First car in 7 years! How do I choose when my usual vehicle is the Tube?

[voguette]

Hi everyone,

I am just about move home from London to Australia after spending seven years riding the tube. I am unbelievable excited about having a car again!! Hitting the highway alone in my car was one of my favourite ways to de-stress, and I've really mised it. I have my heart on buying a European car, with a budget of up to $20,000 (the budget has increased by $5000 in the past day since I started looking...oops), and I'm hoping you wonderful, knowledgeable people might be able to give me some guidance!

So the basics:
- Being a typical woman, I want something that looks pretty
- I would love a convertible to enjoy the sunshine after 7 years without it, but realistically need to be able to carry more than one passenger. Not such a fan of hatchbacks, but quite happy with 2 doors.
- I will spend the weekdays driving in the city, and then on the weekends intend to hit the road for long drives into the mountains and up and down the coast...ahhh, the freedom!
- Would love something that is not completely common (like the cheaper BMW models)

Options I've looked at so far:
- Saab Convertible 2000-2003 models. I prefer the shape of the 2003 model to the earlier styling, and I've read that the 2003 is sturdier than previous designs? The Saab seems to make a really substantial convertible, so I could realistically have adults in the back without them having to lose their legs. But I've read some really awful things about how much time they spend in the shop, and thinking that buying one out of warranty probably isn't very smart. I'm also wondering how smooth the ride really is in these? Are they really noisy/shuddery?
- Alfa Romeo - Haven't narrowed any real options down, but avoiding anything too "family car" looking...I have a few years before I have to resort to anything too practical. I thought the 156 JTS looked quite nice! But once again, Alfa's seem to have a similar reputation as Saabs in terms of their reliability??
- Volvo Convertible - I've just seen a Volvo for sale, and it's not something that I ever would have thought about, but this seems to tick a lot of the boxes. And it's black! But really? A Volvo? At 29?
http://www.drive.com.au/used-cars/VO...5&lid=13465995

I'm also very keen on a Mercedes after having had the pleasure to drive a couple of them in Europe (but my budget looked a little sad when I started to look at them!). And BMWs....

Wow, so that's quite a long post. Sorry! I land in Sydney in a month and would love to hear people's suggestions/opinions before then. Any helpful hints and tips for making a choice when my requirements are so broad would be great! Thanks in advance for any help!

[Flyingphil172]

You can get mid 90s Mercedes E220/E320s for about $20K. They look very nice, though are a little boxy. Very solidly built and quite roomy (for a convertable) for four people. There probably aren't any manual gearboxs in Australia though and the 115KW E220 is probably a bit sluggish.


I went in a 1996 Saab 2.5 V6 convertable a few times. It had some scuttle shake even on fairly smooth roads and normal speeds. The owner had to do a very expensive rebuild on the engine shortly afterwards (they said due to a unchanged timing belt though the car had under 100,000kms on it ).

[1q2w3e4r]

You can get mid 90s Mercedes E220/E320s for about $20K. They look very nice, though are a little boxy. Very solidly built and quite roomy (for a convertable) for four people. There probably aren't any manual gearboxs in Australia though and the 115KW E220 is probably a bit sluggish.


I went in a 1996 Saab 2.5 V6 convertable a few times. It had some scuttle shake even on fairly smooth roads and normal speeds. The owner had to do a very expensive rebuild on the engine shortly afterwards (they said due to a unchanged timing belt though the car had under 100,000kms on it ).

You can get the first gen SLK 230k's for that money as well.

[Vinnie]

Z3?

[Flyingphil172]

Z3 and SLK only have two seats.

[Vinnie]

Sorry, I missed the "carry more than one passenger" comment.

[voguette]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I was hoping someone would jump in and say "don't worry about the Saab's scuttle shake and propensity to blow up...it's a great choice!"

I forgot to mention also that I'll need an auto, which feels a bit sacrilegious to say on a car forum!

FlyingPhil, you're right about the mid-90s Merc. They are nice, but probably a little too boxy for me. I do love some of the 70's Merc convertibles I've seen around though!

Has anyone had any experience with the Volvo convertibles?

[angus171]

I forgot to mention also that I'll need an auto, which feels a bit sacrilegious to say on a car forum!

Haha enough autos getting around here, never fear! Welcome aboard btw!
If it's an auto you're after, be careful if you look at alfa's. Do your research carefully on the selespeed ('sillyspeed') transmission and its propensity to fail epically and expensively. It's happened to a few members of this board at least (and a google search will reveal many other victims!), usually with repair bills easily north of $3000.

[Hoadie]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I was hoping someone would jump in and say "don't worry about the Saab's scuttle shake and propensity to blow up...it's a great choice!"

