Second-hand car advice

desu I would get the Volvo or the Miata.
But k.

I said the bimmer diesels are unreliable, the vags diesels consume more fuel than assumed (also they are boring as fuck) and I didnt tell anybody to buy a rusty Benz.

German cars here are reliable and cheap to fix (due to parts beeing everywhere here), but look boring as fuck. And a lot of amerifags seem to have problems with them, so I dont know - reliability of usa models seems to be kinda shit .

I actually had the 2006 1.9 Saab 9-3 on my list, but I wasn't sure how easy it would be to maintain it here since they are so rare. But I may consider it.

Thanks, I hadn't considered those.

Really? I hadn't thought about that. I don't have room in the garage for another car. Not sure what to think now.

Ok, thanks.

Dude, thanks for taking the time to look at each car, I appreciate it a lot.
I planned on getting manual anyway, no doubt about that.
I heard about the Alfa issues, but I sort of liked the looks. May drop it at this point.
Mazdas are rare here, I may avoid them just because of the rare parts as well.
The Ford looked interesting because of the engine, but I don't want to have a lot of repairs to do if it fails.
A4 Avant looks more tempting now, dropping the Passat option.
I am also curious about the Volvo, they aren't very common here, but if I can get a V70 it would be nice.
I still have the E46 in mind, but to be honest, the thing I hate is that they have a bad reputation and they are really common; I always thought I'd get something that stands out in a subtle way.

It's gonna be easier to service something from that group because they are common.

Volvo sounds like a good choice, thanks for the opinion. I don't know about the Miata, I've heard so many different opinions that I am confused. Problems with the soft-top, rust, no A/C, plus hard to find parts here for it (which are overpriced anyway).

At this point, I'd say I have the following options:
Audi A4 Avant
BMW E46 320d
Volvo V50/V70
Maybe a sports coupe (Miata NA/NB, Celica, Hyundai)
Saab 9-3/9-5

>turbos failed
True. I did mine on 250k km
>swirl flaps got into the engine and ruined it
True, but you can buy blanks for fixing it or by buying more manly looking pre lift model.

How hard would it be to replace those myself?

Not hard. You take ~20 screws on Intake manifold, remove swirl flaps and install blanks. Maybe 2h of work if you don't know what are you doing. It's also a good time to replace Intake manifold orings, and clean it with extraction benzine or some other chemicals.

I never done this. I have 320d prelift which don't have this shit and it's not on common rail. lift models are common rail, with more power (from 136 to 150km).

Volvo v50's are good cars. A friend of mine has one and hauls a shit load of stuff. I would recommend going for the 2.4 seeing as that's a great Volvo made 5cyl which with 170 horsepower will bring you some fun but they are not very fuel-efficient.

Ok, thanks. Sounds like I could handle it.

I see that engine does around 12.5l/100km in the city, but compared to 10-11 on the other models it's not really a big difference in gas. I'll have a look at that model if I get the chance.

Swirl flaps are the smaller problem, if your turbo goes boom it will be a lot more expensive. You can change it by you own, but turbos arent cheap.

2.4/2.5 Volvo Engines are built to last forever. You can't do anything wrong with them, but yeah, in city it sucks your wallet dry.

Driving a Volvo 2435cm3 by myself I got like 8.8L/100km, but I'm driving on freeways and highways mostly. And it's the weaker version (140ps), though the engine seems to be almost the same with the online difference beeing the software. Gonna try out the BSR Software next month, then I will see how much the fuel consumptionen rises though ^^

just get an e46 senpai

I guess any turbo engine has the risk of that part failing, right?

I take fuel economy into account for city driving because I'm going to spend most of the time driving there. However, I did some math and it turns out that I won't be saving much in fuel because I don't plan to drive more than 2000-3000km a year.
How are the Volvo 2.0 engines in terms of reliability? Just as good? Are the diesel models on the V50 alright?

That was my initial pick, I really like how it looks. But I just feel that they are common here, they have a bad reputation (fuccboi car), and are slightly overpriced. I'm still debating it though.

Remember E46 are not cheap to maintain, this is not twingo. 2.0l Diesel consumes around 9l in city with traffic, 5-6 on Highway.
Where do you live?

Indeed, could happen to any turbo engine.

2.0 are fine as well, maybe not build like a tank, but like a small troop carrier. The "modern" diesels though I know nothing about. Had some buddy driving one, he was quite happy with it.
But keep in mind, the V50 is way smaller inside than it looks to the outside.

