Tips on Buying Cars: Purchase of 4 wheel drive, wheel drive car, depreciation rates

Question
Hi

I would like to buy a new 2008 4 wheel drive car (not SUV or truck). I would like a 6 cylinder. Cargo capacity is not a big issue. My price range is 25K to 35K. Any recommendations and why would be appreciated.

Answer
There aren't too many options that fit the bill... do you need a 4door or 2door? do you like wagons/hatchbacks? - Does it matter if its luxury? do you want something decently sporty? are you concerned with potential reliability? will depreciation rates affect your decision? small or midsized car?

Cars are going to be All-wheel Drive.. not 4 wheel drive.. as the systems are fairly different.

My favorite AWD's are the Subaru WRX/STi, (also the Legacy GT)... its not a v6 but the turbo-charged boxer 4 packs the same or more power...
I would personally buy a used 07 since the 08's don't look nearly as good.. (to me) - but you can decide for yourself.. they are fun, sporty, reliable little cars that sound like a v8 but still get good MPG...

Other good options would have to be any of the AWD Audi's - (there are several.. the newer models seem to all be pretty good cars.. but they will be expensive to fix... hard to say more without being specific on model...I know AWD was an option on some of the Audi's - but I'm not sure which ones at the moment..

The Lancer (Front wheel drive) is a decent car (its supposed to be good, but mitsubishi's reliability has been lacking.. with a new model - i would wait to see how it does before considering), but I wouldn't think about one myself.. I am not too fond of their build quality... The EVO on the other hand.. I would take in a heartbeat (once again... used 07... the newer one isn't my thing) - but I love trackdays and racing.. so im biased (probably not the most reliable car for the money).

Infinity had an AWD G35 for a while.. not sure if they still offer AWD with the G37 - but its practically the same as the 3-Series.. maybe cheaper to fix if something breaks.. the VQ engines are quite reliable...

AWD is an option (or atleast was.. in 07) for the toyota camry.. good reliabilty.. good everything really... may be hard to find though... and the option is expensive..



The ford fusion is turning out to be a good little car.. and AWD is standard in 08 (atleast I'm pretty sure it is) - reliability seems to be above average for a domestic.. which is amazing.. not bad at all...

If you can take a used car.. a used AWD BMW 3-Series.. or new if you can get one in your price range.. wouldn't be a bad choice..  they are great little cars.. I know it was an expensive option on the e46 model but I'm not certain how if affects the newer model... great handling - expensive to fix, but good build quality.. fun cars...

Volvo offers AWD on some models - and while the cars aren't perfect - they are very safe - pretty reliable... most are underpowered compared to the others in this list...

Acura RL has a nice AWD system.. not sure about the TL - but that may be an option too - very nice cars- reliable... decently fast..

Wow there are more options than I thought - problem is - in your large price range - there are a lot of really good cars.. most of the cars I named are very reliable - good driving cars... and it will probably come down to personal preference and price if you are trying to decide..

Hope that helps - be more specific and I can help more... I'm sure i missed a car or two... but I tried the best I could to give a complete list..