I am forced to find a new daily driver. The 914 is going to have go into semi-retirmement. I'm at a point in my career where I'm needing to shuttle around a few clients and business associates so the 914's days as my daily-driver are coming to an end (for now).

I need a se... I need a se... (having trouble breathing) I nnnnneed a sedan. (Oh I'm going to be sick)
Sorry about that.

My SM2 classed 914 has been my daily driver for the past 6 years. In fact, I've never had a daily driver with more than two seats. Hopefully this gives you an idea of the type of sedan (Oh, I'm going to barf again..) I'm looking for. Budget is $20k or so. It has to be "nice" to keep others happy, and it has to be loss-of-bodily-function fast and great handling to keep me happy.

My first thoughts were maybe an E36 BMW M3 or a 2000ish Audi S4. Sorry, no WRX's or EVO's. It needs to be something a little more suit-and-tie. What else should I be considering? I'm open to any suggestions. I've never been interested in perfornance sedans before now so I don't even really know what's out there. Extra points for easy power mods. Remember, it's got to be fun handling and powerful if I'm to have any chance of avoiding a death-spiral of depression from the loss of my twice-daily 914 drives.

Thanks for your help.

-Ben M.

I've heard good things about the Legacy GT (Subaru) ask fiid.

If "The Firm" wants you to shuttle clients around they should spring for a new M3/M5.

I was in the same spot a couple years ago. See my sig for my choice...

One point about both the E36 Bimmers and the A4/S4 Audis, is the back seat is tight. Yes you can fit 2 adults back there, but it is not comfy for any kind of distance. For kids or short-hauls w/ adults, it's fine. The trunk is plenty big on these cars for airport or grocery runs and the fold-down rear seats add a lot of flexibility. (The S4 has a 40/60 split and a ski boot).

I don't know much about them, but the Lincoln LS V8 seems like a nice car with a bit more room. If budget allows, don't toss out the Benz E420 or BMW 5-Series as possibilities.

get a Lincoln Towncar ...

Andy

surplus or retired police cars! they rock!

big v8's! and i dunno if you gotta smog them

I'm being treated well enough. I'm having to swallow the medicine, but there's some sugar to help it go down.

Did you leave me any fish? They should be hitting the Yakima this week if you let any past.

-Ben M.

Volvo S60.....(to be honest, i have not driven one yet, hopefully Monday I will)....we love our '98 S70 T5, car is great in stop and go traffic and is fun to drive (beat up on a bunch of supercharged/turbo'd MR2's up at Thunderhill a few years ago )

the Mercedes are "boring" to drive, test drove an E500 last weekend, plenty of power, terrible steering wheel feedback

I'm kinda partial to those Nissan Altimas. Price is right, and performance/price ratio seems to be "just right"....

I tested a V6 a couple of years back... and if it wasn't for my need to transport sound equipment I would have seriously considered it.

Good luck!!!

i'm very happy with the Subarus, but if you've got the bucks the Audis, especially the Quattro, are very nice. and you're not getting a 6-cylinder Subie with a manual transmission... the Saabaru is also getting good reviews.

down a notch, mostly because i have driven neither recently, there's the Passit (yes, i know it's really Passat...) and the Jetta. i loved my GLI but that was a long time ago. the R32's get nice press but i donno what other bodies they're available in ...

"just get a Cayenne Turbo"

new or used is300. good power, handling ok, a little rough on tires otherwise bullet proof. 2002 w/ 76000 miles, no issues.

Will they let ya get away with a nicely appointed crew cab mid size truck? My Dodge Dakota has a cab as big as most mid sized sedans. Cruise control, premium sounds, electric everything....

It came with the 360/5.9 V8 and I added a nice CARB legal Vortech blower for the freeway onramps wars when they won't let ya merge. Sets ya back in your seat when ya tap it at 4,000 rpms.

Nice car. Plenty of room for 4 normal people.

Volvo S60 is too small in the back for me (5'10"), even with the driver's seat set for a 5'7" Korean man

Hummm,

10 grand for a 99-2000 Lincoln Towncar.

3G for a Supercharger.
1500 for a Flowmaster Exhaust
500 to change the rear gears to 4:01 or what ever.
The rest for Tint, low profiles, nice wheels, and new tires pretty often.

Sure you couldn't go around a corner for shit, but you can light them up from Red light, to Red Light.

Ohh never mind thats what I want.

