What car to choose?

[trappd-in-859]

Recently, european cars have caught my eye. I don't really know anything about them, exept for the fact that they,for the most part, are very well rounded vehicles. With that being said; which car would you choose?

2000 Audi S4-$20000

2003 Volvo S40-$16000

2001 Volvo S60-$17500

1996 Volvo 850 turbo/R-$10800

2002 Saab 9-5 Aero-$20700-21700

My personal choice would either be the 850 or the S60. I chose those because they have decent power and luxury for a resonable price.

If you wouldnt choose any of the vehicles listed above, what would you suggest?

TIA for all responses.

 

[92civicb18b1]

The 9-3's are so much sexier and they aren't European anymore, they're owned by GM.


I personally would get a 1998 1.8t A4 over the S4 if that ended up your choice, purely because it's cheaper, a couple small upgrades and your power level is higher then the S4 while still being cheap. You also don't have to deal with DBW in the >1999 cars.

I have no experience with the volvos, so I have no say

 

[eg6sir]

i'd get the 2000 S4.. well because its an S4

 

[EGProject]

I'd go with a 9-3, simply because no ones seems to work them over anymore.

 

[Seany-izzle]

s4, but only if its a 2004/5, cause they are the sexiest ones, imho. and ive been looking into euro cars pretty heavily now. thinking the next car might be a 04 s4... but who knows, i go from suv to sedan about every other minute...

the s4 and saab get my pick, only because i hate the older volvos. Slob's have horrible electrical systems, watch out for the windows, locks, heated seats, and most likely the stereo... they seem to go first.

 

[eg6sir]

what about the new RS4.. straight sexy

 

[92civicb18b1]

yea right... I hope you have a high paying job to buy an RS4. , if you can afford it, buy it and let me borrow it on the weekends.

Audi's hav...well most german cars have electical problems. The S4 isn't exactly the most reliable car out there and really isn't fast.

or handle well for that matter

 

[Citizen_Insane]

None of those. I'd get a new Civic Si when its released. As fast or faster than those cars and will handle well too. European cars have terrible reliability from my (and my friends') experience.

 

[Seany-izzle]

yeah, a car that can keep up with an m3 isnt anything special...

oh what is this...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5...3589590&q=m3+s4

a s4 is faster than a m3 around a track?? weird.

 

[posol]

i'd rock an s4 in a heart beat.
but 20k is overkill. you can score one cheaper now.
and make sure it had the timing belt and water pump and 60k service done.... or add 8k to your purchasing price...

 

[trappd-in-859]

I really appreciate all of the information so far guys.

How much cheaper could I get an S4 for? 18k? Cheaper?

If the S4 has the 60k service done, are there any other major problems to watch out for?

If anybody has any experiece with Volvo it would be nice to know if they are the same electrical nightmares

as all other European cars.

I agree, the S4 would be the prime choice. It's just the problems associated with these cars that scares me.

 

[reikoshea]

am i the only one that thinks that the S40 is a good choice. especially if its a T5.

 

[92civicb18b1]

I thought you were talking about the b5 S4.


I would love to have the 4.2 V8 S4.

 

[posol]

the 2000 s4 is the bi-turbo v6 model.

other than the cost to do the work, they are pretty reliable.

some have bad electrical problems... some don't. its luck of the draw.


yo're venturing out of 90's honda's..... and you'll appreciate how much all other cars suck soon enough

 

[hosmer]

Quoted post[/post]]

yo're venturing out of 90's honda's..... and you'll appreciate how much all other cars suck soon enough

w0rd


I went through a 2 year phase where I pretty much owned something from every other import manufacturer


Most broke, and I ended up HATING alot of the cars....granted they were mostly late 80's early 90's cars, but none of them came close to the reliability of my Honda's


Except the 86 Celica...I BEAT THE SHIT out of that thing and it never gave me a problem...11 months/13k miles - 0 oil changes. I drove it to/from Boston everyday for about 6 months.

Ended up selling it for $250. I still see it around town once in a while

 

[Seany-izzle]

Quoted post[/post]]
I thought you were talking about the b5 S4.


I would love to have the 4.2 V8 S4.

lol yeah the v8 s4's is what i was talkin about, when i saw your post i was like.. "uhhhh dont you own an audi??" but yeah, i dont care for the v6 turbo model of s4... doesnt do anything for me. ehh.

 

[reikoshea]

top gear also did a segment on the new S4 vs the evo and the STi. Needless to say, it won the practical award.

http://www.racingvideoz.com/audi-videos/ev...top-gear-video/

 

[trappd-in-859]

Quoted post[/post]]
the 2000 s4 is the bi-turbo v6 model.

other than the cost to do the work, they are pretty reliable.

some have bad electrical problems... some don't. its luck of the draw.


yo're venturing out of 90's honda's..... and you'll appreciate how much all other cars suck soon enough

So if I were to get an S4 with the mileage between 60-100k miles, would it be safe to say that it would have

no electrical problems? Or do those arise late in the car's life? I know an Audi with a TT v6 wont be as

reliable as a 4 cylinder N/A Honda, but at least I wont have the boy racer image associated with owning a

Honda. No offence to anyone on this board

 

[Cashizslick]

Quoted post[/post]]
i'd get the 2000 S4.. well because its an S4

Werd, with an MTM chip your mid 13's

 

[posol]

Quoted post[/post]]
So if I were to get an S4 with the mileage between 60-100k miles, would it be safe to say that it would have
no electrical problems?

like i said, its luck of the draw. 60-100k in audi land is the 2nd half of its life span...