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Help me pick a car

mattsk42

mattsk42

Supporting Member
Oct 28, 2004
1,386
18
Salt Lake City, UT by way of Pierre, SD
www.petzl.com
#1
I'd like a list of 3 or 4 cars to choose from, with these as the guidelines. I'm not opposed to any other suggestions, but I've already decided on a few things, so don't be offended if I say no.

Can NOT include:
  1. BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW - Where I live these just don't have the service/parts I need in case of a problem. I've had many friends forced to drive 500 miles to get what they need.
  2. Rear wheel drive - No chance at all to buy one of these
  3. Anything more than $20k or 50k miles

Want:
  1. Front wheel, 4 wheel, or all wheel drive (MUST)
  2. Fast - Faster than a stock V6 on similar cars
  3. Dependable - "well I've personally had one for 10 years and never had a problem" doesn't count. Need reports of some kind.
  4. $20,000 or less - Used or new
  5. No more than 50,000 miles

Don't care about: (bonus factors, not determining factors)
  1. Gas mileage - meh
  2. Exterior Appearance - Not going to sway my opinion at all
  3. Interior "materials" - Leather, nice trim, all extras for me. Nice, but I don't care enough to make it a real factor
  4. Carrots - carrots
 
#9
I have one and only one criteria that I consider when buying a car:

Reliability

And so every time I've had to buy a car in the last ~20 years, I've read all the reviews in car magazines and Consumer Reports etc. in order to find which cars were the most reliable. Year after year those reviews have consistently pointed towards the same conclusion:

If you don't buy a Honda or a Toyota you're crazy






j/k :)
...but I will probably never buy another brand of car. Been very happy w/ Hondas especially, and wouldn't have sold any of my older Hondas if other circumstances hadn't necessitated selling those cars. They'd probably still be running today.
 
#11
Roscoe East said:
I have one and only one criteria that I consider when buying a car:

Reliability

And so every time I've had to buy a car in the last ~20 years, I've read all the reviews in car magazines and Consumer Reports etc. in order to find which cars were the most reliable. Year after year those reviews have consistently pointed towards the same conclusion:

If you don't buy a Honda or a Toyota you're crazy






j/k :)
...but I will probably never buy another brand of car. Been very happy w/ Hondas especially, and wouldn't have sold any of my older Hondas if other circumstances hadn't necessitated selling those cars. They'd probably still be running today.
Click to expand...

The 1998-2002 Mazda Protege's are the exact same, they will just keep going and going. 90's Volvos too.

lowsound
 
#13
bradjonesbass said:
Subaru. Any of them will have AWD, extremely dependable - lots of Consumer Reports high scores. Get one with their turbo and they are very quick.
Click to expand...

+100 Forrester. Perfect size for hauling bass equipment. The turbo option is fast (not Ferrari fast, but it puts the Rav4 to shame). May be slightly higher than your budget, but is a perfect match for your other criteria. After a lot of looking, I chose the Subaru Forrester about 1½ years ago and have been extremely happy with it.
 
#19
A Subaru WRX or STI would meet the AWD and fast parts. Can't mention STI without mentioning the Mistubishi Lancer Evolution. For less than 20K, you might be able to find a good EVO 8. Another option would be a 2002 - 2006 3.5L Nissan Altima. If you can find the SE-R version of it, that's always a plus, since it has a bit more HP. That meets the FF and fast parts. If none of those tickle your fancy, you could always keep it simple and go for a Honda Civic SI. Doesn't meet the fast part but it does meet the FF and dependable parts.
 

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