Thanks for all the useful responses to my newbie questions. Having a 93 Saab
9000 with 180k I'm well aware of the importance of maintenance and am not
averse to it. Particularly disappointing was the comment that the manual
transmission was not reliable. Now I'm reading (GW) the auto was not
reliable!!! Is there a consensus on a reliable tranny?

I was eyeing a TDI conversion but after ballparking the numbers it just
doesn't make economic sense unless gas goes to $10./gal or so. Am I correct
a conversion with a rebuilt TDI would run in the $8-10k range?