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New car time possibly.
Vorlons in my Head
The Vorlons told me to.
in Zocalo v2.0
Well, I think the time has come to trade in or sell my trusty 2002 Subaru Impreza RS. It's got almost 140k trouble free miles on it and am looking at almost 2000 dollars to replace wear parts like clutch, belts, and other misc items which are on their way out. As much as I love the car I think it's just more cost effective to give that money+trade in for a down on a new one. Ok well really more than anything I'm looking for an excuse to drive out on a new WRX this time :D. Only problem is I'm really not that crazy about the new body redesign. So any ideas on any cool cars I should consider as well? :cool:
Comments
Sedans/Hatchbacks:
Pontiac G8 GT
E39 BMW 540si (Used, of course)
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT Limited/Spec. B
Dodge Charger SXT/RT
Toyota Camry :P
VW GTI/GLI/R32 (If you like regular repairs)
Mazdaspeed Mazda6
Nissan Altima V6 (sedan/coupe)
Infinity G35 Sedan Base/6MT
Chevrolet HHR SS
Coupes:
Volvo C30 T5
BMW 128i/135i
Mini Cooper S
Dodge Challenger SXT
Honda Civic Si
Nissan 350Z
I'd put my money on the Pontiac G8 GT. No AWD, but one hell of a punchy RWD/V8 configuration which has received glowing reviews.
I've always loved the VW's but after having a Jetta GLX and Corrado SLX I'm not too crazy about going back. I'd rather not have every tow truck driver in the area know me and ending every converstation with the repair shop ending in "see you next week" when I pick up my car.
The Mini is in the list although not entirely sure it's my style.
Love the Volvo's too. Most of them are a little too pricey here though, even the low end. They are actually sold at the same dealer as the Shubbies so I'll look into them.
BMW's are unquestionably out of the price range. All of them, new or used and I'm not to sure about the reliability. I will drive the shit out of this car. Those fall into the luxury tax. I would really love to have one though.
The Mazda 6's I've thought of but everybody owns one.
Tested the Civic Si but there is one HUGE drawback to this car. It is thief candy BIG TIME. Honda's are stolen at absurdly disproportional ratios.
I would never even consider a Mitsubishi. Must be a Subaru snob thing.
I did test the Legacy 2.5 GT and it was so sweet but it's 38k. I'd rather buy an Impreza STI for the same :D
I ctually would really really really love an Audi but even the base A4 is to much for too little.
Then again I'm still struggling to decide if I should keep the Impreza RS. It's like a family member that never let me down and a very strong incentive to stick with a Subaru.
Yes. They produced a few concept cars recently, the names of which I forget. It's unlikely we'll ever see the skateboard part of the concept commercially available, but other good aspects of the design, such as wheel-hub motors, are progressing.
I've always loved the VW's but after having a Jetta GLX and Corrado SLX I'm not too crazy about going back. I'd rather not have every tow truck driver in the area know me and ending every converstation with the repair shop ending in "see you next week" when I pick up my car.
The Mini is in the list although not entirely sure it's my style.
Love the Volvo's too. Most of them are a little too pricey here though, even the low end. They are actually sold at the same dealer as the Shubbies so I'll look into them.
BMW's are unquestionably out of the price range. All of them, new or used and I'm not to sure about the reliability. I will drive the shit out of this car. Those fall into the luxury tax. I would really love to have one though.
The Mazda 6's I've thought of but everybody owns one.
Tested the Civic Si but there is one HUGE drawback to this car. It is thief candy BIG TIME. Honda's are stolen at absurdly disproportional ratios.
I would never even consider a Mitsubishi. Must be a Subaru snob thing.
I did test the Legacy 2.5 GT and it was so sweet but it's 38k. I'd rather buy an Impreza STI for the same :D
I ctually would really really really love an Audi but even the base A4 is to much for too little.
