S4 Avant
Why no S4 avants for you? You could find a used B5 S4 avant. There was even a B5 RS4 avant out in Colorado for sale, but the price was a bit high.
http://bringatrailer.com/2011/01/19/in-colorado-somehow-2000-audi-rs4-avant/
Subaru
Subaru wagon, AWD and a good size roof, most have factory racks on them.
3 fun ones
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mazda 3
toyota matrix xrs/pontiac vibe gt (first gen) - what a fun motor.
subaru impreza wrx (tough to find under 10k)
…and one from Ferrari
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Roofline looks long enough. I wonder if Thule or Yakima know about this yet?
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/ferrari-four-shooting-brake-revealed-2011-01-21
Certainly not cheap - but with a v-12 and AWD, it will get you to the launch quickly!
I do enjoy Top Gear…
…nice show. I really enjoyed one of their episodes from a season or two back where they drove beaters across the Andes. I thought that Clarkson was going to die from acute mountain sickness. His O2 sat was probably totally tanking.
Today I drove a 2003 Mazda Protege 5-door. The little critter had 154,000 miles on it and an asking price of $5490. It was a very nice little old beater with a whole bunch of character :). The dealer is also getting in an '07 Chevy Aveo 5-door with 84,000 miles for $5990.
I’m gonna drive the Aveo, which as compared to the competition is a somewhat nasty little sucker. OTOH, this car should be in pretty good shape… maybe.
For slightly more there’s an '07 Nissan Versa at another dealer. From what I’ve read, the Nissan is a better package.
The one good thing about running around checking these cream puffs out is I get more seat time in my little Audi TTS. I musta been nuts thinking I could lug my 17 foot and 2 inch kayak around with the TTS…
Ohhhh, Al…
:.0
Well, it does have a flat roof
I haven’t seen that era of Dodge Dart/Plymouth Valiant/Duster in a very long time. They rusted really badly!
Avoid Japanese…Try a trailer
…sorry if it offends, but getting parts in future may be sketchy ‘specially for used auto’s…
as for a sporty coupe not carrying, well I carried a 14 ft perception on a Chrysler Lebaron “J” body, and now carry a Perception Eclipse (17’) upon occasion…maybe rethink this and haul your boat using the current car with a trailer…even the upscale trailers are cheaper than another auto…
^don’t believe this hype^
In today’s global car industry no one is immune from parts shortages from other countries. In my state GM shifts have been cut temporarily due to those parts shortages from japan. And these japanese - made parts come from all over japan, not just in the northern portion of the country.
I’d forgotten about the protege 5
We still see them running here in MI. I had my eye on them but could never find a manual. Supposed to be pretty fun to drive in the bargain.
Can you put a hitch on the TT? Even to haul a kayak trailer? As much as I love kayaking, if I had one of those cars in the garage I think I’d keep it and find a beater to do the kayak hauling, like it sounds you are doing.
Why not a trailor?
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SuperTroll (I said slushpaddler by mistake earlier) is onto something there.
I bought a 2002 Mustang and obviously it is not the perfect yak hauler so I bought a 6' by 4' utility trailor, added a wood box and now I have something that has hauled 5 boats at a time and can be used on other autos with no problem. No matter what car I buy inthe future, just have a trailor hitch put on and I'm golden.
Here is a pic: http://www.derekspace.net/Photos/fishpics/fish09/trailor01.jpg
More pics: http://www.derekspace.net/fishpic11.htm
In reply…
"…sorry if it offends, but getting parts in future may be sketchy ‘specially for used auto’s…"
No argument from me on that.
"as for a sporty coupe not carrying, well I carried a 14 ft perception on a Chrysler Lebaron “J” body, and now carry a Perception Eclipse (17’) upon occasion…maybe rethink this and haul your boat using the current car with a trailer…even the upscale trailers are cheaper than another auto…"
I bet you had a better than 22 inch spread between your crossbars:) The Thule 887xt does allow one to move the straps out near the bulk heads but I noticed in the instructions that Thule says 24 inches is the minimum between the crossbars.
As for the trailer, that does sound like a nice idea other than I don’t know if I’d trust myself with one at this point. It’s been a looonnngggg time since I was a kid on a farm where nearly every day I was messing around with a tractor and a trailer.
I sure do miss those sheep 
Nice!
nice work derek
Does your mustang have a factory tow rating? I see more and more cars with no tow rating, but a nice lightweight trailer like the one you’ve built could be towed by a misfiring Yugo. You’ve given me some ideas to consider…
No Bars I used Foam Blocks
foam blocks, with a nylon strap to hold them in place (Strapped to the bottom of the boat…then a cam strap to hold the boat to the car…Bow and stern lines ALWAYS…system has proven itself during a 700 mile trip at highway speeds…
trailer
Three types are used for kayaking purposes-
- super cheap ones - no suspension, solid axle
- a bit more expensive - leaf/twist springs
- expensive - real independent suspension with shocks and struts. This is the real deal, you definitely get what you pay for. Trailer is very light, stays on the road as if glued on, almost no tongue weight. It is cheaper than getting a second car. Take a look at sportsrig.com and yakima.com/shop/trailer/trailer
My Trailer…
Harbor Freight…Redmond built it, towed it for years…then I got it, rebuilt it, and it lives on in history…!
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/573275351eFKnJt
maybe your coupe will work
The yakima dealer told me my taurus is bad for racks because of round roof and would need 3 clips on each side- big bucks and still not much span. The front bar is way up by front windshield and back bar is way back by back window with lots of span for 21 ft mohican ski. The key is to drill up under the door frame with stainless screw just barely big enough. Or possibly super glue the q towers. My boats are worth more than car. Tremendous peace of mind with soild racks.
Very safe for 2,000 mile round trips on the interstae at 70 mph in left lane. Unofficaily the dealer did admit this is the solid way to haul a canoe or kayak. And use a 2in cube of wood that is fastened to rack with hose clamp on each corner of canoe.
no no no
Don’t go drilling holes and inserting screws into your car unless you have some conclusive information that it will make a bit of difference, or that it’s required.
Go Gas Hog!
No. Not kidding. Do the math. The more expensive gas gets, the cheaper the gas hogs get.
Gas gusslers like a '96 Buick Roadmaster are super cheap right now.
What do you care about gas milage if you only drive it on kayaking trips?
Go big, and enjoy the room, the power, and the comfort.
I have a '92 Chevy conversion van that gets about 10 MPG. I don’t care much because I only drive it to the beach for weekends, which is less than 100 miles away.