What should i get? Any ideas?

Hi,

I've been looking for a used car for sometime. I was going to get a 5 series but was truly disappointed by BMW. I test drove a passat w8. I fell in love with it the minute i accelerated. I also like the GLX but the w8's power is amazing. Just wondering what would be the repair costs between the two. Would the w8 be a lot more expensive or about the same?

Also could a few cheap mods get me the acceleration of the w8 with a glx?
Are there anything i should be aware of, because it seems to be the w8 used is cheaper then the glx. Seems weird? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Michael


P.S
Just wondering if anyone has some knowledge about these cars, any other recommendations?
 

al415

Banned
I'll bite. Part of the reason the W8's have depreciated so much is because they were a bit of a marketing failure for VW. The idea of a premium VW didn't fly with US buyers. Another reason is that the days of the 8 cylinder luxo-barge are very much over. The GLX is the V6 engined Passat right? I'm no expert on VW six's but I'd say forced induction is the most realistic route to W8 acceleration out of a V6. But that is hardly a very cost effective method. What are you looking for in your car and what is your spending cap? The newer Passats, with the 2.0T engine, have been on the used market for a while and offer comparable performance to that GLX, with a more economical and tunable motor. If you are buying used, and want to stay with Europe, would you consider a volvo? They have the best Certified Pre-Owned program (six years, 100,000 miles and no deductable) and you'll still get that European cache, just without VW's diabolocal customer support. If you would consider a Japanese brand and want something around the same size as a Passat, check out the Subaru Legacy GT. The interior will not be as nice as a VW's but the 2.5 engine is a detuned version of the engine from the 300hp STI and all wrapped in a nice grown up sedan or wagon. Also, my subarus have been more reliable than my VW's...
 

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
Price point put the W8 in some hefty competition with some vehicles that had a foot in the American market already...Market the shit out of that car all I know for that price I'm buying a BMW
 
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gtluke

The Moped
I was a mechanic for about 10 years.
That being said I would NEVER buy a volkwagon made after the 80's
BMW's are much better built and cheaper to maintain. Not to mention they won't even sell a front wheel drive car, because they suck :)
 
I was a mechanic for about 10 years.
That being said I would NEVER buy a volkwagon made after the 80's
BMW's are much better built and cheaper to maintain. Not to mention they won't even sell a front wheel drive car, because they suck :)

Thnx for the input, What car would you recommend that is still kinda luxury but not Volkswagen or BMW or Volvo? I will take your word seriously since you were a mechanic and know cars better then a lot of the people i have dealt with. I get a lot of biased answers and i really hate those.
 

al415

Banned
Thnx for the input, What car would you recommend that is still kinda luxury but not Volkswagen or BMW or Volvo? I will take your word seriously since you were a mechanic and know cars better then a lot of the people i have dealt with. I get a lot of biased answers and i really hate those.

? I'm sorry.
 

gtluke

The Moped
Hmm
It really depends on your fun to maintenance needs.
Lexus makes a really reliable luxury car, but they are ungodly boring and pathetic when it comes to fun. Audi makes a joyous beast, but they are maintenance whores.

I'm actually having a hard time thinking of a car that style that's not a BMW that I would endorse, probably because I refuse to entertain a car that is either automatic or front wheel drive that costs more than my bicycle.

hmm CTS-V?
I'm sure it depreciates like crazy though. You get the 100k mile GM warranty though.
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Lexus GS/IS?
the new one's are especially bland though.

I dunno, I love crappy cars. I probably give horrible advice.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
My buddy just picked up an Acura TL. I think it was a lease turn in. Only had 18K miles on it. Not sure the year, or what he paid.. but that car moves pretty good.

FWIW I have a 07 Civic Si 4dr. I love the car. Its so much fun to drive.....
Buy one of those and put the rest of the money towards a killer new bike. :)
 

al415

Banned
No problem, I'm just a cry baby :D Anyway, the front wheel drive (FWD) Passat GLX and the (usually) rear wheel drive (RWD) 5 series really only share country of origin in terms of what they have in common. Do you have a preference for one drivetrain over another? Do you drive north in winter, do you think you may need an AWD car? I am a fan of RWD in road cars, but I would not write off FWD just the same. FWD may be crap for race cars but it's fine in the real world.

