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saabmp3

saabmp3

Jedi Hopeful
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So with parking spots going for ~150/spot/month, it looks like keeping 3 cars just isn't going to be feasible. Right now I have the 68 healey, a 01 Saab 93 and a 01 Jeep Cherokee. It looks like the Cherokee is going to have to go. The Saab was always a stop gap with great cargo room, so I'm thinking about selling it as well and pooling the money to get something I really want (another convertible).

My parents, in their post mid life crisis phase have both picked up Saab 93 convertibles (new model and old model, I think a 99 and an 04). I must say that I love the 04 while I haven't had much experience with the 99 yet as it's smack in the middle of the US, where I rarely go.

Given the above, what do people recommend (used cars of course)? My requirements, in order are great gas mileage, 2+2 seating (or better), pass through trunk, high reliability and easy service and finally, decent performance. I also can't really spend more than the pooled money between the two vehicles I'm unloading (say 16ish).

It seems like this demographic is a popular vehicle here, so I'm interested to hear what works for you.

Ben
 
Ben: If you are looking for gas mileage deffinately don`t buy a Dodge Durango V8 magnum {I have one} It has a bottomless pit for a gas tank and NEEDS IT TOO! Its quite thirsty. However it will haul a bunch O stuff. And tows like there is nothing behind it.
The other car we have is a Honda Accord {great mileage} really reliable. Will haul four comfortably {Not much room for other cargo}. God forbid it breaks down! {youll need a big ole fat wallet} expensive parts for repairs.
The one we have, we have put a zillion miles on, so far replaced starter, alternator, timing belt, rotors & brakes, exaust pipes & mufflers, Basicaly the "Normal" stuff.
VERY minor oil comsumption {less than 1/2 quart in 3,000 miles} No leaks.
The car {Well over 200,000 Miles} still runs great!
Its a keeper!
Also I have a Nissan Pu. approaching 200,000 miles. No leaks. Very minor oil comsumption. NEVER replaced anything on it yet Other than brake pads/shoes, battery tires and oil. If thier cars are anything like this pickup has been id buy one in a heartbeat.
Kerry
 
Well..2+2 or better seatin in a convertible kinda narrows it down to a few.
-F-bodies(up to 02)
-Mustang
-Sebring
-Saab
-BMW 3 series convert(I have one for sale atm /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
-Jag XK8(although....I'd never put any adults in the back)
-Benz CLK(again...doubt adults would fit in the back)

I am sure I missed a few...But if you like the Saab, I say go with it, sounds like you've got a bit of experience with them too.
 
Are you from the Washington that pays the taxes -
- or the Washington that spends the taxes?

- Doug
 
Doug, I'm pretty sure I live in the state the pays the taxes, even though I've seen DC tax bills and know they're higher than mine. However, that does bring up one reason why I'm unloading cars.... paying the tax bill in triplicate. The healey is now on "classic" one time fee plates, but I still have to pay for the other registrations every may. I also don't enjoy footing 3 car insurance policies.

It's disappointing how few 2+2 "practical" convertibles there are on the market. I'd somewhat like to get a different car as I've had so much experience with the Saabs so far. The BMW and Benz are probably a little too flashy for me, same with the Jag. I like how the volvo C70 looks as well as the Audi A4 cabriolet and they all get nearly identical mileage (as well as the Saab, which is important to me).

A feature that would really push me to any model is built in navigation, which none of these cars seem to offer in the 2000 to 2003 flavors.

How much practicality is lost by going to a strict 2 seater? Do you find yourself resorting to the truck quite often? Coming from a SUV and a hatchback, I might be in for a shock.
 
There's also a late-model Jaguar XJS convertible that you could consider. You can find one with the 4-litre inline six, rather that the V-12. Nice cars, the bugs were pretty much ironed out of the car by then..........
 
