What Car: Sporty and safe 4-door for under $7k?

I had been toying with the idea of selling my trusty 4Runner and doing my own Tahoe SS-equivalent, but have since decided to keep the 4Runner for weekend dog/kayak duties and get something for the daily grind.

We have a 4-month old whom I will be transporting around regularly, so would like to get something new enough to have all the safety stuff (side impact airbags) and fit a rear facing car seat. I want it to be as sporty as possible, but the wife will be driving it occasionally, so a manual is not in the cards. Probably better anyways as my commute doesn't consist of any curvy mountain roads (think flat, straight, Florida roads). It also needs to be a nice place to spend time, so my list skews more luxury than econobox. Would love to have an aux port and some of the newer creature comforts. Commute is ~12 miles each way and takes ~30-40 minutes, so some blasting down a highway and some sitting in traffic.

So, 4-door (or 5-door), safe, sporty auto with room for a rear facing car seat. Oh, and under a rough budget of $7k. I'm leaning towards car vs. SUV/truck as I already have the 4Runner.

First thoughts:

• VW CC - 2.0T with DSG could be fun, rear seat should fit the car seat (might be tight) and can find 2010-2012 all day long under the budget
• BMW 528i - no turbo, but don't know much about the longevity of the auto. Would be ~2008 with higher miles
• BMW 328i - same thing goes here, anyone care to enlighten on how these are for daily use
• Audi A4 - seems like these also use the 2.0T and DSG? I might be able to skirt into the new body style in 2009. I know nothing about them except the scary stuff everyone hears
• Volvo S80/V70 - Seems a little too vanilla to me, but are in budget
• Infiniti M35/G35 - These will have higher miles, and I remember hearing of oil consumption, but are quite common here in FL and seem nice

Anything I might be missing? I already owned an Acura TL (and CL), so didn't list those to try something new this time. Anyone feel strongly on any mentioned above (or have experience)? Ideally I would purchase all cash, drive for a year or two and then either keep if I still like it or sell and get something sportier once little man is no longer rear-facing. Also, with said newborn I won't have a ton of free time to do my own work, so I have a trusted indy nearby that would need to do any maintenance.

Auto boxes suck the life out of BMWs, IMO. I've always been intrigued by the CC - my self-imposed RWD rule has kept me from looking into them seriously, but I do like the styling in and out.

How about a Dodge Charger or one of the other LX platform cars? They're getting into that price range, plenty of back seat room, and your commute sounds like their natural environment.

V6 Accord sedan, though I know you said you had a TL already. 

I also came in to say V6 Accord, but it's the same as the TL.

I think you would probably like the Mazda6 even more however.

edit: if you're really only using it for that commute, a used Nissan Leaf is ideal. It would be perfect for your requirements, so long as you have a 110 outlet available at home. 

speed6

I see a bunch of Accords locally, but they are all 4 cylinders instead of 6. I suppose a V6 Accord would be the easy button, might keep an eye out for those. I love the sound of the J-series motors, but figured it might be fun to try something different.

I thought about the Charger/300/Magnum and there are quite a few hemi 300C's in my price range, but not sure I'd like the size/weight/high door panels. Might have to hop in one just to see.

Speed6 is an idea I hadn't considered, weren't those manual only? If there is an auto was it any good? It seems any of the other 6's in my price range would be a little gutless for my purposes.

only available in 6 speed manual. Mine is the GT, so it has heated leather seats, sunroof, etc. Absolutely love it as a daily driver. Missed the part in your post about manual not being an option (my bad lol)

When you narrow it down, my Brother goes to Wholesale Auctions and he can search for you.

We charge a small Broker fee to get the cars. Normally, our clients save an average 2K on them buying wholesale, etc. 

email - automotivematchmakers at the gmail server with your SPECIFIC details and location. That way we save on shipping. 

Thx!

I'll second a used Leaf seeming extremely well suited to the stated usage.

For an idea out of left field.  The nicest Lincoln LS you can find.  Plenty of power, nicely equipped, solid platform.

 Why no Mercedes? 

In reply to M3Loco :

Hey my buddy works for a wholesale auction place (manheim). He tells me how much some cars go for and I always wish I could buy a car but don't have dealer access lol. He inspects them and could tell me which are do not buys lol

The Infinitys (Infinities?) that had the oil consumption issues I think were only the "high rev" engines that are in the coupes. The sedans didn't get the high rev. My daughter bought a pretty nice 04 sedan with just over 100k for about $6000

What year 328 are you thinking of? I'd go to the 330i with the auto, as the 3 liter isn't affected as much. My 330ci ZHP is an autobox (it's a GM unit) and the automatic is still fun to drive. I think the 2006 330i is in your price range, and gives you the newer E92 3 series bodystyle without the problems of the 335 turbo cars.

yupididit said:

In reply to M3Loco :

Hey my buddy works for a wholesale auction place (manheim). He tells me how much some cars go for and I always wish I could buy a car but don't have dealer access lol. He inspects them and could tell me which are do not buys lol

Yup, I have a Dealer's License and we buy from there. Know them pretty well. PM me. I may be able to facilitate the licensing requirement. 

G35 sedan FTW! All 05+ V35-chassis 6MT G35s were RevUp so they probably have oil consumption issues, but 03-04 6MT cars still rule and 6MT V36 sedans are getting cheap! I've had my 2004 6MT sedan for about 3 months now, so feel free to AMA.

Chris_V said:

What year 328 are you thinking of? I'd go to the 330i with the auto, as the 3 liter isn't affected as much. My 330ci ZHP is an autobox (it's a GM unit) and the automatic is still fun to drive. I think the 2006 330i is in your price range, and gives you the newer E92 3 series bodystyle without the problems of the 335 turbo cars.

I was thinking E90, and noticed that there are some 330i's in my price range if I go back to the beginning of the E90 (2006). I don't know what trans the 330i in E90 form is mated to, anybody have input on that? It seems some of them came with paddle shift, that might be a Sport package thing?

As I understand it, those just need the cooling system gone through and can need suspension bushing work at certain intervals, anything else to worry about?

$6800, 76,000 miles, that's a lot of car for the money IMHO!  Hell, I should grab that one.  

Or, a beige over beige Kia Rondo in top nick for less than $5k.  More style and excitement than the CC, and certainly more sporty.  

Looks like Audi wheels can be bolt-on:

UPDATE: I haven't been online in awhile but wanted to wrap up this thread as I did end up purchasing a new car a couple weeks back.

In the end, I went with what I know (and what was recommended above multiple times) and found a mint 2009 Accord EX-L V6. Couldn't find any CC's for sale by owner in my price range and this one owner Accord popped up on CL just miles from my house. Currently has 145k miles but owner had hand written maintenance logs and dealer receipts for every visit since new.

Took it home for just over $6k and it easily fits a rear facing ca seat with my wife riding passenger. J35 motor still pulls really well, auto is kinda sluggish but oh well. Might consider new suspension and sway bar(s) but that's about it.

Nice!!! That should be a great car for what you need. Well done.

Score! I would suggest a transmission fluid change every other oil change.