I'm starting this thread because I can't make up my mind on what I should get for a replacement car. I currently have a 1988 Ford Thunderbird. Driven it for 5 years all through high school and most of college, replaced the original 3.8l with a 5.0 and the car is starting to fall apart. Looking for something "sporty but economical".

I have so far looked at a 2011 Camaro v6/v8 models, a 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, a 2008 Infinity g35s, a 2008 Audi A4 titanium(which I most likely would have bought if I didn't think it was wrecked at one point, a 2010 Hyundai Genesis "Track Pack", and a 2011 Suburu Wrx.

Budget seems to be about $35,000 or less.

Looking to see what all of you drive, and how you like them, or don't. Again, looking for options/opinions.

 

Couldn't pass on this one , I am currently driving a 1994 Thunderbird 3.8 v6 87,000 actual miles. Love the way it handles.

 

Take a peek at the new Challenger - Mercedes designed suspension, and your choice of HEMI'S!!!

 

Daily Driver: 1996 Chevy Tahoe 2door 4X4 5.7 Z71 LOVE IT !!!

 

The 84 Custom Cruiser. Bought it for $250, and I've probably got $1000 into it so far (tires, brakes, exhaust, PS pump rebuild, tuneup, carb rebuild). It's ugly, reliable, and I can thumb my nose at the neighbors who only drive expensive new import cars.

 

I agree. For a DD don't buy something that's going to depreciate 30-40% when you drive it off the lot. You might also consider service esp in the case of a foreign car. If you can find a good competent mechanic in your area familiar with the car you're looking at, that is a big plus.

Me DD's are: the old Gray Ghost wagon (currently down with some kind of weird noise in the front end that I simply do not currently have time to look for and fix).

93 F150 4x4 to haul and for bad weather.

2002 Grand Marquis for a weekend car, though I did have to drive it to work one day last week because the truck was in the shop for oil change and I ain't about to drive the wagon 60 miles roundtrip with that noise it's making.

 

93 Corrola 5 speed with 200K miles. The clutch has has been slipping bad the last 10K miles and I still average about 28 MPG. Anything more than very light accelertion it slips and I don't accelerate light so it slips a lot. I have $1,800 in it including all repairs I have done to it. I will have drivin it a year in a couple months. Its been a good little car and I will reward it with a new cluch as soon as my lift if back up.

 

I had a '95 T-Bird with V8 motor. Very SWEEEEEET driver! My current driver is '10 G. Caravan. Put on 7,400 miles since 1st of Nov. Good so far...

 

Currently my DD are a '05 Silverado 2500HD and an '09 Honda Fit Sport automatic. They come and go so I never plan on a certain car, just buy something I like and can find a deal on. I have owned more than 300 cars, had lots of fun doing it and made a little profit on most of them. More than a dozen Corvettes.

 

Keepin it real with my 72 cutlass!! Go for the WRX bro... Altho the Infinity is oh so sexy!

 

Same here

 

Not even sure why you're looking at a 2006 Monte Carlo SS then. To me the interior is so cheap and boring and lame.

I drive a tuxedo black tinted out Lexus ES300
They are built extremely well compared to domestics I've owned.
Let me assure you of that. No squeaks, rattles, etc in the cabin at all.

I bought my mother one with 67K on it and I liked it so much I bought myself one with 55K on it.



I agree with RocketRaider.
Depreciation is your friend, make use of it.
Don't buy new. Buy 2-3 years used at the minimum IMO.

To spend $35,000 on a vehicle to me is too much and we clear enough to easily buy in that price mark.
For me to spend $35,000 I'd have to get a $80,000 used low mile Lexus LS460 or something.
I'd absolutely never buy something new for $35,000......because of depreciation being so bad.
You can find low mileage luxury cars in the $10K-$20K range, so no need to spend that much.

Lexus, Infiniti, Acura are my top 3 choices these days. But I would buy a Corvette too.
If you want a WRX teeny bopper toy, just buy a Corvette instead.

 

I live in a part of the country where the winters are mild and they don't salt the roads. I'm using a 1967 Cutlass 4 door as a daily driver. There's a couple dozen really bad days each winter, those days I drive my 1973 Chebby truck to work. I get more comments while driving a clean old $2,500 car than I would in a $25,000 late model car. I can do my own maintenance as it's simple and no computers. Parts are getting harder to find, but I can bolt on a rebuilt alternator for a fraction of what it would cost on a new car. Worse gas mileage for sure, but I have very little into the purchase price and pay the cheapest insurance rates so in the long run it may not be more expensive to operate. Can you tell, I've already thought this through and rationalized it very well!

