Thinking of a new ride: wagon edition

Always loved that car!

Followed one for 20 minutes on the way home yesterday and immediately thought of this thread.

Nice iron, but I’ll be keepin my '89 'Scort for a while longer…

Nice place to live, for sure.

Last time I have seen an Escort like this most have been in the last millenium. Yours must be “Radioactive-Scort” … :wink:

mo-i

My late mum’s ride. It lived in their garage for for the first sixteen years of it’s life; she puttered around town in it; groceries, errands and such. It still only has a tad over 70K on it, and it’s worse enemy now (besides my right foot) is that big body of salt water that’s a mile from the driveway where it sits.

It’s bit of a sleeper, the Authorities don’t seem to notice it much and when you take your foot off the throttle it decelerates rapidly. It’s not often that one values deceleration over acceleration. And I do rather like it’s matronly appearance but I think it could use a pair of Big Oscars on the front bumper; about 25% of it’s current blue book value.

mmmmmmm Caddy wagon

Jesus as if that car needed even more rubber on the back end.

Back to the original thought - I see you have the Outback but what about the WRX 5 door? It’s slightly smaller but definitely going to be much more fun to drive. You’re teetering on STI territory too with that price range.

Impreza is a little small.

Cadillac is not reliable (though probably my favorite design in that category).

Lexus is impossible to find. I think it’s been years since I’ve seen one in Canada. Also, the production stopped in '05, making it outside my 5 year window.

My wife and I are discussing maybe going cheaper and older…will keep everyone posted.

To be fair the CTS and Cadillac’s are very reliable overall, but the V is still $50k used and the used market for wagons doesn’t exist.

Of you are going late model import wagon you are probably sacrificing styling and handling attest, so why not go SUV? You can get a recent Porsche cayenne for about 10-12 and an mt is even an option.

R

The X5 also handles extremely well, driving it back to back with my wife’s Nissan Rogue it makes the Rogue feel like a box truck. If canyon carving is part of your daily routine then cars will still get better gas mileage and handle better, but the X5 is worth a look if you’re willing to test drive one.

I’ve seen a lot of nice BMW e46 wagons, and yes even just two days ago a very nice e39 wagon. finding one without a lot of miles is the trick as they can be costly to maintain.

Did you guys not get Rays original memo with the briefing?

mo-i

You’ve never had a client give you a brief you didn’t follow? :slight_smile: sometimes the solution is that the problem is the problem, not the solution to the problem…

R

I’m sticking to my IS 300 choice. We’ll see how this plays out.

NURB: I saw a sedan IS300 on Sat. Very weird mix of horrible interior plastics, funky retro '80’s dash and Tokyo Drift exterior styling. No wagons for sale around Montreal.

My wife and I are considering not spending as much money and just getting another Focus, but the wagon version. I found a '06 with 60k miles, sun roof and stick shift for $3500. I can just abandon it by the side of the road in a couple years are be ahead on cost versus some of the euro stuff mentioned.

That’s thinking like a new Dad! Welcome to the club!

Really? Get a car, not an appliance. Life is too short. For the same money, you can get an older euro, spend the same in 3 years, enjoy it more, and sell it for almost what you paid for it instead of leaving it by the side of the road.

But maybe I don’t get it. I’m not a dad :wink:

R

When I had no kids, I’d be with you, Richard. But I don’t know what it is. That first year is pretty terrifying, and sort of puts you in your place financially. It did me anyway. You see how much money flows straight from your bank account to that kid, and you tend to make slightly different choices. I’m not saying its always that way, or that everyone experiences it that way, it’s just how I felt at first.

Even financially, I can’t believe a disposable car is a better proposition.

R