Terminal understeer, winter tires and a real lack of skill all came together for me Friday morning: I whacked a curb at about 60 in the Passat.

Amazingly, the tires, wheels and suspension are all intact, but the bumper cover, lower panels--even the radiator support are broken up. And the CE light is on. Code P2096.

The car is usable as is, but I'm really cheesed I screwed up my nice car. I'm thinking of dumping the thing and going old & cheap for a while.

Here are a few criteria:

1: The first non-negotiable is the car MUST have a manual gearbox.

2: Four doors, ability to have a baby seat or two.

3: Cheap, probably no more than $4,000.

4: Reasonable fun to drive; OR interesting.

5: Decent condition.

Some cars that pop into mind are Volvo 850s, BMW E30s, Jettas & Golfs.

I've been a Saab guy in the past, but I'm really turned off by the '94+ 900/9-3. An OLD 900 would get my vote, though.

Alfa 164s are tempting. Does anyone know if they can be daily-driven without financial ruin?

My mechanic says the 1.8t in the Audi A4 is less reliable than the V6, which is why he recommended me get a V6 Passat over the more plentiful 1.8t. My V6 Passat HAS been great, so I trust he's right about the Audi as well.

With winter here in Minnesota, I'm dreaming of Series 1 Land Rover Discos as well.

I'd even consider a Volvo 240 or 740, Mercedes-Benz W123 240D (manual trans), or any other similar car.

Thanks!

E36 BMW, Nissan Maxima, Subaru Impreza / Legacy,, Acura Integra or an Infiniti G20

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/2746641635.html
http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/cto/2696836897.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/cto/2731462185.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/cto/2745981264.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/2744776011.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/2738788389.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/cto/2742004550.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/2740092434.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/cto/2739845045.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/2736423862.html
http://eauclaire.craigslist.org/cto/2735892614.html
http://masoncity.craigslist.org/cto/2735809006.html
http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/cto/2696836897.html

pimpm3 wrote: E36 BMW, Nissan Maxima, Subaru Impreza / Legacy,, Acura Integra or an Infiniti G20

this. I'm definitely looking for an integra sedan or early g20 for my next DD

jrw1621 wrote: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/cto/2739845045.html

This has my vote, mainly because I love e34's but thats very low milage for an m30. Beast of a motor, m30's will easily do over 200k like its their job, and should be a fun car to drive with the suspension upgrades too.

Sorry to hear about your incident. If you hit a curb hard enough to damage the lower part of the rad support, I'm willing to bet your suspension is damaged. You may not be able to eyeball it, but something is bent.

As for replacements, the G20 is a great car. We had one a long time ago. It was my wife's DD. We had a blast with it. Other good choices would be Integra or Mazda Protege.