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Shopping for mid/full size comfy sporty/powerful cruising car

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Originally posted by: Knavish
Hmmm well I think the auto sales tax rate in Alabama is 2%... might help a bit, but tax still sucks.
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And in NC it was 3%. The kicker is that FL requires you to pay sales tax on any vehicle not purchased more than 6 months prior to you registering it in Florida. Since FL has no income tax and generally doesn't have much else in the way of uniform state taxes, they get you with things like vehicle and property tax. Pro's and con's I suppose.
 
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: Knavish
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: halik
How the hell are you cross shopping TL/TSX and a crown vic?
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Roomier than my Legacy
Semi-sporty/powerful (More the Maurader than Crown Vic)
$12K or less price range
Good highway cruiser
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I did find that Acura vs. Crown Vic comment to be pretty funny 🙂 ... but more on topic, it sounds like you're more interested in a cruiser that has decent power for acceleration, and don't care so much about handling. I don't think I'd ever try to claim a car like the Marauder has sporty handling.

What about the Impala SS / Buick Lacrosse Super -- these both have the Chevy 5.3L V8. I bet these cars are pretty fast in a straight line.
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It doesn't need to pull 1g on the skidpad, but I can't stand a sloppy suspension.

My Dad has an Impala SS with the 5.3L and it's plenty fast. The suspension isn't what I would call sloppy, but it is a bit soft. However I don't think the newer models with the nicer interior are available in my price range.

I did look at the late model Grand Prix's with the V8 and Comp-G package, but the interior is HORRIBLE.

Also as I noted in my previous post, it looks like FL's 6% sales tax will make my plans rather ineffective.
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From my personal crow vic experience (grand marquis, same thing), the car handles like a water bed on wheels. Outside the non-existent steering wheel feedback (and I mean NONEXISTENT) and lazyboy cushions as a seat, the car is beyond body roll - it literally lists on it's side on every on ramp and the rear end gets very jumpy if the ramp surface is uneven.

It's gotta be one of the worst cars I've ever driven.
 
Originally posted by: Corn
2001 Audi A8 in your area, less than $12K.

Looks like a pretty nice car. Should be roomy enough and appears to have an extended warranty for another 30k miles or so. I'd definitely give this a look.
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Good searching. I'm actually not in NC anymore, but wow that is a deal. Sure it has a lot of miles, but dealership maintained is excellent.

I'm a bit turned off to Audi as a car that I have to maintain myself after a friend had to take the bumper off his early 2000'a A4 to get the last bolt out of the alternator...
 
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Good searching. I'm actually not in NC anymore, but wow that is a deal. Sure it has a lot of miles, but dealership maintained is excellent.

I'm a bit turned off to Audi as a car that I have to maintain myself after a friend had to take the bumper off his early 2000'a A4 to get the last bolt out of the alternator...
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Update that profile if you want someone to find you a nice car!

I had to have the headlight replaced on my Lexus IS350. They had to take the bumper cover off for that too. 😉
 
Yeah, that's why I'm turned off from the high end luxo boxes. BMW, Audi, and I guess Lexus too - maintenance can be a real bitch. About the only tricky thing on my Subaru is spark plugs because they're on the side of the engine and you've got to remove some stuff to get to them.

This would have been a car to last another few years till we get back to a state that has curvy roads and not constant traffic lights impeding the enjoyment of my vehicular conveyance.

But that A8 sure would be a nice whip. I'm not so thrilled with the looks, but I bet it's like a cheap ticket to a VIP box suite inside 😉
 
I LOVED my 2002 Q45, it was a big beast, comfortable as hell, hauled some serious ass, and got 22MPG to boot. It was totaled in December, and thanks to it's size I walked away without any bumps or bruises. A car like that is very cheap on the used market and you will probably have no problems with it aside from an O2 sensor here or there. I had a 147k miles on it before she went to car heaven lol, I had the sport package with can be adjusted from sport to comfy mode with a button and it had 18". its 340HP and 346 ft-lbs of torque and the same V8 that is currently used in the M45. IF you do pursue one, PM me I have a few more thoughts I could share with you.
 
The Grand Prix has a ton of room but like most American cars from that era, the seats are more like arm chairs, the interior design is terrible and the suspension calibration sucks. If you want awesome seats, I recommend that you check out the Volvo S60R. Those seats are hands down the best I've ever experienced in a car(support on the lower back area and nice big bolsters to hold you in) although the regular S60 seats aren't bad either. Those seats beat the seats in Mazdaspeed 3s, 911s and several large and expensive luxury cars. The only problem is that they aren't particularly roomy.

If you want large cars, you'll probably have to go American and not very sporty. Personally, I prefer cars with excellent seats and nice taunt suspensions and those traits tend to be found in smaller cars.

some cars to consider
Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego(very handsome cars IMO)
Pontiac Bonneville( can be had with v8)
'00-'05 Cadillac Deville DTS- "sport" version of the deville




 
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Yeah, that's why I'm turned off from the high end luxo boxes. BMW, Audi, and I guess Lexus too - maintenance can be a real bitch. About the only tricky thing on my Subaru is spark plugs because they're on the side of the engine and you've got to remove some stuff to get to them.

This would have been a car to last another few years till we get back to a state that has curvy roads and not constant traffic lights impeding the enjoyment of my vehicular conveyance.

But that A8 sure would be a nice whip. I'm not so thrilled with the looks, but I bet it's like a cheap ticket to a VIP box suite inside 😉
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Out of curiosity, have you given any thought to the Saab 9-5 I suggested? It's not quite as large as a boat, but it also won't have the same boat-like suspension of the Marauder. I've maintained two of them for family members and they're very simple to take care of, at least compared to most modern cars. Consumer Reports (as meaningless as they are) even rates them above average for reliability (which they are).
 
