Two Other Possibilities…
…in the way of a wagon/small SUV.
Last summer, we bought a '95 Escort wagon for $750 Cdn., and put the same into it. It’s our summer beater, to save the 4Runner for the winter. Did a lot of going last summer - over 5,000 kms. - absolutely no problems, good on gas (about 8-8.5 L/100 kms.), and loading the 'yaks and canoe was a joy - just about at waist height. But younger daughter found she needed a vehicle for this summer, and there went our beater…
I did some digging around, and picked up '97 Suzuki Sidekick 4 door with low miles for $3,100. Been driving it for about a month now, and it’s great - reliable to a fault, good on gas (7.5L/100kms), and it’s 4x4 to boot. The Zuks have a reputation for being tough as a gad -we’ve had two 2 doors, and they had very little mechanical trouble - just get 'em rust-checked yearly, and you should be good for 250,000 kms+. Only downside is their ride - if you can’t stand lots of road feedback, get a Taurus ;->))
wagons
First off Any front wheel drive dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth products are junk,especially the vans. Considerably worse than ford from what ive seen. Taurus wagon with a 12 valve pushrod 3.0(not the 24 valve Duratech 3.0) from the mid-late 90s is actually pretty good bang for the buck(half decent and cheap) if you find one that has been taken care off and you don’t get one with a bad tranny. I’d take ford over subaru because theyre cheaper to fix.
…Vibe/Matrix would be good ones,but i wouldnt get a AWD one because they only come with the corolla engine,made even more gutless by the AWD unit.
How about a Mazda 5(the earlier ones,not the new ones that look like a little minivan). Those are decent,great looking peppy little cars but not cheap to fix.
Or mazda 6 wagon?
Suzuki Aerio SX
hatchback/small wagon. AWD. Think mine was something like 14k. I like the car overall. However, the mileage is about my 5 miles less than posted. But, then again, I have racks and stackers on and mostly driving with something on the racks. That hurts mileage.
sing
Mileage…
What kind of milage do the Volvo wagons get? Part of my disdain for the Cutlass (and it’s ilk such as Taurus’s) is the crappy mileage.
Jetta TDI wagons seem almost perfect for my wants, but they are very hard to find.
All I really want is a dirt cheap, mint condition, trouble free Outback…or a reasonable facsimile. Is that too much to ask? No, I haven’t been smoking anything…
Phreon
Well, Yeah…
"All I really want is a dirt cheap, mint condition, trouble free Outback.....or a reasonable facsimile. Is that too much to ask? "
you're asking for too much (or what is not likely real). I've had three previous subarus but decided I can't afford the current price.
I also want a new, custom waveski for $500. Is it possible? No. Is it reasonable? Absolutely No, from the maker's viewpoint... ;)
sing
Outbacks
I’m not sure what you heard about the costs of owning a Subaru but I researched it long and hard and they’re not anymore expensive than any other foreign car (or any car for that matter). I just bought a '00 Outback 5 speed an love it. In the Pac NW there are THOUSANDS of Outbacks running around so they must not be that bad!
Chris
Subaru impresa wagon
Consider the little Subaru Impresa wagon. They’re also AWD, and drive the same as an Outback except for slightly lower clearance. They are a lot cheaper used than the Outbacks, but they’re great in the snow and great for hauling boats and gear.
That said, I’m glad I sold mine at 130,000 miles (for about $2200 to the dealer who tidied it up and sold it for about $3000, which was average around here) and bought a Prius. It’s worse in the snow, but I’m a lot happier with Honda and Toyota reliability and gas mileage (having had a Civic and a Toyota station wagon in my used car past, not to mention three old VWs which were all very familiar with the repair shops. Don’t get a VW if you want reliability!).
Or why not consider a Civic? They are great cheap cars that can carry a ton of stuff, and they get good gas mileage, and they never die or need any work. A hatchback will be almost as useful for gear as a small station wagon. I’ve lived out of my hatchbacks for many summers on end doing field work and camping.
Mileage
I have the following:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/11162.shtml
I don’t check the mileage, so this is the best I can provide. You can check all models and all years at this site.