Ben, Go check out the brandy new 08 Scion XB. Bigger, wider, lower, more cargo room than the first Gen toaster, and it now has the 4 cyl Camery Motor! with sport shift automatic! and I believe it still gets in the 30s for MPG.
The look is a lot less boxy too, but it's still very versitile, while yet lots of fun to drive.
And I believe a base model one can be had for around 16 or 17 K.
All that said I love my 05 toaster. It does lack a lot of performance, but at 35 MPG I'll forgive it.
Jeesh.... I sound like a commercial for Toyota. I gotta get my TR running!
 
saabmp3 said:
It's disappointing how few 2+2 "practical" convertibles there are on the market.
Click to expand...

As I learned the first time I put the kids in the back seat of the Herald, which is a practical 2+2, they hated it because of the amount of wind in the back seat. It really is much windier in the back seat than in the front seat on a convertible. Frankly, if I ever buy another convertible, it would most likely be a 2 seater.
That said if you moved to Europe you could get a whole bunch of 2+2 convertibles which aren't available stateside. Peugeot 307, Ford Escorts and a few others are available.
Yisrael
 
aeronca65t said:
I'd buy a Miata and just rent a whale-mobile when you need one.
Click to expand...

It just so happens we're selling our SIlver 01 Miata LS. If you know anyonoe who might be interested, send them my way. (We've decided we need something with AWD and more cargo room, so we're looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Basil
 
The 2+2 would probably be used for cargo just as often as it's used for people, which both combined would be rare at best. However, it would be a huge inconvenience when the time arises. I've given thought to the idea of renting a boat when I need one and really don't have any objections. Additionally, I'm pretty sure if I got an interesting enough car, it wouldn't be too hard to trade with some of my buddies at work for the day.

Another disappointing point is that only the Saab (93) and BMW (330 or 325) are offered in a stick. The Audi A4, MB CLK, Volco C70, etc all only come in an auto. What's the point of having half a sports car (which by definition don't have a roof) if it's got a slush box behind it?

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't watching 2 seaters as well. Trying to keep with the high mileage idea, the MB SLK230 Kompressor is a beautiful car. I'd have to sacrifice a couple years off the model to keep it in the price range (say 1999 to 2000), but hopefully I can find one which has been kept by a little old lady. Another big plus for the MB is that it's a hardtop. I love hardtop convertibles. Dang the trunk space in this situation, that hard top is invaluable in a city. I've seen too many cut up soft tops going for something in the car.

Other 2 seater options that I like are the BMW Z4 (yes, flashy), the Honda S2000 (yes, flashy), the Audi TT 1.8T, a bunch of Porsche's and the Caddy XLR. Obviously the last two are knocked out due to price. Before somebody brings up the 350Z, I don't like the "bubble butt" it has.

I'm not much of a Miatta (or MX-5) kind of guy. The styling doesn't appeal to me very much, although I bet I'll need a salvaged one for my Healey project.

Any of these choices will have to wait until both the 08 models are fully out on the market and the convertible season is over. I'd like to pick up somebody's unwanted toy cheap in any case.

Ben
 
Well,I'll talk about the two I have right now; I use my Jag for commuting to work in the summer months, and it's stored winters...So I've only had the kida squeezed in the back once or twice(really not comfortable for anyone...wouldn't recommend it)The trunk in it is big thou, so that comes in handy. It performs great, even with the auto(semi-auto i guess...J-gate kinda setup)and the feel of the suspension is amazing. The BMW I am only pickin up tomorrow(97-ish? 318I convert) but it's a stick and the rear seats look bigger than the Jag....It was my sister in-laws so I am yet to drive it.
I will give one warning, and thats is that having a daily driver not capable of fitting four people in it when you have a family can become a pain. I've only got one car that can comfortably fit the 4 of us, and given that it's an old GM...it's out of service quite often...resulting in us having to take seperate cars and such.....which becomes a pain in the butt. Even our truck(Sonoma..ext cab) only seats three...so whenever it's time for a roadtrip to pick up large car parts or something...it's 2 cars again.
 
While both may be a tad juvenile, I would submit 2 suggestions:

Tracker / Sidekick / Vitara. I love my '92 2WD Tracker. Nowhere near a sports car, but I abuse the heck out of it and it keeps coming back for more. 200K miles currently. I even towed a pop-up camper with it. Tops snap on, the roof folds back, removeable windows..... And the back seat pops out with 4 bolts. Cheap parts, simple motor. (at least the 8-valve TBI version is - there is a 16V MPI version) I get 28MPG.

