steve c

I do some work out in St Louis and need a beater to haul myself and up to 3 other folks around in.

Price range is 7,000-12,000.

Desired traits include:

Room for 4 in comfort.
Reliability
Resale (hitting a car at the right point on the curve is important, I won't keep the car more than 6 months or a year at most).

Cars on the list so far:

Infinity Q45
Lexus LS400
Cadillac Deville
Acura Legend
Acura RL

To get in the desire price range all of these cars are mid 90's models; all available via traderonline.com searches within the given price range, most having 70,000 miles plus.

Any experience with the above cars that you all can share is appreciated, any additions are also welcome.

Z06-KILLR

I would go w/the Legend but would DEFINITELY add the Maxima to your list.

mwy23

legend

shift_9k

The legend will probably give you the least amount of problems, and will probably sell for a deso price. My buddies served him for over 120k. That was like a 90 something model.

QUIKAG

If you're looking for a bit newer model in that price range (though it won't be as luxurious), I would look at the Accord and Camry.

Zoran

Legend or LS400, definitely.

You get A LOT of car for that money, and when the time comes to sell it you'll get pretty much the same amount back (minus the taxes).

Both are extremely reliable and comfortable.

It's just the matter of preference, whether you want a FWD V6 Acura or a RWD V8 Lexus.

Portland

My younger brother has a 92 Legend Coupe (still a very sweet ride) and it has 192,000 miles on it. The car has been in our family for all of those years. 1st, it is still on its original clutch (although you have to let the clutch out almost fully for the gear to engage ) and 2, the car still looks great and runs great.

Obviously, you are not looking to keep the car that long, but Legends are very reliable and their resale value is high!

Good luck on the purchase.

steve c

I used Edmunds private party prices for all cars as a basis, dumped the prices into excel and printed out depreciation graphs.

Caddy's and BMW / Mercedes are out the window due to reliability and repair issues.

That leaves the LS400, SC400 and Legend.

Of the three the LS400 has almost twice the depreciation rate of the Legend, the SC400 1.5 times that of the legend, so it looks like Legend it is; or if I come across a great deal an early RL instead.

Thanks for the comments all, tomorrow will be a fun day.

The only problem I foresee is getting a decent Edmunds TMV like price out of the local dealer, 80 percent of the cars seem to be at one or two inner-city dealers who are probably reluctant to sell me the car at a price I want in a cash deal as their target audience is someone they can finance the car to for some outrageous interest rate. We shall see.

MDXLuvr

i might be little late to the game but,

a caddy STS would be decent choice. I believe they started putting the northstar engine in the STS in the mid 90's. Its already taken a big resale hit, so its unlikely to drop significantly more in value over the next 9-12 months. Its roomy, peppy, luxurious, and gives good mileage on the hwy. Obviously, it won't be reliable like a legend, but hopeufully, it will be minor bugs and not major drivetrain issues.

MDXLuvr

btw, I found 70+ sevilles for less than $13k in the DFW area. I'm sure you can find plenty in the St. Louis area. its a pretty good looking car for a GM.