Non SVX - well sortof . . . (long)

[nvrmore100]

I'm not denying they are expensive...but they are still great cars. The beetle is not one of the great ones, either is the cabrio. However the GTI, Jetta, and Passat are wonderful vehicles. I guess I'm just a VW nut at heart, but when we are comparing a Passat to a Legacy.......you better REALLY like your rain coat bean seats....otherwise I think you are getting ripped off.

I do agree that the passat can't get the top speeds of the SVX, however off the line it will still win. In my opinion I prefer the top end speed...however how useful is it? Also when we are talking about how your wife enjoys the peppiness of a car...I HIGHLY doubt she is talking about how she got the SVX up to 125mph that day. More like the, I had to pass this guy coming out of Walmart because he was going just so slow type thing. I'm not trying to put your wife into a stereotype here...but if we are complaining about the 130hp problem, chances are that is what she is looking at.

Ryan

[Seraph]

Originally posted by vkykam
How about a Protege5 from Mazda?

There isn't much power (130hp from a 2L, I think), but pricing is attractive, at under $20k fully loaded.

I wonder how many bolt-on's are available for the Mazda 2L engines?

VK

I'd pay a little extra and go with the Impreza wagon.

Lwin

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by nvrmore100
I'm not denying they are expensive...but they are still great cars. The beetle is not one of the great ones, either is the cabrio. However the GTI, Jetta, and Passat are wonderful vehicles. I guess I'm just a VW nut at heart, but when we are comparing a Passat to a Legacy.......you better REALLY like your rain coat bean seats....otherwise I think you are getting ripped off.

I do agree that the passat can't get the top speeds of the SVX, however off the line it will still win. In my opinion I prefer the top end speed...however how useful is it? Also when we are talking about how your wife enjoys the peppiness of a car...I HIGHLY doubt she is talking about how she got the SVX up to 125mph that day. More like the, I had to pass this guy coming out of Walmart because he was going just so slow type thing. I'm not trying to put your wife into a stereotype here...but if we are complaining about the 130hp problem, chances are that is what she is looking at.

Ryan

I'm not going to argue about which is more useful, acceleration or top-end speed. My point was that you said the Passat was *faster* than the SVX. Here on this board, I believe we have an understanding about the difference between faster (top-end speed) and quicker (acceleration). I was simply trying to point that out, not get into a 'my SVX is quicker/faster than your VW' diatribe. (If I debate with myself, is it a 'monotribe?' Funny, because the game we're working on is 'Rubu Tribe.' Heh, heh...uh...)

And my wife loves neither the Beetle nor the SVX for their engine power. My wife is just so girlie a car like the Beetle appeals to her. She cares not about engine power, nor reliability, nor even whether or not it has a CD player. She wants a Beetle because she adores how they look.

As for the SVX, my guess is that she would prefer it had a 1.6L so I wouldn't be tempted into the very rare stupid act.

And since Eddy is the second mechanic I know of (not including relatives and friends I know who have traded VWs for Japanese cars) to say VWs are horrible to own (in terms of reliability and cost of repairs), I can hardly see why you would call the Legacy a rip-off compared to one.

I'm glad you like your VWs. We all have our preferences. This isn't a world where we all love one kind ice cream or cereal or car. I'm terribly happy for you and your VW. Me, I'm sticking with Japanese cars because they have served me unflinchingly.

[wasions]

I went to the Passat site, to check out prices, but alas, it was out of order. I did manage to see that it had a 190 hp V6 (at 6000 r's) and 206 ft/lb of torque (at 3200 r's). I like that. (The site worked for awhile, but then it was down.) I liked the '65 Beetle that I had when I was in the Navy, but haven't like much from them since.

Uhm, Jamsvx. THANKS A LOT! She's in love with the Ferrari! (She said, "I think that would be fast, don't you?") I think if we're uncertain about price of the L.L. Bean, the Ferrari is out.

I priced out a WRX the way it should be delivered, and it came out to over 32 grand. LOTS of options that should be standard. (Hey- you can always take stuff off.)

The more I think about it, the Imprezza 2.5 RS would probably be a better drive for us anyway, in that it's a lot torquier at low revs. Turbochargers were not made for automatic transmissions.

We are really leaning hard towards the L.L. Bean. 212 hp. Torque is 210 at 4400. Climate Control. Heated seats. Wiper de-icer! Only two hits against it. Price. (Fifteen years ago you could get a Turbo Porsche for that! Old Tull fan - Livin' in the past) The other down side? Just that the top rib in the leather seat is at the right height to rub her bra strap. Yeah, some things ya just gotta get used to for luxury.

Steve

[Ron Mummert]

I'm I the only fool in this group who refuses to buy ANY new car?
That NEW car becomes a dot-com stock as soon as you drive it off the lot. Plus, why make some weasel sales bozo a happy camper, when you could buy a 2-3 year old anything from a private party,(who probably was was gettin' hosed on a trade-in) for 25-35% less than something that hasn't been "pre-dinged", as that shiny new car will become on day three? Show me maintenance receipts, a middle class owner, and I'll take that 30-40K used car to over 100K any time. Ron.

[wasions]

Well, uh, yeah, but, I've just got this thing about virgins.

Steve

[Ron Mummert]

Originally posted by wasions
Well, uh, yeah, but, I've just got this thing about virgins.

Steve

Then I'm looking forward to seeing your cherry SVX!
Ron.

