Car recommendation?

I currently have:

1987 Mercedes 300SDL-purchased several years ago and I have rebuilt the suspension, replaced most of the damaged interior parts with good used one, etc.  But, I think the head gasket is leaking and the transmission has stuck in one gear and has worked after I changed the fluid but there was a lot of clutch material in the pan and I think it's in need of replacement.  Fixing the head gasket and replacing the transmission is likely to coat ~$4k and take way too much time to be worth it.

2000 Porsche Boxster - just recently bought it, it needs a starter (which I knew when I bought it) and a thermostat (which I didn't know) but seems ok otherwise.  I thought it would be a good fun car and allow me to try autocross but I don't think trying to daily drive a boxster would end well and I don't like it as much as I thought I would.  I bought it a month ago and other than driving it once to get it smogged it has just sat in my garage while I try to forget that it's there.

1996 Subaru Legacy Outback - very high miles (491k) but most of the drivetrain and suspension have been replaced with new or lower mileage parts.  The issues are that it is on the 3rd used transmission I have tried in the last couple years and this one is already starting to leak and the second gear syncro is failing.  Also, there is a loud metallic pop from the front suspension and I have checked over everything and can't find the problem, and most of the parts are new or nearly new, and I have decided that it's not safe to drive and I have put enough effort into trying to figure it out that I don't think fixing it is going to happen.  

I think I would like a new Ford Bronco base model/7 speed (if I test drive one and actually like it), but that's not likely to be feasible for another 1.5 years with the way production seems to be going.  

Other than that, I can drive the Mercedes to work for as long as it keeps running, all the stuff that would be dangerous if it broke is in good shape (suspension, brakes, flex discs, etc) so i could just pull over and call AAA if something happens.  The part I am frustrated with is none of these cars are reliable enough to really use for anything anymore.  I have a bunch of vacation hours and made plans to drive the Subaru and do a bunch of stuff this summer/fall but now I'm looking at canceling all of it until I can get rid of some or all of the cars I have and get a replacement.

I would like to be able to drive on dirt two track roads (which the Subaru could do fine), go on a several hundred mile road trip, drive up a steep grade when it's 100 degrees, etc.  If I sell the other 3 cars I would have ~$10k I could spend on one or more cars to replace them, and one Boxster sized parking space and two S class Mercedes sized spaces if needed.  Or up to ~$30k to spend on a new car, but I would rather not buy a new car without at least driving a new bronco first. 

Any suggestions? I'm not entirely sure what I should do but looking for ideas.  I am not happy with the situation I am in now, so I want to take steps to change it as soon as possible.

Sell all. Buy single $10k reliable and satisfactory AWD/4WD. Reevaluate for 'upgrade' in 2 years.

Driven5 said:

Sell all. Buy single $10k reliable and satisfactory AWD/4WD. Reevaluate for 'upgrade' in 2 years.

That sounds like the best plan at this point, although it's hard to get much for $10k right now.  I found a 00 4runner for $9k for my mom recently, but that's still going to be a few thousand dollars worth of work to get it in good shape.  Maybe a Grand Cherokee? 

I would get rid of the Mercedes and Subaru and buy something reliable and awd. 

Large amounts of reliable options for 6 or 7k that you can drive until you get the bronco you lust for. Keeping the Pcar as a project/autocross car so you dont get too bored.

Mercedes is a losing proposition.  Not worth the $4k to fix it.  I would sell it for what you can get to an enthusiast or a mechanic college kid who needs cheap transport.  Suby is reaching the point of its life where I'm afraid things will start failing fast.  Only so many electrons that can pass through copper.  Only so many times a pinchweld in the unibody can take stress from bumps.  Only so many times a computer processor can switch.  They're long-lived cars for sure, but 500k is a good life.

What's the budget?  You mention selling all of the above for $10k.  Are you trying to make this a net-zero prospect and just buy something with the proceeds of the sale?  Or are you throwing some cash in it?

I like the Porsche for autocross, but you also mention that you're trying to forget you have it.  I say sell them all and buy a $10k Suby.

Another option is to sell the Suby and the Benz and use that money to fix the Porsche, then invest in a Bronco or Suby later.

I guess I meant $10k would be the most I would want to spend on an old used car vs down payment on a new one, which I could afford if I sell all the other cars.  The whole drivetrain and suspension of the Subaru have been replaced with lower mileage or new parts in the last 100k miles, but that's true about the rest of it.  The next few generations of Subarus are awful, so I'd be looking at an 01 Outback Sport as probably the newest that would be worth it, and it would be hard to find a good one at this point.  It's a possibility and I could work on it easily, but it would require pulling the engine to reseal everything and at the mileage most have I would still run into the worn out syncro issue.

As far as the Boxster, Porsche engines are terrible but I figured it was worth the gamble to see if I could get the difference between "running Boxster" and "Boxster with bad engine" worth of fun out of it in the ~30k miles it might last.  I was excited about getting one for months after reading about them, look at them for sale, test driving a couple, etc but by the time I drove it home (watching the temperature gauge the whole time because the thermostat appeared to be stuck), I was not even a little bit excited about it anymore.  I went and watched a PCA autocross and it looked fun but I don't think I will ever actually do it.

Besides the thermostat and starter, what's actually wrong with the Boxster?  Forget the "IMS gonna splode on the drive home tomorrow" Internet lore and list the issues with the car.  This sounds like a fun little project car so far.

I'd sell the Merc and the Subaru and go get something basic.  Like finding the best Kia Soul in the area for $6k.  Clean up and enjoy daily use for a while.  

My whole goal right now is to get myself into a good situation to work on projects while having one good cheap daily that I generally trust to get me to work etc so that's where I'm coming from.  You already have the project car.  If you really don't like the Boxster then sell it as well and start over.   My 2 cents.

