posted September 05, 2008 02:35 PM         

Its been over a year since I had sold my 10-mpg Tahoe with it's failing transmission and I've been able to save so much money from riding my mountain bike everywhere, that I feel like its time to get a vehicle.

I'm looking to spend under $10,000 for a used car.

I'd like to hear about any makes/models, but specifically, I'm looking at a 2002 Saab 9-3 and a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX wagon.

About my Saab interest:

My parents owned a 1985 Saab 900, my father was a former racecar driver and drove the 900 hard and and the car was bulletproof. Not a single problem until about 170,000 miles when it lost 2nd gear and my mom took it upon herself to trade it in for a junky new Chrysler.

There is a cult following for Saabs, especially the old ones, and my latest Sag ex-girlfriend comes from a family of long time Saab lovers. However, when it came time for the Sag to trade in her 1997 900 (with the rare 2.5L V6) for a newer 9-3, I noticed the '97 was burning oil badly and leaking all over, and it had all sorts of electrical problems, with less than 80,000 miles.

She traded for a 2002 9-3 (the last year of the hatchback and smaller body). She usually preferred me to drive whenever we'd take it somewhere, and I sort of fell in love with it. She bought it with 30,000 miles and now has 70,000 on it, and hasn't had any problems. But when I borrowed the car to take it in for its scheduled maintenance, I was shocked to see how insanely expensive even minor matters cost, and how GM makes Saab parts so difficult to fix or replace by the owner themself.

Anyone have Saab experiences?

She has a bronze colored one, but I want a black one. Here's a 2002 9-3 for sale in my area:

I've never driven a Subaru WRX, but I'm very curious about them. I drive fast and I like the idea of the WRX with it's full time all-wheel drive, as well as all of the space offered by a wagon. But with gas prices as high as they are, I like how the 9-3 gets better mileage with it's front-wheel drive.

Any experiences with Impreza WRX's or any Subaru?

Here is a photo of a WRX wagon I found for sale in my area:

posted September 05, 2008 05:08 PM         

The last time I bought a car I got a friend who is a mechanic to pick me one from a car auction. This saved me about a grand off the equivalent price of buying off the internet.