I have realized recently that I have now been driving wagons for about 5 years and I think I can officially say I love wagons! I see that most of the projects on this site seem to be older... do you guys like new Wagons also?
Oh I do. Volvos, Audis, MBs, BMWs etc. etc. but no way I could afford new. I currently don't have one because old wasn't working for me with the smog nazi's. My eyes are peeled keeping an eye out for a wagon. No more carburators for me. Everything I mentioned above will fit nicely in my garage. My list is in preference order too. My son had a 76 245 that I should have bought from him. After 215,000 miles the only problem was the heater/air cond fan stopped working. Of course it was faded a bit and needed interior refreshioning but it was great. 2.3 liter 4 with fuel injection and I don't remember whether it was a 4 or 5 speed manual. Great little car. Disc brakes on all four wheels. Also you should note that the founder "Wagonmaster" has newer wagons. Volvo and Mazda. The new car members don't seem to post a whole lot as there isn't a lot of maintenance, mods and restoration going on. We used to have a member with a Volvo wagon with a quite healthy V8 in it from GM or Ford. That's one cool car. Quite the hot rod. Great looking Volvo that belongs in my garage.
Your Volvo wagon is nice. As for me, my newest vehicle is a 2002 VW Passatt wagon, that I've had since 2004. Its now 9 years old. I have disliked it almost from day 1. I probably should have stuck with my first instinct and bought a Dodge Magnum wagon instead of the VW. My long range plan is to get my 67 Plymouth wagon restored and updated to a point at which it can replace the Passatt.
You can have this Volvo... I am actually looking to sell it in the next couple of Months. To say that maintenance is expensive is an understatement. I had a Check Engine light recently that had to be cleared to pass smog along with a 105,000 mile service and I didn't get out under $1,000. A bunch of the service has to be done at the dealer at $145.00 per hour labor I like the idea of a cheap reliable 90's wagon and have started the hunt... now I just have to convince my wife!!!
This happened before my first oil change... the all wheel drive is a weak link and I was lucky to loose mine right after I bought it used... If this car wasn't so great to drive I would have dumped it a while ago. 300HP, AWD and adjustable suspension keeps me entertained every day! I like to wrench on cars and need something very reliable. Do you have recommendations for something in the $5k - $7K range that gets reasonable mileage (low 20s would be thrilling)?
I've got an acquaintance that has a V70R. I asked him how he liked and he told me, he loves it. I asked how reliable has it been? He said "I've only had to replace the transaxle,......" and starts a long list of stuff he has replaced on it and how much it cost to replace. I told him I paid less for my Eagle than he paid to have his transaxle fixed.
The V70R is at the top of my list for 'newer' wagons. I test drove one a few years ago (either a '05 or '06 model..) and WOW. It was all I thought it would be.
Absolutely! I'm a Subaru nut myself, drive my (not so new) '91 Loyale across the mountain to work practically every day. For myself I've pretty much decided I'm going to stick with late '80s to early '90s vehicles in general, and 4wd/awd wagons in particular, as I consider that era a very reasonable balance of reliability, affordability, economy, and parts availability. Want something $5k to $7k? Based on your appreciation for an exciting AWD wagon and your price range, I would recommend for your consideration an early 2000's Subaru Legacy GT. Very spirited performance, and being a Subaru, well, let's just say as a Subaru owner myself, our social-economic demographic can be politely described as "working class"
Nice R model. We have a 98 V70XC in the family and it's been good and bad as you say. Pretty darn reliable. But right after we got it we had to do a wheel bearing. And while at the alignment shop they said hey you should replace the axles too as the boots are torn up. And $1500 later. But it is in great shape. Now we have an intermittant stumble. It is always there but worse sometimes than others. Seems worse the more humid or when the temp drops in the evening. I did a tune up except the plug wires and that helped a tick. Then did the fuel pump and that helped a bunch more. But it is still there. Thing the MAF is next to change. Odd thing is the problem started all in one day. So while all these things make a difference I know they didn't all go bad in one day. We are trying to find some R model wagon parts to dress it up and may alter the exhaust.
If the stumble happens at 3000 rpm's it is a software issue. The dealer can download the update and it takes care of it completely. I had that done when they did the smog stuff and it was $80.00 I think. These cars are solid, but the parts and labor are crazy when stuff goes wrong...
I guess a good long warrentee is recomended for Volvos. I knew that repairs are expensive but I literally had to do nothing to the old 76 245.
Actually, my favorite new car right now would be a dark grey XC70. When I bought my Taurus X in '08, I really wanted an XC70, but couldn't afford it so I settled for the Ford. Now, every time I see an XC70, I bum out! My avatar on my facebook is me standing in front of a brand new XC70 at Stratton Mt in Vermont.
