I need to buy a commuter car this week and have about $7000 cash to spend. I will be driving about 100 miles a day, mostly highway and it should have 4 doors so I can do the occasional pick up and drop off of the youngsters.
I was looking at Late E36/early e46 BMWs, AWD volvos, Subarus, etc. I would prefer AWD for the winter months, but am confident enough in my driving abilities that with snow tires I could handle myself just fine in less than ideal conditions.
Hm, can't get bead on your location to tell you whether or not you'd really need AWD. First suggestion would obviously be a WRX. Second, I'd find something like a Mazdaspeed Protege (A little tempramental sometimes, but dayum are they fun) or perhaps a Protege5.
http://asheville.craigslist.org/cto/1825368017.html
not mine
Sorry, I'm in southern New Hampshire commuting from the Manchester area to the seacoast.
In which case, my suggestions stand. I have friends with all of the aforementioned vehicles (I'm sort of a Mazda guy) and with a decent set of Blizzaks, no one's had an issue in MN. Only place I could see low slung piglets like that being an issue might be Buffalo NY.
You're looking at what I would look at; just bear in mind the tradeoff between the fact that the BMW is a nice place to spend time and drive vs the expected fuel economy, likely in the 28mpg range on premium gas. If you want less expensive to operate and more boring I'd look at the 4-cyl 5-speed Accord.
mndsm wrote: In which case, my suggestions stand. I have friends with all of the aforementioned vehicles (I'm sort of a Mazda guy) and with a decent set of Blizzaks, no one's had an issue in MN. Only place I could see low slung piglets like that being an issue might be Buffalo NY.
I ran a Miata on Hakka1s for 2 full winters in Buffalo without any issues. It was fun to plow through snow up to hood height with the top down! There's likely to be more snow in VT though; poor Buffalo gets a bad rap for snow. Syracuse typically gets the same or more, and north of Syracuse at the east end of Lake Ontario gets dumped on in a serious way.
Wife has an E46 325 XiT (wagon) and it laughs at snow/ice/mud/zombie guts, gets great mileage and is fun to drive.
Is the terrain in NH as hilly, etc as (say, Barre) Vermont? I've been to VT, but not to NH. If it is, I'd probably want the AWD if I were you. Then again, I'm a native flatlander.
I'm not sure if the e36 was ever offered with AWD. e30s and e46s were....
I'm gonna shoot for RWD in snow for the first time this year... I'm hoping I can afford a decent set of snows, though. I don't have a whole lot of hills to deal with, though.
Subaru anything? 4x4 truck/suv (you didn't mention fuel economy)...
4 is not an acceptable amount of doors for a car unless 2 of them are stock and of the "suicide" variety.
If I could only have one, I'd take a 2nd set of wheels with good winter tires over AWD.
Your criteria are pretty much the same as mine (well, my girlfriend's, which means they're mine), so I'll recommend my plan: < '04 ZX5 Focus with a 2.3 Duratec and a stick. Swap on the full SVT suspension (around $300 for the full kit) and you have an economical and functional daily that won't bore you to tears.
2.3L Mazda 3 3.0L Mazda 6 2.3L Focus ZX3/5
i love proteges but after owning two of them, i wouldn't want to drive 100 highway miles/day in one. but if you don't mind the engine noise, that would do well and come in way under your budget.
pigeon wrote: I ran a Miata on Hakka1s for 2 full winters in Buffalo without any issues. It was fun to plow through snow up to hood height with the top down! There's likely to be more snow in VT though; poor Buffalo gets a bad rap for snow. Syracuse typically gets the same or more, and north of Syracuse at the east end of Lake Ontario gets dumped on in a serious way.
http://nh.craigslist.org/ctd/1838330924.html
http://nh.craigslist.org/cto/1838330187.html
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/ctd/1835572203.html
Put $2k of the budget toward preventive maint.
http://nh.craigslist.org/ctd/1833650964.html
pigeon wrote: North of Syracuse at the east end of Lake Ontario gets dumped on in a serious way.
True story. I go to school up there.
The legacy is a salvage title. I already called on that. I'm always hearing mixed info on the Subies as well. I'm kind of spoiled having driven my wife's '04 Lexus RX330 for the past 4 months. I haven't found a WRX in my price range that wasn't beat yet, or I'd be all over it.
I did find a nice e36 with low miles in the next town over from mine that I'm going to take a look at tomorrow, and if I like what I see, I'll probably just buy it. From my conversations with the owners wife, it's babied and seems like a good value at around $5k.
The worst hill I have to deal with is going up to my house. My house is about 610 feet above sea level and I'm pretty sure 590 of it is the base of my road and running up to the top of my driveway. I've heard that with snows these cars aren't too bad, and I had driven my 2000 Miata for several winters about the same distance so I'm experienced with the drive.
I drove an e46 (323i with 130k on the clock) that was nice and tight, but had a CEL and rust around the windshield and bottom of the driver door that kind of turned me off.
jrw1621 wrote: http://nh.craigslist.org/ctd/1838330924.html http://nh.craigslist.org/cto/1838330187.html http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/ctd/1835572203.html Put $2k of the budget toward preventive maint. http://nh.craigslist.org/ctd/1833650964.html
I sold my '99 E46 328i with about 168k on the clock for 8 grand about 2 years ago. It was in good condition, clutch was original, I had recently replaced a rear door with a junkyard piece due to lower door rust issues - I think that's pretty common with these cars. Mine had a set of E46 M3 seats in it that were, well, the E36 M3. Superbly comfortable, supportive, the air bladders would squeeze you tight if you wanted, the heat made my back feel great. Highly recommended if you get an E46 and can find a set.
The E46 at this dealer looks pretty good, though it's got non-stock wheels on it. The Volvo would make a great stealth cruiser. http://www.kensingtonautoworks.com/carsale.html
Carrera4 wrote: My house is about 610 feet above sea level and I'm pretty sure 590 of it is the base of my road and running up to the top of my driveway.
I really can't help..but couldn't resist saying this quote should find its way into the magazine! 
I drove my e36 through Wisconsin winters with a set of Blizzaks. It handled the snow better than our Legacy until it got over 4" deep. I'm tempted to invest in a set for the Legacy GT that replaced the e36 but can't justify the expense.
You can get a decent Mazda3 (5speed ONLY!) at that price.
For something bigger but also very much faster than a non turbo 3, consider a 3.5L/6spd 2003 maxima. they can occasionally be found for 7k.
Well I pulled the trigger on a '93 325i sedan with only 66k miles. The thing is rediculously clean and even if it was a bit over priced at $5000 the car is tighter than my wife's RX330 with only 52K and certainly better than a few of the 100K+ e46 cars I drove. The price also leaves room in the budget for a set of extra rims and snows - although it might be too nice to drive in the winters . . .
sounds nice.. post pics!
Carrera4 wrote: Sorry, I'm in southern New Hampshire commuting from the Manchester area to the seacoast.
Dang it... I was going to suggest you buy my wife's Benz E300, but we're in Austin TX.
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/1837943665.html
Make you a deal... I'll buy the plane ticket if you want to buy it 
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