***UPDATED: BOUGHT the 2001 Lexus GS300*** thanx for ur help! pics, 56k warning

[Evil Techie]

I bought the car today, transaction takes place tomorrow
now ive just gotta sell my old escort
hehe


heres my GS300
sry the pics didnt turn out well, its night time, ill have to find a better place and time to take some nice pics







my dad is buying me an used car
we decided that we get more bang out of our bucks with an used over new

i dont drive a lot
my current 98 ford escort wagon only has 35,000km on it
yeah thats how little i drove it
but note that i really drove it starting 2 years ago
so lets say i drive 12,000 km per year

my old man is now looking at an used 2001 GS300 from the states
its only got 15,000 miles on it
so thats about 24,500km
and we can get it for about $31,500 thru some connections

no accidents and so on

lexus is tempting with good reliability but im not sure if im ready for that big a$$ car with only 20mpg fuel mileage
what do u think?
an used lexus thats reliable and around 30k should save me money over BMW and also saves me future cost of troubles
GS300 seems like a really nice luxury car but it just isnt very sporty is it? ....

so what to get...
or should i try to negotiate for an used 2002/2003 BMW 325i and get it down to $25,000 ish since the new 3 series is making old 3 much harder to sell
but brian jessel BMW seems to be firm on the prices
they do throw in 1 year BMW warranty if i buy an used BMW from them

i still want to keep my budget around $30000 and use my escort to pay for the tax for new car

[frogger]

If you only drive that much, a TDI is a waste of money, you won't make the money back in gas savings thats for sure.
Driving a VW and driving a Camry, those are worlds apart. Camry's get you from A to B reliably, but its about as boring as it gets. Not that a VW is the ultimate driving machine, but in comparison yes. Keep in mind an all new camry will be here within a year.

[gstylez]

Camry

[akito925]

pick up a base model tdi or a base modle of the camery.. since you not driving that much KM's on it.. why spend $35+ on a car you won't put too much milage onto it.

with tdi.. you can drive it all week long without flling up if your not driving too much.. less gas fill ups be a little cheaper.. but on the other hand a camery has more space.. and reliable.

[an2one]

TDI doesn't make sense based on your driving habits.

As for the passat vs. camry, they are in 2 totally different classes. The camry is just a car, whereas the passat is an enjoyable ride with more performance.

I test drove the passat and I was sold right away. I also test drove the jetta, which was great, but the passat has more features and space. So I bought the passat last week, and I am dying in anticipation for it to get delivered!!!

Based on your budget, my vote is for the passat, hands down. To shave a few dollars, why not just get the leatherette instead of the leather? Same look and feel. (in my opinion)

[Evil Techie]

TDI doesn't make sense based on your driving habits.

As for the passat vs. camry, they are in 2 totally different classes. The camry is just a car, whereas the passat is an enjoyable ride with more performance.

I test drove the passat and I was sold right away. I also test drove the jetta, which was great, but the passat has more features and space. So I bought the passat last week, and I am dying in anticipation for it to get delivered!!!

Based on your budget, my vote is for the passat, hands down. To shave a few dollars, why not just get the leatherette instead of the leather? Same look and feel. (in my opinion)

ah good points
thanx
ill have to see how the leatherette feels
from just looking at the name itself, makes me think of cheap vinyl fake leather
but uve gave me some confidence in that so ill look into it
i hope theres seat warmers


i like to drive, so thats why i chose VW out of a whole lot of other cars

also whats the price of the car that starts to get charged for luxury car tax?
how much would a 34k car cost after tax?

[gordholio]

Please don't laugh, but the Hyundai Sonata is a nice car to consider:

Sonata GLS V6 Premium (Large Car)

[Shifty]

VW's get bad reliabililty ratings, I'd go with the Toyota.

[cawchy]

Camry

[Evil Techie]

sry but i took too long to edit

what i added into my reply was

whats the price of the car that starts to get charged for luxury car tax?
how much would a 34k car cost after tax?

id like to give the passat a chance
if it is reliable enuf
from what i see, everyone that owns one, absolutely loves it to death

[gstylez]

if u want bling with reliability
nissan maxima!

[romsan04]

Camry

Passat = lost of problems = Junk

and for $36K you can get fully loaded V6 Camry wich will outperforme crapy 2.0T on Passat.

if you dont drive too much get used Japanese car for $10K, it will last you for years

[Evil Techie]

if u want bling with reliability
nissan maxima!

not as fuel efficient and safe as i like it to be though

[Evil Techie]

Camry

Passat = lost of problems = Junk

and for $36K you can get fully loaded V6 Camry wich will outperforme crapy 2.0T on Passat.

if you dont drive too much get used Japanese car for $10K, it will last you for years

06 camry only has 3 star side impact rating for rear seats
if i wanted 3 stars, i would be keeping my 28/38mpg escort
i also like the looks of the new passat a lot more than all of the cars ive seen in recent years

it really stands out
just a note that 06 passat is redesigned and totally a new model and isnt the old one

so please offer opinions based on the new passat, not the old
thanx

i numbered out the new passat and jetta because their side impact ratings are all 5 stars
front are about 4
amazing safety designs

[thesober]

Please don't laugh, but the Hyundai Sonata is a nice car to consider:

Sonata GLS V6 Premium (Large Car)

Hyundai's are becoming more reliable and with the new Sonata, its definitely a contender for the camry. Hyundai has come a long way from its pony days....but back to the original post, the VW passat is one beautiful car, so elegant in every way.