Would be a good choice, Low maintainance, Reliable (Very Inportant when your with clients) good resale value, your boss/company will like it. Spend the money on your teener, not on your daily driver

3 K for a supercharger....cost.....

Not that I'm pimping my ride for sale....cause I am.....

But to do a Blower RIGHT....you need cooling, mapping, rear end gearing, and an LSD and other accoutrements to the tume of ten K>>>>PLUS.....

Infiniti G35 Sedan - same chassis (longer) than the coupe which is the luxury model of the Nissan 350Z.

Dude I love this car and if I was in your boat it would be my choice. The price is right too - mid 30s I believe.

lincoln LS v8
A4
C-Series
is300

in the 2001-2002 range should be in your budget and well worth a look at...


if you want a new car, I really like the new dodge magnum, but they are a little more than 20K (pushing 30K for the v8 RT model)

BMW e38 740iL can't take the car chase scene from "The Transporter" out of my mind...

mMmMm

My wife has an I30 right now and it is bullet proof. Plus I think the G35 put out an extra 25-30 horses.

My BMW E36 M3 Pulls like a 1970 Big Block Chevelle while wearing a tuxedo! No Bull! Lots of aftermarket stuff available too!

Here's all I have to say about Mercedes:

My F.I.L. has a Mercury Grand Marquis and a Ford Crown Vic Police Cruiser; former fleet vehicle and cop car respectively. He got both of these cars for <$20K (combined) and they are great driving, V8 RWD cars for that kind of dough. Although keep in mind he is 70-something...concept of "performance car" is a bit different than ours. (Although he does have a 356).

If you're looking at a full size car, Merc Marquis, etc., how about a mid 90's Chev Impala, small block chev, rear wheel drive, better than the newer ones with the sixes and front wheel drive.

What he said. I have a Legacy GT Ltd. It's a WRX for grown ups. It handles very well and has more torque than Jay Leno. I very much suggest going to test drive one. It will also cost you less and will perform better if you are at altitude.

1996 Impala SS 5.6 liter V8.

-Jeff

I agree with Rick Ollah!

I didn't have $20K to spend so i got a 1988 BMW M5.

More room than the e36 M3, but not quite a refined ...

eddie

I think its going to be alot cheaper than 10K.

Towncars use the ford 4.6 plant. Nearly everything you want is found on Mustang Cobras. And its bolt on for the most part. Or so I've been lead to believe, as I've never even poped the hood on a towncar, just drove a few.

Marauder.

My pilot freind had an IS300 6 speed. what a souless piece of shit that was. Now he has an S60R which is very entertaining...

I know this won't be any help but Scientific Car Calculator

2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi

2000 BMW 540

98+ Jaguar XJR, suit and tie crowd loves it, 390 HP, 0-60 in 5. Falls under the radar as a sleeper which adds to the entertainment value. You can't shift it yourself but that's why you still have the 'teener.

I vote E36 M3. Practical, lots of power, and if you have extra money , you can supercharge it for over 300 ponies. I got a really low mileage one for about $20K. Been smiling ever since.
(after the teener it won't feel like a sporty car as much, but it handles well for a sedan)

I really love my 94 Audi S4. These cars are the original S4, and they're a little bit bigger than the new A4/S4 platform. Last weekend I had 5 people and 5 sets of golf clubs in it, no problem. As far as tuning, there is a tonne of stuff you can do to it. A new exhaust, bigger turbo and manifold, and a chip, and this thing will fly. The bottom end of the engine is bulletproof. Highly recommended by me!

Ben, Your on track w/ the S4 though I agree the B4 cars are smaller and and rear seat is cramped, Look at a 95 (C5) S6 Best of all worlds, Power luxury, Room, & all weather handleing !!!

Heres a peek

Are there no SAAB fans here.....I have a 93 and I really like the design philosophy unique to Saab

Here's my non-biased answer to this question. I like to ski, and have done a couple of trips to Utah in the last few years so my requirement list had AWD and Turbo on it, which you may not have; which is how I ended up with the Legacy - but here is what I would consider. I also do not know what your budget looks like.

BMW:
The E36 M3 is a great car. People had better opinions of the older ones than the newer ones- I think this is because the newer ones are so polished that the fun factor is a little dulled. At some point they went to a much better euro engine and full sequential box though, which is worth having, but pushes you a lot further up the price curve. I would also take care not to overlook the 328 and the 325 as well - these are a little less likely to have been driven hard - so the same money might buy you a better condition model.

