Ah yes... I forgot about there being an AWD Magnum. And I would buy a Magnum before buying this W8 VW as well.

Magnum has an AWD model. I have the RT AWD and it's a blast to drive. Maintenance hasn't been too bad though I only drive it about 4000 miles per year. The worst thing about the car, to me, is the blind spots. They're all over the thing, and pretty massive.

As the Resident Mercury guy, I'll back this one up.

Except you just described how the car suffered a critical structural failure as a result of that collision. "Tear away roof" isn't part of any vehicle's passenger safety design. I'm glad you're fine, but the car didn't save you, luck did.

Well since the VW is actually a manual and the Audi is a shiftable automatic that they labeled as a manual (one of the greatest car selling offenses), I would go with the VW.

On my internship in 2008 my boss had a white stock Del Sol as his commuter. Last time I saw a stock one.

Shouldn't the title be "Near-Impossible"?
Or is it just in America that these cars are impossible to find?

I was looking at this and I'm thinking... this would be interesting, but it will probably be a maintenance/repair nightmare at some point. But what are the alternatives for an AWD wagon with ~270HP?

They are amazing cars, I had a rental some time ago in Germany, and I got t-boned by a semi-airborne Cayenne. The driver was texting + speeding(bout 100kph)when she ran a red light, lost control, hit a curb and made a convertible out of a wagon(she hit my car in the b-pillar and completely ripped the top of the car…

On paper, this car checks all the right boxes. But god help you if you ever need to do any engine work. How many other VAG products used the W8? Oh, none? That's just swell.

Probably for a couple grand more sure a V70R of similar mileage and year but a standard V70 or any number of benz 4matic wagons could be had for the asking on this one though.

Heinrich sat quietly in his Teutonic garage. He was feeling spry today. Fresh Mobil 1 coursed through his veins, and he had a full tank of premium fuel. He flexed his brake pistons, turned his wheels, felt the tiny bit of play creeping into his balljoints. "Eh," he thought. "Old age. Won't be the first thing to go, or…

Visually, this is my wife's car (01 V6 wagon AWD, same color, but with Auto). It's still stunning to behild in person, and as I shop for new cars today I realize how far ahead of its time it was in design and interior quality.

NP for the guy that enjoys removing front bumpers

Yeah, with you on this...though if the owner lowered it to around $4.5k, things get interesting, regardless of the maintenance costs.

Sorry does nothing for me, can you not get a Volvo V70R for this money?

That's actually not that bad. Regular V6 and I4T Passats of similar vintage are only going for around $4k-$5k. I'd try to talk them down to maybe $6500 myself. But even at $7200 it's not a bad price for what is a pretty uncommon car in itself. Sure you'll spend three times that in repairs. You'll still have a blast as…

I saw this one (or one almost identical to this) a few years ago on AutoTrader. It sure seems lustworthy and boner-spawning, but just judging how hard (and expensive) it is to keep a regular ol' FWD four-cylinder Passat Wagon running, I bet this thing is a nightmare. NP, but only if you have a) serious financial…

You know what else is rare? Affordable engine parts and maintenance. And working electrics.