Edward

I know you're out there, you guys with great wives who let you get away with your hobby antics. Well I'm one of you and am in need of your collective advice:

I'm looking for that "nice" car that I we can finally afford/justify for a woman who really deserves it!! (hey, she's had to deal with me, right?)

Requirements:
- sub $50k ...this is used dollars
- a couple or so years old, hopefully still having some kind of "certified" warranty of sorts.
- 4 door sedan (no crossovers, SUVs, etc ...kids aren't really "kids" anymore). Think BMW 7 size, but no bigger ...like it doesn't have to be longer for great comfort, so long as it's larger than a 5 series.
- reliable ...biggie here! I still have a family budget so this has gotta be like 993 reliable!
- Thinking mainly BMW, Audi, Merc, really, but maybe whatever others, but reliability/ownership cost is key!

I know you guys have great stables, and also have read that you've perhaps regretted a purchase here and there. So gimme a hand here to treat that special woman, would ya?

Edward

goofballdeluxe

If reliable is a biggie, you could no better than the top shelf 4-door Lexus sedan. Girls always seem to love it, and it's perennially the top rated brand for reliability/ownership costs

u7t2p7

My advice...ask your wife what SHE wants; otherwise I'd go Audi...let her look at S4 or A6 S line, depending on the size, performance and features she's looking for.

NYC993

Check out used 2010-2013 E350/550. It's german camry. I've had MB GLK for over 6 years with pretty much zero problems (many componets are the same). Very basic and simple maintenance if you DIY (except for tranny fluid flush). Older E class is still made in germany.

jfischet

we got my wife a 2006 cayman s and she loves it!

mpruden

Audi A7 CPO

tomc_mets

As someone else said, ask your wife. Failing that, E class Benz would be my suggestion. Or, a used Panny?
T

Edward

Oooh, advice already, cool!

Well my wife isn't a car buff, so "pretty" and "classy" is her speed ...that and she trusts that what I will get will be a good, solid car.

As you can already tell, I am gravitating toward the 3 germans as that's always been her leaning for "that's a really nice car." But the avid wrench that I have been for these decades has made me leery of the ever-increasing electronic bugaboos that plague lots of todays good german sedans (which if you grew up as I did through the 80-90s, the 3 Teutons were more about "solid performers" and not so plagued by these expensive and fail-prone electronic nannies). So this is why I say "reliable" is key.

1. The C or E class sounds great ...and thanks for the 2010-13 recommendation as these are the kind of specifics I need for the hunt. Other MBs in my range?

2. Audis have always struck me as a great value leader among the 3, but I think she'd be more smitten by the MB bodies. But yes, A6 is ok but A8 size may be better.
EDIT: yikes, I just looked up A7 ....niiiiice! Any thoughts on how these have held up?

3. Always did like the 5 and 7 series (though not that bungled up rear end of the 5 from some years back). Again, I think I'd be leaning toward the 7 as she tends to like something just a tad bit bigger than the accord/camry sized sedans.

4. Lexus/Infinity/Acura: yeah, I know, I grew up with solid Japanese cars for decades. But the bodies of these haven't really stood out as "timeless classics" IMHO. So as good as they are as vehicles, I don't think my woman wants an appliance That said, I may give a Lexus another look, but only because you said it, goofball

Keep the thoughts and advice coming, folks. I really appreciate it as I haven't been on top of car specs and evals in many years, so your real-world wisdom and reliability experience over ownership years is very much what I need here.


Edward

mpruden

Regarding the A7 - I don't have direct experience with that model, I just love the looks and it seems to fit your wife's requirements and budget.

Between my siblings and their families, we've owned 11 or 12 VW/Audis starting with a 97 A4. We've yet to have a bad one. Aside from ball joints, nothing really sticks out as unreliable on these cars in my experience.

I would recommend a CPO car with the associated warranty just in case. You pay a bit more for it, but good insurance given the complexity of modern cars.

Since you like to wrench, there's a pretty active community of Audi owners, complete with a very robust software package (VCDS from ross-tech.com) for talking to the car's computers.

goofballdeluxe

Hey, I don't love Lexus as much as the Germans, but ask any here about German reliability of modern Teutonics over the last decade out of warranty, and I'm sure you'll hear a few horror stories.

If wifey is only keeping it for a few years and looks trump reliability, I'm in the German camp as well.

But if rock-solid reliability is the main thing, the Lexus range can't be topped.

Good luck with your search

NYC993

I would avoid C, it's cheapish and made in Mexico iirc. E-class is made in Germany. Those things are used as taxis for a reason. CLS is really nice and fast, but it gets more complicated so more things can go wrong. You also have only 2 seats in the back.

Quick summary of my 6 year experience. I bought car new, and believe it was made in Hungary. The simple models are very easy to maintain. Annual oil change ($80 for M1 oil and filter), every two years cabin filter and brake fluid flush ($40 for filter and fluid), every 4 years engine filters ($25) and tranny flush ($400 at dealer). Tranny flush is not a simple drain and refill and better left to dealer. At 56k miles, I still have original brakes, original plugs, original belts, battery (about to go), coolant etc. So I would actually look at a car with more miles that had more things replaced.

As I mentioned, there are some failures in the 4matic cars, but they tend to happen early under warranty. I would try to avoid air suspension, as those things will fail sooner or later and not cheap.

Nice perk that only Benz has is lifetime roadside assistance, which includes towing to MB dealer. Your wife gets a flat, calls the 1-800 number and they come and put a spare on. It's not limited to CPO cars and valid on your Benz as long as you own it.

EMBPilot

Civic, but get the nice one w air conditioning

AllMine

I know you said no to Infiniti, dont make up your mind before giving them a sampling.. I find them more "sporting" than the lexus.. Under appreciated in my opinion, very comfortable seating in the M class. Replaced with the Q class I believe. Mercs are nice status symbols, but again no way I would own one without a warranty, especially anything AMG... I really want to like the Jaguars, their past reputation (like land rover) scares the hell out of me......
Just sayin
Curt

tomc_mets

On C vs. E Benz, I'd definitely go for an E. Wife has gotten C class loaners when her SLK has been in for annual service, and they're not as classy as E class our friend has. IMO, of course...T

Ed Hughes

My non-car girl wife LOVES her E350.