General Car Question.

AJ · 08-22-2005

OK for those who want to, toss out one or two cars you'd go with.

Projected amt to spend 13k or less
4 or 6 cyl with an AT Tranny that gets ~30mpg+ on the hwy
4 door preferred, 2 door will work
stylish inside and out in every day driving aspects
Non DSM
Reliable, known to last long (powertrain, interior, & exterior)
Something you'd like to roll in. Only modifacation to make it look better woudl be rims for summer duties.

That's about it I think.

We've looked at a bunch and honestly the Toyota Camry Solaras are at the top of the list. Also looked at olded BMW 3 series, Audis, Volvos, Infiniti G20s, and some others.

It would be a car we would have around 6 or 7 years minimum.

StealthGST · 08-22-2005

2000 Honda Accord V6 2 door.... I like those NSX Style tail lights

Enes · 08-22-2005

13k or less
~30mpg+ on the hwy
Something you'd like to roll in

The above is impossible in one car, i have almost all 3 in the Stratus R/T coupe i have but the one part its missing is the mpg, on highway if i drive nicely i get about 29mpg, if you went with standard tires 205's not 225's you would probably get the 2mpg extra.

FattyBoomBatty · 08-22-2005

get a honada civic

then get some 18" rims and don't lower it.

**JET** · 08-22-2005

2003 Scion Tc. A bit smaller than the others, but the rest should be good. Hyundai is supposed to be coming out with a new Elantra this year. Their cars are getting pretty good and you get the 10 year/100k mile warranty. New it should be in the $14k area.

Pimpin Dsmstyle · 08-22-2005

Ive heard extremely good things about infinity. I have not owned one, so I couldn't tell you what the MPG is. My uncle has had an infinity for 5 years ( some 95) and hes done nothing but change pads and oil. Everything else is good and its at almost 200k.

Anduinlight · 08-22-2005

I saw a 2003 Suabru Legacey Wagon with 69k miles (awd woot) nt auto tranny for about 13k nice ride handles nice can look good with rims

(saw this car in Brooklin Park Subaru dealership)
I think I am going to buy a 2005 legacey wagon once i'm out of school

AJ · 08-22-2005

This is one of the few i've considered outside of the Solara.

**scheides** · 08-22-2005

My buddy just sold his 2002 GTI 1.8t w/ 17's for $12,500. 32k miles on it, one of the nicest interiors in the industry for the money. It had the cold weather package w/ heated seats & whatnot, I believe.

Otherwise my buddy picked up a 2001 1.8t passat w/ 40k miles on it about a year ago for around $11k. Both are great cars. I'd prolly go the passat route for that much money. both will get 30+ mpg easy, and you could get a chip & exhaust to hop them up a bit if you feel like it. heck, for $1300 you could slap on a gt28 eliminator kit from atpturbo.com and put down 260+ whp!

**Halon** · 08-22-2005

I got my 2001 Galant for pretty cheap. They don't seem to hold their retail very well compared to accords and camrys, so you seem to get a lot of car for the money, and I could care less about it's retail. I got it from Steve and got a very good price on it. You should talk to him, he's quite helpful!

**JET** · 08-22-2005

Check out the Mazda6 AJ, great car! They are really solid and handle very good. I beat the snot out of them at the Mazda Rev It Up challenge. I was very impressed.

AJ · 08-22-2005

Yeah, once all the financing is done I am going through Steve.

