Suggestions please..

[southwind25]

And so my gearhead friends..i am in a quandary:

 

 

 

My 3 year old work car (Mitsubishi talon) has alzheimers and cancer.

 

It’s nearing it’s end of life..soon.

 

 

 

But now,,,what to buy to replace it? I need another daily driver-work winter car.

 

 

 

I am looking for a Lotus Elise station wagon that gets 30 mpg and cost about 5k.

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

I don’t want something that looks like a soccer mom car…no 4wd, no turbo it has to get good gas milage (I drive nearly 40 miles a day).

 

It has to haul 4-5- bags of mulch every spring. I have to be able to throw sail bags in the back. I want a manual tranny.

 

No hearse, no minivan, no suv or crossover. I have the lotus 7 and ginetta for fun cars, but I cant drive a dog every day either.

 

 

 

Volvo wagon looks like a Sherman tank… the audi wagon is awesome..but gets 3 gallons per mile or something.. VW passat looks great, but I hear maintenace costs are terrible.

I don’t travel logging trails so I don’t need a subby outback. Mercede’s wagons (see audi gas milage). My mom even thinks the ford wagons are ugly (though i could use the engine someday)..

 

Saab wagon looks like a shoe on wheels. …. Help me? Mazda 6 would fit the bill…I heard rumors that one might exist in the Utah somewhere. For 15k.. they seem unobtainable/expensive.

 

Suggestions?

 

Thanks mike...but the vinyl wood siding isnt my style..

 

[soareyes]

I like wagons too. My current DD wagon is a 2002 Lexus IS300 Sportcross I bought on ebay a few years ago. The wagon version of the IS300 was never popular so used ones tend to be discounted, but also hard to find. Pluses are Toyota reliability, rear wheel drive, nice 6 cyl engine that is still fairly thrifty, and of course its a wagon. The only real negative I can think of is that it was only available with an automatic. They were made in years 2002 to 2005.

 

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd136/soareyes/PNW20071110.jpg

 

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd136/soareyes/PNW2007408.jpg

 

 

 

 

[MoPho]

Are you serious about only wanting to spend $5k? And how is a Talon only 3 years old?

 

I would suggest a Mazda Protege 5, had one, great car, fun to drive

 

http://www.edmunds.com/pictures/VEHICLE/2003/Mazda/100124884/2003.mazda.protege5.6954-396x249.jpg

 

 

 

Hyundai Accent sport

 

http://www.edmunds.com/pictures/VEHICLE/2008/Hyundai/2008.hyundai.accent.20142304-396x249.jpg

 

 

[southwind25]

Oh sorry...The talon is a 1994..i have Owned it for 3 years..sorry my bad..

it's 3 years old to me.

 

yeah sadly.. i have a budget.

 

the engine needs to come out of the se7en this winter, (discussion for another day) The sailboat needs attention as well and some new rigging and the house needs a new roof the next few months.

 

I dont want to spend allot of money on a work car..we are talking ohio winters and salt, shopping cart dings, and sitting out in the hail. Ohio is unkind to everyday work cars.

and anything over 5k will eat into my se7en budget!

 

 

[Spaz]

Late 90's Honda Accord 5 speed. Maybe even a Accord wagon.

 

Try to find a EX 5 speeds. They are out their, just kinda hard to find.

[soareyes]

Oops, didn't see the $5k limit when I posted!

 

 

[WestTexasS2K]

I had a Mazda Protege 5 as well. It was fun to drive, but it will need some serious noise deadening if I were to drive it 80 miles per day. The road noise gave me a headace in about 30 min. It handled very well and was zippy enough if you kept your foot in it. Good news is you can probably get on in your price range. Throw 150.00 dollars of dynamat in it and it will do wonders for the echo chamber.

 

Here is one on ebay now http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda-Protege-5-Blue-Sport-Wagon_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6326QQihZ016QQitemZ260288228622QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[gjslutz]

I am looking for a Lotus Elise station wagon that gets 30 mpg and cost about 5k.

 

= Jumper cables.

 

I hope you don't need to be at work every day.

[solder_guy]

1987 Toyota Celica Convertible .. gets great gas mileage .. and with the top down .. you can haul everything .. kinda cold in the winter though ..

 

Rob

 

[MoPho]

I had a Mazda Protege 5 as well. It was fun to drive, but it will need some serious noise deadening if I were to drive it 80 miles per day. The road noise gave me a headace in about 30 min. It handled very well and was zippy enough if you kept your foot in it. Good news is you can probably get on in your price range. Throw 150.00 dollars of dynamat in it and it will do wonders for the echo chamber.

 

Here is one on ebay now http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda-Protege-5-Blue-Sport-Wagon_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6326QQihZ016QQitemZ260288228622QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

 

 

I thought mine was too quiet, so I threw an exhaust on it

 

I believe resale value on P5's is closer to $7-8k

[slngsht]

 

I hope you don't need to be at work every day.

 

:rofl:

[southwind25]

Well, i think we narowed it down..

 

The honda and toyota station wagons were a good choice...when newer. sadly the few we looked at were beat silly :_deadhorse: and not worth the price.

 

the subaru wagons are a good price for a good car,,but the gas milage was lower than what we wanted in a daily car at 4$ a gallon.

 

the hyundai and suzuki,,,well....something just wasnt quiet right there..

 

couldnt find a lexus wagon we could possibly afford.

 

the jaguar wagon...very cool!!..too bad it's a jaguar!

 

We really liked the mazda's..but they all seem about 2-3k more expensive than the fords..probably with good reason..but we cant go beyond our budget.

 

:nonod:

 

So, we are probably going to go with the ford focus wagon, with the zetec.

the manual version is hard to find, but they seem to be in better shape for the money.

and the gas milage is one of the higest rated.

not the pretties girl at the prom...but not unpleasant either.

 

 

 

besides..i can get used to the zetec quirks..