YACT

[imported_Scourge]

-12k is the budget, could go a little more if its worth it. (This is for a friend btw). She wants to spend that amount, and maybe shoot for an older Lexus or something along those lines, although she is open. Kind of the entry-luxury segment. A coupe could work, although a sedan is better. She does not need something that is really fast and gets terrible gas mileage, but decent to good power, luxury, and at least passable gas mileage. (17 or so around town, 28ish on the highway is the minimum). It also needs to be fairly reliable, as she is definitely not a mechanic. I don't really keep up with Lexus and that line of cars, so I figured hey, ATOT could always use another car thread. You can't get enough of them. Looking to make the purchase sometime in the next 6 months or so, if that matters.

We're not looking for things like: A Mustang, Miata, A 1993 Corvette, a Golf GTI, a Honda Civic, a SUV or Truck, any form of 2-seater.

Cliffs:
-10-12k
-No coupes or SUV's/Trucks
-Decent gas mileage and good reliability
-Luxury, used
-Less than 10 years old


Is this possible? What fits? Does she need to spend a little more?

 

[vi edit]

2000'ish Lexus ES300.

Possibly a loaded up 2000'ish Maxima.

Then there's the Acura TL but you have to check the years. Some of them have a bit of a glass jaw transmission. Not sure on the model years though.

 

[xanis]

How about a nice 2000-ish Acura CL? Most can be found for around $12K and some even have navigation option on them.

 

[eits]

vw passat ftw!!!!

passat = safe as hell, great gas mileage (23 city, 31 hwy), beautiful, blue dash lights, roomy, zippy...

treat yourself to a 2003 passat, dude... seriously.

 

[sniperruff]

a 02' or newer maxima. reliable, powerful, and ok styling.

 

[DeviousTrap]

2002ish Saab 9-5. Reliable if maintained, and in your price range due to crappy depreciation.

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: eits
vw passat ftw!!!!

passat = safe as hell, great gas mileage (23 city, 31 hwy), beautiful, blue dash lights, roomy, zippy...

treat yourself to a 2003 passat, dude... seriously.

I'm going to assume that this friend of his doesn't have much time or money to dedicate to the car, so a VW wouldn't be that great. The parts are hard as hell to get and they're expensive to boot. I suggested the Acura because its reliable and the parts are reasonable at least...

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: eits
vw passat ftw!!!!

passat = safe as hell, great gas mileage (23 city, 31 hwy), beautiful, blue dash lights, roomy, zippy...

treat yourself to a 2003 passat, dude... seriously.

I'm going to assume that this friend of his doesn't have much time or money to dedicate to the car, so a VW wouldn't be that great. The parts are hard as hell to get and they're expensive to boot. I suggested the Acura because its reliable and the parts are reasonable at least...

Look, VWs get a bad rap because of the mexican/south american built Jettas, Beetles, and Golfs...but the Passat is pretty reliable car. Mine now has 95k with no significant issues.

Edit: And why do you think the parts are so hard to get? Its not like Passats are rare.

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: eits
vw passat ftw!!!!

passat = safe as hell, great gas mileage (23 city, 31 hwy), beautiful, blue dash lights, roomy, zippy...

treat yourself to a 2003 passat, dude... seriously.

I'm going to assume that this friend of his doesn't have much time or money to dedicate to the car, so a VW wouldn't be that great. The parts are hard as hell to get and they're expensive to boot. I suggested the Acura because its reliable and the parts are reasonable at least...

Look, VWs get a bad rap because of the mexican/south american built Jettas, Beetles, and Golfs...but the Passat is pretty reliable car. Mine now has 95k with no significant issues.

Edit: And why do you think the parts are so hard to get? Its not like Passats are rare.

I should have made a correction, the parts aren't has hard to get as I may have said. They are, however, expensive. I knew someone who had to pay $400 to get a new key coded and milled for his Passat.

 

[imported_Scourge]

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: eits
vw passat ftw!!!!

passat = safe as hell, great gas mileage (23 city, 31 hwy), beautiful, blue dash lights, roomy, zippy...

treat yourself to a 2003 passat, dude... seriously.

I'm going to assume that this friend of his doesn't have much time or money to dedicate to the car, so a VW wouldn't be that great. The parts are hard as hell to get and they're expensive to boot. I suggested the Acura because its reliable and the parts are reasonable at least...

Look, VWs get a bad rap because of the mexican/south american built Jettas, Beetles, and Golfs...but the Passat is pretty reliable car. Mine now has 95k with no significant issues.

Edit: And why do you think the parts are so hard to get? Its not like Passats are rare.

I should have made a correction, the parts aren't has hard to get as I may have said. They are, however, expensive. I knew someone who had to pay $400 to get a new key coded and milled for his Passat.

I don't have much experience with the Passat, but is it really that much better than a Jetta? One problem with VW is that we don't have a dealership in town. The closest thing is a good hour away on a good day, and the roads get closed fairly often here during winter. I have a friend with a Jetta, and when something went wrong he had a terrible time with it, he ended up getting rid of the car. While it was decent on the reliability scale, I wasn't very impressed with it... little things went wrong fairly often, and when they did, it was expensive.

I'm liking the Lexus ES300 the most so far-

Thanks for the responses so far everyone.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Scourge

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: eits
vw passat ftw!!!!

passat = safe as hell, great gas mileage (23 city, 31 hwy), beautiful, blue dash lights, roomy, zippy...

treat yourself to a 2003 passat, dude... seriously.

I'm going to assume that this friend of his doesn't have much time or money to dedicate to the car, so a VW wouldn't be that great. The parts are hard as hell to get and they're expensive to boot. I suggested the Acura because its reliable and the parts are reasonable at least...

