Looking to get a family friendly European wagon to keep my love of sporty European cars while being able to hold a baby seat. I just know nothing about them other than Volvos are safe and Audis look nice. Older BMWs are hard to find here (Cleveland) because everything rusts out, so I'll probably have to drive 100-150 miles to find something.
I'll be looking to make a purchase in probably about 2 months, so I'm trying to educate myself first. Sub-$4k European manual transmission wagons, let's go!
I am having a laugh, because my sporty Euro wagon connection friend in Columbus is having a kid, and his pointed questions about FRS/BRZ and 370Zs have turned into pointed questions about CTS-V wagons and R56s and Magnums and Toyota Venzas. (Hey, it pays to be all over the map) So this is really familiar to me 
My answer is always Volvo, because they are simple and more reliable than anything else in the same automotive bracket. That is why I bought one for myself. But he had one and remembered it being a pain to change the alternator so he got turned off. I remember rusted out 10 year old Magnums and E46 electrical and mechanical nightmares and atrocious GM interior quality.
The confluence of sporty and manual trans and wagon and Volvo is a $15-20k car now, though.
Volvo seats are amazing places to sit. V50 AWD T5 manuals normally come in around $6k. They're the closest you'll get to the previous focus ST that we didn't get hear stateside, only with a haldex instead fwd. Bneshop can make them handle better then they have any right to. You may be able to get a C30 under $5k, it would be similar though fwd and a hatch as opposed to a wagon, but it is one of the most attractive hatches around. I wouldn't be surprised to see C30 prices start to creep upwards in the next 5-10 years.
Or the V8 S80, it's not a wagon, nor is it a manual, but the sound of that yamaha V8 with a simple muffler delete is glorious. Again, most come in around $6k.
V50 with AWD and manual is a real unicorn. I never saw one for sale, opening up my search to the whole eastern half of the country. (It was my primary choice) I saw a couple S40s in that spec but they were over twice what I ended up spending for my S60. (Which has an automatic)
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I find about 3-6 a year for sale within 250 miles of DC. You just have to search nearly constantly. Finding unicorns regardless of what they are takes effort but it's really not that difficult. I find the same people crying that manual transmissions from BP powered Sephias and E153 V6 camrys and Solaras are difficult to find, but within the past 24 months I've managed to pick up 3 of each. It just takes a certain level of commitment if someone really wants a platform they'll find it.
Whatever car I end up getting will be mostly just for me putting to work (15 minutes, mostly 35mph, only a little stop-and-go) and maybe an autocross here and there (not competitively, just for fun). I don't need anything new or particularly nice - I'm looking for cars that are probably from the 90s to maybe early 2000s. I'm trying to avoid calling it a "beater" but that's kinda what I'm referring to, I guess. Most important thing here is price. Sub -$4K, $3K would be even better. And by "sporty" I guess I mostly just mean something with a manual that I can buy some mods for here and there. Bad paint would be awesome, because then I have an excuse to spray paint it in a way that only GRMers could love!
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I've always liked Volvos. Their reputation for safety and reliability speak well to me. Any old Volvo with a manual would probably make me happy, even happier if it had a turbo, flat out giddy if it had a turbo, manual, and was a wagon! I could drive it around in safety while dreaming of a 944
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
I'm not sure I could deal with the gas mileage of a V8. Volvo did stuff that Yamaha V8 in their XC90 for 4 years as well, and that sounds pretty awesome. XC90s are all over the greater Cleveland area as well, and cheap. And they don't seem to rust.
Nothing Volvo made in Sweden after about 1991 rusts unless it's had body repair.
That's definitely something I've noticed. Cleveland can rot nearly anything - the amount of rust I've seen on surprisingly new cars is shocking. American trucks seem to get it the worst. However, I have not seen any rust on any Volvos yet (or any 944s, for that matter). Just found a 1996 Volvo 850 with a 5 speed for $2800. I would probably be down with that, although I guess I need to hop over and check the swede speed forums to see what all I can do with it. Okaayyyyyy, I guess it doesn't have to be a wagon, although I would prefer one. I'll take a sedan. Fortunately I have a couple months before I officially start my search.
This topic sent me down a rabbit hole on my local CL (ATL - land of rust free used cars). Volvo wagons seem to definitely not have the SUV tax.
Example (edit: not really on topic due to age.. sorry):
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/d/atlanta-2018-volvo-v60-t5-dynamic/7293412752.html
I'll be that guy. Best Outback or Forester stick shift in your $$ range you can find.
