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I have a job where I travel over 1,000 miles a week. I have been debating about the car to get.
I want a car that is comfortable, reliable, good gas mileage and decent acceleration to get onto highways.
I am currently driving the family 2006 caravan with 220,000 miles. It is comfortable, decent acceleration and surprisingly reliable sort of. I don't want to spend more than $10,000. Lets hear your opinions. Thanks. Warren
The very best Mk4 VW TDI you can find, preferably 2002 or 2003. From a private owner with full repair and maintenance records. Preferably with upgraded turbo, injectors and engine software, suspension and brakes. Preferably with a clean interior and rust-free exterior. Manual transmission only, as the automatics on these models were crap and expensive to replace.
These cars can be quite enjoyable to drive and easily get over 40 miles per gallon on #2 diesel. 600 miles per tank is common. But as they are now 14 or 15 years old, most of them offered for sale are tired and less than perfectly maintained, which is why a really good one can be difficult to find. I'm happy to own two of them, one with 650k miles and the other with about 135k miles -- both are in perfect running condition, one is my daily driver and the other my weekend car and future daily driver.
Buick..... Typically one owner, older owner and well taken care of. You can get a car that was $30K ten years ago with less than 100K on it for about $5K. Mine has the Series III 3800, 200HP which is plenty and 28 to 29 MPG on the highway traveling 85MPH in hilly areas. It only gets 18 to 20 around town.
The Lacrosse if you look at them is very deceptive car, it's really big. Four 250 pound men that are 6 foot 2 inches could comfortably ride in that car. With the seats down in the back I can fit a 10 foot 2*4 in in it. Nice seats, not too soft and not too firm. They are just right, at least IMO. .
Buick..... Typically one owner, older owner and well taken care of. You can get a car that was $30K ten years ago with less than 100K on it for about $5K. Mine has the Series III 3800, 200HP which is plenty and 28 to 29 MPG on the highway traveling 85MPH in hilly areas. It only gets 18 to 20 around town.
The Lacrosse if you look at them is very deceptive car, it's really big. Four 250 pound men that are 6 foot 2 inches could comfortably ride in that car. With the seats down in the back I can fit a 10 foot 2*4 in in it. Nice seats, not too soft and not too firm. They are just right, at least IMO. .
This is pretty good recommendation. It's not the choice I'd make, but they are fairly well built. And there are mechanics everywhere who can work on them, which is not the case with German imports. Maybe a used one with a CPO warranty, to avoid the worst period of depreciation.
Chevrolet SS or a 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP. - meets all of your issues except MPG Reliability has not be determined either, but all newer cars are pretty reliable. There is not much difference anymore, except the ones that have problems right from GO.
I drive trucks for a living... Perform 95% of maintenance on my 2 cars.
I recommend getting the newest Dodge Caravan or Honda Odyssey Minivan.. alternatively... The newest Hyundai but I just can't see myself driving one.. too many memories of the 80s models.
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