You could get an Audi A3 with DSG for close to that.

 

Get a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S!

I'm in the same boat. Proly will have to sell the wrx for a family car later this year. We are considering various wagons to SUVs. We are sorta afraid of the roll overs on SUVs tho. Maybe an Mercedes Benz R63..

kYLEMtnCRUZr: the reason why people sell their cars for larger family cars is because along with a baby comes all the junk you gotta carry around with them. ie stroller. you gotta be able to fit a stroller in the back and make sure its easy for the wife to put it in and out when she needs to. Like right now we have 2 tiny *** cars. my wrx and my lady's mazda3. We need at least 1 larger car once we start a family.

 

yeah thats true, ive never dealt with a stroller before.

I just dont want to get rid of my car if i ever do a swap to it. 2 door family car FTL
$30K is Two STi engine swaps from what i hear.

How about a Mazdaspeed 6? those are like $20-$23K by now

 

I admit, I know nothing about their reliability track record, so you'll need to do the homework yourself.

With that said, may I suggest an AWD V6 Dodge Magnum?

 

AWD Toyota Sienna.

 

I think if you could, get yourself a fun car and a family car. If you try to compromise a family car with a fun sporty car, you'll lose a bit of both. Having a "sporty" auto is kind of boring imo. Unless you're out of the sports/fast car phase. I'd suggest a G35 Coupe but then 2 doors coupe FTL for a family, and the 4 door just doesn't do it for me. The G35 4 doors can be had used for less than 25k, and I'd get that over a MS 6. It really depends on what you want, you can go the non luxury reliable fuel kinda efficient route with the NEW Camry's, Accord's, Mazda 6's...or middle way with the legacy GT, mazdaspeed 6, or the USEDluxury like G35 coupe, Acura TL, or 2002 5 series. or older GS300's. They are all in your price range.

There are sooooooooo many choices and I know it's hard to pick the perfect one, and we're here to help =D. But yeah, just gotta know what you really need. You can narrow it down by asking yourself new or used, luxury or grocery getter, leather or non leather, sporty or plain etc.

 

I'd look into a used acura tl or bmw 540i. maybe even the older 7 series(not the new bodystyle one)

 

I work in the parts dept at an Acura dealer, and 2000-2003 3.2TL auto trans reliability is FTL. They have had to extend the warranty on those units twice to keep customers happy, and now it's 7yrs9mo or 109,000 miles, whichever comes first. After that, be prepared to cough-up $4,000-$5,000 for an aftermarket rebuilt trans w/labor. I wouldn't own one of those cars if it was given to me.

 

To add to that, they detune the car so the repair can hold. Fugetaboutit!

 

So you know the dirty little secret? Yeah, the Type-S gets a re-programmed ECU, and some get a recalibrated fuel pressure regulator. Rumor has is that those cars lose 10-15hp in the process. If more Acura owners knew about this (because it also effects 3.2CL's), there would be HELL to pay!

 

Hehe. Lucky for them, not alot of the owners of these cars have heavy right feet, just heavy altogether.

 

Id still go for the mazdaspeed 6 with an after market rear bumper, since the stocker looks like shiite

 

I have to chime in here about the amount of space needed for baby crap. I was a professsional Nanny for 12 years, so I know how much crap rug rats and ankle biters need. I always had small four door wagons: VW Rabbit, Honda Civic Wagon. I usually had 2 kids in the car plus car seats, double stroller, one or two backpacks, bag of sand toys and whatever other crap we felt like carting around that day. It all fit and never felt crowded. However for safety reasons - more crumple room in an accident - a larger wagon like the Legacy or Outback would be a better choice. Larger changing table too!

 

Yup..the main reason the stroller, car seats, and other things....BUT yet I want a vehicle that I can still have fun it YET in the used department I have yet to see a LGT for sale.

 

does atleast $25K mean your budget is higher than $25K?

used 5 series FTW