Fiat Spider. OK, the back seat is pretty silly, but it's OK for kids. My '76 with 10:1 compression, dual 40IDF carbs, and 300 degree cams got 26mpg hwy. Less in the city because of my right foot. The injected 2.0L spiders were pretty reliable.



Go ahead - flame away......
 
Basil said:
aeronca65t said:
I'd buy a Miata and just rent a whale-mobile when you need one.
Click to expand...

It just so happens we're selling our SIlver 01 Miata LS. If you know anyonoe who might be interested, send them my way. (We've decided we need something with AWD and more cargo room, so we're looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Basil
Click to expand...

My sister bought a Santa Fe, I think three years ago, maybe four. Anyway, she loves it! Wouldn't get rid of it for anything. It has a great ride for an off road type vehicle. It handles really well with it's larger standard tires. I crawled around and under it and liked how it is put together. I would have bought one if I could have flat towed it behind my motor home, but it wasn't allowed at the time and I bought a new Jeep Liberty instead. The Liberty rides like a buck board. The seats feel like a rock and I wouldn't buy another one. But, hey, I can flat tow it. The air and heat works! That's something I guess. Oh yeah, about the Santa Fe, it proves that you don't have to pay 40, 50 or 60Gs to get real good SUV. If they change their flat towing rule, I'll buy one in a flash. PJ
 
Well I thought I'd drag this thread back up with my progress so far. I've had little luck unloading my car, but I'm not terribly worried on this front, part of me feels that I'm just not placing it in the right locations. It's had a couple of local nibbles, but nothing concrete yet.

With the "new" car front, I've borrowed a mid life crisis 2000 Saab 9-3 convertible and just today took it on a 500 mile road trip. After only 50 of those miles, I've concluded that the old style Saab 9-3 isn't going to work out. There's a bunch of play in the body and it just feels muddy throughout.

While I was in MI over the weekend visiting family I drove by a yellow Honda S2000 (2001) at a local dealership and decided to take it out for a spin and instantly fell in love. Then I tried out a 2002 model, with a glass rear window and only 19500 miles. Although the price on both of these cars is out of my original budget (the 12k budget went to ~19k), I believe that they're both well worth it. When I left the guy yesterday I told him that I'd get back soon with an answer.

Well, fast forward to my conversation with the insurance company today, I'm a little disappointed. Full coverage on the 2002 comes out to roughly 3600/year with a 1k deductible, a price I almost lost it with. The two factors are my age (slightly sub 25 still) and the fact it's an all out racing car. Over the phone I got the impression Amica didn't want to write a policy for this car, although I've had their insurance on 4 cars now since I started driving.

So, I'm attacking this on two fronts. I love how that car felt and I hope the Honda name will carry a good reputation with it. What insurance companies can people recommend to try? Amica was 3600 firm, esurance.com online gave me an initial quote of 2400 (getting better), all state was in the 2000 range. I haven't filed a claim with my insurance company in 5 years.

The second front is going to be looking at different cars to see how absurd these insurance prices are for me, probably a Z3/Z4 and TT, then decide how to proceed.
 
Try Progressive https://www.progressive.com

They are very good with younger drivers. If you have a good driving record, you may be pleasantly surprised. I have no connection, and I don't use 'em myself but they used to do a great job of coverage on motorcycles for young guys when other companies wouldn't touch 'em.
 
Steve,

Thanks for the advice, I gave them a call and got a nice round quote of 5000/year (whoa). Anyways, esurance.com seems to be the most reasonably priced, coming in around 1800/year.

Now I just need to finish the exciting part of negotiating a fair price!
 
I would strongly recommend that you NOT look at a VW Passat even though it meets your needs. My wife's has been the most horribly unreliable car we ever owned and we are currently suing VW under the Lemon Law to try and get them to buy it back. Hers is on its third engine with less than 16,000 miles on the car.
 
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