Chuck C

My Bro's Lookin For a Car, HTF Help Needed

My 19 yr-old brother is looking to buy a used car that's about 2-4 yrs old with low miles (~25k) and around $12-16k. He looked at Audi A4 1.8T's and BMW 3's.

Does anyone have any other car recommendations? He wants sporty (stick shift) and nice lookin. Are there model years to look out for on the above models? Would the audi 2.8 be better? Is a carfax report advisable?

thanks for everyone's help in advance.

Cam S

Thye audi A4 1.8t would be a great car, and has some good upgrade potential with that engine, plus it still looks great after a few years. You also can't go wrong with a 3 series, maybe go for a early model M3, like a 95-96??

MOOOOOO

Leo Hinze

Send him to Edmunds to find out how much such cars should cost.

Maybe he could find a 2-4 year old A4 or 3er with that mileage for that price, but barely. He'd have to find a car with absolutely no options. Better chance on getting the Audi cheaper, as they came out with a new model last year (B6 platform), which obsoleted the old model (B5 platform). 4 year old (1999 sedans) BMW's are still current model (E46). Might have better luck with 1999 BMW coupe, as those are previous generation (E36)

If he's serious about the used car thing, buy a month-to-month online subscription to Consumer Reports (and cancel after one month) to get reliability data from there.

Check out the following forums:

Audi

BMW

The forums will give information on known issues with the cars.

Carfax is always recommended.

Good luck.

Philip_G

I'm tagging along, I have 13-14k to spend and am looking for the same

Chuck C

i did a thorough check at edmunds (always a great site) and looks like the Bimmer's are too much. I looked into 2000 and 2001 preludes and Lincoln LS too. I found that the 2001 1.8T received a 20hp boost but it's still missing about 4 cylinders . The A4 is looking best right now bc it's front wheel drive (maybe even quattro) and we live in snowy cleveland ohio. let's hear some more ideas!

Tim Morton

I just bought a 2000 saab 9-3SE for $13,500, i would throq that in the mix.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2423223468

Jon_Welker

I might have a '99 Prelude with 51,xxx miles on it in excellent condition for sale right about in that price range. Relatively new Bridgestone Pole Position S-03's, new OEM brakes, brand-spankin' new battery. Washed weekly, waxed every other month. Flawless interior. Automatic with sportstick. Wait a minute...why do I want to sell this car again???

Seriously, you're going to be very hard pressed to find a bimmer or audi with those requirements. Sounds like he wants somethign sporty. Try the Preludes, maybe a 240sx in great condition, many that's tough, if he wants something sport in that price range. Let me think about it.

DJ_JonnyV

Jason_Els

The OTHER problem with the Audis, BMWs, and Saabs are the cost to repair. The insurance is also quite a bit higher because of the high cost of parts. If the insurance company sees a turbocharger on any of these then it goes up even more!

Seriously, he had better take a hard, long look at just how much money it takes to keep these on the road versus a Japanese or American car.

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Scott L

Unless you like turning corners, good gas mileage, and a higher probability of getting 200k out of it.