The Mazda 6 would be nice, but find one with half way decent miles for the year in my range. And an AT. I've considered Jettas. I'd love soemthing with heated seats, alarm, keyless entry, and scratch, dent, rust free. I'm gonna be picky on this next one. It will be the family car for some time. I'll be less picky when I grab my next DSM. *someone delete that last line before Jana wakes up*

**Kracka** · 08-23-2005

Honda Civic
Honda Accord

Camry's and Corollas are just too *blah* for me. I'd probably go with a newer (01+) Civic EX coupe, but the sedan is practically identical and probably has lower insurance costs. The Accord LX (4-cyl, good gas mileage) may be a better choice if you're planning on raising a family in the near future since its a bit bigger. It sounds to me like you shouldn't be looking at older BMW/Audi's since they really don't fit with what you want, they will not be as reliable and have higher maintainance costs (BMW's are nice cars though!). The Scion tC is a pretty fun/neat car considering what it is and costs. The brakes and suspension weren't the greatest, but the engine and AT are above average and the interior seemed very nice.

DSM1G · 08-23-2005

2000-2001 Lincoln LS. You could get a 6 cylinder model if you wanted to. Anyways awesome car.

FattyBoomBatty · 08-23-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by JET

Check out the Mazda6 AJ, great car! They are really solid and handle very good. I beat the snot out of them at the Mazda Rev It Up challenge. I was very impressed

NO! i worked at a mazada dealership, and i tell you, used mazda's are piles of carp. they all stink, all the plastic creaks and groans. the 4 cyl. is gutless. especially with an AT.

and it is a cookie cutter car. plain jane, all other mazdas use the same parts. i dunno, i really dislike them. the best mazda is a tribute.

i think you should get a scion xB

**JET** · 08-23-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSMStyle

Yeah, once all the financing is done I am going through Steve.

The Mazda 6 would be nice, but find one with half way decent miles for the year in my range. And an AT. I've considered Jettas. I'd love soemthing with heated seats, alarm, keyless entry, and scratch, dent, rust free. I'm gonna be picky on this next one. It will be the family car for some time. I'll be less picky when I grab my next DSM. *someone delete that last line before Jana wakes up*

There are two 2004's in town with under 30k miles for $14k asking price. cars.com rocks.

JustROLLIN · 08-23-2005

I know my car would qualify. Maybe not as flashy as one would like, but it does fine for me. 2001 Mazda Protege. 40k miles, power windows, locks, moonroof, etc. Only 7.5k in the cash department. I end up at ~32mpg with some city and some freeway driving. The Protege is a Consumer Reports best buy and has an excellent maintence history. Just a thought.

ABV · 08-23-2005

If it were me I would buy either a Jetta or a Golf with the Tdi. They're not fast, but they are peppy, both would have decent room for four, plus with the Golf, you could have a little extra space with the hatch. They look pretty decent, and the Tdi gets insane mpg. My roomate usually got around 42-45 driving in the CITY! Granted his was a 5 speed, but still an auto would get well above 30mpg. Plus Volkswagens have alot of standard features, that are only options on other cars. That makes it much easier to get a used car with more of the features you want.

One word of advice with the Tdi though. Make sure you try to find a model with heated seats. I think they're standard on the GLX. It's just in the nature of a diesel to take a while to really warm up to the point where the heater kicks in. Those heated seats will save your ass (literally) on a cold winter morning.

Outlaw1 · 08-23-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockford

If it were me I would buy either a Jetta or a Golf with the Tdi. They're not fast, but they are peppy, both would have decent room for four, plus with the Golf, you could have a little extra space with the hatch. They look pretty decent, and the Tdi gets insane mpg. My roomate usually got around 42-45 driving in the CITY! Granted his was a 5 speed, but still an auto would get well above 30mpg. Plus Volkswagens have alot of standard features, that are only options on other cars. That makes it much easier to get a used car with more of the features you want.

One word of advice with the Tdi though. Make sure you try to find a model with heated seats. I think they're standard on the GLX. It's just in the nature of a diesel to take a while to really warm up to the point where the heater kicks in. Those heated seats will save your ass (literally) on a cold winter morning.

I'm thinking about getting one of those for my girlfriend. I know someone with a TDi Jetta that normally gets 50+mpg on the highway. That's nearly three times the mpg my F150 Supercrew gets!

Steeltwo · 08-23-2005

mazdaspeed protege :-D