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Cars continued...

vek on 2002-01-07T01:45:09

Went to the Chrysler dealer, test drove a PT cruiser. Hmm, what can I say...well, they look good anyway (*grin*). As we got out of the car my wife turned to me and said "Oh my god did that suck" and that was all the comment that was needed before we said cheerio to the bemused salesman.

As you can imagine, wagons are not exactly the most common type of vehicle. Volvo is a little out of our price range, as is BMW, Audi, Mercedes (obviously) and Lexus (again, obviously). Ford do have some wagons but they are Ford so we won't touch that subject.

So, amongst others, we test drove the Volkswagan Jetta/Passat and the Saturn LW3000. I have to say, derision aside, the Saturn LW300 was the best thing we drove all day - has a nippy V6 3.0 liter engine and loads of boot space for the dogs.

So we think we've found a winner. When it comes to personal car preferences I think it really boils down to whatever floats your boat and the Saturn seems to float ours nicely.

Volvos are affordable

hfb on 2002-01-07T04:11:42

Go to your nearest Volvo dealer and have a look at the Volvos just in off of a 3 year lease. They are generally around $20k and have ~30k miles and come with a warranty from the dealer and from Volvo. I own a '99 V70 which will be a common model on the returned from least lot these days. I take it in for service on the recommended milage points, get the oil changed regularly and I've *never* had a bit of trouble. I know they aren't the sexiest cars but for about the same price you'd spend on a new clunker you could have one of the worlds safest and most reliable cars. I even get a phone call from Volvo now and then just to see how things are going. When they say 'Volvo for life', I think they mean it :) Whatever you look at be sure to check the IHC crash test.

Re:Volvos are affordable

vek on 2002-01-07T05:11:11

Hmm, that's worth bearing in mind. Perhaps we should visit a Volvo dealer afterall. Doesn't hurt to take one out for a spin now does it??!

My exp. w/ Saturn

Purdy on 2002-01-10T22:05:28

I'm still driving my '92 Saturn SL2 and it has over 128K miles on it. That said, I've had few problems over the life of the car. I'm not amused by the fact that you need to replace Saturn parts with Saturn parts, even down to their spark plugs.

I'm growing tired of my car (you try driving a manual through a 30 min. stop & go commute), but it is paid for and I'm looking at buying a house first... ;) Those 0% APR deals do look tempting.

My thoughts are that my next car (besides getting automatic) will be either a 5-series BMW or a VW Passat. They continue to be rated very highly by Consumer Reports (and I just love those style of door handles ;)). I'm a lil' wary on that they need premium fuel, so I need to research that a bit more. I'm also not rich or anything (prolly will get off-lease/used), but I want to be comfortable in what I drive in my next car.

Jason