Couple Used Wagon Questions
 

Looking for a used wagon as a DD

Must have
All wheel drive

Looked at drove and liked :
2007 Volkswagen Passat 3.6L Luxury 4Motion Wagon
2007 Volvo XC70 Premium
2006 BMW 325xi A local dealer has a 2007 Audi Avant A4 with the 2.0L turbo, I have not driven it.

What are these like? Friend's have told me to steer clear of Audi's (they seem to be popular here). I have never been an Audi fan. I have reasons to believe they are expensive to own.

Any others come to mind in the $18-20 K range ?

From a cents per mile stand point which is the best choice of the above cars?

Do you have a shop for repairs or do you handle your own?

I vote for the VW as they are kind of a "sleeper" which means you should be able to get one a bit cheaper than the others. Parts may not be as costly, either.

That said, you can't go wrong with a BMW. We loved our 5 series wagon.

Based on 7 years of trouble free ownership of our 2004 V70 AWD, I would recommend the 2007 Volvo XC70 that you are looking at.

BMW....I have a 2004 version. Great car....@ 90K now, some stuff has needed attention, but its a solid solid car.

bad news re repairs is that the reliable AWD wagon is very boring and it starts with S_____

Just posted this on the other thread by mistake:

I recently bought a 50k mi. '06 V70R, which is AWD and have put about 3k mi. on it since posting the below thread - I really love it. But unlike Tom's, my R makes 300 hp and I'm averaging a dismal 15.5 mpg for the last 3 tanks (all around town...damned right foot :mad:). I get about 24 mpg freeway @ 75/85 mph. Paid about $23.4k.

Drove an XC70 but don't need the ground clearance and didn't like feeling like a bobblehead riding that high.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/579526-my-new-used-volvo-wagon.html

I hear wagon and 4 wheel drive, I think Subaru Outback!!! I am a little bias but I love ours!!

Forget the 4WD --- takes the fun out of a sport wagon.

My 07 328iTouring --- RWD has ~ 75K mi. It's been a blast to drive every day. Can't imagine this car with AWD or 4WD.

You've never driven a V70R then, right? It'll dust your Beamer. :)

hey, awd, montana, snow, dealer in town, outback silly

Replacing the wifes suv or your truck, makes a big difference in what is needed for HP

Yea the AWD is not a choice in the high country we had 4" of snow last night, still winter here. We can get 12-18 inches per dump. 2 WD DD don't exist in my world.

My 930 is a satisfying very simulating road car, I need a car I can make a living in the other 9 months of winter. That does better than 20 MPG

Our cars are a 1/2 ton Suburban and 3/4 Crew Cab, both average 13.5 MPG.
it going to get pricey, in fact it already has.

The Subaru Outback is the #1 car in these parts for good reason. It is always a safe choice.

I'd considered one but I needed more cargo space and the Volvo wagons are cavernous.

Actually, AWD wasn't on my want list. I'm in SOCAL, don't need to go off road or in snow.

FWIW, I know a couple of folks who have Passats. Both have had issues.

+1 for the Subaru.

I did a google street view of some small town in Montana (there was a bar that exploded or something). Anyway, those Subie's were EVERYWHERE!!!

The Volvo V50 T5 AWD is hard to find, but something to consider. Super reliable car, too. The XC70 in 2008 is a new bodystyle and a much nicer car IMO, but probably above your budget.

Some Subarus are known for head gasket trouble, I believe. Not sure which, but I think they're the turbos. Not sure about the sixes.

Altitude + dd/snow = Outback XT + snow tires

We leased (for my wife) a 2003 VW Passat GLX 4Motion wagon & then a 2005 version. Both were great cars for the 24,000 miles or so that we had them. No problems of any significance. Both had a V6 (which I think is all you can get with 4Motion).

Then we leased a 2008 A4 Avant which was also a fantastic, trouble-free car for 36,000 miles. A couple weeks ago we just picked up a 2011 A4 Avant & we love it. Both A4s had/have the 4-cyl turbo.

My 2 cents FWIW. Good luck.

The '05 XT's are known for turbo issues. Try out the 3.0, almost turbo power and a timing chain as opposed to belt.

Subaru for the win!

If you think there are a lot of Subis in Montana, you should check out Colorado. They've fully invaded there!

+1 on the Subi