E46 isn't a giant also, but if your are in germany or in a neighbouring country, parts are dirt cheap. And yeah, total fuccboi car, but desu you shouldnt give a shit about what others think of your car as long as it fits to you and you like it.

I live in Romania. I checked prices for some parts, and they are not far off from VW, Skoda, Seat, etc., at least for consumables (filters, brakes, sensors).
9.0 is not too bad in my opinion, since I don't cover very large distances (maybe 5-10km a day at most).
Would you suggest any other car? Is Volvo the better long term choice?
I am still considering a coupe as well, but those aren't as practical.

OP, why haven`t you considered Opel?

I don't really need a lot of space, to be honest I could get by with a Twingo or any shitbox. However, this is my first car; I'd like something nice, something I can have fun with and enjoy driving, not just for transport.
I based my picks based on price, and I noticed that wagons tend to be cheaper than the sedan models.

I don't usually give a shit about what others say; I guess I wanted to stand out from all the other imported BMWs we have here. I'm not ruling it out, the E46 looks great.

What models? I've never considered Opel to be quality; I may be wrong.

>Is Volvo the better long term choice?
Dunno, I'm not that user. I also had no experience with volvo. My friend and mechanic said, that electricity in volvos are pure garbage.

I'm doing 20km per day to work in big city. I would not recommend a diesel engine for small drive in the city. Dunno what would I recommend you. Definitely not a 3rd gen Polo. It rust from the bottom really quick. Passats are probably 500k km in REAL mileage.
maybe astra after '00
Twingo would not be bad seriously. Parts are 3x cheaper than e46 in Poland.

Also What about your local Dacia? My stepfather got new Duster and it's shit and fucking slow, would not recommend desu

OP has 3000€ and want to buy:
BMW, Alfa, Volvo, AUDI, VW...
Just accept your poorness and buy a mk2 swift, and enjoy cheap parts, nice km/l, and a bulletproof engine.

To be serious, the best car from his list would be mk 1 or 2 Focus.

This is the only right answer

I considered some smaller cars, Golf, Polo, but I don't trust the build quality, especially after all these years.
If I buy any car, I would like to have the history so I don't buy something with half a million km. I'd rather go for a 200-250k km that I know are real.
I don't really like the Astra, it looks so boring, I might as well get a Twingo or Lupo if I go that route.
I don't like Dacia at all; that's what I have currently been driving. A really lazy 1.2 from 2013; it's not bad in the city, but it lacks outside a lot. Doesn't look ugly, but I want something more fun for my first car.

Swift would be a safe choice, but I feel it's just a small econobox,
I'm just trying to make do with what I have and get something I like.

To be fair, yeah, that or a Fiesta Mk 6 would be alright, but I was hoping to get something more.

Why?

Well, there is also an MK3 Mondeo.

And Vectra C

>build quality
that's a bit of a meme. after all these years even the best build quality doesn't matter as much as the condition the car is in and how it was handled.

a bmw at that price is going to cost multiple times that over next few years in repairs, while an opel corsa that has been standing in a garage and only been taken to shopping by grandma might be a great value.

That doesn't look too bad, but why would I pick that over a BMW E46/Volvo V50/Audi A4?

Hadn't considered that, but I don't like the look as much as the other options. Why would it be a better choice?

Point taken. I agree with you, it's a risk regardless. I want to see what I can buy that I like for this price and have few problems with it.
I have money left to maintain it, that's why I am limiting my budget to 3000, I could go higher but then I would risk running out of funds later on.
If I wanted to get bare minimum just for transport, I'd go for any 1.2 diesel and call it a day.

It may look like a person without much money trying to buy something that wasn't meant for him, which is mostly true, but I'm trying to get the most from what I can afford now.

Dunno how parts market looks in Romania, but they're probably 20% cheaper than other, more 'premium' manufacturers.
It's not a bad car by any means, ST variant is pretty cool. I'm not the biggest fan of interior in this model tho

Definitely, all the parts are cheaper, but worse quality than in Germany. The ST looks fun too, no doubt. Sort of like a sleeper, since I don't think many here know it has 170HP.

I should try to narrow down what type of car I want; wagon, hatchback, coupe; since at the moment, I have a lot of choices and no strong feeling towards any.

Wagon looks a bit more practical, and I've always liked the look of them; the coupes are a lot more sporty and I would like something fun (but they aren't very good for the city), and the hatchbacks are sort of like a middle ground I guess.

European Fords are literally German cars though and so are Opels