Which car should I buy?
My editor says I’m probably going to be given a column in the magazine, so I thought I’d stretch my legs and get back into writing about cars. Once you’ve read this, I’d appreciate some input. What kind of car do you think I should I buy next?
My Galant is still great, and I’m sure I’ll have it for a while longer. That being said, its age is starting to show. It has earned its share of nicks, dents and other battle scars. It doesn’t accelerate nearly as fast as it used to. Even the center console has gotten kind of wobbly.
Now that I’m making some money (and hopefully will be making more soon), I’ve begun to think about getting a new (used) car. “But Patrick,” you’re probably thinking, “you think about that all the time.” Well, you’re right. But this time, I’m thinking more realistically than usual. Instead of dreaming about Maybachs and Maseratis, I’ve actually been thinking about a practical car that I can afford.
The car I’m looking for:
* Must be a 4-door sedan
* Must have all-wheel drive
* Will almost certainly be pre-owned
* Must have fewer than 75,000 miles
* Must cost less than $20,000
* Is preferably a premium car
This eliminates many of my dream cars. The Volkswagen Phaeton, for example, can rarely be found for under $30k in the used market (though this will change a few years down the road). Older models of the Mercedes CL-Class can be found for around $20k, but the car is not all-wheel drive. It seems I’ve set some strict guidelines!
There are a few cars that fit what I’m looking for, but just aren’t for me. Take the BMW 325xi, for example. A used model is affordable, and it’s all-wheel drive, but to me, it’s just too nouveau riche. Nothing screams “I’m a 20-something yuppie working at my first job out of college” quite like a 3-Series. I wouldn’t buy an Audi A4 for basically the same reason, plus the A4 is considered the preferred car of spoiled sorority chicks.
Based on my criteria, I’ve narrowed the list down to four contenders. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
2002 Audi A6
Mid-size sedan
Engine: V6
Avg. Price: $14,000
Avg. Mileage: 65k miles
The Audi A6 is a great bargain in the used car market. Some would call its styling simple; I would call it clean and altogether pleasing. The car performs capably in all weather conditions with the aid of standard quattro all-wheel drive. The interior is what you’d expect from a luxury car: leather seats, wood trim on the dash and door sills, Bose sound system, and heated seats. It offers the same accoutrements and power as its rivals from BMW and Mercedes, but can usually be found for thousands less in the pre-owned marketplace. And unlike its rivals, all-wheel drive is standard.
While I don’t have any major qualms with the styling, it is rather sedate. No A6 has ever really grabbed my attention. From the reviews I have read, it seems to be a reliable car, though the delicate front bumper has a tendency to dent or tear if you so much as look at it the wrong way.
2001 Audi A8
Full-size sedan
Engine: V8
Avg. Price: $17,000
Avg. Mileage: 70k miles
The Audi A8 is the largest, most powerful and most luxurious car in this list. It competes head-to-head with cars like the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class, but unlike its competitors, quattro all-wheel drive is standard. Its styling is a bit blander than its BMW and Mercedes rivals, but I like it nonetheless. It’s classy, not flashy. It’s also more reliable than those Benzes and Beemers, which means fewer trips to the mechanic and more green in your wallet.
The list of features is longer than my arm: leather and wood everywhere, heated seats, navigation, Bose stereo, power rear window shades, and so on. With my sense of direction (or lack thereof), I could really use a navigation system!
Just the thought of having a full-size luxury sedan with a V8 engine makes me drool. However, all that power and luxury would come at a price. It’s the oldest car on this list, and the mileage isn’t exactly low.
2004 Infiniti G35x
Entry-level sedan
Engine: V6
Avg. Price: $17,000
Avg. Mileage: 75k miles
As the newest car on this list, it’s the most difficult to find within my price range. Since 2004 is the year it was introduced, I can’t find any that are “old” enough to get for a steal. While the mileage is somewhat high, it is acceptable. A quick search of ratings on epinions.com revealed that this is the most-loved car of the four. It has received near-unanimous rave reviews and has proved a reliable urban workhorse.
I do love the leather in an Infiniti. It’s firm, comfortable, and retains that “new car” smell. Fortunately, this car has plenty of it. The oval clock in the dashboard is also a neat feature. The rest of the interior, however, is kind of bland. The only wood in the entire car is on the door pulls (why they put it there, I have no idea). The dashboard is all plastic and aluminum, not what I’d expect in a car of this price.