It's all with what you want. I know the newer cars handle and perform much better than my old 4 door. Get better gas milage and have more comfortable interiors. But to work and back, around town, and the occasional trip across the state I'm comfortable with this. And just like driving a 442, it's fun to drive something different than 99.99% of the other cars on the highway! John

 

This is under $20,000.....for LESS then a Honda Civic.

2005 Acura RL which is Honda's luxury brand top of the line flagship model.
Only ~50,000 miles on it which IMO is just slightly over broken in.

A buddy of mine bought one of these brand new for mid $50's IIRc.
Very nice quality. I prefer Acura's over older Infiniti's personally.
Only recently did Infiniti make a semi-decent interior design to me.

This is why IMO it makes no sense to spend over $20,000 on a vehicle.
You can sit and find modern luxury cars used all day long for under $20,000

 

i agree with getting something older and cheeper. i sold my 91 Quad 442 W-41 for $9000 and it was as nice as the day it left the showroom floor. it got 31 MPG and was faster than the 5.0 mustangs of the 90s. if you found something like that and drove it as a daily driver and took good care of it you will get most of your money back after 10 more years. economical don't matter if the budget is up around the 30,000 range and you only spend $15,000. you could go with a 2004 3/4 ton truck with the 8.1 gas engine for less than $15,000 and only get 10 miles per gallon in the city and never pay $15,000 more in gas. that truck is just an example, you could put anything in place of the truck that is cheeper and older.

 

I'd much rather drive my '68 year round but don't want to jeopardize the salt free California body in these dreaded winters. Therefore I drive '10 G. Carvavan for business and the family. I had full power '08 Silverado 2wd Ext cab LT which cost $20.00 per day in fuel and you know what that can end up costing in 1 month alone with current gas rates! My buddy has Florida based, non Illinois winter driven Pristine condition '04 6.0 triple black GTO with dark tints all the way around & 60+K miles for sale if that interests you. I drove his GTO once and was almost pulled over for it's illegal Baddass looks! He drove my '68 and it hooked him on Vintage Muscle!

Like one of the members here says... "Make it into what YOU want, not the way others want it to be." He's got abundance of great advice as everyone on here does So hey.. Do what makes you feel good. Good luck!

 

My daily driver is an old 89 dodge 1/2 ton 4x4 pickup,
145,000 miles ,a little rusty but very trusty.

The daily driver for my Wife we bought brand new,2007 dodge charger,has a little over 40,000 miles now.Only problem we have encountered,at around 32,000 miles the front rotors needed turned because of warping,causes a pulsation in the pedal.Still haven't had to replace the pads so waiting for that to do the rotors.Other than that we are happy with it.

 

2008 GMC Seirra v8....($17,000 new inc.tax) I have to have a truck but if you don't, then I would get a rust free, easier to work on, older car. I can fly from MI. to Atlanta, Miami or Orlando for $200 so I will look in those areas, Craigs list, Auto trader, E-Bay etc.,have the car checked out , fly down and drive it back.
Higgins

 

I'm driving my new little Tin Can, 2007 Toyota Rav4, or my 2001 Olds Intrigue!

 

Something else to consider- what kind of physical environment is the car gonna be subjected to? I like an older, maybe a little shabby appearance-wise car to drive to work because the crap that gets on a car at my job is rough on paint. I had paint ruined on two different "nice cars" that I used as dailies years ago. Plus ya gotta think about the inconsiderate a-holes who'll open a door against your car hard enough to dent it and then walk off like nothing happened.

All kinds of reason to use a reliable older vehicle to knock around in. Save yer pennies for your toys or a nice weekend cruiser.

I worked with a guy who wouldn't pay over $500 for a daily beater. He'd get a decent runner and might put a little money into it to get it reliable mechanically, but he used them as transportation- no more, no less. Dull paint, door dings, rust spot, ripped seat- big deal. It was simply a way to get from point A to point B for him as long as it ran well.

Visit him at home though and you'd see a couple of really nice vehicles under the carport- wife's DD and his fancy truck, neither of which ever got subjected to daily driver abuse.

 

2500 Suburban 4 X 4 full of stuff.

 

97 f350 crew 360 on the clock and runs like a champ...better than the new 70 G price tag of a new work truck

my last new car purchase of my 05 mustang was the last straw for me .....never again will I buy something new

 

In the summer it is the blood-red '97 Cadillac STS with 86k miles. It will be gone on it's first major problem!

