[AndrewJ]

So, the wife and I decided that a new vehicle is in order. Her Cavalier is past it's prime at 125k, and my Civic is, well, it has 315k, so you do the math...

Due to the fact that we have two medium sized and very energetic dogs, and may sometime in the not too distant future have one or two small (but rapidly growing) infant humans, we've opted to primarily look at station wagons.

Oh, and we'd REALLY like to keep the total bill under $6000

So here are the options I've thought of so far:

VW Jetta TDI wagon -
The first choice. Unfortunately, they're devilishly hard to find. TDI sedans abound for around $6k, but the wagons just aren't out there so far as I've seen (and I've looked on craigslist as far out as Minneapolis)

Late 80's Benz 300D Wagon -
Hard to find, I've tracked down 1 so far. These cars will probably continue running untill the sun goes supernova and swallows the earth. Mileage isn't as good as a TDI, but they supposedly make excellent WVO/SVO/B100 Converts.

Ford Focus Wagon -
Probably second choice due to the generally low mileage and/or lower price. 5-speeds are tough to find, but I've located one or two.

Saturn SW1 or SW2 -
Good mileage, wife isn't too keen on the looks of the mid-ninties versions. Sounds to me like the reliability is questionable. Interior is not well executed. But they are cheap...

Pontiac Vibe / Toyota Matrix -
New/Low miles, but expensive to match. Models with the 6-speed transmission are more expensive still.

Accord Wagon/Camry Wagon -
I think all the Accord/Camry wagon owners must love them, because there aren't any for sale that don't look like they've been driven till the wheels fell off.


Anybody else have any suggestions that I've left off?

Anyone have any particular experience with any of the above models, and have any wisdom they'd care to impart?