On the fence about a car purchase

I should have said caR purchase...

I know I may be asking a biased forum but: 2005 V70R AWD 6-speed or for half the price 2006 Ford Escape AWD 5speed as my primary vehicle.

V70R 151,000 miles damn near flawless garage kept and well maintained with 29,000 on the timing belt and 60% of the clutch left (first clutch so all highway miles) new tires and a hoot to drive

Escape 97,000 miles minor rust on one of the wheel wells utterly utilitarian and merely enough as far as a vehicle goes.

Which Buy GRM? Is the v70r twice the car the escape is? Insurance on the v70r is approximately $70/month but I was not able to select it as an R model on the quote.

Depends on how you feel about spending your money.

I make more than enough to afford it. I'm 25 and an engineer, I want something that doesn't feel like a penalty box and my current vehicle, an s10, is too rusty to pass inspection again in my state. I want a drivers car with utility that isn't afraid of snow, where I live we sometimes have 2 feet of snow on the ground and a solid covering of snow from christmas until march. I've read that the R does even better in the snow than an escape as long as the snow isn't too deep (>4" on the road)

I'd say keep shopping. Both of those bore me to tears.

Do you really want to buy a car with 150k miles on it?

The V70r is not boring, the Escape seems like it would be. But how much money is twice as much? That's a lot of miles and you would probably be in for an angle gear replacement in the next 40k miles. That's not the end of the world but should be planned for.

Are you in a position to be able to have two cars? Would the Escape and an older Miata cost less than the V70r?

How much is insurance on the Escape? I've got super cheap cars so no full coverage and my bill for three cars and two motorcycles is around $115.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I'd say keep shopping. Both of those bore me to tears.

I'd agree. I'd go with neither. Guess it depends on the price for the Volvo, but that's a lot of miles. If you want something "fun", then the Escape shouldn't even be on your list. I'm not a fan of them, but the WRX sounds right up your alley for what you describe.

I shopped V70Rs in my endless search for a grown up car as well as A4 and S4 avants, 525iTs, Allroads and a couple others. Essentially all of the Euro wagons w/ manual transmissions. I set a ceiling of 90k miles as I'd like a long ownership run w/o a worn out car.

I ended up w/ the 525 on the basis that a very good one popped up, and I speak inline 6 BMW already. The V70R scared me off due to complexity and the relatively low production numbers which make for future parts availability problems. Nice cars, but if you can afford it I'd shop stuff with fewer miles. Buy a cheap interim truck if need be, then rationalize keeping it once you find a nice Euro-wagon.

In reply to dculberson: I'm a one-vehicle guy for the foreseeable future due to current living arrangements that I won't go into.

Escape insurance is about $50/mo

Klayfish wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I'd say keep shopping. Both of those bore me to tears.

I'd agree. I'd go with neither. Guess it depends on the price for the Volvo, but that's a lot of miles. If you want something "fun", then the Escape shouldn't even be on your list. I'm not a fan of them, but the WRX sounds right up your alley for what you describe.

The escape would just get me by, my current vehicle will be unusable as of 2013. I want a grown-up car with class, not a wrx with swag. I also want the utility of a wagon. Wagons get better mileage than small suv's too.

I have to say that the Escape sounds interesting to me, if you want to mod. It WILL be more reliable than the Volvo, and cheaper. It has the Duratec 4 cyl in it so I would say that it would be easy enough to mod up a bit. I have put a load of miles on Escapes and while they leave a lot to be wanted they are not bad vehicles. Also, I didn't know that you could get an AWD 5 speed escape.

If fun driving AND snow are in the forecast, I'd really lean in the direction of the subie nation. I had a Forester (not the turbo) and it was fun. Great engine, limited slip, and utility. The escape would leave me yearning for a guardrail.

Forester XT is the answer you are looking for.

93EXCivic wrote: Forester XT is the answer you are looking for.

25 & $$$.....Porsche Cayenne is the answer you are looking for.

singleslammer wrote: I have to say that the Escape sounds interesting to me, if you want to mod. It WILL be more reliable than the Volvo, and cheaper. It has the Duratec 4 cyl in it so I would say that it would be easy enough to mod up a bit. I have put a load of miles on Escapes and while they leave a lot to be wanted they are not bad vehicles. Also, I didn't know that you could get an AWD 5 speed escape.

4 cylinder only for the manual awd

if you're looking at a v70r for more than 10g's with over 100k, you need to continue looking.

Personally, I'd run like hell away from an escape. If you want reliable/comfort/awd.....look around for a '10-'12 sho, they're dropping in price rather quickly with low milage. No stick offered though.

If you want manual, reliable, comfort, etc.....find a used 335i

I can get it for $9250, KBB says it should be about a grand lower, accurate? it is the six speed don't forget.

Buy, walk, or run away from this one? Is there a chance I will find another one like this to buy? My car shopping budget is around $8000 but I can stretch it if the vehicle gives me the tingles, I must say when I was in it it was superbly comfy but it didn't seem super powerful when I was driving it I felt a little tingle. Maybe I just like low end torque of which this caR has little.

I saw as low as 7k last time I looked for v70r's in manual. $9250 isn't bad I suppose, but I'd still try for 8k....... KBB number doesn't mean much other than thats what others have sold for and estimates(I've met the guys who run kbb)

At the end of the day, would you be happy paying that much? Thats all that matters.

That's the thing, I can't find a manual R for less with more miles. but then again I don't see many with this many miles.

AWD Manual Escape? Nearly a Unicorn down here. My brother has a more normal one and only complains about mileage.

You need to look beyond these two vehicles, IMO.

15k would prolly buy you a mighty nice sub40k mile v70r 6sp......

In reply to slopecarver:

Yep, I knew that much. In 05 on they had the duratec 4 cylinder and the duratec 6 cylinder. No real relationship other than the name.

Oh you guys, take $9250 toss the numbers in a hat and pull them out one by one, what do you get? A 97 subie outback with a man stick in great shape with no rust from the only owner it's ever had and an inch of papers covering the car's life for just under $3000. Spotless interior too!

Here is the post for the V90R, http://erie.craigslist.org/cto/3352174326.html In the end it it just too far outside of what I'm comfortable with, and besides, I have $30,000 in school loans that I should now be able to pay off before 2014.

slopecarver wrote: The escape would just get me by, my current vehicle will be unusable as of 2013. I want a grown-up car with class, not a wrx with swag. I also want the utility of a wagon. Wagons get better mileage than small suv's too.

What you need is a Saab 9-2x. Wrx with class.