And then there’s the exterior. The rear styling is beautiful, but the front is rather boring, and really not that different from a Nissan Altima. But then again, it doesn’t look bad, either.
Finally, the all-wheel drive in this car is different from the other three. It isn’t permanent all-wheel drive. When traveling at a steady speed, the car uses rear-wheel drive. Upon acceleration, the front wheels kick in and the all-wheel drive is activated. I’m not sure what this means exactly. Would I have to keep driving faster to stay on the road in a blizzard? Hmm.
2003 Jaguar X-Type
Entry-level sedan
Engine: V6
Avg. Price: $13,000
Avg. Mileage: 50k miles
Ah yes, the baby Jag. It’s not only the smallest, least expensive Jaguar; it’s also the only Jaguar with all-wheel drive. First of all, I really do love the styling; it incorporates all of those design cues that are unmistakably Jaguar-esque. While an entry-level car, it has tons of real wood and leather. In true Jaguar fashion, it has more wood trim than any of the other cars in this list. The seats are attractively shaped, contoured and heated.
From the reviews I have read, the all-wheel drive system seems to perform smoothly and capably in just about every weather condition. On the show “Top Gear,” they took one out on an unpaved road in a foot of snow and the plucky Jag still turned on a dime.
A major plus is that this is not only the cheapest car of the four, but also has the lowest mileage (by 15,000 miles!). It is, however, also the smallest car, and rear leg room is, to put it delicately, snug. Also to keep in mind is the fact that it has the lowest sales numbers of the four cars here. It is far outsold by its BMW, Mercedes and Audi rivals.
Critics’ biggest gripe about this car is the fact that it shares its chassis with the Ford Contour/Mondeo. For this, it’s been lambasted as “a Ford with a nice dress on.” Frankly, I don’t think a car’s chassis should affect its prestige. After all, the Bentley Continental is built on a Volkswagen chassis! Companies swap technology like this all the time; it’s simply the nature of the business. As far as I’m concerned, this car is pure Jag. Besides, the Ford Contour is a good, reliable car in its own right!
***
If you’ve gotten this far and are still reading, thank you! Now that you know way more about these cars than you probably wanted to, which would you buy? And, perhaps more importantly, which do you think I should buy? This is assuming I have $15-20k to spend on a car in the next couple years. Hopefully, I will. We’ll see.
My Galant is still great, and I’m sure I’ll have it for a while longer. That being said, its age is starting to show. It has earned its share of nicks, dents and other battle scars. It doesn’t accelerate nearly as fast as it used to. Even the center console has gotten kind of wobbly.
Now that I’m making some money (and hopefully will be making more soon), I’ve begun to think about getting a new (used) car. “But Patrick,” you’re probably thinking, “you think about that all the time.” Well, you’re right. But this time, I’m thinking more realistically than usual. Instead of dreaming about Maybachs and Maseratis, I’ve actually been thinking about a practical car that I can afford.
The car I’m looking for:
* Must be a 4-door sedan
* Must have all-wheel drive
* Will almost certainly be pre-owned
* Must have fewer than 75,000 miles
* Must cost less than $20,000
* Is preferably a premium car
This eliminates many of my dream cars. The Volkswagen Phaeton, for example, can rarely be found for under $30k in the used market (though this will change a few years down the road). Older models of the Mercedes CL-Class can be found for around $20k, but the car is not all-wheel drive. It seems I’ve set some strict guidelines!
There are a few cars that fit what I’m looking for, but just aren’t for me. Take the BMW 325xi, for example. A used model is affordable, and it’s all-wheel drive, but to me, it’s just too nouveau riche. Nothing screams “I’m a 20-something yuppie working at my first job out of college” quite like a 3-Series. I wouldn’t buy an Audi A4 for basically the same reason, plus the A4 is considered the preferred car of spoiled sorority chicks.
Based on my criteria, I’ve narrowed the list down to four contenders. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
2002 Audi A6
Mid-size sedan
Engine: V6
Avg. Price: $14,000
Avg. Mileage: 65k miles
The Audi A6 is a great bargain in the used car market. Some would call its styling simple; I would call it clean and altogether pleasing. The car performs capably in all weather conditions with the aid of standard quattro all-wheel drive. The interior is what you’d expect from a luxury car: leather seats, wood trim on the dash and door sills, Bose sound system, and heated seats. It offers the same accoutrements and power as its rivals from BMW and Mercedes, but can usually be found for thousands less in the pre-owned marketplace. And unlike its rivals, all-wheel drive is standard.
