Originally Posted by landev

Well, the pressure is soon on. The wife put the Mini on Craigslist and it sold 4 hours later. There have been multiple suggestions about this predicament, (albeit an self imposed predicament) but I'm in need of more info in order to make a decision that makes some kind of sense.

The suggestion to schmooze her with dinner and try to reason sounds logical... but that is from someone who obviously doesn't know my wife. She has 2 weaknesses... cars and diamonds. I am more likely to concede to the former rather than the latter. If I had the resources, I'd shower her with both... she's one of the best people I've met (who else can claim a wife insistent on your buying a BMW LT "because you've always wanted one"?) In short... I feel her car fetish keeps her happy and is something I can live with.

The recommendation of buying a Japanese ride won't cut it. She had a very nice Avalon a while back and that didn't seem to cut it. I must say, the Avalon was THE most comfortable car I've ever driven, but it handled like a tap-dancing pig and only got ~26 mpg (on a good day.) I have had 6 Toyotas and a Nissan in the past and, while they are a decent car, they have never gotten the handling down.

The bid for the VW is something I've already contemplated. I have owned 3 VWs and it seems that with each progressing year, their quality goes down. I know they make a very good diesel engine, but the rest of the car (at least in my experience) tends to be lacking in durability. The Audi I had seemed to follow suit.

At this point, I know when we both get home tonight, my wife will want to discuss what's next on the auto agenda. We are now down to basically one car (as our pickup is a gas hog and is only used to haul stuff and pull trailers, and the '84 300dt is too pristine for daily driving (especially in the winter).) In order to make an informed decision, I still have the same nagging question that needs to be answered... "Can a guy with a Star service manual and a fair assortment of tools be reasonably capable of fixing the majority of issues likely to crop up on, say, a 2005 or 2006 CDI?"

Thanks all for your time and input on this issue, it has really helped!

-l-