@menorman: It actually is quite the excellent specimen, but I won't delude myself into thinking that I can get thousands more than the market will bare. Thanks for grabbing those links for me! I have a few biases of some of those cars, but that's more of an issue I have to get over than anything. The BMW was interesting, I would have thought a twelve year old bimmer would be a monster to maintain. Or is the notion that at 5k, IF it passes a rigorous inspection/history that it has a lower probability of being a budget buster in repairs?
The outback was also very intriguing to me. I was under the impression that any subaru short of ten years in this price range would either have >200k miles or be a shit-box. The miles aren't listed on this one, but it looks pretty good. How are the repairs on these things?
Yea, if you have the time to sit and wait for a buyer, you should be able to get somewhere close to what you want for it. Seeing the part of the country you live in, a sale of an AWD might be slightly better as winter approaches than as it leaves, but I'm only guessing. I did
find one on my local craigslist that approximately matches yours. You could also take it by CarMax, they claim that they'll buy cars even if you don't return the favor. As for the rest of the cars, I know what you mean. I myself wouldn't drive some of them, but they do fit the specifications listed so are legitimate potential candidates. Including the bimmer.
BMWs are just like any other car: keep the maintenance up and they'll last at least as long as anything else similar to them. With that being said, most people file complaints about older/used BMWs because buy a car that MSRP'd for $60k but now costs maybe 15% of that 10 years later yet they expect the maintenance costs of a brand new Civic (aka none) since it was cheaper than a new Civic. (This conversation could potentially be applied to most other luxury cars as well, although I hear Audi and Mercedes-Benz are worse than BMW. Acura/Infiniti/Lexus tend to inherit the reputations of Honda/Nissan/Toyota, which are usually good, and Cadillac/Jaguar/Lincoln are all a mixed bag, depending on which GM/Ford vehicle they're based off of, although Jaguar was sold to Tata Motors in 2010.) That isn't a realistic expectation, and a car that's a decade old may need some maintenance. This is one of those times where knowing how to do basic maintenance comes in real handy. Due to the nature of the vehicles, they're more complex than an econobox and so systems that only consist of a single part in a Civic have multiple parts on a BMW and that's what makes the maintenance expensive. Not realizing this, people motor on over to the dealer and are shocked to discover that what used to be a basic repair with minimal cost on their econobox now has a price tag equal to 1/3 the market value of their luxury car. Those type of repairs can definitely add up fast in a car that hasn't been cared for (luxury or not), so paying a trusted mechanic to do a thorough check could be money very well spent.
With that in mind,
here is a Mustachian version of yesterday's bimmer that has almost 40k more on the odometer that I still would feel confident in putting an easy 30k more on, especially if mostly highway miles. So while I definitely won't guarantee the sedan, I think it should be fairly obvious that they are more long-lasting and reliable than people make them out to be. Also, they aren't exactly gas hogs. (If you couldn't tell,) I do actually own a BMW, a 1998 540i that I acquired about 9 months ago. After buying it, and w/o even so much as an oil change, I drove it back and cross a majority portion of the country and it ran fine. Despite the EPA designation as a "Gas Guzzler", I usually get mid-high 20s with my cruise control set in the mid-70s and the AC keeping me nice and cool. That's from a 4.4L V8 moving around a 2 ton car. Other 540 owners on the forums report getting similar mileage, and even some
M5 owners report getting low 30s cruising around. The 3-Series cars are smaller and lighter, so despite their smaller engines, I would still expect them to be able to hit low-mid 30s at conservative cruise speeds.
As for the Subie, I haven't heard much bad about them except for people who thought they were Ken Block. The boxer engines are solid design, although the turbos might need to be looked at, especially if it sat for awhile (unless it just isn't turbo at all). Other than that, just regular maintenance stuff like one would find on most cars that old.
This ride just hit my radar, going to check this out for sure! I didn't mention earlier that I have a huge preference for a manual, and if I CAN, would appreciate a nicer interior. Are the accords just as reliable as the civics?
02 Manual Accord with 122k, timing and drive belts, water pump, replaced coolant just done.
$5.8k
http://carsabi.com/listing/original/3448942/
With some exceptions (notably Chrysler products from that era), cars are only as reliable as their owners. Honda and Toyota tend to be reliable despite their owners, including the Accords. As ohp made mention of, stay away from the auto transmissions (especially for the V6s) in that range unless it's been certified by Honda and/or still (miraculously) has a warranty. '02 was the last year of that model, so it should be about as free from model-specific quirks as one would expect to find. One owner is definitely good, makes it much easier to get to the maintenance history, although it should be a pretty solid buy, especially w/ the work that was just done.
Having a preference for a manual will help you nowadays. So many people don't like to drive manuals, their resell value is generally lower. Which means a sweet deal for you!
Not so much anymore, especially when shopping for newer cars. With manufacturers coming out with 8-speed slushboxes to boost their EPA mileages, the advantage of a 5-speed manual gearbox is theoretically none, so some companies aren't even offering them in many cars where one would expect to find them. For example, BMW's //M division wants to do away with manual transmissions and go to only SMGs, but the American market--their largest--still demands a real manual transmission. For their credit, Porsche just revealed that they now offer a
7-speed manual (world's first) in the new 911. But still, fleeting few buy cars w/ manual transmissions these days and those who do tend to not sell them very often. Even at the very low end of the vehicle spectrum, it's getting to be next to impossible to find a clutch pedal. Almost all used Accords, Camrys, Corollas, and even the newer Civics are usually auto except for the SI trim. Same extends downward into the Fit/Versa/Focus/Aveo/Yaris/Soul/etc. territory. So while yes, they may tend to be slightly cheaper than an auto version of the exact same car, someone in need of a vehicle sooner than later may very well be better off just buying an auto if they can't find a manual specimen that fits their needs in the immediate term.
