the chrysler sebring i had before my dakota looked pretty sweet and was fast as ****

2.7L v6, could get up to 32 mpg on the highway (cruise control at 105km an hour) , averaged 19-25ish city. The car was way faster than my 5.2; I raced my friend in his 5.0 mustang a couple of times, it kept up pretty well but the stock 5.0 beat me by like 2-5 car lengths everytime

all in all, you can pick them up for around $5000 used

SANY0136.jpg

would have looked better with front windows tinted, but its illegal to do that here, and some rims, but i had it in highschool and i was broke





just saw that you want an awd car..so the sebring might not be what your looking for

just keep in mind fwd cars have WAY better traction than anything rwd with the the majority of the weight coming from the engine, front 2 passengers, etc..with proper tires i was still driving it around in like a foot of snow..just takes a bit of effort sometimes

 

Its not AWD, but if you found a nice Crown Victoria, the ride is amazing, and it has some kick to it. +if its black you can smoke the tail lights and make it look like a fbi interceptor!
and it wouldnt be to hard on the bank either
=P

 

^^^ i would love a sleeper crown vic. plus i think they sound good with an exhaust

 

You're really limiting your options since you say you require an all wheel drive "car". Some of the rides mentioned even with all wheel drive aren't going to make the best "snow" vehicles because of limited ground clearance. It also sounds like you are sold on the S4 and they are a nice car. Wouldn't be my first choice because of high initial cost, at the top of your price range and repair costs but if that is what you want you'd be better off shopping for one than taking your second choice and not being happy with it. I would be looking for a nice older Stratus R/T or Intrepid R/T. Front wheel drive can get through some pretty good snow.

 

avenger rt is awd.

 

It has to be awd because of the amount of snow I drive in. I know the ground clearence isn't the greatest on the s4's but with some studded snows they are pretty much like tanks in the snow. LSD front and rear. I was really hoping there were better options.

The reason I lean towards the s4 so much is because it's awd, 6 speed, and they are a lot of fun. They handle amazing. I mean I was pretty much sold on the s4 to begin with, but was hoping that there more options out there, there really isn't...

I wouldn't mind a vr4 but they are about impossible to find. s4's are hard enought to find.

awd isn't onlt better in snow but rain as well, although it's not a big deal, it's still better. I really don't like fwd cars very much. They are okay in the snow, but an awd car will always better with snow tires.

I can up my price to $12,000 because I'll most likely trade in my truck.

 

Yes. I bought a '93 grand Marquis for my long time girlfriend to drive. Very comfortable, fast, good MPG, and cheap. Mine was a one owner little old lady special, everything worked minus a few dead window motors, loaded with leather and everything you could get, just turned over 100k, and I bought it for $1600 bucks. Its in great condition inside and out. Feels like your driving a lazy boy down the road, and are proven reliable vehicles. Crown vics and Grandma Marques easily see 300-500k in police and taxi fleets. At that price you can easily keep your truck.

 

I currently own 2 Mercedes, but I've also had experience with BMWs, Audis, Porsches, and many other makes. If you're angry at your Dodge trucks for issues you've had in the past, older 5+ year old german cars are NOT for you. There will always be something that needs attention every few months, and parts are expensive. It is inevitable. A complete service history is everything when shopping for one of these. There is nothing more expensive than a cheap example.

If you don't mind spending a few grand year for unscheduled repairs outside of normal maintenance, then go for an older German car. This is about what I spend doing some of the work myself, and sending out all the heavy lifting to my independent mechanic. Its still cheaper than a car payment on a new one. If you're a masochist, take it to a dealer and prepare to have a new one torn in quickly.

Also, spring for a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) before you get to the point of purchasing one. I have yet to buy an older German car without finding at least a grand in pressing deferred maintenance or repairs. Your Dakota might as well be a Ford Model T compared to the complexity of German cars, especially with all wheel drive, so there's alot more to go wrong.

Audis tend to be the neediest of the German bunch as far as I'm concerned, but it all comes down to personal preference.

5 years ago I made the mistake of selling my first Dodge Dakota for a 2003 BMW X5 4.4i. For the first two years under warranty it was fantastic, after it was a challenge. The last year of ownership I only put 5000 miles on it, and had $4000 worth of unscheduled repairs. That was an extreme case, and thankfully I've had better luck with my E320 Mercedes. Still had to swallow a recent $1000 water pump replacement because the intake had to be removed, and parts. Daily driver duty is divided between my new Dakota, and the E320.

My '85 500SL is my garage queen, only seeing 15,000 miles in the last 8 years, and I've put nearly $15,000 into keeping it running perfectly. The car was a gift from my grandmother, the original owner.

Usually once you drink the German cool aid, you can never go back. You were warned.

For around $12,000 and a reliable daily luxury all wheel drive vehicle, I'd be buying an Infiniti G35x, Lexus IS300 AWD, or Acura RSX/TL AWD

 

I would LOVE if rsx's came in awd, but I'm pretty sure, like 99% sure, they didn't.


I don't know. I mean, I know where you're coming from and I know the German cars can be expensive to maintain, but I'm getting really tired of owing a Dakota. I love the truck, but it shouldn't fall apart as much as it does. And it isn't just this one, my last one was the same way.

 

I think you're right on the RSX front.

I believe it was a Mercedes engineer that said, "all cars fall apart eventually, ours just take longer."

You'll be looking back fondly on the good ol' days, just as I have. Since your experience is only with these trucks, and both have been "bad" I understand where you are coming from. Do keep in mind that it is 8 years old and has over 100k on it, so things are going to break.

There's a reason why those 5+ year old audis look so affordable... Once you have one, its a love hate relationship similar to what you're having with your truck right now, only with another 0 attached to every bill.

Newer cars are not built to be repaired anymore, so the engineering is not geared towards ease of repair. This is a problem with all makes foreign and domestic. Couple that with the complexity, high parts and labor cost on the German side, and you've got a problem.

The bright side of it all, it is still cheaper than a car payment and depreciation on a new one. ALOT cheaper. You just have to figure is going to conservatively cost a few grand a year to keep it going. If that's not something you can handle then look elsewhere.

In 2005, I was so sick of my truck, and the BMW might as well have been a starship in comparison. Now that I'm back looking at the costs of some major repairs I may face with my older truck they seem laughable in comparison.