Need "new" car.

[hurley842002]

If you would've told me before driving one that I'd trade my 2-year-old Audi for a Kia I would've told you you were crazy. It seriously made my German-made A4 feel like a rattle trap though. Man I love this car. Come drive it & you'll be amazed by how much car $15k can buy you.

If you would have told me 20 years ago, that KIA would put out anything that would compete with the big name foreign cars out there, I would have told you, you were crazy, but alas, they have. Actually what got us looking at the Optima was the rental car my wife had, after someone rear ended and totaled her previous Jetta, it wasn't even the turbo version, but we were still impressed with that car. If I were the OP I would come and check out your KIA.

[Jer]

If you would have told me 20 years ago, that KIA would put out anything that would compete with the big name foreign cars out there, I would have told you, you were crazy, but alas, they have. Actually what got us looking at the Optima was the rental car my wife had, after someone rear ended and totaled her previous Jetta, it wasn't even the turbo version, but we were still impressed with that car. If I were the OP I would come and check out your KIA.

They've made a helluva name for themselves and I can attest to why that is first-hand. I'd love to keep the car as it's one of the best vehicles I've ever owned and I know that years from now I'll look back on the time we had with this car with very fond memories. I just can't justify three vehicles for my wife and I or I'd keep it for another 7 years plus.

Seriously OP, let me know if you want to come take a look at this car. I promise you won't be disappointed.

[ben4372]

Another vote for Infinity. A friend bought one last year for way less than I thought it should be. Well then they were on my radar. I started bumping into younger people all over that were picking them up for not much. People that have them seem to like them long term. If you can live with a manual, the Mazda Speed 6 is AWD, and peppy.

[Gman]

Hyundai in the '80s was a joke. That country seriously got their poop in a group.

Anything within the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group (Hyundai/Kia/Genesis) is pretty well built, and the Genesis line is very nice. I miss features that I have on my 2012 Hyundai Azera that my 2016 Mercedes GL 450 doesn't have.

[Erni]

Thank you all for the sugestions and offers to sell me a car. I have been looking at craigslist snd autotrader to see what is available.
I got to be firm on AWD so that when me and wife swap cars she stays on the road. Based on the milage/$ I am seeing some 100,000 mile bmw wagons are in the price range too, which is strange. Got to go out there and test drive a few cars.

[Zundfolge]

I am seeing some 100,000 mile bmw wagons are in the price range too...

Ooh, I smell money pit. Unless they made an AWD version of the E28 or E30.

[Skip]

Thank you all for the sugestions and offers to sell me a car. I have been looking at craigslist snd autotrader to see what is available.
I got to be firm on AWD so that when me and wife swap cars she stays on the road. Based on the milage/$ I am seeing some 100,000 mile bmw wagons are in the price range too, which is strange. Got to go out there and test drive a few cars.

Like I said on page 1, avoid BMWs at that mileage. They take a serious hit at 50K because that is when the warranty runs out and everyone knows what happens (read bimmerforums.com on any specific model you are thinking about).

They might be fun cars but even if you're a wrench turner, you are going to spend some serious $$$ at the dealership.

I just did the water pump in our X5 and saved ~$1,400 over dealership est. (pump, pulley, belts) so I felt pretty good until I started getting TPS malfunctions at ~$400/sensor. Now I'm faced with another trip and more $$$ spent at Schomp. There's just too much on these cars that break down and cost a lot because it can't all be DIY. Shop rate is shop rate even if your car is 10 years old. And even trivial stuff like the battery has to be programmed to the car!!!

[Jer]

Thank you all for the sugestions and offers to sell me a car. I have been looking at craigslist snd autotrader to see what is available.
I got to be firm on AWD so that when me and wife swap cars she stays on the road. Based on the milage/$ I am seeing some 100,000 mile bmw wagons are in the price range too, which is strange. Got to go out there and test drive a few cars.

Why does she need AWD to stay on the road? My wife has driven this FWD Kia for 5 years now without a single issue. FWD is more than sufficient.

Besides, AWD isn't going to make you stop any sooner which is the important part. AWD will cost you more money up front and will cost you more money per mile to drive due to added drivetrain to maintain and lower fuel economy. I used to think that AWD was required in Colorado and we spent too much money over the years because once I realized FWD worked every bit as good (especially for the wife who doesn't drive "spiritedly" when the roads are messy like I tend to) I doubt I'll go back to AWD. I certainly wouldn't put a premium on it for my wife to drive as it doesn't make her any safer the way marketing would have us believe.

AWD only helps for acceleration and half the time either 1) you can't accelerate quick due to conditions 2) you can't accelerate quickly because everyone else has 2wd or the one that is most likely 3) both. Same applies to my pick-up, sure I can throw it in 4-hi to accelerate faster but I find that I never do and leave it in 2wd since I can't use the 4-hi with everyone accelerating slowly anyway. I feel as though I'm an above average driver but my wife has put about 70k miles on that car in all conditions and has never once said she misses our Audi cars that we've had due to being AWD.