Then again I'm still struggling to decide if I should keep the Impreza RS. It's like a family member that never let me down and a very strong incentive to stick with a Subaru.[/QUOTE]
I'm going to add another suggestion: Mazdaspeed Mazda3. While both the 6 and the 3 are fairly common, the visual distinctiveness of the Mazdaspeed models should set them apart. That and the fact that it'll leave the others in the dust. Give the MS6 a test drive and tell me that having a personal stealth field wouldn't have some benefits :D
And regarding the BMWs, have you actually checked the pricing on the 1's? They're still BMW pricey, but they are cheaper than you'd expect for a whole shitload of car. Also, used BMWs are generally good on the maintenance budget. Even a last-gen 335i might be in your range and would be quite a fun toy. Aside from the 1, which I wish were sold in hatch form (rather than coupe), I loathe the style of every single current BMW. *sad*
The Mini is a damned decent car. I do wish that the Clubman wasn't so ugly because I'd be looking into it for one of my own. Instead, I'm permanently attached to my beloved RWD Volvo wagons.
Well, I wouldn't consider a Mitsubishi since it's a Mitsubishi. :P
Go pull up some numbers on the Legacy. You'll find that it can actually be cheaply made to compete with the STi while offering something known as "Driver* comfort." [size=1][i]* also applies to passengers[/i][/size]
Don't own an Audi. Simple as that. :P VW and Audi share one common trait. I'll let you figure out what that is.
The Impreza's repairs would be trivial compared to the renewed total cost of ownership for a new car. It might sound good not to worry about problems, but the boxer 4 and drivetrain as a whole is generally sound. Maintenance is a necessity with everything, but if it isn't prohibitively expensive or annoyingly costly on a regular basis then why drop the entire car for it? Keep in mind that almost any newer car is just going to be weighed down by the vast range of standard safety equipment and nanny systems that are required as of the 2008 model year. It might be safer, but it'll also be many hundred pounds heavier and will have to cope with that.
I would concure with Sanfam on the Pontiac/Holden/Vauxhall RWD platform, very nice, no-frills performance RWD sedans.
Jake
[QUOTE=Sanfam;172679]I'm going to add another suggestion: Mazdaspeed Mazda3. While both the 6 and the 3 are fairly common, the visual distinctiveness of the Mazdaspeed models should set them apart. That and the fact that it'll leave the others in the dust. Give the MS6 a test drive and tell me that having a personal stealth field wouldn't have some benefits :D
And regarding the BMWs, have you actually checked the pricing on the 1's? They're still BMW pricey, but they are cheaper than you'd expect for a whole shitload of car. Also, used BMWs are generally good on the maintenance budget. Even a last-gen 335i might be in your range and would be quite a fun toy. Aside from the 1, which I wish were sold in hatch form (rather than coupe), I loathe the style of every single current BMW. *sad*
The Mini is a damned decent car. I do wish that the Clubman wasn't so ugly because I'd be looking into it for one of my own. Instead, I'm permanently attached to my beloved RWD Volvo wagons.
Well, I wouldn't consider a Mitsubishi since it's a Mitsubishi. :P
Go pull up some numbers on the Legacy. You'll find that it can actually be cheaply made to compete with the STi while offering something known as "Driver* comfort." [size=1][i]* also applies to passengers[/i][/size]
Don't own an Audi. Simple as that. :P VW and Audi share one common trait. I'll let you figure out what that is.
The Impreza's repairs would be trivial compared to the renewed total cost of ownership for a new car. It might sound good not to worry about problems, but the boxer 4 and drivetrain as a whole is generally sound. Maintenance is a necessity with everything, but if it isn't prohibitively expensive or annoyingly costly on a regular basis then why drop the entire car for it? Keep in mind that almost any newer car is just going to be weighed down by the vast range of standard safety equipment and nanny systems that are required as of the 2008 model year. It might be safer, but it'll also be many hundred pounds heavier and will have to cope with that.[/QUOTE]
I plan on going to the Mini dealer and trying one, which happens to be the BMW distributor here so I'll check the 1 series out. I'm not holding out any hope for it though as I'm sure even the 1 series will be in the mid to high 30's. I would also tend to agree I just don't like the new BMW look.
I'm a little meh on the Mazda's. If I were to get one the Mazdaspeed 3 would be the one but I have a tendency to gravitate towards a sedan or coup. Not too crazy about the 5 door/hatchbacks but not outright writing them off yet.
The Audi is more of an empty threat. I like them but am not seriously going to consider them. Too much for relatively little. I know they share a lot with VW which would be enough to steer me clear. I did talk to the guy who worked on my VW's. He was the certified authority on them around here and dedicated only to fixing VW and Audi. According to him the Audi's were still overall better built and he had far less coming into the shop which as much common and catastrophic failure as the average VW.