If you consider Volvos I would avoid turbo models. They require more maintenance (frequent oil changes). The engines are 4,5 or 6 cylinders, so the mileage varies some by model. It was difficult to find a 5 sp manual transmission in the wagon. High test gas is recommended for the 5 cylinder. I use the mid grade.
~wetzool
Prius
One issue I have with the Prius is racking sea kayaks. It looks like the cross bars end up being awfully close together.
I like station wagons (with rails) because the cross bars can be far apart.
Another Volvo Fan
I’m a big fan of the Swedes, Saab too.
The only negatives I can say about Volvo is they use proprietary oil filters, quickie-oil-change joints don’t stock them… So you’re looking at either paying dealer cost, or busting knuckles on a Saturday versus paddling.
…And they blow lightbulbs like you’ve never seen.
Those two negatives aren’t really too bad, but they do drive the cost of ownership up.
Pray for my TDI…
Got plowed in the rear real hard tonight on the way home from work.
I was stopped to make a left turn, and was hit so hard, I went 35 feet from the point of impact, and the only reason I stopped there was that I knew I’d been hit, and stomped on the brakes, because I was headed into oncoming traffic. The rear doors are real hard to open & close now (My 18 years in insurance claims tells me that’s a sure sign she might be a total loss), the under floor storage compartment in the rear is 3 inches shorter than it used to be, and the driver’s seat broke. The seat breaking is probably why I only have a few sore muscles at the moment – it allowed me to decelerate a little slower. I’ve been hurt worse playing hockey, and thought it was just part of the game.
The car is driveable, but I doubt that it’s economically feasible to repair. I hope I’m wrong, because I’ve got 58K on her without a single problem. Now the Toyota Avalon that hit me… well, there wasn’t much left of it forward of the engine block…and it was leaking coolant and oil in the road.
Tough little cars, them VW’s. Even the cops remarked about it. My 2001 golf took out an SUV, and drove away (I got rear ended by an Explorer that time). Hopefully, it’s repairable, because VW doesn’t make Jetta wagons at the moment, and I don’t like the new Jettas much anyway – look too much like every other car on the road now.
Wayne
Prius cross-bars
They are a little closer together than on my small station wagon, but not enough to worry about. I put them slightly further apart than the Thule sheet said to, and thousands of kayak carrying miles later, I haven’t had a problem.
Good luck with Outback
My 2002 has been a good boat hauler - lower roof and more space behind the rear seat than a Forester. Suspension great - AWD gets you in and out of launch areas with no questions. That said, the driver seat sucks, passenger seat leg room is short and the auto tranny takes it’s sweet time to shift. No acceleration at highway speed - it justs dies when you step on it (give me back my old Saab 900S). But, no problems in 70,000 miles. Gas mileage suffers from the AWD - overall around 24.
Really like my…
http://community.webshots.com/photo/531428057/1531430463052048071HFURQl
Yup, that’s a 21’ and near 20’ on top. Oops, sorry to tease - you said “used budget”…
Maybe look at a Mazda 6 wagon, or Mazda 3 hatch. For cheaper, the Protégé wagons a few years ago were OK and easy to find cheap now too.
Really, just about any sedan or small wagon will haul what you want to haul.
used
Honda Accord or Toyota Camry/Corolla wagon
Saab Shock
I loved my Saab 900, it was fun to drive and a good gear hauler. However there is a reason the Car Talk guys use the term ‘Saab Shock.’ Maintainence is shockingly expensive and many mechanics won’t touch them.
We’ve now had three Sable/Taurus wagons and found them very cheap to maintain and great kayak and gear haulers. Unfortunately, unlike good European or Japanese cars, they only last until 120,000 before requiring a lot of intervention.
I loved my old Volvo wagon (145s) but have heard recent ones are not as reliable. Outback wagons seem to be the most common choice among folks I know who haul gear and don’t want to drive a truck (SUV).
subaru forester
have a new one now but owned a used model for years. Hauls a lot of boats. Efficient, fair gas mileage and dependable.
Cruel
You are cruel…I’d love another Audi. My last 2 cars were an Audi Coupe GT and an Audi 90. The Cutlass is living hell.
An A4 Avant would float my boat except I’m sick of Audi’s terrible electrical systems. That and they never should have discontinued the 5 cyl. engine.