Originally posted by Ron Mummert
I'm I the only fool in this group who refuses to buy ANY new car?

and it didn't do the dotcom thing for about 5 years. In 93, Subaru was discounting the SVX down to 21,500 for brand new 92s. The only concession they demanded, was voiding the paint warrantee. Considering the list price on the car(which I couldn't in my mind justify even though I could afford it) I figured that discount would pay for 3 really fine paint jobs. And the dealer picked up the paint warrantee. But, as we all know, the factory paint was fantastic. On the used car market, it was still worth about 19k in 95 or 96, and took the biggest hits in 97 or 98 probably due to the trans. Last fall, we bought my wife her first new car ever. She's always been good with money and managed to amass a nice portfolio. I told her a story about an aunt of mine who died in the late 70s, still driving a 63 comet, who left close to a mill. and regreted on her deathbed never buying a cadillac. Sometimes you just gotta spend it.
Mike

[Aredubjay]

Originally posted by Ron Mummert
I'm I the only fool in this group who refuses to buy ANY new car?
That NEW car becomes a dot-com stock as soon as you drive it off the lot. Plus, why make some weasel sales bozo a happy camper, when you could buy a 2-3 year old anything from a private party,(who probably was was gettin' hosed on a trade-in) for 25-35% less than something that hasn't been "pre-dinged", as that shiny new car will become on day three? Show me maintenance receipts, a middle class owner, and I'll take that 30-40K used car to over 100K any time. Ron.

Ron, there's just something about driving off the lot in a vehicle that has 6 miles on the clock. The "brand new" mini van I bought my wife now has 110K. It's nice to know that you know exactly who put every mile on the car and how it has been taken care of (of course, I'm still wondering about the first six )

[vkykam]

The first 6 miles was for the dealer to drive it to the paint shop to cover the original YELLOW colour underneath.

VK

Originally posted by Aredubjay


Ron, there's just something about driving off the lot in a vehicle that has 6 miles on the clock. The "brand new" mini van I bought my wife now has 110K. It's nice to know that you know exactly who put every mile on the car and how it has been taken care of (of course, I'm still wondering about the first six )

[Aredubjay]

Originally posted by vkykam
The first 6 miles was for the dealer to drive it to the paint shop to cover the original YELLOW colour underneath.

VK

Thank God!!!!

[SVXphile]

<The first 6 miles was for the dealer to drive it to the paint shop to cover the original YELLOW colour underneath.>

Scratch it, and it bleeds yellow?

The first 3,000 on my Swift Gt was from an unknown owner...

...the next 137,000 have been mine!

[svxter]

Originally posted by Ron Mummert
I'm I the only fool in this group who refuses to buy ANY new car?
That NEW car becomes a dot-com stock as soon as you drive it off the lot. Plus, why make some weasel sales bozo a happy camper, when you could buy a 2-3 year old anything from a private party,(who probably was was gettin' hosed on a trade-in) for 25-35% less than something that hasn't been "pre-dinged", as that shiny new car will become on day three? Show me maintenance receipts, a middle class owner, and I'll take that 30-40K used car to over 100K any time. Ron.

In general I agree with you. However, Subarus have one of the lower initial depreciation rates going. When we bought the Outback, I was shopping for a 1 or 2 year old car. When the salesman told me the first year's depreciation was 10%, I thought he was trying to snow me, until I checked it out with the bank. I don't think it's worth taking the 20 - 30% hit you get when you buy most new cars, but the 10% seemed tolerable. If I were shopping, I'd think about the Impreza wagon, or a 98 -99 Outback.

Just my $.02

[SVXphile]

< The more I think about it, the Imprezza 2.5 RS would probably be a better drive for us anyway>

Good choice. All my wife's 2.2 Impreza needs to be a super little car is about 30 more hp......in other words. the 2.5. They do make an RS wagon don't they? I have never seen one at my local dealer. I have seen a "TS" wagon, but it looks like a cost-cutter model. Speaking of wagons, check page 10 of the latest Autoweek. I saw my first Protege 5 this weekend, and it looked sharp!

Also this evening, as Jean and I were coming back from Beckley, I saw one of the new retro Thunderbirds. I didn't even know they were in production yet; looked in my rearview and almost wrecked! Don

[Ron Mummert]

Originally posted by Aredubjay


Ron, there's just something about driving off the lot in a vehicle that has 6 miles on the clock. The "brand new" mini van I bought my wife now has 110K. It's nice to know that you know exactly who put every mile on the car and how it has been taken care of (of course, I'm still wondering about the first six )

Aredub - I don't really mean rain upon anyone's parade. If it feels good, do it; as the saying goes. I just feel that the new shoe really smells good, until you've stuck your feet into'em for a week. I see so many of the younger generation hung up on the idea of "must be new", then get stuck with insurance costs & monthly payments that preclude any kind of social life. Those of you born into "old" money may disregard these comments. Also cars last a lot longer now than those of yore. I remember when a vehicle was considered dangerous if it exceeded the 100K mark. "It's gonna blow any day now, Martha"!
NEW just doesn't have impact it once had. I remember, as some of the other more senior members may remember the days that NEW cars were shrouded in secrecy, with tarps covering them as they were transported under darkness into the dealerships to be unveiled with fanfare & girls jumping out of cakes. A 1959 Cadillac was a 1959. Not a '59 & 1/2 or a '60 special edition - early release. It's a little like Christmas starting after Halloween, & endless sports playoffs. You can't really tell what's truly new anymore.
There - now I feel better. Ron.