So I'm starting to think about what car I should by for my wife.

She prefers four door cars, mid sized or smaller.

She like's SAABs.

I just want it to be safe and reliable.

Budget around 5000$

Considered

Infitity G20
Saab 900 expensive to maintain, "rare" so hard to find a good one

VW Jetta reliability issues (is the golf any better?)
Integra (two door but very reliable, too "fast and fursious")

Mitsubishi Galant (ho hum)
Mazda 626 (ford built, spotty reliabilty)

Honda, Nissan Toyota too expensive for a 8 year old car

Open to suggestions!

I had a 96 G20..hate to say it but its still my favroite car ive owned ....not the best but it was my favorite

many time they were rated more relaible than the toyota corlla ....

opt for a 99 and up , they are much safer than the 90-96 ...also a more stable and predicatble handleing nature ....the 90-96 were a bit twitchy if it got tossed around ...

anything you need to know about the G20s let me know ....

She needs a 2000 Honda Prelude with 53,000 miles.

She needs a 2000 Honda Prelude with 53,000 miles.


Are you trying to lose yours? LOL

I considered the prelude, I like it, but you probably want more thant 5000 bucks for it.....otherwise email me ;-)

I had a 96 G20..hate to say it but its still my favroite car ive owned ....not the best but it was my favorite

many time they were rated more relaible than the toyota corlla ....

opt for a 99 and up , they are much safer than the 90-96 ...also a more stable and predicatble handleing nature ....the 90-96 were a bit twitchy if it got tossed around ...

anything you need to know about the G20s let me know ....


They are hard to find but the G20 is at the top of MY list....not sure how she feels yet

they are unbeliveably hard to find with a 5 speed ...

shell love it more when you buy my turbo kit for it and put it on along with all the suspension bits i have for it

oh yeah one more point.....its gotta be an automatics

the automatic will be able to handle 7 psi of boost ..no problem ....lol

but a g20 with a automatic is a not so much fun thing ....the 5 speed si the only way to go , the automatic sucks the power right out of that engine

Mazda 626 5-speeds rock. Best, slickest little shifter ever. Autos are terrible.

G20 5-speed is great.

Chrysler Sebring JX/JXi -- Reasonably low mileage examples can be had for CHEAP. Reliable Mitsu 2.5 V6, just stay current on the water pump and timing belt.

Mazda 626 5-speeds rock. Best, slickest little shifter ever. Autos are terrible.

G20 5-speed is great.

Chrysler Sebring JX/JXi -- Reasonably low mileage examples can be had for CHEAP. Reliable Mitsu 2.5 V6, just stay current on the water pump and timing belt.

gotta be an auto....underpowered is ok, she doesn't have much driving experience (born raised in Manhattan)

Sebring?? really? I just have a feeling they have a poor reliability record....no?

subaru imprezze maybe...but they aren't abundant and lack the luxo feel of the g20

She needs to score the
2000 Elvis Prelude. In the
alternative, you should
find her a 1993 Allante
for your mutual benefit.
:yup: Just ask Bbob :cool:

Best Regards,

TomDeville :coolgleam
:coolgleam

Buick Century or a Pontiac G.P. 4-door

Buick century! Good call!

I like those ALOT, reliabiltywise ratings are mixed.....any experience with this one?

I just bought my wife a 2002 Impala, loaded with 55k miles for 6.5k. A fantastic ride.

Sebring?? really? I just have a feeling they have a poor reliability record....no?

I have 1st generation sebring convertible, and i have never had a problem with it. All maintenance has always been routine maintenance. It's definately a fun car.

The 2.7L engine, for one or two of the first years of the 2nd Generations has a sludging problem, BUT a lot of the members on my club who have those engines just keep up on oil changes, and use synthetic oil.

If you have any sebring questions come visit my club: http://www.sebringclub.net/ (that's not shameless self promotion if i've ever seen it! :coolgleam )

We have a TON of great resourses on that site for common glitches, and how the Do It Yourselfer Can fix them. ;)

So I'm starting to think about what car I should by for my wife.

