[cute fuzzy bunny]

VW *was* good. After my dads passat experience I would suggest passing on the brand. The reliability is poor, maintenance is hideously expensive and the local dealer is a crook. I did the "30k maintenance" on his passat; when he took it in with an engine control computer failure without asking they replaced the spark plugs I put in saying they were the wrong ones...except they werent. After 30 minutes of very irritated conversation with the service manager about the problems surrounding the performance of unnecessary and fraudulent work without a customers approval, they did take that charge off the bill. Grudgingly.

I'm with the crowd on the choices...either a severely depreciated piece of american iron with the intention of trading repairs for initial purchase cost or a recent model japanese car.

If you buy something 'off' like a hyundai or a kia, only do so if you plan to drive it into the ground. While you'll save money up front, you will not enjoy the bath you take when selling it.

Oddball choice? Get a 3-4 year old Infiniti fresh off a lease. The depreciation on them rivals american cars, the reliabilty is good, and they're nice cars. If you like the styling. And dont plan to try to resell it. I bought a 4 year old Q45 with 50k miles on it for $19.5K, drove it for ~4 years and 35k miles without much more than maintenance, and sold it last year for $12K. I didnt see much difference between it and the Mercedes and BMW's I used to drive as far as ride quality and comfort. If you like the maxima, you'll probably like the mid-size infinitis, they're made by Nissan with many of the same parts as the maxima is made with.