Look, VWs get a bad rap because of the mexican/south american built Jettas, Beetles, and Golfs...but the Passat is pretty reliable car. Mine now has 95k with no significant issues.

Edit: And why do you think the parts are so hard to get? Its not like Passats are rare.

I should have made a correction, the parts aren't has hard to get as I may have said. They are, however, expensive. I knew someone who had to pay $400 to get a new key coded and milled for his Passat.

I don't have much experience with the Passat, but is it really that much better than a Jetta? One problem with VW is that we don't have a dealership in town. The closest thing is a good hour away on a good day, and the roads get closed fairly often here during winter. I have a friend with a Jetta, and when something went wrong he had a terrible time with it, he ended up getting rid of the car. While it was decent on the reliability scale, I wasn't very impressed with it... little things went wrong fairly often, and when they did, it was expensive.

I'm liking the Lexus ES300 the most so far-

Thanks for the responses so far everyone.

Yes, they are. Sadly, Volkswagen sacrificed build quality with some of their models for decreased manufacturing costs (by building them in Mexico). This not a wise move.

Passats are still built in Germany, and much better IMO.

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: eits
vw passat ftw!!!!

passat = safe as hell, great gas mileage (23 city, 31 hwy), beautiful, blue dash lights, roomy, zippy...

treat yourself to a 2003 passat, dude... seriously.

I'm going to assume that this friend of his doesn't have much time or money to dedicate to the car, so a VW wouldn't be that great. The parts are hard as hell to get and they're expensive to boot. I suggested the Acura because its reliable and the parts are reasonable at least...

Look, VWs get a bad rap because of the mexican/south american built Jettas, Beetles, and Golfs...but the Passat is pretty reliable car. Mine now has 95k with no significant issues.

Edit: And why do you think the parts are so hard to get? Its not like Passats are rare.

i had a passat... my friend totalled it. we were all fine and dandy, though. it's an awesome car... i love the shyt out of it.

 

[raildogg]

A 2003 Honda Accord or something similar if you want a nice car and semi-luxury.

You may be able to find a used Acura TL for that price which has xenon headlights and other goodies.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: raildogg
A 2003 Honda Accord or something similar if you want a nice car and semi-luxury.

You can get a used Acura TL for that price which has xenon headlights and other goodies.

What year and how many miles, generally speaking? (For the Acura TL)

 

[LordMorpheus]

Lincoln Town Car.

Can't beat the luxury, gets almost exactly those mileage numbers you threw out, cheap as hell (go for a '96 or '97).

Two things to look for on these cars - new air shocks (they leak air after about 10 years, find a car with new ones and you'll be fine), and the new intake manifold (the old, all plastic one caused all sorts of trouble, the new part aluminum one is great).

With those two things, you've got a very reliable car.

Interior comfort is better than anything I've ever driven, the ride is superbly comfortable, enough power to easily cruise on highways, easy to drive (though the size makes parking interesting).

Huge, too. So much interior space. 6 seatbelts, though you could easily fit 7 or 8 people in. with just four people, the car is incredibly comfortable for everyone (the front seats were the best car seats I've ever been in, until I sat in the back). More trunk space than anything save a wagon or SUV, full size spare in most cases.

It's a great car, i've had my '97 cartier for about a month now and I love it.

other plus: mine was 7k.

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: raildogg
A 2003 Honda Accord or something similar if you want a nice car and semi-luxury.

You can get a used Acura TL for that price which has xenon headlights and other goodies.

What year and how many miles, generally speaking? (For the Acura TL)

You can find many 2002, 2003 Acura 3.2TLs for around the price the OP listed. Nice cars btw. I still love the newer models but for the price, they are hard to beat.

 

[imported_Scourge]

Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
Lincoln Town Car.

Can't beat the luxury, gets almost exactly those mileage numbers you threw out, cheap as hell (go for a '96 or '97).

Two things to look for on these cars - new air shocks (they leak air after about 10 years, find a car with new ones and you'll be fine), and the new intake manifold (the old, all plastic one caused all sorts of trouble, the new part aluminum one is great).

With those two things, you've got a very reliable car.

Interior comfort is better than anything I've ever driven, the ride is superbly comfortable, enough power to easily cruise on highways, easy to drive (though the size makes parking interesting).

Huge, too. So much interior space. 6 seatbelts, though you could easily fit 7 or 8 people in. with just four people, the car is incredibly comfortable for everyone (the front seats were the best car seats I've ever been in, until I sat in the back). More trunk space than anything save a wagon or SUV, full size spare in most cases.

It's a great car, i've had my '97 cartier for about a month now and I love it.

other plus: mine was 7k.

I've looked into a Town Car, and I she wouldn't like it very much. Looking for more of a mid-size car here, I think. (I love the town car. She doesn't though, )


How does Volvo stack up? Particularly the S80

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: raildogg
A 2003 Honda Accord or something similar if you want a nice car and semi-luxury.

You can get a used Acura TL for that price which has xenon headlights and other goodies.

What year and how many miles, generally speaking? (For the Acura TL)

You can find many 2002, 2003 Acura 3.2TLs for around the price the OP listed. Nice cars btw. I still love the newer models but for the price, they are hard to beat.

Cool.

 

[imported_Scourge]

Finding anything newer than a 2001 TL for the price I'm going for would be pretty amazing. Even a 2001 would be tough... I'm not going for something with 175,000 on it. Hell, a 2001 Accord barley falls into the price range

 

[ballmode]

Maxima

Avalon