In the non-hot season I drive the copper '78 Pinto with 155k miles (and original clutch...) Car was factory ordered without A/C!

 

My $.02...

2011 Camaro v6/v8 - Don't know much about them
2006 Chevy Monte Carlo SS - Ugh. No. 20 year old tech with little or no improvements.
2008 Infinity g35s - Dunno about an '08, but I had a brand new '06 for 2 weeks as a rental. Absolutely hated it. On hwy was OK, but in heavy stop/go traffic it was a nightmare. Throttle was binary. Idle to half throttle was like 1/8" of pedal travel. Brakes were crazy grabby at low speeds.
2008 Audi A4 titanium - Fun car, but potentially a high dollar maintenance black hole.
2010 Hyundai Genesis "Track Pack" - Don't know much about them
2011 Suburu Wrx. - Fun/sturdy car...and the riceboyz will love you...

My dailys are an '04 Avalanche Z-71 and a '00 Jetta GLS-VR6...

 

A Bicycle!

 

Mine is a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am GT sedan. 3400, automatic. A lot of people think these are junk but I like them. I know the OEM wheel bearings/hub ***'y are weak and the OEM intake gaskets rot out. The replacement parts are much higher quality. These are inexpensive, lots of parts out there and good ole fashion push rods.

Here's a shot of it behind my 15X7 SSII/III snap on center cap rims (before the sand blaster got them).



The Grand Am's summer rims and tires are in the garage.

Adam

 

This

Talk about taking advantage of depreciation...can get them dirt cheap now and they have bullet proof drivetrains...just make sure there are no electrical gremlins about.

 

I had a 2000 Grand Am GT and loved it too. Quick, great milage, leather, very comfy but got hit in the A$$ on the expressway by a drunk so traded it for a 2002 Monte Carlo. Still have it, runs great at 175,000 miles, but starting to rust so may replace it this year. Yep, had the intake gasket and wheel bearing problems on the Monte as well.
Higgins

 

2007 Dodge Charger R/T. I usually buy my cars when they are a couple of years old. This way you can get the car you want and not pay full price. I have a friend of mine who was a wholesaler. Got some great deals that way.

 

I am driving a 2001 ford excursion limited 4 x 4, one THIRSTY 10 cylinder gasoline powered ***** LOL... who like to gas up at 44 gallons at a pop....

seriously she only has 67K on her, drives like a dream... why I bought her new I have no idea, but now the value is peanuts comparing to what i paid so will drive her till she drops.....

 

We just sold a 1994 Olds cutlass with 80,000 miles gramma's car then mine and am driving our 1998 Chevy Astro van which has 57,000 miles. Looking to buy????? something but do not know what I want yet.

 

Me 07 elantra 75k no problems
Wife 06 sonata 106k no problems
Beater 1999 Cherokee 4x4 110K no problems
I will usally buy new I know about depreation but we rack up miles in a hurry. When I trade in cars or sell them I'm lucky to see a grand for them. I'm hoping for 200+ on the Hyundais.
Larry

 

My daily is a 2010 CTS AWD that I just got new as a left over. I really like it so far but the better question is what would people recomend for your circumstances rather than what other people have. Think about things like where you will be parking it, how big of a factor is gas mileage, do you just need transoportation or do you want something enjoyable? I know lots of people who love their full size SUV's but I wouldn't want one to park at the train station enery day. Likewise, a new Camaro or Mustang would be a cool car but a PITA with the kids.


CTS.jpg

 

2004 Dodge Cummins, 4x4, quad cab. It doubles as tow vehicle (14-15 mpg towing the Olds).

 

My 71 Cutlass has been my daily driver for 15 years.

 

...Challenger SRT, 6-spd

 

An Oldsmobile

 

Ewww......I'm jealous. I want one too.
It's the only way I'd buy a Dodge, is with a Tremec 6 speed too.

FistbumpII.gif

 

Bought my Dad's 1995 F150 back in 2002. I promised him I would drive it until it couldn't or I couldn't. Did a little Frame-on last year, reengineered the motor to get about 18 mpg although it now requires premium fuel. Dad loved this truck and I do as well. Yeah. I would go with the WRX, lot of fun!

Randy

 

Heres my 95 F150. No rust, yet. Florida born and raised now a waiting to rust away in Michigan. Grandpa cap and bug guard are gone.

DSC06507.jpg