In terms of giggles for dollars I'd say that three of the most entertaining cars on the market are FWD, the Mini Cooper S, VW GTI and the Mazda Speed 3. You've expressed a desire for a larger sedan though. You seem to have a bias towards European brands, and there is nothing wrong with that. Of the prestige European brands I'd rate the Audi A6 as a better competitor to the 5 series than the passat. Audi's come with great interiors, AWD safety and inert (dull) steering. Unless you are going to be buying an RS badged Q-car I'd only consider Audi if your idea of "fun" driving is going "fast" in a straight line.

Back to BMW, I've had a couple of E36 (3 series) and a couple of E28's (old 5 series). I doubt you are going to go that far back in the history books but my observations based on ownership of those cars is that they are fun to drive on a daily basis, mechanically sound but have fragile electronics. We (well my SO) had a BMW 545i for a couple of years and it was a nice car to get around in. I drove it from NJ to the Florida Keys a couple of times and it got me there in good time and in plenty of comfort. It never let us down mechanically but it's i-drive system was a pain in the ass and it had little electronic gremlins that popped up now and then. It had far superior steering feel to any audi I've driven and it's huge contact patch made for as much real world grip as a skinny tired subaru wrx.

I brought up Volvo because they offer some of the same European style as the BMW and Audi, but in a more status-neutral way. They have a great reputation for safety, their dealerships will treat you well and in the S60R and V70R they offer performance on a par with an M or S car from BMW and Audi respectivley. If I was shopping for a car right now I'd take a long look at a CPO'd V70R.

Luke brought up the Lexus and other "prestige" marques from Japan. Personally I find them all a bit too clinical in their execution. They won't let you down, but they'll never thrill you either. A good example is the G35. A friend of mine had one that he loaned me for a day recently. It did everything well enough, but lacked character when push came to shove. It's steering had a real dead feeling on either side of dead center. I guess they engineered that into the steering so you wouldn't wander into a guardrail on the highway if your concentration lapsed. Personally I like the challenge of a car that had some teeth, so that would exclude those cars for me.

That brings me back to Subaru, and the legacy GT or Spec B. It is the same size as the 5 series and passat. It's interior is decent. It will understeer like every subaru, but offers more road feed back than either the BMW or the VW as it's AWD is mechanical not electronic. It has grip for days and the GT and Spec B model have more power than you really NEED, not to mention that the 2.5 motor if veeery tunable should you decide to get silly with the checkbook. If you narrow down some of the things you like in the cars you are considering I'll happily weigh in with more of my over-inflated opinions! :)
 
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MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
HONDA HONDA HONDA ALL DAY LONG! doesnt cost shit to fix... because as long as you change the oil you dont have to fix them. i drove across the country and back in mine in a week and it never gave me a bit of problem. great cars, worth the money.
 

gtluke

The Moped
judging by the cars he test drove, he's looking for something with balls and highway handling. honda's are great commuters with low speed handling, but it pretty much ends there.

that spec B legacy is something he should try, in manual. automatic subaru's are fail
 

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
HONDA HONDA HONDA ALL DAY LONG! doesnt cost shit to fix... because as long as you change the oil you dont have to fix them. i drove across the country and back in mine in a week and it never gave me a bit of problem. great cars, worth the money.
I second that. I've had my Honda for about 4 years now since new and I've put on about 110,000 trouble free miles with nothing more than oil changes, new tires, a new battery, and some preventive maintenance. I've driving to the frozen tundra of Canada in the dead of winter countless times and many ski and mountain biking trips to Maine and Vermont without a hiccup. So I guess you have to decide what is most important to you, fun to drive, low cost of ownership, reliability, fuel economy, etc.
 

gtluke

The Moped
You guys talk like putting 100k miles on a car without problems is abnormal. Any car you get built after like 1985 will pretty much do that (euopean cars excluded). Shit the cheapest car for sale right now, my hyundai accent did that. I don't suggest it since it's a horrible example of an automobile but yeah it runs. This guy seems to be interested in a car with power, and personality, and proper handling, not a beater.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i would suggest a 1982 Jeep Scrambler. like the one in my driveway. what you can beat off the line, you can roll over at the next stop light. :D

audi and volvo are nice too. :)
 
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