In reply to dxman92 :
I need to keep searching in a wider radius, or better yet in a different state. In the greater Cleveland area it's been hard finding those. I do remember reading a thread years ago where a guy took a first gen Forester, made box flares for it and put 295s on all corners, added a big turbo Impreza motor in there, and created something pretty drool worthy. And I believe the second gen Forester was available with a turbo engine and a manual transmission!
Side note, if I buy a Forester or Outback, does that mean I have to start wearing birkenstocks and move to Colorado?
infinitenexus said:
In reply to dxman92 :
I need to keep searching in a wider radius, or better yet in a different state. In the greater Cleveland area it's been hard finding those. I do remember reading a thread years ago where a guy took a first gen Forester, made box flares for it and put 295s on all corners, added a big turbo Impreza motor in there, and created something pretty drool worthy. And I believe the second gen Forester was available with a turbo engine and a manual transmission!
Side note, if I buy a Forester or Outback, does that mean I have to start wearing birkenstocks and move to Colorado?
Forester XT are definitely out there. I really like the second generation.
Define old? Because old sporty to me is Volvo Amazon.
Probably 90s to early 2000s. Although if something awesome from the 80s popped up I'd be down. Probably 70s too, although at that point parts often get more expensive and harder to find and safety/braking/reliability/gas mileage start to come in to play.
So I've found a number of early 2000s Audi sedans for a good price. How are those? For example, I found a 2000 Audi A6, 2.7T, manual transmission with a couple mods in good shape, 180K miles for a low price. I know nothing about Audis. Can anyone give me a quick rundown on those?
If you're daring and mechanically gifted you can get a stickshift Allroad wagon. 2.7TT lifted from the S4 of the same era, A6 wagon body, and an air ride suspension that only needs to be serviced every 100k miles.
Or lose the stick shift requirement and find a Passat wagon like mine. Faster, more reliable, and easier to live with than the Allroad. 2007-2010 VR6 R 4Motion
In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) (Forum Supporter) :
I remember briefly reading about the Allroad a few years ago, and the one thing that sticks in my memory is that you can often buy them cheap when their fancy suspension has blown, and the stock suspension from a different version Audi bolts right in, giving you a lowered or standard height Audi wagon with a good motor and factory fender flares. That could be something to consider.
Don't even for a hot minute consider an allroad! Those are, by far and away, the MOST maintenance intensive Audi's ever built.
My friend has something like 4-5 V70 T5 manual station wagons. They have their needs but are good wagons. If you can find a mid 2000's (2004-6) A4 1.8T wagon that's the one I'd get. Those are very reliable, the 2004+'s have a 6MT and they're great little wagons. I had a 2004 Ultrasport for awhile and loved it.
Tough one... I've had one - a '98 Audi A4 Avant 2.8 Quattro with a 5 spd manual. My ex- had a '93 VW Passat GLX VR6 5 spd wagon. A friend had a V50 AWD 6 Spd (identical to the one capt posted) that he sold to buy a Focus RS. My own '03 TDI Jetta wagon is sort of sporty - at least as economy cars go it's fun to drive.
The one that I casually lust after is the '09 BMW 535Xi Touring. For whatever reason, a good portion of them were brought over with 6 spd manuals. Of course, buying a 10+ year old BMW is going to be a crap-shoot, but that'll be a case when buying any of these cars for minimal $. You're buying the previous owner(s) as much as the cars' reputations.
What about a Focus wagon with SVT goodies? They exist. Owner modified, of course.
Thanks for the tip about the Allroads. That's exactly why I posted here!
I'm okay with those Volvos. Not the most exciting vehicles but I like Volvos in general. The V70s seems like peak "responsible parent" car also. Do they have much of an aftermarket?
I found a few of those A4s and I liked them. I'll keep an eye out for the 2004-6 years and try to read up about them.
Tk8398
HalfDork
4/3/21 4:15 p.m.
You probably won't find a turbo Outback or Forester for $4k, and they go through engines fairly fast even stock so it would likely get more expensive quickly.
In reply to Appleseed :
I understand that a lot of GRMers like Focuses (Focii?) but I've never liked them. Always thought they were some of the ugliest cars out there.
The 17 year old in me would love to find a 2nd gen Ford Probe, hehe. I'm going to try to read up on early 2000s Audis a bit
In reply to Old_Town :
That's a pretty attractive car. It's nice to see there's some nice options as long as I get away from Cleveland. Who knows, maybe I can turn this into a little road trip when the time comes!