Audi:
Lots of cool A4s to choose from. The 1.8t actually seems to have more tuning potential than the 2.8 V6, unless you get an S4, but the used prices on S4s seem to be way high. These are pretty damned nice and some will get you AWD. They also seem to hold almost more cred than a BMW in Cali, since everyone bought at least one beamer during the boom.

Jag:
Being from the UK - I do lust after the Jags. There is a certain charm to them. Read some of the Jag enthusiast forums and you will learn that the reliability thing is restricted mostly to certain years, and can be avoided with routine maintenece. They are comfortable for passengers, and the supercharged models are scorchio. The XJ8s which came out in 95 or so are beginning to become realistic used fodder (for me anyway) price-wise. Only the top models have forced induction, and there is no AWD to speak of. Jag recently switched to aluminium bodies, making the very new stuff much quicker and nimbler in the turns.

Subaru:
You already know what I think about this. I'm very happy with the car. You can get a wagon if you need hauling space. I would get the Legacy instead of the "Pimp-my-ride" "I need people to think I almost bought an SUV" Outback - the 2.5 turbo engine puts out 250ft/lbs of torque at 3600rpm and peaks at 250hp at around 6000. THe engine pulls hard. More mild mannered driving will get you better fuel economy. This car is actually about .2sec quicker to 60 than the 5.7l Chrysler 300M/Dodge Magnum, and gets much better fuel economy. I probably have better fuel economy as well. It's really funny burning these off because they TOTALLY don't expect you to be able to keep up. I ended up here for the following reasons: Forced induction (for high altitudes), AWD (ski trips), 200+ HP, Wagon (kid on the way, and home depot/car parts/etc), and it makes a good shot at being a luxury car to boot.

VW:
VW is also trying to go upmarket, but have largely failed - you might be able to get something nice, and not pay so much for it.

Chrysler 300M:
I actually like these - The design (IMHO) is not pretty, but it's distinctive and innovative, and I like that. They do look somewhat button down, (although somewhat gruff with it) and perform well.

There are some nice Benzs around too - but my impression is you need to bring cash to get real performance there.

I'm not all that fond of Acuras, Nissans Toyotas or Lexi; which seem to be quite common on California roads. Acuras and Hondas particularly seem to be serious theft targets - One of Five integra owners I know has NOT had his car broken into. Of the others, one has been broken into twice. The Lexi might be interesting - I took a ride in a GS400 once, which was quick, but not amazingly so. The tiptronic-esqe gearbox was kinda nice, but I don't think it's anything more than a manual control auto box.

There you have it - hope this helps.

IF you can find one, recommend an auto E36 M3 sedan and add a Dinan supercharger for about 340-345hp. Great people/stuff hauler in heavy traffic with get up and go and decent handling when you need it. Traded mine in a few years ago and still miss it just a little.

Love'n my 2000 540iT.

I wanted a performance car with utility. Traded my 1991 300ZX for it.

I know the topic is a little old but here's my choice. The red 2000 540i. The white one is SWMBO's.

I feel sick.
I've been through every newspaper, dealer, used-car lot, and online auction/classified from Florida to Seattle for the past few weeks. Late last week I found an E36 M3 that sounded great. Black on black 4dr non-luxo manual w/ 51k miles. This is what I've been concentrating on (M3 with those specs and less than 65k miles). Well, I finally found a match and it was in Spokane, only 2 hours away! But it was on Ebay. Auction was to end last night (Sunday).
So Sunday I got up at 6:00am and drove up to meet the owner and see the car. This car could have passed as brand-new. It was that good. It felt more new than even any zero-miles new car I've been in. It still had the break-in procedure vinyl cling stickers in the window. Service records, specs from last allignment, everything was there. It was imaculate in every way. And it was an absolute joy to drive. I came home and last night all pumped up. Kept my eye on the auction all day. Lost it in the last 20 seconds. (where's the 'crying' smiley? How about 'gut-shot' smiley?)

-Ben no-M.

Give the PO your phone number and have him call you if it falls through. My Bro picked up a Boxter that way. Some people get caught up in the moment on pee-spray.

Tim

Thanks Tim, acctually that's what I had already done before I posted. Guess what. Just got the call. Winning bidder bailed!!!!! Bring out the Mueller bannana dancers!!!!

-Ben ///M.

congrats, that's one schweeeet ride, but there is no substitute