5 years of neglect and abuse are apparently all a Dodge Stratus can take. The Mastemobile, who recently broke a timing belt and did some valve damage, finally went to that big car wash in the sky. I noticed last night that it was making some strange clanking sounds but decided to follow the old mechanic’s saying “Just ignore it” . . . or perhaps that’s the old procrastinators saying. . . Oh well. Anyway, this morning I went to start it and it sounded as if someone had thrown loose change in a garbage disposal. Turning off the car and returning to my trusty computer, I did a little online applying, and presto-whamo, was approved for a new car up to about twice as much as I could afford. Yipee!!
Alas, the poor Status wouldn’t even make it as far as the car dealership. I’ll have to have it towed someplace, but now I am torn, do I buy the 97 Land Rover Discovery SE, or the 2001 Jeep Cherokee? Or should I say screw it, and get the Audi A6 that I really want, but can’t quite justify. This is a chance for all you dopers out there to decide how $20,000 gets spent, and all it will cost you is your $0.02. Also, if anyone has experience with any of my new vehicle choices, please feel free to chime in.
I don’t know what kind of driving you do. If you don’t really need 4 wheel drive, don’t get it. All that extra mechanical stuff is heavy to haul around, and when it breaks, hooboy, is it expensive to fix!
If I were in your shoes, choosing among those three rides, I’d go with what the German cowboy says. Audi, pardner!
The Land Rover is way cooler than the Jeep. The Jeep’s newer than the LR, and if you have to get it worked on, the mechanic is not gonna scratch his head and say, “Golly, I never saw one of those before.” The Audi, on the other hand, is more reliable than the other two. In my opinion, the Audi is a better car in 23.7 ways than the others.
The Audi’s also hideously expensive for what it delivers. Seriously, I don’t see the appeal of what is essentially a glorified VW Passat (yes, they share the same floor pan and engines).
If these three are the options, and you’ee in the US, I’d go for the Jeep. Easier maintained, and mind you, the pre-Ford takeover Land Rover’s are hideously unreliable. That 1997 one falls into that bracket. Avoid it at all cost.