Piston Slap: Avant Time; What's the Beef About Medallions?

Kevin writes:

I currently own a 2000 A6 Avant, and I’m moving from college to Chicago soon. I do love my car, except when it comes to paying the repair and gas bills. I’ve given up on anything even pretending to be sporty and I’d rather rent a car for track days.

I’m a consultant so I have to drive regardless of weather conditions, but maintain a sort-of-professional look (I’m afraid an F-150 won’t make it). My budget is less than $15,000 (2nd hand cars), and looking for a safe, reliable vehicle that doesn’t need lots of visits to the mechanic.

Sajeev responds:

I would recommend getting a Japanese or American sedan/CUV for maximum durability, efficiency and ease of finding cheap replacement parts. Steven Lang has mentioned that Toyotas, Hondas and some Detroit models fare well in the used car market. Which is good for you too: a last-gen Accord and the Ford Fusion have been reliable (in whatever short term evaluations I’ve seen) and are quite fun to drive to boot. One of my friends is a consultant (for one of the big firms) and his Accord EX fits the bill nicely.

Not all family sedans are created equal, so go drive some and see what tickles you. If you want smaller, you might get a kick out of the smaller imports and the Focus ST or Cobalt SS. When you consider the fun-to-drive factor of their aftermarket following, you might really like it. And you’ll have no problem finding a buyer on Craigslist when promotion time comes. Just service it per owner’s manual recommendations and you’ll be good to go.

One sedan I would definitely take off your list is the Renault Medallion. Here’s why:

Daniel writes:

I am not so much purchasing as receiving A 1988 Renault Medallion LX. I just have some questions.

1) It was sold as an Eagle briefly. Does Chrysler still maintain a parts network?

It seems to run and drive well (Clutch is good, No abnormal noises, rides well etc.) but I just want to know if I should take it or look for something else. Thank you.

Sajeev responds:

It was also sold as the Dodge Monaco which is the preferred name when the guy at the parts counter asks, “WTF is a Renault Medallion?”

I remembered the Medallion being junk from day one; even MotorWeek ripped it a new one. And AutoZone doesn’t list a 1988 Renault (don’t forget, it’s a Dodge Monaco!) in their online catalog. So I called a Chrysler dealer to verify: they cannot order any parts for the Monaco, nor do they stock them. But RockAuto.com does show signs of life, if you want to take the plunge on a 21-year-old French sedan.

But you should not. Granted, I am all for preserving vintage metal from the “aerodynamic wedge” era of car design, but this one’s better off going to the junkyard the moment it gives you trouble.

I’m sure it’s worth $200 or more in scrap. That pays for a month of gas in another, far superior vehicle, right?

And back to you, the Best and Brightest: what are your thoughts on these two situations?