My wife and I are expecting our first child. Her E46 sedan will do fine for now, but I'm sure we'll eventually need to take a child and two dogs somewhere at the same time. She hates minivans, I hate SUV's, and neither one of us really like automatics. I know, that kind of limits the options.
Right now I'm looking at manual wagons, like Audi A4/S4 avants, E46 or E39 wagons, Passat or Jetta wagon, or maybe a Subaru wagon. Also looking to stay at $5k or less.
Anything I'm missing?
you could look Saab 9/3 sportkombi (wagon). we have had very good luck w/ our 2010 sedan, 2004 sedan prior to that.
LT1 Impala/Roadmaster with T56 conversion.
volvo is a safe, reliable option. not sure what is available in wagon with a stick in your price range but worth looking into
Volvo. Just sold mine in your budget. The newer they get the less likely to find a stick, but that is true of all you have listed.
Gearheadotaku wrote: LT1 Impala/Roadmaster with T56 conversion.
I'd be all about that option, but the wife doesn't like them. At all.
Junkyard_Dog wrote: Volvo. Just sold mine in your budget. The newer they get the less likely to find a stick, but that is true of all you have listed.
That seems to be the problem, especially with the Volvo. I was kind of looking at them at first, but have kind of given up after not finding a single manual wagon in a couple weeks of looking.
I really like the looks of the B7 A4 Avant (and I'm not scared of VAG products), but I'm having the same problem there. I've seen a few that were close to the price range, but I haven't seen a single manual yet.
16vCorey wrote: My wife and I are expecting our first child.
Congratulations!! 
BTW- we had the same considerations (with a few more kids).
Bought a Volvo 850 with a stick.
It was OK, but when we decided it was time to move up, we went to look at the Mazda 5 (because my wife still wanted the stick).
The dealer had a choice between a Mazda 5 and a lightly used MPV. When my wife saw the (lack of) trunk space in the 5, we bought the MPV (and she refused to even test drive the 5).
Regardless of what anyone says (or what you think you want), there is NO people mover superior to a mini van. They are just simply terrific at what they do.
I DO NOT miss the Volvo AT ALL.
If you think you'd like to re-consider, I've got 3 separate 1st gen Honda Odysseys (V-tec, yo!) I am about to sell (VG condition, no rust, high mileage, Challenge priced)
audi has another option as well, the allroad. dunno about 5k, but you should be able to get close?
In reply to rcutclif:
OP does not state that they have another $5k+ for repairs in first year of ownership
Why isn't a ZX5 or protégé 5 under consideration?
Can't STI stuff be put under a Subie Forrester Turbo? More room than a WRX wagon, but set lower than a standard SUV.
Gearheadotaku wrote: Can't STI stuff be put under a Subie Forrester Turbo? More room than a WRX wagon, but set lower than a standard SUV.
I've been wanting to buy or build this for years... but with the OP's $5K budget I doubt it could be done even if you valued your time at $0.
EDIT: I assumed you meant the entire STi drivetrain. If you're just talking STi suspension... I'm not sure what Forrester turbo manuals go for these days. When I looked few years ago they were rare enough to command a premium among the enthusiasts.
Saab. Saab wagon is the easy button. Volvo is mostly automatic.
SVreX wrote: BTW- we had the same considerations (with a few more kids). Bought a Volvo 850 with a stick. It was OK, but when we decided it was time to move up, we went to look at the Mazda 5 (because my wife still wanted the stick). The dealer had a choice between a Mazda 5 and a lightly used MPV. When my wife saw the (lack of) trunk space in the 5, we bought the MPV (and she refused to even test drive the 5). Regardless of what anyone says (or what you think you want), there is NO people mover superior to a mini van. They are just simply terrific at what they do. I DO NOT miss the Volvo AT ALL. If you think you'd like to re-consider, I've got 3 separate 1st gen Honda Odysseys (V-tec, yo!) I am about to sell (VG condition, no rust, high mileage, Challenge priced)
Thanks! I agree with you, but Colleen is repulsed by minivans. I don't think I can talk her into it.
captdownshift wrote: In reply to rcutclif: OP does not state that they have another $5k+ for repairs in first year of ownership Why isn't a ZX5 or protégé 5 under consideration?
I've actually been looking at Allroads too. I'm a glutton for punishment.
I don't think I could talk the wife into a Focus, purely based on the looks. I didn't think about the Protege 5. I'll start looking at those too.
In reply to 16vCorey:
simple... she keeps her BMW and you drive the mini van... When, on those rare occasions she needs to carry them all... you swap.
16vCorey wrote: Thanks! I agree with you, but Colleen is repulsed by minivans. I don't think I can talk her into it.
Yeah, my wife was too.
"Men marry women thinking they won't change, and they do!"
I promise not to say "I told you so!" 
Except for her first car out of high school(new 67 Cougar) my wife has always had a 4-door sedan. She just bought a new Subaru Legacy in 2013.
What does she take most of the time for errands around town? My 2010 Ford Transit Connect! "It holds more stuff and it is so much easier to get stuff into."
In reply to 16vCorey: A first gen Focus(ZX3) isn't bigger in the back seat than an E46, so you may have to go to a third gen Focus, especially if your two dogs are big.
I would suggest a Mazda 6 wagon, and doing a manual swap if you can't find one.
Plus, nice wheels and lowering a vehicle does make them look better in general.
Go test drive a late-model Grand Caravan. Seriously. They're actually fun to drive in anger, reasonably quick, and handle way better than anything that tall & with that much mass should. 
Oh, and yeah they're awesome family/people-movers.
http://westky.craigslist.org/cto/4999586840.html
Plenty of money left over to troubleshoot, maintain and modify this one. They're great cars when taken care of. I wouldn't let the mileage scare me. Easy to work on and get parts for.
Ford Flex?
cdowd wrote: you could look Saab 9/3 sportkombi (wagon). we have had very good luck w/ our 2010 sedan, 2004 sedan prior to that.
My wife's got a 2007 with an auto. That thing'll break a ton before the end of an onramp easy 
Would definitely buy again
oh yeah, plus great safety ratings, doesn't torque steer too bad if you're not limp-wristing it, 30mpg highway (but closer to 17mpg city), excellent build quality, well thought out cockpit, over all a great car.
How big are the dogs? It might work with small dogs, but fitting two German Shepard-sized dogs into the back of a small wagon with the rear seat up sounds pretty iffy to me.
The big problem with car seats is the longitudinal length they require, most cars just don't have enough of it to put a rear-facing child seat behind a 6-foot adult. With one kid, you can sometimes put the baby bucket in the middle of the rear seat and have it poke through the space between the two front seats, but with two that's no longer an option. Once the kids outgrows the baby bucket, it's time for a rear-facing "convertible" seat, and those are the real space killers. Currently, most states require rear-facing seats up to age 1, some kids can stay in a baby bucket and go straight to front-facing, but others (like my son) outgrow the bucket at 6 months old and need the convertible seat. There's no way to fit one of those in a B6 S4 Avant and also carry a second adult -- I've tried. From 6 to 12 months he went everywhere in the minivan.
(BTW, they're talking about changing that 1 year rear-facing requirement to 2 years.)
There's a reason people with kids buy minivans, and that's because it's pretty much the only vehicle type that's expressly designed for child seats. They are so much easier to deal with in a minivan than in a sedan. (SUVs are really no better than a sedan in this regard, BTW)
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