Nice car man, I was really impressed when I drove my friend's a few years ago.

So the 3 is gone. Someone pulled into my lane on a rainy night a couple weeks ago. Between paint, bodywork, and A/C repair, State Farm decided to total it.

So, the hunt is on. Budget is $5-6k.

Anything I should be looking at besides another 2004-2006 Mazda 3 hatchback?

There's a nicer mx6 gt than last time available. In Pittsburgh.

Shoulda bought it back and fixed it cheap :laugh:

Repair estimate was about $500 short of the value of the car. Paint, bodywork, and A/C stuff adds up quick.

So I'd pay nearly the full value of the car, to end up with a car worth about half of its previous value.

Twas mostly a joke, hinting at my love for salvage title vehicles. I have a guy who fixes stuff super cheap so it would make sense. At regular body shop prices it rarely does.

How bad of an idea is a 2009 VW GTI? Price is right but I'm still scared of the endless VW quality issues.

2009 Volkswagen GTI 2-Door, $6,491 - Cars.com

Most of the issues people still label VW with are with the previous generation MK4/early 5s. They have done a much better job on the later revisions.

90k miles on my TDI with basic maintenance, no problems.

I'd hit it. Offer them $5k.

Same dealership listed and then (apparently) sold that GTI and a 2005 Volvo S40 T5 manual before I could look at them.

This car search is going terribly. WHY SO MANY AUTOMATICS???

People are stupid and lazy. Bank on it.