What's half way between an 80s sports sedan and a mid 00s domestic crossovery wagon?

"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535) 09/15/2016 at 03:33 • Filed to: None

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My wife is growing weary of our three car situation. When I picked up the 944, I did not realize how attached she was to our 1989 BMW 535i. I thought I’d pick up the 944, spend a month on some of the 535 downfalls, sell it, and my wife would ride things out in our 2006 Ford Freestyle for a bit but she seems to have no interest in such a vehicular transition.

Well, I’m thinking some sort of solution is going to need to come sooner rather than later based on a brief interaction we had about the freestyle just sitting on the street tonight.

The options:

1. Sell the freestyle and live in pure 80s German luxury with the 1984 Porsche 944 and 1989 BMW 535i. I don’t like this plan. I do not like it here or there. I do not like it anywhere. I don’t like it because, if the 944 doesn’t ever fire up for some reason, I’m going to dread walking up to a 5 year newer BMW to save the day. And vice verse, even more drea. Also, the BMW would at the very least need a roof rack, and even then, I just think we’d miss having a hatch/wagon type vehicle for convenience reasons.

2. Face facts and sell the 944 (and freestyle) and I try to find some sort of compromise for my wants that can be the family hauler as well for trips. Maybe something like a 10 year old Impreza sport 2.5, a4 avant, 325i wagon. Something with sporting intentions and a manual would probably scratch my itch.

Saabaru would be a stretch for my dollars but goddamn it’s awesome!

3. Sell the 535i and Freestyle, and find something in between. My wife is insistent that any new car be “cool” like the BMW, she seems to enjoy a bit of speed, and has driven manual like 3 times and sounds hesitant about jumping into it full force. She also won’t travel more than one hour for the purchase I’m guessing, and our market generally sucks. I think a 2006-08 Passat wagon in black with a DSG and 2.0t would probably be a good compromise, though a bit of extra work for me. None in the vicinity for sale though.

Then tonight I found a bit of a wild card. It’s a low miles, early X5 3.0 that I think my wife would dig the crap out of, if she was open to driving a manual. Lowered, they’re like a chunky wagon(and yes, I’d do it, the worst it would see is forest service roads). They are really heavy, but I’d be interested in checking one out, decent acceleration for being the “small” engine of the family. I especially love the thought of buying it, before selling any of the other cars. Brilliant!

Of course, we could just continue to be the people with three cars on our tiny street, always taking up lots of curb space. Owning too many cars in my hippie little town is an especially grievous offense though.

Anyone have thoughts? Keep the three? Have an idea of a car my wife may like that could serve road trip duty? Should I suck it up and sell my new partner in crime, the 944?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 03:43

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You own a Taurus X? How is it?

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 06:59

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No turbo 05-09 Outbacks near you?

Under_Score > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 07:27

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What’s wrong with the Freestyle?

Flyboy is FAA certified insane > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 07:30

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That X5 is a great utility hauler that’s cool and doesn’t break the budget. Can also be had in manual. I’ve never seen a lowered x5.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 09:21

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B6 Passat 2.0t doesn’t have the DSG. It’s the Aisin 6-speed auto. My wife had one and it was a huge steaming pile. There was literally never a time where there wasn’t something wrong with it.

If you go that route, then I would advise you to have a skilled, trusted VW mechanic go over the car from top to bottom before any negotiations begin .

Seriously. Electrics are nightmarish, a quart of oil every 1,000 miles is considered “normal” for the 2.0t, and it requires that 5w-40 full synthetic so home oil changes every 5k are around $60. If it hasn’t been meticulously maintained, you’ll have a handful.

With that said, it was a very nice car and handled like a big cruiser. Interior ergonomics were excellent, and even the base vinyl interior was comfy and held up well.

I would get another one if it was the right one. Good ones are going for around 6-8k depending on your area.

