Memes

I like the 2000's era designs the most, simple, not crammed with touchscreens and curvy instead of boxy like the newer and older era cars.

The 80's and 90's are also cool (like the Mercedes of the era (when it was actually more reliable and comfortable than the cheaper cars)).

I'd rather have some simple knobs over a touch screen and a car that requires software updates for some reason

It's a mk2 Golf, if you want a cooler one - there's a Cross Country variant that's a lifted 4x4, or if you're super lucky - get a Rallye version, it's a homologation special

My experience with such old cars, where their age is starting to make full restoration advisable:

• mechanically reliable and simple to fix (and critical parts are usually available, quality varies)
• everything electrical is shit (and old), you need to go through everything to check the connections, completely rotten through ground wires aren't necessarily visible and will cause endless pain until you find them
• the rust-proofing wasn't great but it was there so usually if they're still alive by now they just need the usual spots where those models rust checked before purchase and/or crash damage thoroughly checked
• crash safety is nonexistent, ABS and ESP aren't that useful if you learned how to drive without, if you rely on ESP, better learn not to
• the fastest affordable cars from the 1980s are slower than family cars from the 2020s, still feels like you're going way faster
• if you buy something predating catalytic converters in your country, be prepared for it to smell atrocious
• carburettors that haven't been tampered with and aren't leaking don't need to be touched unless they malfunction, if they malfunction they usually only need a good scrubbing with diesel then a wash in petrol, replacement of extremely dead gaskets, and the jets usually need a clean, the tiny drill bits for carburettor jets can be used for cleaning if you use the size just below the marked size. Ultrasonic cleaners aren't necessary, replacing all gaskets usually means it's going to leak more than before.
• EFI was shit until the 1990s, avoid it if you can

Same, I just recently had someone offer me a Buick Lasabre for cheap. I was very excited until they said it was a 2003 😑

Reliable sure, but man did the '00 models look gross. Go back 10-20 years from that ugly thing to these beauties and it would have been a deal.

Get one while you still can, they haven't been going down in price for a long time and may in fact already be going up in price. They're pretty iconic, but not as many on the roads these days.

Keep in mind it is a death trap due to the weak frame