While I don’t have any major qualms with the styling, it is rather sedate. No A6 has ever really grabbed my attention. From the reviews I have read, it seems to be a reliable car, though the delicate front bumper has a tendency to dent or tear if you so much as look at it the wrong way.
2001 Audi A8
Full-size sedan
Engine: V8
Avg. Price: $17,000
Avg. Mileage: 70k miles
The Audi A8 is the largest, most powerful and most luxurious car in this list. It competes head-to-head with cars like the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class, but unlike its competitors, quattro all-wheel drive is standard. Its styling is a bit blander than its BMW and Mercedes rivals, but I like it nonetheless. It’s classy, not flashy. It’s also more reliable than those Benzes and Beemers, which means fewer trips to the mechanic and more green in your wallet.
The list of features is longer than my arm: leather and wood everywhere, heated seats, navigation, Bose stereo, power rear window shades, and so on. With my sense of direction (or lack thereof), I could really use a navigation system!
Just the thought of having a full-size luxury sedan with a V8 engine makes me drool. However, all that power and luxury would come at a price. It’s the oldest car on this list, and the mileage isn’t exactly low.
2004 Infiniti G35x
Entry-level sedan
Engine: V6
Avg. Price: $17,000
Avg. Mileage: 75k miles
As the newest car on this list, it’s the most difficult to find within my price range. Since 2004 is the year it was introduced, I can’t find any that are “old” enough to get for a steal. While the mileage is somewhat high, it is acceptable. A quick search of ratings on epinions.com revealed that this is the most-loved car of the four. It has received near-unanimous rave reviews and has proved a reliable urban workhorse.
I do love the leather in an Infiniti. It’s firm, comfortable, and retains that “new car” smell. Fortunately, this car has plenty of it. The oval clock in the dashboard is also a neat feature. The rest of the interior, however, is kind of bland. The only wood in the entire car is on the door pulls (why they put it there, I have no idea). The dashboard is all plastic and aluminum, not what I’d expect in a car of this price.
And then there’s the exterior. The rear styling is beautiful, but the front is rather boring, and really not that different from a Nissan Altima. But then again, it doesn’t look bad, either.
Finally, the all-wheel drive in this car is different from the other three. It isn’t permanent all-wheel drive. When traveling at a steady speed, the car uses rear-wheel drive. Upon acceleration, the front wheels kick in and the all-wheel drive is activated. I’m not sure what this means exactly. Would I have to keep driving faster to stay on the road in a blizzard? Hmm.
2003 Jaguar X-Type
Entry-level sedan
Engine: V6
Avg. Price: $13,000
Avg. Mileage: 50k miles
Ah yes, the baby Jag. It’s not only the smallest, least expensive Jaguar; it’s also the only Jaguar with all-wheel drive. First of all, I really do love the styling; it incorporates all of those design cues that are unmistakably Jaguar-esque. While an entry-level car, it has tons of real wood and leather. In true Jaguar fashion, it has more wood trim than any of the other cars in this list. The seats are attractively shaped, contoured and heated.
From the reviews I have read, the all-wheel drive system seems to perform smoothly and capably in just about every weather condition. On the show “Top Gear,” they took one out on an unpaved road in a foot of snow and the plucky Jag still turned on a dime.
A major plus is that this is not only the cheapest car of the four, but also has the lowest mileage (by 15,000 miles!). It is, however, also the smallest car, and rear leg room is, to put it delicately, snug. Also to keep in mind is the fact that it has the lowest sales numbers of the four cars here. It is far outsold by its BMW, Mercedes and Audi rivals.
Critics’ biggest gripe about this car is the fact that it shares its chassis with the Ford Contour/Mondeo. For this, it’s been lambasted as “a Ford with a nice dress on.” Frankly, I don’t think a car’s chassis should affect its prestige. After all, the Bentley Continental is built on a Volkswagen chassis! Companies swap technology like this all the time; it’s simply the nature of the business. As far as I’m concerned, this car is pure Jag. Besides, the Ford Contour is a good, reliable car in its own right!
***
If you’ve gotten this far and are still reading, thank you! Now that you know way more about these cars than you probably wanted to, which would you buy? And, perhaps more importantly, which do you think I should buy? This is assuming I have $15-20k to spend on a car in the next couple years. Hopefully, I will. We’ll see.