Need "new" car.

[Jer]

Those cars are pretty slick, my wife looked at one a few years back, but she ended up with a VW Jetta (she has a thing for Jetta's).

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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[ben4372]

You sure about that 48 plug thing? My hemi has 16.

[BushMasterBoy]

I don't know if this is true, but according to some VW forum members the 2015 TDI exhaust costs $9500 to replace if you run it out of diesel exhaust fluid. It looks like a 4 inch stainless exhaust with a bulge for the cat converter. I am assuming the exhaust is extremely insulated for sound proofing. Also dealer charges $2500 for timing belt replacement @ 120k miles. It has to be done,a broken belt destroys engine. This includes water pump and all idler pulleys.
I replaced my Mercury water pump in 20 minutes last month. Cost 54 bucks at Oreillys.
I really don't know what to recommend in the new cars anymore. The new Ford diesel trucks, you have to lift the body off the frame to service the EGR/emissions.
Good luck with whatever you end up buying!