On any other road that the M7 you'll notice that scuttle shake but you know, top down and at sensible speeds it's a fun car to drive. The scuttle shake is noticible to the driver but barely to the passenger.

If it were me looking to buy a car after all those years suffering on the Tube, I'd be sending a message to public transport and buy the biggest, most impractical and thistiest car around lol

[voguette]

If it were me looking to buy a car after all those years suffering on the Tube, I'd be sending a message to public transport and buy the biggest, most impractical and thistiest car around lol

So true!! I tried to convince myself that if I lived and worked centrally, I could feasibly go without a car and save a whole load of money. If I've managed to go it for 7 years, I could manage it surely....except that thought only lasted about 2 minutes.

Angus, thanks for the tips on auto Alfas, that's actually really helpful! I think that safely rules them out for me. They are lovely looking cars though. Big respect to Alfa owners!

[Flyingphil172]

The Saab I went was a 1996 model. The 2000-2003 models may not be so bad. Maybe you should try one out and see.

Merc 350/450SLs from the 1970s do have a optional rear seat if you did actually want to buy one though I don't think they're big enough for adults.
They were built like tanks and if you got one in good condition it should be pretty reliable.

Yes, don't worry about Autos here, its the opposite of England. About %90 of cars are auto here.

Have you thought about the BMW 328i? They are the cheap common BMW shape but they look great as a convertable with the roof down.

[Sheqel]

BMW E36 328i Vert.

[crash magnet]

if you can stretch the budget to 30k you can pick up an early model boxter with slightly more than 100 000 kms on it. if you can find one that's been cared for you'll be laughing

[Windy]

if you can stretch the budget to 30k you can pick up an early model boxter with slightly more than 100 000 kms on it. if you can find one that's been cared for you'll be laughing

2 seats farkin!

[mitsugalant]

Saab convertibles (please keep note I worked at a Saab dealer for 6 years):

*GM900 (1994-1998) - Give a miss unless VERY cheap. Plenty of scuttle shake, unrefined, and not so reliable electric roof mechanism. Go either 2.3lt NA or 2lt turbo - AVOID the V6!

*1st Generation 9-3 (1998-2003) - Available in 2.3lt NA, 2.0lt turbo (T5), 2.0 & 2.3lt turbo (T7) - 2.3lt NA and 2.0lt turbo (T5) only available 1998-2000, 2.3lt turbo (T7) only in 1999-2000 in "Viggen" models - quite rare.

Heaps better than the GM 900, although they still do scuttle shake a bit. Most reliable versions are the turbo ones with the T5 engine management (red stripe DI) as they have less complicated engine management. Main issues (as far as car won't start) are: crank angle sensors, DI cartridges, fuel pumps. Roofs can have issues but they aren't all that bad.
The T7 engine management (black stripe DI) has the same issues plus throttle bodies that can fail - again not a reason not to buy one but they are an expensive part.
The 4sp auto transmissions in these seem to last pretty well - have seen less than 10 replaced/rebuilt in my time.
Front brakes can wear moderately quickly in stop start traffic in auto trans cars. Rear brakes las a lot longer. Tyre wear can be an issue on 17' wheels.
Best choice is 2.0lt turbo (T5) in auto or manual.

*2nd Generation 9-3 (2003-current)
Again a better car than the one prevous, less scuttle shake but also more that can go wrong. Buy the latest car you can afford - electrical woes were more present in cars up to 2005. From there they improved, as did the sedan versions.
These are again a hydraulic roof - seems to work pretty well and not a lot of common issues.
Engine wise they weren't too bad - had some balance chain issues but they should have been sorted by now. alternator & a/c belts can get noisy. Other engine components can give issues but not any that were problematic.
Brakes front and rear can wear quickly depending on driving style. Tyre wear can be an issue also - more so on 17' and above wheels.

Most important - get any Saab checked out by a specialist Saab workshop (whether Dealer or Aftermarket). Maintenance by these kind of places is HIGHLY recommended - don't let your K-Mart tyre & auto dudes get their hands on these cars as they break more than they fix (Yes I have seen it a few times!).

*Alfa Romeo - going from the experiences of the guys that worked for the same company that I worked for, that dealt with the Alfas - best to avid them unless you are an Alfisti and you want nothing else. You need that kind of dedication and deep pockets to keep them going.

*Volvo - Going off second hand information here - I've heard they aren't a bad car. Along the lines f a Saab as far as maintenance costs go. Again, get it maintained by experts, and any potential purchase checked by them.
And don't worry about it being a "Volvo" - the opinion of the new cars has changed their perception enormously.

Apologies for the long post - voguette, if you want further information please message me and i'll fill you in.