Need a new/used car/truck...help...

[Doc74]

Ok so the questions is obvious...what to get ? An important factor here is credit history.

As you may or may not know I moved here form Europe a month ago thus I have no credit history here and getting a car, either new or used, may help me establish that. The fact I have excellent CH in Belgium doesn't mean squat here and I have to start from scratch. Any advice on that matter is greatly appreciated.

Being European and being a bodyman for 15 years I know a thing or two about Euro and Jap cars but I'm not an expert on US cars. Well except for my old charger but that's not exactly the car I want to drive in two feet of snow...especially now since I'd need a huge magnet to catch the falling parts as I go.

I haven't decided yet if I want a car or a truck. The truck would have the advantage of cargo space but at this point I'm not sure if I would really utilise that.

I know you guys would preffer a Dodge over anything else but I really really don't give a (fill in profanity) about the make. I used to have an old Chevy Blazer I loved and had plenty Fords, altough those were all European.
I hear more bad things about Dodge trucks than Fords so again, post your opinions and experiences. I would like to add that if I do decide to buy a truck, it'll be the smaller one, I really have no need for something that can pull an oak tree out of the ground.

Before I go on, the sensible buyer in me tells me to buy a Honda or a Toyota...well I just shot that idiot, I want something cool...so there 

I acknowledge the safety records, the great mileage and the reasonable price but I really want something I LIKE. I've driven enough sensible cars, time for daddy to have some fun here 
To anyone driving a Honda or Toyota, Emily being one of them, no offense intended, I just don't want one right now.
Emily has an 03 CR-V which is just about the best suv on the market and I admit it runs great but again, I want to smile when I walk to the car 

As far as passenger cars go, I kinda like the 300 (not the M series) but have no idea how good or bad they are. I see lots of them here in Mi so I'm sure they do their job in the snow.
I'd buy an old car but Emily, my wifey, politely asked me to reconsider that since reliability would be an issue and I have to agree with her. I'll have the charger to play with once it's fixed so I'll wait with the old car bit.

Now, for all the Euro haters, stop reading...

I've always wanted an Audi A8. I know their rep and build quality and they're very hard to compete with, they're also as expensive as a house though...

Thanks to the huge taxes on luxury cars in Europe, they were way out of reach for me but here it's an entirely different situation. It's 'only' a 4.2 V8.

I would look for the 1st gen since that's the one I always liked, a '97 or '98. Anything newer is still pretty much the price of a small house....
Soooooo who has one ?    Is there anyone here who really has one, knows of someone who drives one, knows if they are the same as the Euro ones or have they been tinkered with like many beemers ?

What do you guys recommend I look into ? I know there must be people here who have the 300. Opinions please !

[whitehatspecial]

Before I reply to your post I would like to say that I think, that old (before 1972) any make american vehicles ,excluding anything AMC, ford pintos and chevy vega, are great cars... especially Mopars.

That being said, I have owned many other vehicles including pick up trucks that were built after 1972 and have found that most were glorified, underpowered pieces of junk. This includes both new and used vehicles, entry level and luxury models. All had minor annoying problems, some had major mechanical or bodywork failures.

The exception is Ford trucks. I have owned 4 of them and currently own an '05 F150. Not exactly a fuel miser but a very reliable, tight, and well engineered product. A great paint job too.

Also want to add that 1993-1995 Jeep Grand Cherokees are very reliable. The 4.0L straight six is easily a 200,000 mile engine.

[Mean 318]

Just my opinion
99 300 M -fast, not bad on gas, and a neat looking car
79 Blazer -not slow, and will never let you down
90 Ram -FI so it starts nice, and a tough truck
Thats just IMO, good luck!

[Chatt69chgr]

Trucks make a lot of sense.  You have a way to haul stuff bigger than you can get in the back seat or trunk.  I wouldn't get one if I planned on taking any long trips because they don't get all that good gas milage.  I had a Nissan pickup that I bought for my son used about three years old back in 1994.  It had about 36,000 on it when we got it.  He drove it all through high school and then off to the military when he was at Ft. Campbell.  He was mobilized twice once to Afganistan and then to Iraq.  Each time I had to go get the truck at the base and drive back to Chattanooga.  It drove better than my 97 Nissan truck.  My brother has it now and it's got 175,000 on it and going strong.  Had to put a clutch in at around 90,000 and a starter in around 120,000.  Otherwise, nothing except gas, oill, and tires.  It served us well.  I am driving a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad cab with Hemi but when we travel we take my wife's 2002 Toyota with 4 cyl Camry.  Gets 32 mpg on interstate.  Never had a problem with it so far.  As far as new vehicles go, the Dodge Nitro looks pretty cool.  But I have not really been paying much attention to cars since I am waiting on the new Challenger to come out in 2009.  Several folks I work with swear by Lexus automobiles.  One guy bought a used BMW with 50,000 on it and drove it out to 225,000 miles before the transmission went out.  No other problems.  One guy I worked with used to buy cars from people at work that were more or less tired of them and were several years old.  His philosophy was if he got it cheap enough and it lasted for a year, he was ahead of the game.  Usually the ones he bought lasted at least two years.  He did have a backup vehicle however.

