Winter "Beater"?

[Jesda]

This winter, I'll be parking my darling Q45 and shopping around for a winter car. Not only must it be FWD or AWD, it needs to be very comfortable and dead silent on the highway. I'll be going across the country for a family reunion. Luxury comforts would be nice for such a long drive. Massive power wont be necessary. A long wheelbase would make for a nice smooth ride.

Here's what I have in mind:97+ Buick Regal97+ Buick Century89+ Maxima (dont know how quiet it is at 75mph)97+ Infiniti I3093+ Cadillac Seville STS93-97 Mazda 626 5-spd95+ Mazda Millenia

I like the 1st-gen and 2nd-gen Altima for reliability and smoothness, but theyre visually unappealing to me.

Budget: $4000Drive Wheels: Front or All

Any suggestions would be super.

Thanks!-Jesda

[EZcheese15]

I've got a 92 protege for sale. It's WELL under your budget too. Car runs excellent. I just replaced passenger drive axle, radiator, front rotors & pads, spark plugs, and plug wires.

$1500, and I'll even drive it out to WA and fly back here

[MetaOrbit]

Get a 95-99 Chevy Lumina. Big car, comfy highway ride, very quiet, good gas mileage, and seems to run forever.

Make sure you look at ones with the 3100 SFI or 3800SFI engines though, as the 3.4L DOHC was a maintenance nightmare.

Hehe...a 97 Lumina was my first car. It's now my sisters (with 130k+ miles) - works great in cold/snow weather and no real problems to speak of.

The best part is, they made so damned many of them, they can be had for pretty cheap.

[EZcheese15]

HUSH!!! She wants a 92 Protege.

[Jesda]

Im not a she. And whatever it is, I'll be buying it after I move to St Louis.

[EZcheese15]

Im not a she. And whatever it is, I'll be buying it after I move to St Louis.

Sorry about that, I was under the impression you were a girl from the "nico grrlz calander" thread, however, after re-reading some of your posts I now interpret them differently

And as far as St. Louis goes, that's even better. Closer to MN for when I drive the car to you hehe

[Jesda]

I'm a bit of a Mazda nutball (owned a couple 929 luxury sedans and a 1995 626 5-spd) and I'm strongly considering it. I'll check with you this winter

Whats the mileage, transaxle, features, etc? For that price, I may be able to buy it even sooner.

Thanks,-Jesda

[EZcheese15]

I'm a bit of a Mazda nutball (owned a couple 929 luxury sedans and a 1995 626 5-spd) and I'm strongly considering it. I'll check with you this winter

Whats the mileage, transaxle, features, etc? For that price, I may be able to buy it even sooner.

Thanks,-Jesda

165000 milesautomatic

everything works great except for the A/C (needs a new compressor), but if it's a winter car, who cares.

Like I said, it has a brand new passenger side axle, front rotors and pads, new radiator, new plugs, plug wires, 1 new hubcap (was missing one when I bought it). Factory tape deck with am/fm. It has some window tint that is peeling in the back window and drivers side window. Also, a small crack on the windshield on the passenger side towards the bottom. A couple minor dings in the car, but nothing major. Timing belt will probably need replaced at 180k.

Also, willing to negotiate.

[redrocket]

stay away from the Millenia I heard they have bad problems with sludge and that in turn burning up the motor.

If ya go buick go with the lesaber(sp) we use those company cars and if well maintained make great cars and will last forever

[Megaseth]

The lesabre is a great car. my grandparents have a newer one and its a great car for long trips and just all around daily driving. i dont think they have had any problems with it either.

[Stoneage_Turbo]

got my 1994 caddy deville for 4900 , ive put 400 into her and im almost done with chaseing problems , only have a pesky pinging problem and some torque conveter problems that are realted to a outdated PROM on my ECU

anyway its not a bad rig , fairly quiet ,and looks cool gets 17-21 mpg

[Bubba1]

If you're looking for a large beater turnpike cruiser, might want to look at RWD too. Some very comfortable cars out there. Here are few suggestions:

RWD*Older Lexus LS400 (the early ones are in your price range. unbelievably comfy)Merc Grand Marquis (I had 3 of them - all leased all comfortable)Buick Roadmaster (can fit an army inside)Lincon Towncar. (I've rented tons of them over the years)

FWD:*Toyota Avalon (yeah boring, but it's a stretched camry - bulletproof and comfortable)Acura Legend (very nice cars, roomy and reliable)Nissan Maxima (nice sized, comfortable and reliable)Mazda 929 (Millenias may be a little more as they're newer)Dodge Intrepid/Chrysler Concorde (cheap/plentiful/roomy)94-95 Chrysler LHS ( I had 3 of them- big and comfortable)Ford Taurus SHO (screamers if you can find one thats not beat)

I could come with plenty more. Another direction could be full sized SUV, like an older suburban. Very nice on long trips too.Happy hunting

[Megaseth]

Bubba1 has a good list. out of all of those, i know the Towncars are super nice for long trips. and they are HUGE. and the Dodge Inrepids are nice too. My GF drives one and there is a lot of room, plus they have al ittle power to have fun with (shes scared ME a few times in it). You might try looking at an older 626. and the maximas are great cars too, and you can make them fast if you want a beater that beats stuff.