I need confirmation on the shocks. Did Ford still go with the non-functional shocks on the Mustang? Limits where always high, but I was never a fan of the waterbed handling characteristics of the Mudstains. Might want to go test drive one, but don't want to waste my time.

Ehhhhhh....if you're coming from an FRS, I wouldn't waste the time. It wasn't the tightest car I drove, that'd probably be the WRX or maybe 135i. The suspension does have a somewhat bouncy feeling over really bad roads, but I never feel like the car is doing anything other than what I want, despite the steering feel being less than ideal.

I actually wish I had test driven an FRS. I did sit in one and found the interior to be pretty lackluster, but the seats, steering wheel, and instrument cluster were great. I also didn't think the value was that great. I didn't get price quotes on one, but it looks like one I would have wanted would have ran about $27k before TTL, while my Mustang was $30.6k after incentives and A-plan.

I've been driving since 1998 and have only owned 2 cars in that period, a 1990 Accord I used until 2007, then my current 2006 Grand Prix. Both cars have given me very little issues, almost entirely normal maintenance. So, 9 years on the first, 8 so far on the second. I don't drive a lot of miles, but I do drive daily, so maybe that's why they treated me well. My 2006 Grand Prix was purchased with 18,000 rental car miles after 1 year, in the 8 years I've owned it, I've put on 34,000 miles (52k total on a 9 year old car). I took my car in Tuesday for an oil change despite having only driven 2000 miles since the last time, which was a year ago.

242,000 miles on my 2005 325i sedan. Only replaced brake pads once, somewhat early on, after I bought it in '08 with 34k miles. Probably will need new brakes next year though. Shooting for 400k or more for overall ownership. I put 108 miles round trip every day to and from work. All highway miles.

The 2005 E46 just before the E90 was pinnacle of BMW in terms of reliability, design, performance. I felt much more comfortable driving at the limits of the E46 than the E90 (stock vs. stock).

Randomly thought about the possibility of low priced Volts due to the imminent release of the new model and checked cars.com listings for used ones. The prices I found were not what I was expecting. Mostly 2012-2013 models with prices around 15,000-17,000 and even one 2012 at $12,000 (85k miles). I expected the lowest ones to be around $17-18k. For $12k assuming all in good shape, I might go for it. Has a lot of the things I want as far as updated tech, ~40 miles of EV, quiet and comfortable for driver and passenger, tighter but comfortable rear and good hatch/folded down seats room. Sent an email asking for more information, based on reading a thread on a Volt forum (what to look for buying a used Volt) as it is from a dealership 95 miles away. The 85k miles is not a big deal for me as long as there's nothing broken before I buy it. As mentioned above, my mileage is not great, and so if I kept it for 7-8 years it would likely have only 110-120k by then.

Sort of wish I'd stumbled onto these inexpensive Volts sooner as I just-last week- finally took my Grand Prix in for a number of maintenance services I've been putting off totaling around $800. I'd assumed these would keep me running well til I could see the 2016/7 Volt and 2016 Prius in person, but many of these would have needed to be done soon by whomever got my car, so it's mostly a wash, I suppose.

I'd tested one of these before when it was a new car, back in 2013 I think, and sticker was like $44k. I liked it, but didn't love it, and certainly wasn't interested in the price tag. Taking $32k off might help.