joey c

well i have had enough...i have 1 car and a 60 pound dog (buddy)..i travel a lot and take him to a kennel 40 miles from my house..he is killing my car...drool everywhere,and he **** in the back seat last week..than goodness i had a blanket back there..

so i am buying something next week..i want to spend 10-12k...i was looking at the following:1999 bmw 528it 110k mile
2001 mercedes e???
jeep wrangler
lincoln nav
volvo wagon
most of these cars are either pushing 100k or over..driving a 911,i am leaning to the bmw or mercedes...i like the volvo also..thanks in advance..all the best,joey

ked

"2001 mercedes e???"
that's what I did... have an '89, no dog, but bikes. bought at 110K, now have 160K - no bad surprises (good surprise - performance! handling!), even decent fuel economy - will go to .25M mi, Im sure. could have picked a nice BMW 5 Touring, but there weren't many available at the time. these wagons are not so stultifyingly boring to drive as are jeeps, suvs & etc. +, if you work on 'em yourself, they're pretty straight-forward. Volvo's fall into the boring category, & the parts are just as costly as the Benz. 10-12K should getcha a good selection - don't exclude older ones if they have a good history - many prefer the late '80s early '90s TE. Have fun!

Jay Gratton

Wagon, SUVs are death traps and roll over to easy. Also, why pay the extra for gas and 4 wheel drive. Go with the Volvo because for that money you are buying a lot of car.

pu911rsr

I have been driving a Volvo wagon for years, good car just don't get it serviced at a Volvo dealer.
Phil

Slantnose!

Yeah, the Mercedes wagon is alright.
Had ours since new and pretty reliable.
Seats fold down and eveything is nice and flat, perfect for a big dog...or a bunch of Hoosiers.

Peter Zimmermann

My vote goes to the VW Touareg. I know, the V8 is thirsty, but the machine is fast, the brakes are nothing short of brilliant, and the thing handles incredibly well due in large part to its Porsche Cayenne-like platform (we do not have, or want, the height-adjustable option). We had a super-early '04, bought in Oct. '03, and with a year left on the warranty we replaced it with an '06 bought at a heavy discount in early '07. My wife loves driving the thing so much that she opts to use it instead of an available company car - for instance, she goes to Sacramento tomorrow and returns Thursday evening. They reimburse her for fuel, and I don't mind the miles, that's what we have it for. A little wind noise from the roof rack, but if you don't like that you can take it off. Even at 90 on the interstate the thing is confident and very sure-footed.

niche

I have same issue... two big dogs. I got a 95 chevy Tahoe and I really like it. Cheap parts, uses cheap fuel, lots of torque, reliable even with over 150k miles on the clock.

Slantnose!

True...love my Suburban and great for towing, but gas prices keep parked for the most part.

84_Carrera

Subaru Legacy GT Wagon. Nice performance, AWD, did I mention nice performance? Quick little turbo, easy mods.

aron in toronto

Ditto on the Volvo recommendation. I have a 98 V70 GLT, and its a great utility vehicle. They have a loyal cult following with some good DIY web forums. I compared it with several MB E class wagons of the same vintage, and as much as I wanted to like the Benzs, they just felt dated. My wife has a MB c230 now and I still would rather drive the Volvo even though it has almost 10x the miles on it. Ironically we will probably be replacing both the Volvo and c230 with a low mile e430 in the spring. Not sure if its going to be a good move.

Mike Murphy

The jeep aint gonna last much past 170k miles, IMO.

I'd go for the Bimmer, since they are generally cheaper to maintain than a Mercedes.

joey c

well...you guys are gonna laugh.i found a town and country...80k..9300 bucks its a 2003...i really like it..i really do..go figure..some years back, a friend of mine bought one and i called him a *** for getting it..well i drove a lot of cars today and liked this one the most..it feels pretty peppy ..its got a 3.8 260hp engine..its felt as good as the 99 bimmer i drove..its seats six,and i can take all the back seats out and buddy the mutt will have a lot of room to drool and whatever else he does..thanks,joey

porsche930dude

a wrangler is probrobly the most likely to fail of your options but its definatly the one with the most character. Youll become a jeep person real quick. Either that or youll hate it and sell it in a week. Theres nothin like driving somthing with no top or doors. Of course i have one so im partial.

jakeflyer

I bought a Santa Fe v6 auto, heated seats, sunroof etc. with 10,000 miles for $10,000 a couple of years ago. Back and forth Calif to Texas is about 22 to 24 mpg. and now has 55,000. I am impressed with the car as an excellent quality value. The factory manual was $100 (2 books total 9 inches thick) and very well done for those who like to work on their own stuff. I have looked at a couple of manual shift M3 BMWs and they are really quick cars, years 1998 and older for $9,000 to $11,000. The coupe was nice but if I needed another 4 door, this would be the car. I think it is about 240hp for those years and they do handle well.

Peter Zimmermann

DUH! I didn't see the price limitation comment until now - sorry! You're not going to find a Touareg for $10K unless it's totaled! I'm going to slink away to my room now...