Greetings enthusiasts! I am looking for my first car. I bike to work, so this would be for errands and weekend trips.

Thanks to supply chain nonsense, the used car market is kind of crap right now. Looking at the supposedly reliable modern cars, I'm not super jazzed to buy a 2013 Corolla with 120K miles for $14K, or a 2011 Civic with 80K miles for $13K (should I be? Besides, I was hoping for a wagon...). Part of me just wants to punt on Used and just go for a new, factory-made Subaru Impreza 5-door (since that's the closest I could get to a new wagon). Yeah it's more expensive at ~$21K, and I'm not super into things being so techy that they're hard to repair, but as the first owner, I could make sure it's well taken care of so that it'll last me a nice long while.

On the other hand, if I don't mind taking some adventurous risk, I do like the looks of the 740/940. New enough to have working AC and basic safety features, but old enough to be thoroughly repairable. I'm considering picking one up in the $3-$6K range, no more than 200K miles, and then finding a trusted Volvo mechanic to do a complete overhaul. So long as the overhaul stays within ~$8K, that'd leave me with a nice daily driver I could be proud of for $11K-$14K, good for another 50-100K miles. Does this sound realistic, or am I just dreaming?

I've never owned a car before, so advice would be appreciated.

 

1. Latest 940 in the US was a 1995. 27 years ago. Most people drive 10-15k per year. That's 270,000 to 400,000 miles.
2. "Trusted Volvo mechanic" - You may find there are few that will work on a 27 year old car. Many of today's tech were not even born when that car was new.
3. Parts for your 1995 - As the interior falls apart, and the plastic everywhere gets brittle and cracks/breaks - you will have a hard time finding stuff. There are few new dealer specific parts available.
4. "Nice daily driver" - certainly could be but will be as unreliable today as they were back then. And the $14k you have spent on it - if you have a tiny accident the insurance company is going to total the car - the retail value of one of those (kbb.com) is about $2500. That's what the insurance company will give you after you spent $14k.
5. Your plan will work if you don't mind driving a 27 year old car that needs all sorts of stuff - and can do the work yourself. It's not economically reasonable to pay someone to "overhaul".

10 year old Japanese car won't be sexy - but will start and get you where you want to go much more reliably.

 

Where I live at least (Asheville) Subaru is the "in" car that everyone drives. It now occupies the same ecosystem that old '80's and '90's Volvos held for many years. The Impreza hatchback is a great car for anyone under 40 who wants to be able to get up and go places and be adventurous. The other Subarus are crap, imo, very much clichés around here. Hyundai is another brand I think you should consider. The Hyundai Kona is very similar to the Impreza, but even more popular and appealing. I would opt for it over Impreza.

 

In today's world, buy a Toyota. Subaru is extremely overrated--nothing blows a head gasket faster.

 

Thanks all for the input! Especially the point about insurance.

I spoke with one of the mechanics I'd likely use today. She seemed comfortable with the idea of working with an older vehicle (I get the sense she's had her shop for a few decades now), but she did have some concerns about parts availability. She said 940 has a narrowing aftermarket and 240's are almost impossible these days. She recommended instead maybe a V70 if that's what I'm into.

Any thoughts on reliability / repairability of V70? Earlier vs later models? Should I take that as a serious option?