She prefers four door cars, mid sized or smaller.

She like's SAABs.

I just want it to be safe and reliable.

Budget around 5000$

Considered

Infitity G20
Saab 900 expensive to maintain, "rare" so hard to find a good one

VW Jetta reliability issues (is the golf any better?)
Integra (two door but very reliable, too "fast and fursious")

Mitsubishi Galant (ho hum)
Mazda 626 (ford built, spotty reliabilty)

Honda, Nissan Toyota too expensive for a 8 year old car

Open to suggestions!

If I had a wonderful husband such as you seem to be :) I would get her the Caddy SRX. It's beautiful and not too large and intimidating. Unfortunately it's a little more than $5000.00 :( In real life though I would go for one of those used Audi's or Jetta's or maybe you could luck up on an Acura.
Peace :)

We just bought a car for my wife, a month ago. I was in the same price bracket 4-6K and just couldn't find anything decent on budget like that. So the one we got was one owner '97 Honda Acoord LX 4dr auto with 150K on the odometer. Paid $4300 which was OK, even though the mileage is kinda high, but it's clean and very well taken care of.

Ok, so I was just talkin to my wife about some of the cars I came up with........get this. She thinks they are all boooring! She wants something more "funky" (her words) like a BMW/SAAB/JAG/AUDI :eek:
She's turnin high maintenance on me.....:eek:
Long short our budget just got bumped up to 10 grand...

So with the new budget and criteria what are some of your thoughts ?

:helpless:

PS No nasty comments about my wife please... :-)

I still think a 99 or 00 G20 is a good compromise

but its now in the 98-99 Lexus es300 range too. (I prefer the ES, but its a bigger car too.....she needs to drive it in LA)

Late 90's Malibu/Cutlass. They're sturdy little cars, and surprisingly reliable. The 3.1L V6 is pretty punchy, but runs for a long time. It's a pretty comfy and usable midsized sedan, doesn't do anything amazing, just does a lot of things rather well. Plus, if it's her first car, as in never driven before, the car is a good car to learn on. It's one that is difficult to get yourself in trouble with, even when driving aggressively, and it works hard to get you back out of trouble too.

The jetta. I like jettas a lot. We have had 4 so far in the family, none of them has given any trouble.

The jetta. I like jettas a lot. We have had 4 so far in the family, none of them has given any trouble.

Yeah I like em alot....then I went to www.carsurvey.org and saw a slew of complaints about the reliabilty of em. Surprising, I thought they were the german equivalent of an Accord.

I am pushing for the Lexus ES 300. Very nice speciems available, even a 10 year old one of these look amazing good. Not dated at all.

Ok, so I was just talkin to my wife about some of the cars I came up with........get this. She thinks they are all boooring! She wants something more "funky" (her words) like a BMW/SAAB/JAG/AUDI :eek:
She's turnin high maintenance on me.....:eek:
Long short our budget just got bumped up to 10 grand...

So with the new budget and criteria what are some of your thoughts ?

:helpless:

PS No nasty comments about my wife please... :-)

I still think a 99 or 00 G20 is a good compromise

but its now in the 98-99 Lexus es300 range too. (I prefer the ES, but its a bigger car too.....she needs to drive it in LA)

How about the bus ;)
Peace :)

PS No nasty comments about my wife please... :-)Party pooper! :(

Ok, so I was just talkin to my wife about some of the cars I came up with........get this. She thinks they are all boooring! She wants something more "funky" (her words) like a BMW/SAAB/JAG/AUDI :eek:
She's turnin high maintenance on me.....:eek:
Long short our budget just got bumped up to 10 grand...Sounds like a frightful change of events! :disappoin

I have some friends who swear by (as opposed to 'at') Lexus.

