is little lack in the power department. They only made them in the two years, they are now the 3&6 bodys a little different and bigger motor.
Did a Protoge 5 search and it didn't turn up anything promising.
94 Toyota Camry wagon: V-6 usually gets 25mpg and with a light foot on the highway you can get 30. I bought it at 120k for $4500 from a soccer mom, and it now has 180k and we had to replace the starter motor one time. otherwise it leaks powersteering fluid, but that is cheap. I love it.
It can tow...
Its been everywhere
Utah
NYC
and its fast
It can tow...
Its been everywhere
Utah
NYC
and its fast
where are you searching for cars?
I'm almost up to 90k miles on my WRX Wagon and also going on 3 years...
I've been thinking of getting something else this year...dunno what tho. call me stupid, but I've been thinking of a 2006 Dodge Sprinter:
but that wouldn't be as fun to drive as my Suby...
Stupid