dgjks6

I have a q7 with the vw narrow angle v6. Slow, reasonable gas mileage, and best of all cast iron block. It is indestructible. The make a cayenne with the same motor. Our q7 has 180K miles - oil changes every 10K. And it has never burned a drop of oil.

VivG

Late E46 or early E90/91 would be my vote. Not like I'm biased or anything. Or an early P!g.

Something about old Audis scares me from an upkeep standpoint.

johnireland

Look at a used VW CC.

Turbojamie

A Cadillac CTS v would be a good dd for you.

Billup

My DD is a 2008 128i, about to roll 180k miles, bought it with 50k miles about 4.5 years ago. It's got the NA N52 inline 6, which has been a workhorse. I can fold the seats down and fit my 5'9'' surfboard without issue. Only thing I've done is replace battery, brakes, oil changes, plugs, and coils.

Hell even if you just got a 328 it might give you a little bit extra room length wise in the cabin. Pretty sure they'll fall in the $5-$10k range easily.

D.no

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/6119821669.html

This 2004 Acura MDX might fit the bill. Cheaper to maintain, lots of room, decent power.

AWDGuy

Jesus. sucker for punishment much? I would want something easier to maintain and helluva lot more reliable than a used german car/suv. I understand those cars are nice but if you have a used 996, you're going to have 1 money pit with that, why buy another?

Buy a the newest Toyota Camry you can find for 10k. Trunk is huge.

ejdoherty911

BMW done. There are so many to choose from you can find exactly the one you want at a very reasonable price.

Always wanted 1

I love the look of these but I don't think it fits the "utility" portion of my needs. I'll take a look at one in person.

Always wanted 1

The wife drives a Pilot. Least reliable car I've ever owned. It's also the only car I've ever owned that caught fire. The brother in law has a Civic that's always in the shop. Honda reliability? Whatever.

kgoertz

I'd also vote for an early e90 given that you can wrench yourself.
Maintenance and repairs can be significant but as long as you stay away from the 335i you likely wouldn't hit any huge repair bills. I have a tuned 335xi and the driving experience is a lot closer to then 996 than I was expecting.

docmirror

I have a very similar set of requirements. Except the midwest, but I do have to visit people and go to my place in CO.

If you want to stay in the Porsche family you're looking at an early Cayenne. Get one that has had the water xover pipes replaced. Big messy job. I looked at some of them and liked the ride and look, but was put off by the poor fuel econ and high regular mx. My wife wanted a MB R-350 with AWD. I drove two of those, and just like the Porsche, I couldn't get by the fuel use and high mx. Both of the MBs I drove had electrical issues, and I hear it's pretty common. We also looked at a couple Land Rover SE. Same thing, except the mx to keep that on the road was going to be a nightmare.

Finally, last Nov we settled. It's not very sporty, but I was tired of messing with these lux-Euro fuel hogs. I got a 2010 Subaru Forester. It was $5500 with 141k miles on it. It's been flawless since I put a set of tires on, and changed out the timing belt and rollers. A word of caution. The 2011-16 have some kind of issue with the piston rings, and they often have high oil consumption. Subaru has been hit with a number of replacements due to oil use problems, but only on the 2011 and later cars.

So far, I've made a dozen long trips in it with zero problems. Getting an honest 25MPG combined fuel use, and it'll haul your stuff with the rear seats folded. For the mission you've stated, it would be perfect, but again, it is not sporty of course.

charlieaf92

You should be able to pick up a nice A4 or 3 series in that price range. I had a 98 A4 for a while, the only 'normal' car I've ever owned, and I really liked it. Go for one with Quattro and a nicely trimmed interior.

gtvr6

Since you have the toy for when it is sunny, I would say look at getting something basic that you can just drive and not worry too much about.

You mentioned the E46 and I love those cars (had an '01 330Ci) but I think they have a lot of maintenance needs. I wouldn't want to spend too much time worrying about my daily driver. Full disclosure, I'm in the process of looking for a toy and my daily driver will be an E90 335i but only because I've had it for 7 years and I know what I have.

I'd recommend something like a used RAV-4, Rogue or even an Outback - reliable, roomy and all wheel drive for bad weather. Your first reaction may be that the cars I listed are boring and they are - they'll start when you need them and get you to your destination only asking for gas and an occasional oil change. And by being boring, it gives you more of an excuse to take out your 996.

Good luck.

jaetee

2005-2008 Acura RL. Mine has been extremely reliable, just regular maintenance and mnor issues, very tech'd out, All wheel drive. 300hp (oops, scratch that.... no fold down seats)
2004-2009 Porsche Cayenne S - I see them all the time under 10k in my area. (should really stop there... that's that one you should get).

Otherwise,
Audi/VW wagon
Benz Wagon
Beemer Wagon