I ended up enjoying my boxster as a street car much more than I expected. Sounds like maybe you're too busy being stressed out about the reliability issues, which...fair. But really once you get the obvious issues fixed they're fine. Yeah there's a chance the IMS will fail but the base model engines are less failure prone, and dirt cheap to replace if you feel like it.

That said, I wouldn't recommend one as a starter autocross car, especially a base model. Mine was fun in its own way, but getting it to be fast required doing some truly awful things from the driver's seat. At best it would be a bit frustrating/not fun to try to learn on, at worst it would basically teach you all the wrong habits.

I don't really know if anything else is wrong with the Boxster, it has Bilstien coilovers and bright red swaybars of some unknown brand, and it drove ok.  I literally drove it home and parked it and haven't even touched it other than driving it to the smog test station and back and to move it out of the way to get to something behind it.  It has 148k miles on it and no record of the timing chains being done so I don't expect it to make it more than another 30k miles without needing the engine to come out.  For what I wanted it for that wouldn't be a big deal, but it wouldn't last long driving to work.  It's also too low to get into the parking garage, and would get vandalized if I parked it on the street.

I'm not sure what it does better than a Subaru if you don't need the interior height, but I've been thrilled with my Honda Element, and $10k gets you the nicest one in the world with 100k miles or two that need work with 200k miles. Same platform as a CRV, which would also do what you're asking. Either option is way less likely to explode than a Subaru in my experience. 

I would fix the Boxster and re-evaluate it once the t-stat is fixed. Drive the Mercedes while you're doing that, and sell/part out the Suby now.

Once all that it done, you'll have some time to re-evaluate it all.

dps214 said:

That said, I wouldn't recommend one as a starter autocross car, especially a base model. Mine was fun in its own way, but getting it to be fast required doing some truly awful things from the driver's seat. At best it would be a bit frustrating/not fun to try to learn on, at worst it would basically teach you all the wrong habits.

PCA is really the only autocross option within driving distance of where I live, so that's why I had thought that was a good idea.  But, it sounds like it may not be.

Tom Suddard said:

I'm not sure what it does better than a Subaru if you don't need the interior height, but I've been thrilled with my Honda Element, and $10k gets you the nicest one in the world with 100k miles or two that need work with 200k miles. Same platform as a CRV, which would also do what you're asking. Either option is way less likely to explode than a Subaru in my experience. 

Those are definitely a possibility, all the newer Subarus have too many engine issues so I agree that's a bad idea.

Daily Turismo looks like it has something that would split the difference between the Subaru and the Mercedes, at quite a bargain price if the head gasket repair was done right.

https://dailyturismo.com/unlikely-manual-2002-bmw-x5-3-0i/

Or how about one of the NA flat six versions of the Legacy? They don't seem too hard to find in your price range.

BMW was sold, that looks fun though.  I have actually looked for an H6 Outback before, I couldn't find a good one though.  They get about 17 mpg on premium fuel, and leak oil badly (including from the timing cover than has like 75 10mm bolts holding it on), and are getting to the mileage where they need timing chains so it was hard to get too excited.

Based on your current fleet, combined with your 4Runner comments when I mentioned a 'reliable and satisfactory' AWD/4WD for $10k, I'm sensing a theme here. You seem prone to chasing run-down older cars to get into something higher desirability, rather than simply looking for the option that best meets your needs within your price range... Not unexpected, considering this is on GRM after all, but you also don't seem to be particularly enjoying the reality that entails right now. Perhaps a change in tactics is in order. Consider looking at newer, lower mileage, and less 'desirable' to the masses than you would typically be inclined to do. When used right, things like the Autotrader 'advanced search' can be good for filtering down to a list of viable candidates without too much bias.

You mention the most you'd be willing to pay for an 'old used car' and 'new car', but what about a 'late model used car'?

That is a fair point, I have until recently not really had more than $5k or so to spend on a car so have by necessity looked at older and cheaper ones.  The Subaru was my dad's (bought for $6500 with 150k miles), and I paid $880 for the Mercedes a couple years ago.  I have looked at newer cars before but it seems like most post 2000 cars deteriorate significantly faster than older ones, and cost more to repair. 

Now that we are in 2021 it may not be the most practical to daily drive cars that old anymore though.  The 4runner was purchased to replace one exactly the same that got totalled, but I wouldn't have chosen to buy one with how expensive they are.  

I should say $10k is the most I would want to pay for a car with no new car warranty, but I could pay a little more if I really wanted to.

My original intention was to daily drive the Subaru while I fix the Porsche and sell the Mercedes and get some reasonably reliable 4x4 vehicle to either replace the Subaru or at least use for longer trips and bad roads.  But, I can't figure out how to fix the Subaru this time (even though I have taken the majority of the car apart at various times in the past), so a change of plans is needed.

So a new-car warranty is worth ~$20k to you. That's pretty steep. What about splitting the difference with used cars that have remaining and/or 'certified' warranties?

I could, I have driven a Regal TourX and liked it, although that's not going to handle dirt roads.  It's partly the warranty and wanting to either have a loan payment or unexpected repair bills but not both at once, and partly just if I'm going to spend that much I would rather spend enough to get one that's brand new rather than who knows what might have happened to it before I get it.

I wonder how one of these would be. https://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/d/sacramento-2003-kia-sorento/7328423747.html

Hyundai Elantra or Velostar?

amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) said:

Hyundai Elantra or Velostar?

I actually liked both of those when I drove them, although from what I have heard you can't really autocross an Elantra with how intrusive the traction control is.  I'd like to be able to go places those can't but could always get a second vehicle for that.