I actually did pull numbers on the Legacy as my dad came within an inch of buying one. The GT is 38k, just a bit under what the STI would cost. The plain Legacy was just slightly over the cost of an Impreza 2.5 but I wouldn't consider that one. I found the actual interior room on the front seat comfort is just about identical to the Impreza. The rear seats are where the main difference is and quite honestly I could care less about rear passenger comfort. This car is for me to drive alone 98% of the time. I'd be better off with another Impreza which is smaller, ligher, and more nimble.
Oh and as far as the Volvo's I remembered one small detail which automatically drops it off my list. No manual transmission option. I will absolutely not buy an automatic car, period :D
It is true the boxer 4 engine and drivetrain is extremely resilient and most of these Impreza's easily due over 200K miles with no significant troubles. I'm torn wether I should stick to it. My main concern is the car is still at the point were I can still get VERY good value for it. If I run it for a year or two more depreciation and mileage will be too high to get good value for it. I'm starting to get a bit paranoid that while it might make over 200k miles easily, it might very well not and I really need a car I can count on. Gods forbid I get the dreaded EJ25 head gasket leak which will put my car out for at least a month and a gew more G's in repairs. Just trying to not end up with a car that won't be worth it's weight in scrap. I think the WRX is still looking like the strongest contender once I factor in cost/features/awd/power. The local Subaru dealer also has the longest warranty of most/all the above mentioned cars.
New solution: Get yourself a Turbodiesel W124. Reliable, it has a turbo, and it goes somewhere cheaply and reliably. :p
I...still just can't stand the new WRX. The entire car went from from only moderately appealing (to me, at least) to practically zero interest with the restyle. The general feel, layout...and pretty much everything else just feels wrong. And I'll be damned if I can actually fit in it. ;) My roommate has a 2004 WRX Wagon, and I've learned that it really isn't made for me. Knees pushed against the kick panel or the column bulge. Even on the new one...it's more of the same!
Anyway, go for a hatch, dammit. The utility of a hatch/wagon always outweighs the [I]supposed[/I] visual inadequacies. I've never found evidence of said visual problems, but perhaps that's because I'm just better at life than everyone else. ;)
Another option: CPO E36 BMW 3-series. Might be more affordable than almost any option and features standard "Fuckin' Fast" on almost every model. Use the saved funds to buy hop-ups and labor as needed.
I wonder if someone will manufacture an aftermarket E36 conversion kit for the new 1-series. They're rather similar in proportions.
...the G6 GT is a V6 FWD Epsilon designed by GMNA, while the G8 GT is a V8 RWD Zeta designed by GM Holden. Nowhere near the same class of car or build quality. :p
I do find the G6 mildly attractive, but aside from that it's a pretty far off the radar for me. I was [B]really[/B] counting on the [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/28/melbourne-2008-holden-unveils-ve-sportwagon-and-adds-ss-for-fla/"]G8 Sportwagon GT[/URL], but that's been officially shot down and the G8 ST/El Camino put up for production instead. Bummer, because the VE Commodore Sportwagon is one of the only recent products to actually get my attention as a serious purchase. the G8 ST may be a dream come true, but I often need to carry more than one passenger.
Subaru dealer is offering about $4500-$5000 for trade in on my 2.5 RS which is slightly over blue book value for the car in excellent condition so I'm pretty satisfied there. I'll need to see how much the other dealers offer but am confident it should be about the same. Economically a new Impreza 2.5i is the best deal as my payments would actually be a fair bit lower than what I paid monthly for mine. I would be thrilled to even keep the payment about the same. It really is now or never though. The consensus is that if I wait longer and the milage keeps climbing the car won't be worth shit.
If you thought the base Mini was fun, you might want to consider investigating the JCW handling package or a couple of aftermarket Helix/MiniSport hop-ups. It might be just barely within your price range. I wish the Clubman didn't have such an awful ass and generally poor visibility, because it makes for one hell of a useful ride otherwise. I can't wait for the wave of aftermarket replacement body panels to fix it (looks, at least) :P
If by some miracle I could afford a car, I'd quite like a mini :)
I would like one of those, or a smart car, then drag though the farm communities where punk teenagers try to one up eachother with bigger pickup trucks!