Cars. Hot, hot cars. And trucks. Hot, hot trucks.

[stephfromMIT]

Just at cars.com, built my dream truck. It's a GMC Sierra.

[AnnRkey]

A masterpiece....

[AnnRkey]

a materialistic thing of beauty

[Turtle]

[Turtle]

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Turtle

Nice! Make/year?

[Sparkle]

I used to drive this



a 1993 Audi 90S, V6, 5 speed manual. It drove like a sports car. It drove like a dream.
But it cost a FORTUNE to maintain and repair; it was 11years old with a perfect service record and about 65k on it when I bought it from a sweet older lady. Around 75k miles everything started to need to be replaced, one bit at a time, and every time it went to the shop it cost me no less than $1000. But Oh MY it drove like a dream. My mechanic told me they don't make them like that any more, not the same motor, not the same engine; he steered me away from buying a newer model Audi - later on. I likely would have kept spending $3000 a year in maintenance on to it because it drove so well.

Sadly, due to someone idiot's carelessness, I had spectacular a high speed rollover. My little Audi took the bullet for me, for which I am forever grateful, but was totaled. After rolling 3 times down an embankment, sliding along the driver side for 50 yards, clipping a concrete block and flipping up and over (back to a wheels down position) this is what she looked like:


Not bad, really, all things considered; the passenger cabin remained perfectly in tact. and I walked away from the accident with a hefty concussion, whiplash and a few scratches on my hands and arms. Which was miraculous. But I was so so sad, I loved that car.

I did a lot of research (through consumer reports and a lot of on-the-lot questions) before I chose my new car.
My primary priorities were:
It needed to be built like a mini-tank with a full steel frame and body,
it needed to be manual and it needed to be reasonably fuel efficient.

I looked at the Mini Cooper S, the Audi A4, the Honda Accord and the Volvo S4. It took me 6-8 weeks and a lot of research to find the right car.

I went with the Volvo in the end, I got a great deal on a low mileage, former executive lease car that was fully loaded.

It is 2005 S40 T5 AWD; 6-speed, V5 (great in the new england winter!). I really love it, its not the sporty little race car my old Audi was, but it handles beautifully, it has got a good amount of power, and it does feel like a small tank. It has been well maintained and I keep that up. I had a great pre-owned warranty on it that expired last year, and I have not yet had to put much in to it in terms of repair/replacement (touch wood). Volvos are typically pricier to repair than a Honda, but no where near as dear as the cost of an Audi. And Volvo's have a reputation for averaging 250-400,000 miles over their lifetime.

I'm really happy with the car I chose, and I'm really really happy I did my homework before I bought it.

[Turtle]

Hey Dapper,

That's a 1954 MG TF, most popular in the T-series MGs.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Sparkle

I looked at the Mini Cooper S, the Audi A4, the Honda Accord and the Volvo S4. It took me 6-8 weeks and a lot of research to find the right car.

I went with the Volvo in the end, I got a great deal on a low mileage, former executive lease car that was fully loaded.

It is 2005 S40 T5 AWD; 6-speed, V5 (great in the new england winter!). I really love it, its not the sporty little race car my old Audi was, but it handles beautifully, it has got a good amount of power, and it does feel like a small tank. It has been well maintained and I keep that up. I had a great pre-owned warranty on it that expired last year, and I have not yet had to put much in to it in terms of repair/replacement (touch wood). Volvos are typically pricier to repair than a Honda, but no where near as dear as the cost of an Audi. And Volvo's have a reputation for averaging 250-400,000 miles over their lifetime.

I'm really happy with the car I chose, and I'm really really happy I did my homework before I bought it.

Sweet car you chose, Sparkle! AWD, 6 speed, V5! Nice! Very nice! And yes, for safety, head right to Volvo!

I love Audi's too, but have never had one. The thing that keeps many people away from some wonderful machines is the repair costs (Audi, BMW). BMWs, for example, will run for many, many miles and since they run so long, you can get a higher mileage used one for cheap, and have it last for many years. The initial investment is not the problem for many of these cars, it is the high repair costs, unfortunately.