well when you put it that way…
I kind of thought that until this:
That particular V6 can have oil consumption and timing chain issues,beware.
I drove a 08 V6 auto AWD CTS and I went in thinking this was the car I would fall in love with… I didn’t like it at all. weak power, noisy engine, firm ride without the benefit of good handling… There is a reason people like german cars. personally I would even consider accord or TL over a CTS. If you want status on a budget it is hard to beat though.
Naw I pulled my head out of my ass. I’ll stick with my original plan of spending $4-5k on something economical even if it is boring. Accord, Altima, Maxima, Vibe/Matrix, any Volvo, maybe a Civic, Mazda3/6, Subaru. No high mileage turbo cars, no balling on a budget.
Saabs can be had very cheap these days, and contrary to popular belief, they are pretty good cars. Not the MOST reliable, but not as bad as a lot of people say…plus they’re safe…
But a Volvo would be pretty awesome too…
Yeah, Saabs are tempting. Though the high mileage turbo car thing scares me. A stock turbo on a 100k+ car seems like a $1k grenade sitting under the hood when it goes. There was an '04 9-3 with a stick on craigslist a couple of weeks ago that had my eye.
This is actually sort of tempting. For $3k even if I have to put $1k into it to fix shit it’s still a deal.
http://buffalo.craigslist.org/cto/3003697164.html
They’re great cars, although the S80’s can be especially pricey to maintain…I’d lean towards and S40 or S60…either way, they are terrific cars to drive.
Maxima’s are nice 
Elaborate. Now. Do it.
---------- Post added at 11:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:14 AM ----------
Definitely an option. The damn things hold their value a bit too well though. I don’t want to pay $6k for a 12 year old car with 130k on the clock. Damn good cars…
---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 AM ----------
There was a Vibe with a manual and leather on craigslist a few weeks ago. Those cars are gay as the day is long, but I like them anyway. I would have bought that thing if I had already sold the boat.
Yea the maximas do hold their value. even for an 04 your looking at 8-10k for a decent one worth it IMO…of the 3 out of the 4 i have owned have been damn near 200k when i got rid of them…we will see how long this one lasts
I loved my volvo! Some old lady in a jeep slammed me in the rear and it still made the trip from Canandaigua back to Buffalo all crumpled up lol… I miss it everyday
The vibe GT shares the engine from the Celica GT-S so it’ll at least sound good lol
My 77 year old father just bought a new one. That’s all I can say. lol
No 4 cylinder cars sound good. But yeah, the Vibe and the Matrix are the same car, built at that GM/Toyota cooperative plant thing out in California that made the Prizm/Corolla combo as well.
His taste is as terrible as mine? Poor guy.
On of my friends has an 03 Volvo S60, 75k. In the last couple years it’s gotten pretty expensive in terms of repairs even with me helping him do a lot of it. Lots of suspension bits (tie rods, ball joints etc), CV shafts, the cluster shorted out, it’s constantly popping bulbs (headlight, turn, brake etc) and something to do with the brake booster (he took that one in because I said I wouldn’t touch it).
I also generally hate working on it because the Swedes do things a little different. The phrase “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me” is said at least once every time we work on it.
Uggh. Cars suck. I’m going to lease a Chevy Cruze.
---------- Post added at 01:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:23 PM ----------
How about this?
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=14072&endYear=2013&startYear=1981&makeCode1=SUB&searchRadius=25&maxPrice=6000&listingId=321275593&Log=0
http://www.mota.com/buy/listing/1999-Subaru-Impreza/mefda30
1999 impreza outback? Pretty boring but $4k with 111k could make a pretty good beater.
I had 140K on my 2004 Volvo S60R when I sold it, and had an amazing ownership experience…for what it’s worth…
---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 PM ----------
Disagree.
From the 2nd link…
Air Conditioning and Heater:
There’s something wrong with the A/C / heater.
lol… Awesome. Who needs heat in WNY? Not like it ever gets cold here.
^ That 3800 is a pretty bulletproof engine. I recommended one of these grand prix’s to a co-worker for his daughter about 4 years ago and other than replacing one rim that she mangled on NF potholes she’s had to do nothing to the car. That one had 40k when she got it though.
the interiors suck on the first generation. I liked the engine overall. I’m personally too cool to buy an automatic one.