Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm not finding any CPO Acuras or Infinitis at $20K or below...
But I appreciate the suggestions.
Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to find a 2008 or higher-mileage 2009 Acura TSX that is factory CPO'ed. Solid car, in my opinion.
You probably won't find a factory CPO'ed Infiniti in your price range, though.
I'm here to give VWs some love. Have a '04 1.8T Jetta and it's been great! Has 140,000 miles and still runs strong.......whatever you do though...........get a stick. You will have to keep up with the maintenance, but don't all cars require that? Go with the VDub, but again.......get a stick.
Former VW owner here. Had lots of nagging problems. Awesome to drive. My parents now own a Passat Turbo. Again, some nagging problems and the turbo burns oil like crazy.
I kinda of like Mazdas but around here they have crazy asking prices. I have a friend who just bought a CPO Jetta. I don't remember the year. He loves it.
I wouldn't worry about it if you are going CPO especially if you are coming from an old BMW.
Be sure to check the options, a brand new base 2012 SE stickers for $20,600 so unless this 2010 has $5k+ in options that price seems high.
Have you actually driven a Jetta? I rented one of the previous generation Jettas with the 2.5L 5 cylinder and was not impressed at all. I love how the the VW GTI drives BTW but I refuse to buy any VW products until the quality and reliability improves.
Be sure to check the options, a brand new base 2012 SE stickers for $20,600 so unless this 2010 has $5k+ in options that price seems high.
Have you actually driven a Jetta? I rented one of the previous generation Jettas with the 2.5L 5 cylinder and was not impressed at all. I love how the the VW GTI drives BTW but I refuse to buy any VW products until the quality and reliability improves.
I didn't say the Jetta was $20K; I said I was looking for something under $20K.
The Jetta is $16K something. And yes, I drove it, and I loved it, and it was pristine, but we didn't buy it.
DH decided he wants to pay cash for a car, so we're looking at waiting 6 months or so. The cash part is good, but the waiting stinks.
The Jetta is $16K something. And yes, I drove it, and I loved it, and it was pristine, but we didn't buy it.
Just make sure you compare it to new car pricing on a site like truecar.com. I've seen lots CPO cars that are just as expensive as what the new ones are selling for or within a couple grand. You rarely have to pay MSRP for a new car, especially in this market.
I'll give the Jetta some love. I purchased my 06' as a used vehicle in 07 and it had 28k miles on it. I was somewhat worried about reliability, but decided to take a plunge and see what I got and I LOVE the car. It currently has about 106xxx miles on it and have only had minor issues (knocks on wood). I've always done my oil changes on time, using the required synthetic oil. Even still the car has had a few trips to the dealership, but nothing I'm going to complain about.
-1st trip was in 07 while the car was "new to me" the trunk latch wouldn't stay closed. The dealership replaced the latch mechanism (this was a common problem on early MkV Jetta's and was remedied on later models. I believe a spring was to small and would bind causing the trunk to think it was open after it was closed.)
-Piece of Trim came loose at the defroster vent, dealership replaced
-Drivers' window became temperamental and puddle light (under door) wasn't working...discovered to be stretching wires in the door panel, the harness was to short from the factory in pre-07 cars...fixed at home by extending the harness myself and fixing the frayed wires.
-Headliner began to separate around the sunglass holder, and at the rear airbags...I was ultimately unimpressed, brought the vehicle to the dealership along with photos of other jetta's that had the same problem. VW rep agreed to replace the entire headliner free of charge.
-Airbag light came on because of a harness issue with my drivers' seat. The harness was to short, and if you move the seat multiple times stretching the harness it would disconnect and the airbag would fail.
Of all the items above the only thing that wasn't fixed under warranty was the door harness. I could replace the entire thing myself for $150 bucks, but my temporary fix is holding up a little longer than I had thought it would. Looking back on my ownership experience thus far, those inconveniences really haven't angered me that much. My wife and I are currently planning on replacing her Pontiac Grand Am with a Passat TDi within the next 8 months...and I'm really looking forward to having two VW's in the house.
OP - If you consider a VW product in the future, be sure to check out Vwvortex.com for some pretty fantastic forum advice, lots of helpful people over there.
Also, maintenance is a tad more on a VW than a standard american sedan. But as you stated from your drive, these cars offer a driving experience that many of the standard American sedans don't offer...and that's even more accurate when describing the japanese brands, minus their luxury marquees.
how about a '09 CPO Subaru Forester? They're not really fuel-efficient but if that's not a primary concern it's a great people mover with plenty of power & decent handling. I've got a couple friends with kids who have late-model Foresters and no complaints.
I'll give the Jetta some love. I purchased my 06' as a used vehicle in 07 and it had 28k miles on it. I was somewhat worried about reliability, but decided to take a plunge and see what I got and I LOVE the car. It currently has about 106xxx miles on it and have only had minor issues (knocks on wood). I've always done my oil changes on time, using the required synthetic oil. Even still the car has had a few trips to the dealership, but nothing I'm going to complain about.
-1st trip was in 07 while the car was "new to me" the trunk latch wouldn't stay closed. The dealership replaced the latch mechanism (this was a common problem on early MkV Jetta's and was remedied on later models. I believe a spring was to small and would bind causing the trunk to think it was open after it was closed.)
-Piece of Trim came loose at the defroster vent, dealership replaced
-Drivers' window became temperamental and puddle light (under door) wasn't working...discovered to be stretching wires in the door panel, the harness was to short from the factory in pre-07 cars...fixed at home by extending the harness myself and fixing the frayed wires.
-Headliner began to separate around the sunglass holder, and at the rear airbags...I was ultimately unimpressed, brought the vehicle to the dealership along with photos of other jetta's that had the same problem. VW rep agreed to replace the entire headliner free of charge.
-Airbag light came on because of a harness issue with my drivers' seat. The harness was to short, and if you move the seat multiple times stretching the harness it would disconnect and the airbag would fail.
Of all the items above the only thing that wasn't fixed under warranty was the door harness. I could replace the entire thing myself for $150 bucks, but my temporary fix is holding up a little longer than I had thought it would. Looking back on my ownership experience thus far, those inconveniences really haven't angered me that much. My wife and I are currently planning on replacing her Pontiac Grand Am with a Passat TDi within the next 8 months...and I'm really looking forward to having two VW's in the house.
OP - If you consider a VW product in the future, be sure to check out Vwvortex.com for some pretty fantastic forum advice, lots of helpful people over there.
Also, maintenance is a tad more on a VW than a standard american sedan. But as you stated from your drive, these cars offer a driving experience that many of the standard American sedans don't offer...and that's even more accurate when describing the japanese brands, minus their luxury marquees.
Vwvortex is a wonderful site, it has helped me out on more than one occasion. Good to see someone else giving some Vdub love!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You will have to keep up with the maintenance, but don't all cars require that? Go with the VDub, but again.......get a stick. 
