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Old 04-06-2010, 08:42 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
5,994 posts, read 19,921,773 times
Reputation: 4078

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The CTS is a great car, I've always liked them (particularly the 2nd gen and 1st gen CTS-V). Certain Volvo's are attractive too but I guess at this point we'll keep perusing craigslist and auction listings until the perfect car comes along at the right price.

 
Old 04-06-2010, 09:00 PM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,024,794 times
Reputation: 22693
Quote:
Originally Posted by iTsLiKeAnEgG View Post
Hoping to get some good ideas from you fellas. My mother is looking to spend around $8,000-$10,000 on a used vehicle. It shouldn't look overly dated and we're looking to keep mileage below 70k. So far we've looked at a 2002 Audi A6 3.0 and a 2000 Porsche Boxster. The Audi was very nice but we offered the guy $8000 cash and he wouldnt budge below $8500 so we walked. We are not in a hurry and my mother will only buy something when she knows she's getting a great deal for her money. What other cars should we look at? Most domestics are pretty much out of the picture here.
The 1995 - 1999 series Cadillac Sedan DeVille is just about THE most beautiful car ever made. Your mom does herself a huge disservice by not checking them out. There are a few individuals out there that you can still find below 70k miles. IMHO there has never been a better car made.

20yrsinBranson
 
Old 04-06-2010, 09:10 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC & New York
10,915 posts, read 31,274,526 times
Reputation: 7137
Audis are wonderful, when they have lower mileage. At 70k, the issues are going to start creeping into the ownership experience, and they can be annoying and expensive. Even an independent shop that I have used, which has a superb reputation for price and quality can get expensive, relative to the value of the car when you keep one that's out of warranty and has higher mileage. He maintained an A6 Avant that was in the family since new, and kept for winter driving, primarily, but it became a headache after a while with annoying little problems -- especially sensors. A friend of mine has a similar Avant that they are still keeping, and it has had many of the same problems as ours did, which began to creep up at around the 70k mark.

If you look at Acura, watch the TLs as there were transmission issues that affected some of them up to 2003. This also affected some of the CLs as well, but a CL might not be a bad consideration, especially if you can find a Type S with 6-speed, provided your mother wouldn't be averse to a stick.

The IS300 was a nice smaller Lexus that had a sporty appeal, if your mother doesn't want a large sedan. It should fall within the preferred price range without higher mileage.

I'd say to look for a CLK or an E, but only the RWD 6, not the 8 or 4Matic, but the only examples likely to be around the price parameters are going to have much higher mileage, though they are pretty reliable from 2002+. Maintenance costs will be higher than the Japanese cars, but if you have a good independent shop, it might not be too bad.

You might consider a Volvo S60, but only the FWD. The AWD, while it handles better, tends to have more on-going maintenance issues, and higher costs. A FWD S60, can be a great car, a good mix of economy, near luxury appointments, and decent performance, especially with the T5 engine.
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Old 04-06-2010, 09:14 PM
 
3,071 posts, read 9,101,183 times
Reputation: 1659
Is your mama getting it for her or for you? Does she not mind expensive repairs? lol A nice Maxima with about 75 k on it will do the job.....
 
Old 04-06-2010, 09:15 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
5,994 posts, read 19,921,773 times
Reputation: 4078
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwguydc View Post
Audis are wonderful, when they have lower mileage. At 70k, the issues are going to start creeping into the ownership experience, and they can be annoying and expensive. Even an independent shop that I have used, which has a superb reputation for price and quality can get expensive, relative to the value of the car when you keep one that's out of warranty and has higher mileage. He maintained an A6 Avant that was in the family since new, and kept for winter driving, primarily, but it became a headache after a while with annoying little problems -- especially sensors. A friend of mine has a similar Avant that they are still keeping, and it has had many of the same problems as ours did, which began to creep up at around the 70k mark.

If you look at Acura, watch the TLs as there were transmission issues that affected some of them up to 2003. This also affected some of the CLs as well, but a CL might not be a bad consideration, especially if you can find a Type S with 6-speed, provided your mother wouldn't be averse to a stick.

The IS300 was a nice smaller Lexus that had a sporty appeal, if your mother doesn't want a large sedan. It should fall within the preferred price range without higher mileage.

