Originally Posted by Goldwing
I have two 2003 Audi's and using "old Audi" and "reliable" together is an oxymoron. They are great cars, but you have to take care of them and anyone who is selling an old one cheap is probably unloading a pack of problems.
Right now the price of 4wd SUVs is still pretty low. I'd look at a Jeep or small SUV. You may still run into problems but repairs are cheaper and mechanics are much easier to find.
Hmm, I guess I was lucky. I had a 90 v8 quattro that I drove for years, it was actually my first car. I finally sold it at 250k mi with no real problems other than a few random electrical gremlins (just in the fluff components, seat heaters in front, underhood lights, etc.). In any case someone got a deal as I sold it for a little under a $1000.
Right now I'm looking at some cheapo suv's/trucks. I found a land rover that will probably sell for 1.5k, but Im worried about repair costs for that beast (its got 118k on the clock). I also found a VERY good deal on a 4x4 isuzu, but I shudder at the thought of owning anything with isuzu branded on it. Also, they seem to have some reliability issues too.