I've had several 1990's B-bodies from GM, they weren't all that reliable once they were older than 5 years. Today, GM quality of the mid 90's combined with the fact that they are 22-25 years old kind of rules them out. I would only be interested in up to '93 as 94-96 got that nightmare LT1 engine and the nightmare Optispark. But '93 did not have the latest AC freon. So they are out.
I wanted to look at the comprehensive list today that includes:
Subaru outback
Mazda
BMW
Volvo
Saab
VW Passat
and more?
Subaru is also highly overrated, they have had the dreaded head gasket issue for 20 years now.
Maybe a 6-cylinder Outback wagon?
I've had a Mazda 626 V6 sports edition and it was very fast, sporty, A+ handling but not easy to fix with the V6 sidewinder engine and very little room to do anything like timing belts. To replace the starter, I had to remove the throttle body, what a dumb design.
I don't know if the newer Mazda 6 wagons are any better or basically still the same thing.
Passat gets awful reviews. Saab- not sure. Volvo maybe?
I don't rule out stick shift at all. Not even in Wash DC traffic.
No love for BMW. Way too expensive to maintain and my experience with several 10 years ago let me to think their quality is even worse than troublesome Ford of the 1980's. Had a 1987 and a 1999 528i that were both money pits and broke down all the time and were not easy to repair.
Then there is the Dodge Magnum from about 10 years ago, not made anymore and IMO overpriced and achieved the collectible status.
I wanted to look at the comprehensive list today that includes:
Subaru outback
Mazda
BMW
Volvo
Saab
VW Passat
and more?
Subaru is also highly overrated, they have had the dreaded head gasket issue for 20 years now.
Maybe a 6-cylinder Outback wagon?
I've had a Mazda 626 V6 sports edition and it was very fast, sporty, A+ handling but not easy to fix with the V6 sidewinder engine and very little room to do anything like timing belts. To replace the starter, I had to remove the throttle body, what a dumb design.
I don't know if the newer Mazda 6 wagons are any better or basically still the same thing.
Passat gets awful reviews. Saab- not sure. Volvo maybe?
I don't rule out stick shift at all. Not even in Wash DC traffic.
No love for BMW. Way too expensive to maintain and my experience with several 10 years ago let me to think their quality is even worse than troublesome Ford of the 1980's. Had a 1987 and a 1999 528i that were both money pits and broke down all the time and were not easy to repair.
Then there is the Dodge Magnum from about 10 years ago, not made anymore and IMO overpriced and achieved the collectible status.
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