10 grand? show her an avalon. but you could get a good 90s beamer for 10 grand. hell bump it up to 15k and get a m3.

http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?&min_price=1&distance=0&dealer_id=6371191&lang=en&end_year=2006&make=BMW&address=19966&start_year=1981&certified=&car_year=1995&car_id=178433882&cardist=1273&isp=y&advanced=&max_price=20000&search_type=both&model=M3#vdptop

luxury package! its automatic, i dont know what your wife prefers.

....hell bump it up to 15k and get a m3.....:confused: Ah, c'mon man! Give the guy a break!

Long short our budget just got bumped up to 10 grand...



1998 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited
1999 GMC Envoy
1996-1999 BMW 325i

:confused: Ah, c'mon man! Give the guy a break!

Thanks Kev,

LOL! .....I'm drivin a 98 deville for pete's sake.

Thats a pretty good price for a M3 no?

Considering a 3-series, but wife's pretty set on a red SAAB 93 (hmmm I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I was driving a red Sabb 900 turbo when we met...)

She's not going for the Lexus (I think its great though)

Its lookin more like 99 Saab auto (4 door if possible).....sigh.....

keep the ideas comin though!

95+ Lincoln Continental?

This is what the wife is driving now after trading in the STS
She has a bigg smile on her face when she drives .This car could be it's twin
http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=177246210&dealer_id=611861&car_year=2000&make=BMW&distance=0&lang=en&max_price=20000&model=323CI&end_year=2000&min_price=1&certified=&address=19966&search_type=both&advanced=&start_year=1993&isp=y&cardist=918#vdptop

Ahh, BMW, the 'me too' yuppie car!!:rolleyes:

Hey, how about a Red Saab 9.5 ??? An AERO ?? Say like a 2000 -2001

Hey, how about a Red Saab 9.5 ??? An AERO ?? Say like a 2000 -2001

Yup!

I think she prefers the smaller 9.3, but I prefer the Aero.

Pricewise they aren't that different.

well.....it looks like I'm gonna keep driving my caddy and use the $ to buy her a new 05 Scion xA.......

There are very few of them around used.....actually only one on eBay 10.5K$ with a SALVAGE title.....might as well buy new for around $14K.....anyone have one of these cars?

I don't know anyone that owns one. There is alot of them here in Florida. They have plenty of mod's for them. I think they look really cool looking. My wife don't like them though. I say purchase one. Can't beat the price.

Scion? Where's the puke smiley face? Ah here it is :vomit:

Hey its cheap, reliable, small and economical.

Great first car for a city girl me thinks!

I promise to stay away from wings and turbonators :-)

Its been a long time but we finally bought a car!
We scored a 2000 VW Beetle GLS.
White/grey leather/sunroof/etc
I know I know....the reliability record is spotty etc etc but she loved it and I liked it alot too. Pretty big inside and rides nice. Plus, its tiny enought for her to park around our house, where parking is very tight.
I figured I'd wrap up this old thread. Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/downandloaded/face.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/downandloaded/interior.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/downandloaded/rear.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/downandloaded/side.jpg

Oh boy...

Boooo.

:hide:

:rant2: :thepan:

It's not so bad. I've driven the Beetles and they're actually roomy inside.. I was going to say the Buick Century was a great idea but I was a few months too late. :p

Thanks Sal!
It IS big inside. In fact, of all the tiny cars we tested (Corolla, Civic, Cavalier, Focus, Neon, Golf) the Beetle was BY FAR the roomiest up front.
We were thinking of going with the Century, CTS, Impala, Malibu, etc mid-size selections, but none of them fit in out miserly 185 inches long garage.....
So there! ;)

It's not so bad. I've driven the Beetles and they're actually roomy inside.. I was going to say the Buick Century was a great idea but I was a few months too late. :pRoomy yes but most of that room is on the dash and the vaulted ceilings, not much is really usable. That aside, I think the Bug is a decent womans car but if he drives he may be classified as an interior decorator by the masses. :bouncy:

My car eats those for breakfast!