Pontiac G8, for an aussie car they drive pretty darn good, I had a commodore SSV ute so same thing less door from new and the handling was impressive, I do long runs and was getting 7.4 Litres to 100 kms, 6 speed manual for sure is the best

I've had plenty of German cars that weren't, all VW's and one Merecedes. We have a 2008 C300 since new that has been fabulous.

I'm not a NISSAN fan....
 

...but, the Infinity G37S is a damn fine car for cheap.

for the $20k budget
 

my vote goes to a year old four door VW GTI
.

I was recently helping an elderly lady friend of mine trade in her Lexus LS sedan that was a few years old. Most of the new sedans, including the Infiniti Q50 and Nissan Maxima had what she described as a "cockpit" feel and the cars were low to the ground and hard for her to get in and out. She was repelled by the thought of an SUV but once she found out how easy it was to get in and out of she bought a Murano and is so happy she did now.

Caddie CTS-V wagon
Stealthy, fast and comfortable

The CTS-V Wagon is sweet. Especially if you can get one with a 6 speed manual. Not sure a $20k budget would cover it.

[QUOTE=Porsche9;545360 We have a 2008 C300 since new that has been fabulous.[/QUOTE]

I need a 4 door sedan fairly regularly, so my Boxster cannot be my only car. My daughter recently convinced me that because my 1996 Infiniti G20 lacks side air bags that I should consider replacing it with something a more current from a safety perspective. If I give up my G20 I'll miss it, but a co-worker's sister was "T-boned" last year and the consensus is that the side impact air bags saved her life.

For some reason, I've been fascinated by a Mercedes C230 Kompressor sedan with a 6 speed manual transmission. I've been researching the 2005 models on the Mercedes Boards. I never thought of myself as an MB person, but there is something about the car that appeals to me.

It's nice to see that someone owns a Mercedes and a Porsche and isn't embittered by the experience.

My wife had the C230 Kompressor coupe with the 6 speed manual transmission. She got it because it was a Mercedes with a stick! The engine matching up nice to the manual trans was the weak link in my opinion. The engine (the 2.3L K) was really slow to rev down and making smooth shifts almost impossible unless you were real slow shifting. The later 1.8L K might be better. For me this characteristic made driving it not very enjoyable. You'd need to drive one yourself to see if you like it.

MB makes great autos, but not known for manual transmissions. At 20k, a BMW E46 had side airbags in the 2000s. You could get a very low mileage 330i for that price. Great car


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I am still driving and loving my 02 330ci. The E46 is pretty much the best car I have ever owned! Super reliable, it now has 248K on it. The interior still looks great! The body is perfect, it has suffered through a few dings over the years, but those are easily fixed. It is not super quick, just a great solid engine. Simple mechanicals help keep the costs down, no turbos, etc... And plenty safe, side, front and curtain airbags.

Mine is an auto. But a friend of mine just bought his daughter a sweet 05, 4 door, 6 speed manual X drive for $7K with only 130K miles.

Just find an honest indi mechanic and these cars will last forever.

I was originally looking at 3 series BMWs. I like the looks and the performance and the prices are attractive for relatively low mileage cars.

The feedback I received from several owners and the mechanic who works on my Boxster led me to look at other options. My mechanic told me that if I bought one, I would be seeing a lot more of him. The Mercedes Benz is not trouble free either and the prices for parts are high. So, it is probably a matter of picking your poison.

My Infiniti has been great and its relatively good reliability and low repair cost have been a nice contrast to my Porsche. I guess the smart thing to do would be to buy a nice used Corolla or Civic, but I'm sure most of us aren't on this board because we consider cars an appliance.

I'm thinking about this now. The box sits much of the time and seems I always need 4 seat to take a nice drive
I'm only thinking Audi S4 or A5 but for a 50k mile example it's $25k
Figuring a dealer might give me $8k for the box I would be back to payments

OOOOOOHHHHHH An SSSSSSS!

For my daily driver I've had good luck with my 2012 Acura TL 3.5 fwd. I bought it CPO with 9,600 miles in January 2013 and it now has 104,000 miles and is still going strong. A friend of mine who also owns a 2000 Boxster S has an Infiniti Q 37S AWD as his daily driver, enjoys it and has had good luck with it. These Japanese near-luxury cars are pretty sporty, have decent features and I think are a bit cheaper and easier to maintain than the German cars, although the status, handling and performance of the German cars is higher. When it is time for me to move on from the Acura, I'm going to look at the TLX and the Lexus IS 350 F Sport AWD and the Lexus RC 350 F Sport AWD if I make the leap to a 2 door. While I'd like an Audi S5, since I tend to own my cars for a long time and a lot of miles, it won't be for me.

VW Jetta GLI

A Passat or Jetta is also a good choice. Easy to find them under $20k for a newer low mileage one
Get a turbo, the 2.5 NA is a little sluggish IMHO

A MB C class is pretty small in the back seat

Audi S5, or that's my choice. Under 20k might be tough though (look for MY10). Could go the A5 route, but not the same. Don't know prices on the S4 (or if you could find one, an RS4), but the A4 is kinda disappointing (previous models). BMW 3 series is always a good choice, but from personal experience, BMW service was more than Audi.

I just remembered that a 911 is a four seater.........

Audi A4, 2.0T Turbo; awesome!