Originally posted by: sindows
The Grand Prix has a ton of room but like most American cars from that era, the seats are more like arm chairs, the interior design is terrible and the suspension calibration sucks. If you want awesome seats, I recommend that you check out the Volvo S60R. Those seats are hands down the best I've ever experienced in a car(support on the lower back area and nice big bolsters to hold you in) although the regular S60 seats aren't bad either. Those seats beat the seats in Mazdaspeed 3s, 911s and several large and expensive luxury cars. The only problem is that they aren't particularly roomy.

If you want large cars, you'll probably have to go American and not very sporty. Personally, I prefer cars with excellent seats and nice taunt suspensions and those traits tend to be found in smaller cars.

some cars to consider
Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego(very handsome cars IMO)
Pontiac Bonneville( can be had with v8)
'00-'05 Cadillac Deville DTS- "sport" version of the deville
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Agreed about the Grand Prix. My Mom had an S60 and while it was a great car, it might be a bit small for my needs. However if we end up getting my SO a car rather than me, a V70 wagon would be right up her alley...
 
Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
Out of curiosity, have you given any thought to the Saab 9-5 I suggested? It's not quite as large as a boat, but it also won't have the same boat-like suspension of the Marauder. I've maintained two of them for family members and they're very simple to take care of, at least compared to most modern cars. Consumer Reports (as meaningless as they are) even rates them above average for reliability (which they are).
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You know, I did look into it and it is intriguing. I've seen a few on the road and while the styling doesn't do anything for me, the better suspension would be a blessing. I'd need to lookup interior volumes, because it doesn't seem much bigger than my Legacy?
 
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

I'm a bit turned off to Audi as a car that I have to maintain myself after a friend had to take the bumper off his early 2000'a A4 to get the last bolt out of the alternator...
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Ha unnecessary. You can do it without pulling the clip to the "service position", the key is to unbolt the AC lines off the block and move them forward and up. After that you can drop the alternator and in my case swap the starter. (96 A4, starter blew up after a room mate started the car in gear and handbrake)
 
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
I had a '95 Mark VIII for a few years. Very nice car. Horrible rain/snow traction. Excellent cruiser. Trunk was long but shallow. Overall I liked it a lot. Reliability was good, though the '95 and earlier cars had some issues with the 1-2 shift valve in the AOD-E transmission. Later models had this corrected.

ZV
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No LSD right? That would be something I'd want to correct. There is actually a rather mint 98 locally, priced a bit high around $7K I believe.

What's your fuel economy like?
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No LSD, '95 had a brake-based traction control setup which was worthless (and which operated only below 25 mph), I believe that after '97 or so they went to an all-speed traction control that also cut throttle as well as brake modulation, but it was not reputed to be much better.

Fuel economy was not good in the city. Tall gears are great on the freeway, but hurt in commuting. I averaged over 27 mpg when running free on the highway but only about 21-22 mpg in mixed commuting, dropping into the teens in prolonged city driving.

It's not a light car and it does have over 60% of its weight on the front axle, so it's not the most tossable car in the world, but for its size it can do surprisingly well if you adapt your driving to suit the car.

ZV
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Did those have the air suspension? I worked with a guy who had an old Lincoln and the air suspension needed some work which would have cost well over $2k to fix. When those air suspensions start acting up they aren't cheap to fix.
 
always wanted a crown vic...not sure why since I'm a GM/honda guy. The Marauder is kinda the Holy Grail of big old modern day cars
 
I have a good friend who's got a 98 Mark VIII, he's been driving it as his daily driver for quite a few years now ... nice car, lots of power, comfortable, absolute crap in the snow.

I drove a 99 300M until just a couple months ago, it was very comfortable, and had decent power, but it was FWD, good in the snow though ....

I've driven 90s models Grand Prix GTP's, they were quick for a v6, slightly faster than my old 300M, but they didn't handle/corner quite as good .... To me, the supercharged 3.8 Grand Prix's are "wanna be" Grand Nationals ....

I've got an 08 Forester now (2.5 N/A), and I do miss the 75 or so horses that I lost going from the 3.5L V6 to the 2.5L I4, but it's actually quite comfortable for long drives. Went for a road trip to my Grandma's house about 250 miles away a month or so ago ... and my only complaint was road noise ....

Anyhow .... I think you should seriously consider an 87 Grand National or maybe a late 90s LS1 Caprice 🙂
 
What about using your GTO for road trips? I know mine was one of the best long distance cars I've been in. The seats felt great even after 5 hours, the gas mileage was good in the high 20s, and very roomy.

Other have recommended the Aurora and it was a really nice car. Compared to anything else in GM's lineup in the early 2000's, it had the best interior IMO. The car handled well and it made for a good trip car. It also had a very nice DOHC v6 or Northstar derived v8. It shared the same platform with the larger Bonneville. I took it on probably a handful of 4 hour trips and liked it.
 
Originally posted by: KentState
What about using your GTO for road trips? I know mine was one of the best long distance cars I've been in. The seats felt great even after 5 hours, the gas mileage was good in the high 20s, and very roomy.
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I don't have it anymore, but I agree - it was the COMFIEST car I've ever owned. Mileage for me topped out at 22-23 on the highway (06 M6) and a GTO wouldn't be my first choice in South Florida with all the rain. Trunk also sucks. I may get another one when I get out of FL 😉
 
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