As for 100k mile BMW wagons... super pass. They're cheap because the maintenance costs will bury you man. Don't do aging European sedans/wagons as they still have the same absurd price tag for parts as when they were $50k it's just that you have to buy the parts more often now. That's why their value falls off of a cliff once that warranty expires. Nobody wants to pay the horrendous price tag that comes with servicing them. Even oil changes require special canister filters and all sorts of crazy crap that makes them expensive for basic things even if you do the work yourself which you will have to do because if you take it to a shop every other week when something comes up you'll have to sell the house to pay for it all.

That's why you see $215k AMG cars that are selling for $25k 5 years later because the maintenance costs are through the ceiling. The suspension on them alone is about $3k and needs replaced every other year or so. What about a simple plug change on that AMG V12, think it's what... 12 plugs? Maybe 24 if it has two per cylinder which you see sometimes? Nope... 48 plugs!!! I'll let you take a guess as to what that simple maintenance task costs. ROFL

Even if you don't buy our car my personal opinion is you really don't need AWD in Colorado. Narrowing your search to only AWD will probably keep you from testing out some really great cars. You also REALLY don't want an aging import that didn't comes from China, Korea or Japan. Those are the ones that still keep a high level of reliability and the parts for them is a fraction of their European competition.

[MrPrena]

Why does she need AWD to stay on the road? My wife has driven this FWD Kia for 5 years now without a single issue. FWD is more than sufficient.

Besides, AWD isn't going to make you stop any sooner which is the important part. AWD will cost you more money up front and will cost you more money per mile to drive due to added drivetrain to maintain and lower fuel economy. I used to think that AWD was required in Colorado and we spent too much money over the years because once I realized FWD worked every bit as good (especially for the wife who doesn't drive "spiritedly" when the roads are messy like I tend to) I doubt I'll go back to AWD. I certainly wouldn't put a premium on it for my wife to drive as it doesn't make her any safer the way marketing would have us believe.

AWD only helps for acceleration and half the time either 1) you can't accelerate quick due to conditions 2) you can't accelerate quickly because everyone else has 2wd or the one that is most likely 3) both. Same applies to my pick-up, sure I can throw it in 4-hi to accelerate faster but I find that I never do and leave it in 2wd since I can't use the 4-hi with everyone accelerating slowly anyway. I feel as though I'm an above average driver but my wife has put about 70k miles on that car in all conditions and has never once said she misses our Audi cars that we've had due to being AWD.

As for 100k mile BMW wagons... super pass. They're cheap because the maintenance costs will bury you man. Don't do aging European sedans/wagons as they still have the same absurd price tag for parts as when they were $50k it's just that you have to buy the parts more often now. That's why their value falls off of a cliff once that warranty expires. Nobody wants to pay the horrendous price tag that comes with servicing them. Even oil changes require special canister filters and all sorts of crazy crap that makes them expensive for basic things even if you do the work yourself which you will have to do because if you take it to a shop every other week when something comes up you'll have to sell the house to pay for it all.

That's why you see $215k AMG cars that are selling for $25k 5 years later because the maintenance costs are through the ceiling. The suspension on them alone is about $3k and needs replaced every other year or so. What about a simple plug change on that AMG V12, think it's what... 12 plugs? Maybe 24 if it has two per cylinder which you see sometimes? Nope... 48 plugs!!! I'll let you take a guess as to what that simple maintenance task costs. ROFL

Even if you don't buy our car my personal opinion is you really don't need AWD in Colorado. Narrowing your search to only AWD will probably keep you from testing out some really great cars. You also REALLY don't want an aging import that didn't comes from China, Korea or Japan. Those are the ones that still keep a high level of reliability and the parts for them is a fraction of their European competition.

Let me know. I am extremely interested in $25k AMG which MSRP was 215k. My guess is SLS.

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

I got to be firm on AWD so that when me and wife swap cars she stays on the road. Based on the milage/$ I am seeing some 100,000 mile bmw wagons are in the price range too, which is strange. Got to go out there and test drive a few cars.

For a point of reference - I had a 2011 E91 (328xi) 3.0L wagon which was awesome and which I sold to my boss for $17 or 17.5 last summer with about 50k miles on it. I think the dealer would have given me slightly less and selling to someone else slightly more because it was really immaculate (3rd car). I personally agree on the AWD thing. Of course you can do FWD, but why bother when AWD is so much easier? I’m not even thinking of snow, but even rain in summer. It sure was awesome on corners.

Reason I sold it was I needed more space. Loved that car.

Would I have wanted it as much out of warranty? The E91s have no turbo and are really pretty solid. Yeah, I’d have kept it awhile, and I did pay for some “external” maintenance, but nothing major. My wife was getting nervous about the warranty ending, though.
Newer turbos? Same dealer advisor said lease only.