KeedyT > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 09:39

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Sounds like she gives a crap what she drives, keep the BMW if she likes it and call it “hers”, the Ford should do your reliable family duty just fine..... unless this is a cry for moving to the next thing (dear lord I can relate) in which case keep shuffling.

I’d hang onto the 944 as long as you are enjoying it, they are on the upswing in value, won’t see the meteoric rise the 911's are for a long time but they are great cars and people are beginning to figure it out.

TylerJ > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 09:50

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From my perusing on the BMW subreddit, I thought the early X5s were having issues around the 80k mile mark.

I’d definitley take that with a big grain of salt. I just look there to get ideas of what to do to my 328i.

THShorn92 - Left his car in America > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 09/15/2016 at 10:41

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I have a B6 Passat that I love. I agree that maintenance can be a bit of a pain, and you definitely have to stay on top of it. Mine had a decent service history and is really good shape. I love the way it drives and the interior is really nice. I constantly have people surprised that it is an ‘08. And yes, the 2.0T will burn oil. Get used to that.

EDIT: look for a V6 AWD version. They are supposed to be a bit better, at least the later ones.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Under_Score 09/15/2016 at 10:53

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Nothing wrong with it, it’s just a big, boringish car. The biggest thing wrong with it is that my wife doesn’t like having three cars and since I’m our first defense (and blame taker) on car problems, having just 2 80s German cars worries me.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > THShorn92 - Left his car in America 09/15/2016 at 10:56

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We miss “Weezy.”

Sort of. She was a fickle beast - in the year we owned her, she lost her cooling fan relays, the A/C stopped working, and she burned oil through the turbo pretty much constantly. And the radio blew up. But she was a poorly maintained car that had probably been run on 87 her whole life because it was a fleet lease car from new until 2012. We picked her up in November 2013 with 90k miles. When she was good, she was wonderful.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 09/15/2016 at 10:57

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We have a freestyle, and although the bones are the same, the drivetrains are very different. Our freestyle has been reliable and the handling isn’t bad but it’s slow and not engaging in any real way. A Taurus X on the other hand has a bump in power and a 6 speed auto which solves all my qualms.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 09/15/2016 at 10:58

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Lots and lots of outbacks, and here in the PNW they tend to run at a little bit of a premium. And my wife definitely finds most subarus not cool.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > TylerJ 09/15/2016 at 11:03

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It looked to me like it was cooling system stuff(I mean, come on, it’s a BMW) and oil leaks were the biggest complaints, as well as the auto transmission. The coolant system issues and oil leaks require time but not a whole lot of money. But I’ll have to do more research.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > THShorn92 - Left his car in America 09/15/2016 at 11:04

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On another note- are you selling that wagon or leaving it with family?

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 09/15/2016 at 11:07

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Damn, no DSG? I figured they would be more maintenance but the low price kind of made me wonder. The Jetta had the 2.0t and DSG for one year but those are similarly plagued,

Thanks for the feedback.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 11:11

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Interesting. I had no idea they were different in any way.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > KeedyT 09/15/2016 at 11:15

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Yeah, to me, keeping all three makes sense. I think two things annoy my wife, first, just the idea of us owning three cars, and second, her concerns about how others perceive us(as “those people” with too many cars parked all over the street).

TylerJ > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 11:36

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I knew there was something, but I didn’t pay it much attention because I’d never own one. Just wanted to make sure someone mentioned it to you.

KeedyT > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle 09/15/2016 at 11:40

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I’ve had 2 cars for myself for about as long as I’ve owned cars (briefly more and for a while + a motorcycle) plus the one for the lady of the house. Revel in the delight of being “those people” :D

THShorn92 - Left his car in America > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 09/15/2016 at 13:55

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Not sure yet. My mom wants to sell her Flex and take the wagon but Dad doesn’t want to deal with maintenance on it. So we shall see. I wouldn’t mind her taking it so I can have it when I get back (assuming they take care of it) but car shopping is also fun, so who knows.