I'd say to look for a CLK or an E, but only the RWD 6, not the 8 or 4Matic, but the only examples likely to be around the price parameters are going to have much higher mileage, though they are pretty reliable from 2002+. Maintenance costs will be higher than the Japanese cars, but if you have a good independent shop, it might not be too bad.

You might consider a Volvo S60, but only the FWD. The AWD, while it handles better, tends to have more on-going maintenance issues, and higher costs. A FWD S60, can be a great car, a good mix of economy, near luxury appointments, and decent performance, especially with the T5 engine.
This all looks like good advice. We looked at a previous gen Mercedes S Class (2001) but that generation of S is known to have serious reliability issues.
 
Old 04-06-2010, 09:20 PM
 
Location: 'Murica
1,302 posts, read 2,935,826 times
Reputation: 833
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson View Post
The 1995 - 1999 series Cadillac Sedan DeVille is just about THE most beautiful car ever made. Your mom does herself a huge disservice by not checking them out. There are a few individuals out there that you can still find below 70k miles. IMHO there has never been a better car made.

20yrsinBranson
I'd be wary of the head gasket issue on the Northstar engines. Widely documented issue; quite costly. I believe it was resolved when they overhauled the engine for RWD applications, but those are newer cars that are probably above the OP's budget.
 
Old 04-06-2010, 09:20 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
5,994 posts, read 19,921,773 times
Reputation: 4078
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nativechief View Post
Is your mama getting it for her or for you? Does she not mind expensive repairs? lol A nice Maxima with about 75 k on it will do the job.....
It will be a shared car since she doesn't drive much. One of our cars is a 2006 Maxima. Reliability is a key concern but we aren't exactly tight on cash so a surprise problem won't hurt us much but we'd definitely love to avoid it.
 
Old 04-06-2010, 09:51 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
4,472 posts, read 17,640,281 times
Reputation: 4095
Quote:
It will be a shared car since she doesn't drive much. One of our cars is a 2006 Maxima. Reliability is a key concern but we aren't exactly tight on cash so a surprise problem won't hurt us much but we'd definitely love to avoid it.
Well, if you aren't "tight on cash" then why are you only looking at vehicles around $8K-10K? You can be frugal, but I would invest a bit more in getting something you really want. If you bump up your price range to $15K or $20K you can get a much nicer vehicle that you WON'T have to worry about surprise repairs. Makes sense, don't it?
 
Old 04-06-2010, 09:56 PM
 
Location: NYC & NJ
747 posts, read 2,747,301 times
Reputation: 341
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwguydc View Post
Audis are wonderful, when they have lower mileage. At 70k, the issues are going to start creeping into the ownership experience, and they can be annoying and expensive. Even an independent shop that I have used, which has a superb reputation for price and quality can get expensive, relative to the value of the car when you keep one that's out of warranty and has higher mileage. He maintained an A6 Avant that was in the family since new, and kept for winter driving, primarily, but it became a headache after a while with annoying little problems -- especially sensors. A friend of mine has a similar Avant that they are still keeping, and it has had many of the same problems as ours did, which began to creep up at around the 70k mark.

If you look at Acura, watch the TLs as there were transmission issues that affected some of them up to 2003. This also affected some of the CLs as well, but a CL might not be a bad consideration, especially if you can find a Type S with 6-speed, provided your mother wouldn't be averse to a stick.

The IS300 was a nice smaller Lexus that had a sporty appeal, if your mother doesn't want a large sedan. It should fall within the preferred price range without higher mileage.

I'd say to look for a CLK or an E, but only the RWD 6, not the 8 or 4Matic, but the only examples likely to be around the price parameters are going to have much higher mileage, though they are pretty reliable from 2002+. Maintenance costs will be higher than the Japanese cars, but if you have a good independent shop, it might not be too bad.
The early builds of the W211 E-class (introduced in late 2002 as a 2003 model) were terrible. Stay away. The rest of your comments I mostly agree with.
 
Old 04-06-2010, 09:57 PM
 
Location: NYC & NJ
747 posts, read 2,747,301 times
Reputation: 341
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ View Post
Well, if you aren't "tight on cash" then why are you only looking at vehicles around $8K-10K? You can be frugal, but I would invest a bit more in getting something you really want. If you bump up your price range to $15K or $20K you can get a much nicer vehicle that you WON'T have to worry about surprise repairs. Makes sense, don't it?
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