Car Buying Advice - Help

[RedDog]

I am buying a used car in the near future to be my wife's daily driver and our traveling and weekend/out on the town car. We would plan to keep this car for 4 to 5 years - 100K - 150K miles. I have located 3 that have caught my eye and am looking for opinions.

1) 2004 Volvo S60, 2.4L, auto, 29K miles, $19K
2) 2004 Mercedes C320, 3.2L, auto, 15K miles, $25
3) 2006 Cadillac CTS, 3.6L, auto, 27K miles, $23.5K

[mrfixxall]

me being auto tech for the last 22 yrs and have worked on all of them,,you would probably get the least problems with the volvo..but their slow,,the c320 nice but turn into rattle wagons around 75k and are wireing nitemares,,had some electrical proplems..the caddy small and havnt had the chance to find anything out about them yet...\

may i suggest looking and driving a bmw,i know their a little more money but by far a drivers car...

good luck!

[MOP]

Buy a Park Ave!! My last one 137,000 2 sets of brakes, two set of tires, Mobile 1 every 5,000, 20+mpg in town, 30+mpg at 70 on cruise control and the ride beat the Euros above! And now in the process of buying another!!!

Phil

[gold-n-rod]

All the above will nickel and dime you to death. How about.......

a Toyota Avalon - great reliability
as MOP sez..... a Buick whatever, especially if you are a geezer
a Mercury Marquis (or Ford Crown Vic)

my 2 pennies,

[dfunde01]

Lexus

[yeller]

Mercedes reliability has gone down in the last few years.
We've had a 2004 Mercedes for the last 2yrs and wouldn't buy another one. We test drove the base models for Mercedes and BMW. The BMW was a far superior ride, but the wife liked the interior of the Mercedes and it was to be her car.
Wife agrees now, next time we'll go BMW.

[mrfixxall]

Buy a Park Ave!! My last one 137,000 2 sets of brakes, two set of tires, Mobile 1 every 5,000, 20+mpg in town, 30+mpg at 70 on cruise control and the ride beat the Euros above! And now in the process of buying another!!!
Phil

Boy mop did you drop your piggy bank,,two vehicles in one year:)

Yes the buicks ar great cars also and you cant beat that 3800,,like mos said about the 30 mpg per gallon but i got that mpg between 80 and 100 mpg in my old trafeo...

now about bmw,,they are built like a brick,,i just thrned 150000 in my 99 740i and never had any issues with it NEVER been back to the dealer for anything!

[dfunde01]

BMW and Mercedes are the cash cows in the import car repair business because we see so many. We see fewer problems with Lexus than any other brand.

[BUIZILLA]

one of my daughter's has a 2005 Acura TSX, the other has a 2003 325I, both have been GREAT and very reliable cars, especially the Acura, I bought them both brand new for them. My brother bought a used low mile 2004 325IT wagon with a stick, premium pkg and sport pkg, and I gotta say it's sure fun to drive and practical as hell... I drive my daughter's 325I every chance I get, her's has prem pkg, sport pkg, xenon's, tiptronic. The dealer we just bought the new X3 from calls me every week to buy/trade the 325 since it's a coupe, ultra clean, and they are in HOT demand used right now, he has a waiting list for used coupe trade in's. You can pick up a NICE sedan in the high teen's for a low mile '04. Her boyfriend just got a 335I coupe 6 speed, it's a rocket, his dad got a 550I sedan...

www.e46fanatics.com

[RedDog]

the boss isn't going to come close to considering a Park Ave, Grand Marq, Crown Vic, etc. I love them. The one criteria that has been specified is "no grandma car" - even if those would dog many sport cars out there. It's a perception thing ya know?

The Avalon is interesting.

Sedan / preferably sports sedan with at least comfortable seating for 4 is in order.

[RedDog]

I love the BMWs but was burned heavily for a transmission in a 535i before. I forget the year - maybe a '94? $6K repair

The Cad CTS reminds me of it in size, handling, and performance.

[DON N.]

My .02 Get The Caddy !

[roadtrip se]

1) Volvo for longevity.
2) Caddy for fun.
3) MB. Not so good recently, I wouldn't..

As for the Avalon, old people love them. Might want to check Consumer Reports too. They recently ranked the Chrysler 300 and the Buick Lucerne way ahead of the Avalon.

I polled for the Volvo based on the 150K requirement, but if it were me, I would go for the CTS.

[ECU Pirate]

I would stay away from the volvo if you are looking for longevity. Look at BMW, Toyota/Lexus, and even the caddy. The only negative for Cadillac is they have no resale value. This is based on personal and professional experience. I would not rely on conumer reports when it comes to cars.

[cw313]

2007/2008 Grand Prix GXP with 5 year/100K powertrain warranty for well under $30K.

[wrussellw]

For that kind of money try to get a "certified pre-owned" 2004 e320. Way better car than the c class. MB has a ton coming off lease right now. They are offering 3.9%, extended warranty to 100,000, all kinds of incentives. Warranty is the key on these guys. Nobody buys them any more just lease. You wind up with a 64,000+ miles warranty. Just negoitate hard.

[RedDog]

Thanks for all of the feedback guys - even though many of you have contradictory opinions. I ended up buying something totally different than what I posted in the poll.

I got a deal that seemed to good to pass on based on my buying criteria. I bought a low mileage (32K) 2004 Pontiac Bonneville GXP. It has the Northstar V-8 and beefed up suspension and brakes. Nice trim package and plenty of bells and whistles. Looks like new from the showroom. Black w/ 2 tone black/gray leather and dark tints. For $17.3K