Your best bet on used vehicles is to ask the mechanics what they have the least problem with.  Check with the best local transmission shop and ask the same question.  You will quickly zero in on the best car/truck to look at.  Good luck.   

[Arthu®]

There is nothing nicer than a Audi Quattro for those snowy days overthere. The A8's are a bit tough to find as a Quattro at least overhere for a decent price, I would got with an A6 or something. They are reliable cars, even the 4 and 6 cylinders still have plenty of power, AWD which is a pro especially in the winter, I don't know about maintenance though. Here the parts don't cost that much compared to for instance a VW or a Honda, but I am not sure as to what the parts and stuff would cost overthere. I don't know your budget but for a driver with still plenty of room here is what I would pick:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1999-Audi-A6-2-8-Quattro-Avnt-Wagon-Mint-Carfax-Cert_W0QQitemZ290084598420QQihZ019QQcategoryZ6004QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Arthur

[Brock Samson]

go with the M man and keep it in the family i love mine and would buy another. 
Congrats on makin it over and good luck to you both!   
your costs will be alot lower in the long run. I like Audis though... just can't justify the expense. 

[Troy]

Parts for any Euro car will cost you a fortune here. From my experience, so will insurance. Didn't I tell you that a 3 series BMW and a Mini were both more expensive than an SVT Cobra for me? I think my Ram is more expensive than all of them (maintenance and insurance). As for reliabilty, maintenance, insurance, and decent fuel mileage, I'd stick with a truck. My Toyotas have been awesome for parts hauling and daily driver duties but I know several people with Dakotas and S10s who say the same thing. Nissan trucks don't seem too bad either. If you go a little bigger the F150s and Z71 Chevys are also ranked pretty well - or you could get a Ram. Look around at various lenders. Around here it's harder to get a loan on anything older than 1999. You could try a Neon SRT-4 for the cool factor but I'm not sure they make good daily drivers. They probably aren't a whole lot different from the Euro cars you're used to though.

Troy

[charger490]

hi doc glad you made it over here. i like the nissan and the toyota but 4 wheel drive as you have found out up there in mich. i also have a honda crv that i like don charger490

[Charger-Bodie]

buy a vw gti they are great cars and someyhing you will feel at home in

[Brock Samson]

i see now you don't like my M,..   

[cheap]

Well Doc,, good luck to you,,,as you know there are thousands to pic from here,, just don't let some salesman talk you into something you really don't want,,,If at all possible,, get your financing thru a bank or a credit union,,these are normally straight up, simple loans with no frills attached.... All auto dealers have financing available,,but,,, sometimes they will bump charges and fees well over what a bank will charge..

Just my .02 cents worth..

[Doc74]

Thanks to all for replying. I will take all your advice to heart...and wait with the big Audi...sniff .
It would do very good on snow but it might be a serious wallet drainer too. I've worked for Audi so I know how high parts run.


Arthur, the parts in Belgium are fairly expensive, they're a ton more here even so I'll pass on it. The A6 is a great car no doubt but it's the 8 that got to me. I got hooked when I floored a quattro for the first time, many have followed since 
Btw a 98 model would run around $8k from a dealer which is tweakable.

Yes Troy you did tell me the cost and I will be the sensible one and listen to you... for now   
I've put your truck on my list now as one of the possibilities. I have to keep reminding myself I already have a toy, no matter how bad a shape it's in. You haven't jumped it again did ya ?
The blazer would also be back on my list but I have doubts on it, they don't have a great safety record. At least the Japanese have that.

Strat I'm sorry if I offended you but I didn't mean to say I don't like the M, I do, I just like the other more, the one with the big square grille.
I'm sure the M is a great car, but I was considering the other in case I go out to buy a new car. I still might but not yet, I'll get something cheap first to get around town.
Maybe I could wait for the Challenger altough I have serious doubts that's ever going to be a production car.

Chatt69chgr that's dang good advice, never thought about checking the local shops...and I'm a bodyman ! 
I'll have to look into the Nissans, I haven't got much experience with those but I do know their parts cost a fortune in Europe.

I used to have an early 90's 7 series beemer which was a superb car but again, parts cost an arm and a leg. I'll go with something cheaper this time and pump my extra cash in the charger...or a workshop for it..

1hot, I don't care much about VW's, never have but an old campervan would be nice for nostalgic reasons 

Thanks for the welcomes and I hope to meet all of you at the shows and meets soon.