Mommy car

Need some opinions. Wife needs a new used car. Don't want a camry, needs 4 doors . And I want it to be fairly reliable for a DD. No big SUVs she is tired of our land cruiser.

15-25k to spend

Uh... We're gonna need more than that.

My recommendations, depending on what you want/need, are as follows:
Minivan. Preferably a CPO Honduh at that price.
Mazda 5.
Mazdaspeed 3.
Volvo Wagon.
Buick Regal Turbo.
Pretty much any Subaru.

3 series, Lexus is, Mercedes c class, Mercedes ml, Acura infiniti All within that range Want something reliable and fun

"Reliable" and "Mercedes" would not be something I'd put together currently. They've got a lot of issues.

I don't see how you can go wrong with a BMW 3 series. Plentiful, tremendous aftermarket and the least expensive to fix of any Euro car. Acuras are just ugly. Infiniti is a great car if you want to be anonymous. I do like the styling of the Lexus but the driving experience is likely about as exciting as, well, most any Toyota but you pay more for the privilege.

Might I suggest this very sweet 325i near you?

You can even get a brand new Kia Forte for that much money.

In reply to steelynorm:

You have a plethora of options at that price range.

Mazda5 (we have one and love it) Accord Crosstour (your could maybe get one new with the discounts they are throwing on them) Ford Taurus/500 New body style Legacy/Outback, Forester,

I like the size of my X3

That covers just about every 4 door that's at least 1-2 years old that was ever sold in the states. You could even get 50k cars for 25k after 2 years in some cases.

So yeah, narrow it down.

In reply to Vigo. Drove a GS300, was not bad, a little louder than i anticipated for a lexus, did not want to do an ES because it is a total camry dressed up. 3 series is always an option....probably the front runner, but i did not want to look like every other douche Mercedes C class looks great but was unsure of reliability issues. Audi would love but, the maintenance is supposedly worse than the rest.

Brand new, base model, manual Mazda6?

Mazda3 Skyactiv?

I think Mazdas would sell better if they cost twice as much.

matrix and vibe also easily fall into those catagories.

Another vote for Mazda5, I have 11000 on mine now and it is perfect.

G8, CTS-V

Brand new Hyundai Sonata. Pretty nice car. My wife loves hers.

If I were to spend that much on a car that was to be a daily driver for my wife and kids I would buy a new car and not a used car. Unless you are paying cash for this used car, you will be able to get better financing on a new one.

Why do you want a used car? I can guess that you wish to avoid the depreciation that occurs in the first couple of years and you can get more car for the money if you go used. I would look at new Kias and Hyundais as well as Ford Fusions.

For used perhaps a 3 series BMW or an Infiniti G35. Doe she have to haul around children? Is mileage all that important? The Mazda 5 is a nice people carrier that is smaller than some cars...it really is a mini mini van.

I agree with you T.J., With that much cash sitting around, that would be a VERY big downpayment on a nice new car from Hyundai or Kira

Volvo S80. Nice examples start below the bottom of your range. It's the flagship Volvo, what more needs to be said? Somehow depreciation on these is incredible.

Mazda6

Hyuandai Elantra

Yes she will be hauling kids around. I hate depreciation!!! That is why I am looking used May or not finance. Will have at least ten down for a down

Used g35 or Acura tl? Anyone know Which one is more reliable

Between the TL and G35, the Acura is more reliable. My wife and I have had both. She liked the G35 better, as it was much more sports car oriented (it's shares the Z car platform after all), but the Acura is more reliable.

If you're looking in that entry level luxury class, I know most people point to BMW. I can't blame them, the 3 series is the benchmark. But from a reliability standpoint, you'll do tons better with the Acura or G35/G37.

How much are Phaetons going for these days?

Volvo S80. Nice examples start below the bottom of your range. It's the flagship Volvo, what more needs to be said? Somehow depreciation on these is incredible.

I found my mom one and she LOVES it. I am pretty close to loving it too! It looks fantastic (especially all in black with some of the better factory 17s like hers..) is roomy, responsive, decently efficient (she avg's 25mpg), and it was cheap! Hers is an 03, we bought it 2-ish years ago with 95k for $5k! I think it was like 45-50k in 03...

So far ive done a timing belt and water pump on it (preventive maintenance) and it wasnt too bad.. in spite of being a transverse straight 6.. The motor is nice and the transmission is a GM unit, which is SORT OF a bad thing, but on the other hand pretty much any trans shop can rebuild it, so that's sort of a plus. The thing really drives great.

Also i think they had traction control, stability control, and side airbags in some of them.

It's pretty much every bit of goodness of an upper-midsize sedan of the last 3-4 years, while costing half as much and looking twice as upscale (in the right colors/wheels/trim etc).

hyundaI SONATA turbo. plain and simple. long warranty. buy new. the resale on them is surprisingly good! and oh ya great mpg and enough power to keep you always entertained.

2003 Saab 9-5 Wagon Black/Black Stick Shift Turbo - $6500

I posted this in another thread. If my wife did not have a silly aversion to wagons this would be in my driveway. Anyway, I have the sedan version of this car, great power, great mileage and the only real dealbreaker, oil sludging, is easy to check for.