Sell me a car!

Giving up my 10 year old mini van,

Am done with american made vehicles! Need longevity and reasonable maintenance fees.

20K is certified preowned price I can afford- am torn between great comfort and nimble driving of Audi A6 wagon and the finctionality Toyota Highlander. Highlander has lots of road noise but of course I can afford a newer model and less miles with a HIghlander. Never wanted an SUV type car. Car dealers I have met are slimey. Their facts do not match Edmends or Kelly or carfax reports. What to do? Need to decide on a car and find an honest auto dealer… West Chester, PA

That Audi is a very nice car, but maintenance bills will put you in the poor house. If you’re looking at it though, take a look at a gently used Acura TL. Those are also very nice cars, but they don’t break nearly as often, so it’ll cost you a lot less to maintain.

I don’t know any dealers near Philadelphia. Ask anyone you know if they are know a dealer that they trust.

Apparently you want a wagon. There are several crossover SUVs that are more like a car than a truck. There are a lot of crossovers in your price range: 2002 Acura MDX, 2002 BMW X5, 2002 Lexus RX 300, and a slew of others that are much less than $20,000. You could buy an almost-new Rav-4, for instance.

If you don’t want any American made vehicles, then the Vibe/Matrix and Civic are out of the question. I think they make the Lincoln Town Car in Mexico, does that count?
Or, are you looking to get out of American BRAND vehicles?

Sorry, just had to throw that out there…

10 years is pretty good longevity dependant on your type of driving. Also maintenance happens on all cars including coveted Asian and European makes. Don’t buy into the false hope that an entire maker is going to require little maintenance nor be repair free.

Do you mean to tell me that an Asian car will not run forever with-out doing any maintenance. That cannot possibly be true. I have read numerous posts on this site that directly contradict your post.

The audi and highlander are really two different types of vehicles, you need to decide what you are looking for. I would drive then both and see what you think then, you will probably have a clearer idea.

The Town Car was made in Wixom, but starting next year(?) it’ll be built alongside the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis in St. Thomas, Ont.

Many Asian cars especially old ones are in the bays of shops. They run a while yes as do all the other makes with repairs and maintenance. By the way many minivans consume auto transmissions(common problem) whether domestic or Asian (including coveted Toyota/Honda) faster than a car. This is since they simply use car based auto transmission in a heavier and harder application.

People will chime in my xxxxx ran into 200k-300k miles without repair. However have them list out what they consider maitenance items and then you’ll realize there is no free ride into the upper 150k-300k. Sruts, mufflers, radiators, cv joint, axles etc all have to be replaced on any car just like domestics.

Toyota Siennas are quiet, low-maintenance, etc. if you want to stay with a minivan.

OK. Maybe I was thinking about a couple of the VW line.
It’s just weird how, as more domestic brands move out of the states, the more Asian/European brands are being made in the states.

People will chime in my xxxxx ran into 200k-300k miles without repair. However have them list out what they consider maitenance items and then you’ll realize there is no free ride into the upper 150k-300k. Sruts, mufflers, radiators, cv joint, axles etc all have to be replaced on any car just like domestics.

It’s the NON maintenance items I had to keep replacing on my American Brand products that drove me to Asian brand.