A Suburu seemed like the logical alternative, but the Legacy/Outback wagons are rediculously expensive.
Anyone have a Jetta TDI for sale?
Phreon
WE REALLY LIKE OUR MAZDA6 SPORTWAGON
Now we really like our Jeep Grand Cherokee, too!
It’s taken us across the country several times, hauler the boats and gear with aplomb, and is also a good in-town car because of its ride height and sightlines.
But we wanted a smaller hauler after we realized we be paddling a bit more after retirement (Sally’s out as of last December, I’m out in 7 days!) and because every year:
-The Jeep got an inch taller
–The boats got an inch heavier
—And WE got an inch OLDER!
Like you, we wanted something lower and easier to load the boats on.
So we checked out The Big Three for their reliability, rate of repair, omnipresence all across the country, and longstanding quality. They’re still the best, overall -but while they all used to carry wagons, none do any more. Tant pis…
BMW, MB, Jaguar, and Audi (A4) offered pretty nice wagon vehicles, but we weren’t plunking down that kind of money new -particularly for the MB & Bimmer, and used ones -some of which actually offer surprisingly good value -that fit our criteria were rarer than hen’s teeth. The A3 was OK pricewise, but too small otherwise (interior volume, not rooftop size).
Volvo & Saab just didn’t impress, we’d read not-so-hot reports on reliability and repair costs, and friends who have/had them offered really mixed reviews again on both counts.
The Subie Outback and Forester, and Mitsubishi’s Outlander all were nice -and tall, too tall. The Subaru Legacy was OK, heightwise, and would have been our choice from this group, but Subies have a checkered report card. While three owners said their Foresters and (2) and Outback (1) were great, two different mechanics; two different owners, and some reading all warned us away from them because of reliability issues, and the mechanics noted both high costs and limited availability of repairs.
The VW Passat was almost the same story -nice car, repair and reliability issues.
And the Subies suffered in the power department when the straight flat-4 was under the hood: it’s get-up and go got up & left. Felt like mush. The flat 6 was a LOT better, as was the turbo-4. But both of these take premium fuel -yikes!
The Passat was also somewhat like them in the engine department -they required premium, unless you went with the significantly more costly TDI. It was not solely a capital cost, but while the fuel efficiency is really better than gas, it didn’t project to offset deisel’s increased costs (down here about equivalent to premium).
The Saturn wagon was a bit flimsy and a tad underpowered, and had mixed reliabilty & repair reviews.
The Ford Focus was -like the A3 -too small on interior volume, although I was rather pleasantly surprised after spending a week in a 5-door on a business trip. It also suffers from some reliability issues.
US automakers have basically abandoned the wagon in favor of the spectrum of their super-huge, large, standard, and mini-SUV lineups augmented by their crossover vehicles. ALl are too tall. So Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, and GM didn’t offer anything we were really going to look at, either.
We read an article on the Mazda 6S Sedan, which piqued our interest enough for us to give the wagon -yes! they still make a wagon! -a look.
And it fit the bill. We bought an new 04 in 05, and now, 18+ K miles later, we’re quite pleased with our choice. We bought it over the Internet, did our research, bargained hard, and got a fine smaller hauler at a very nice price.
And with the Thule CrossRoad rack, it’s SO much easier to tote the boats on its lower roofline!
You might want to think about a Mazda6 Wagon to get you and your gear and your boats to where you can
PADDLE ON!
-Frank in Miami
You said no SUV’s
but several responders suggested a Honda CRV. This vehicle is on my “A” list (currently driving a SOB) due to the cargo capacity and the convenience of a swinging rear gate instead of a hatch, which is a PITA.
My only reservation over the CRV is power. I wish they had a bit more for interstate mountains (the SOB is a bit short n that department as well).
Toyota has a new RAV4 this year that is really attractive. Decent roof rack rails, cargo capacity similar to the CRV (both bigger than the SOB) swinging gate, and an available small V-6.
My SOB is rated at 22-28 EPA, but the more powerful RAV4 is actually rated at 21-28! I need to test drive one.
Of course, if you feel that a SOB is above your price point, the RAV4 will be as well.
Jim