I strongly considered a Dodge Magnum vs Subaru Outback vs VW Jetta Sportwagen back in 2009 when I was on the market for a new vehicle. Hatchback, roof rails, and AWD all strongly preferred (especially AWD with our NJ winters and an unforgiving work schedule/commute.) The Magnum had just been discontinued the year or two prior, I think, and it seemed slim pickin's for R/T AWD models at the time. A discount program through my employer with Subaru (no longer offered, unfortunately) pretty much made it a no-brainer and I got a much better deal through Subaru than either of the others anyway but I still couldn't afford the XT model I desired and ended up with the base model Outback. It has served me well but not really all that peppy (compared with two older V6 vehicles that preceded it.) It's now in need of much TLC and I've reached a crossroads... invest $$$ in maintenance/repairs (I'm at minimum due for another 30k service plus timing belt, brakes, and engine leaks like a sieve and consumes fluids and probably really needs a rebuild) and try to keep it on the road and make a push for 300k? Or cut my losses and pick up a new "family vehicle" and turn my wife's younger Hyundai sedan into the new commuter? Some restructuring within my company is reducing my commute and allowing more remote working from home which certainly helps but unfortunately not enough to cut back to a one car household.
But thanks to all who've contributed to this thread because with the potential for re-entering the auto market again soon it's helpful to see what others are driving and also incorporating into their cycling life. I'm really not looking forward to the possibility of car payments again with already tight finances. Ideally I'd love to commute by bike and have just one household vehicle but this remains out of reach for now. We continue to rent as well with relocation always a possibility and still trying to come up with a plan for a work/family balance. On Friday, September 28, 2018 at 10:18:41 AM UTC-4, iamkeith wrote: > Steve, we had an Audi R6 wagon for a while. It was an amazingly fun car > to dive, but I could barely fit a bike in -even with the wheels off, and > doing so inevitably marred up the fabric surfaces. The american wagons > (well, the dodge anyway - not sure about about the cadillac), which sadly > haven't been made for a few years now, still seemed to be a bit > utiliatarian. Boxier and more rugged. That's all I was referring to. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
