so i want a new car

[ChrisCantSkate]

pre-warning: i might ramble i havnt slept in 2 days

mines fun, love it and always will, but with my company and school having a relativly tiny car on the inside(2 6ft people and its full unless someone wants to lay down across 2 bucket seats in the back and the trunk can hold one 10' sub a backpack and my skateboard) isnt practical at all. driving stick around in rush hour is no fun. twisty roads are sooooo much fun but moving 4 mph just poping the clutch every 10 seconds really sucks. im back home right now on spring break and ive been driving my moms car around everywhere (2003 es300) and i want something like that. not brand new, but more of a car that is relaxing to drive, either automatic or a manual that has good reliability (no honda syncros and choppy shifts) ive also been thinking of a truck or suv but gas prices and the fact i flipped my last one is kinda making me not want one. heres a list of what ive been thinking of, i want any and all opinions good or bad about the cars:

mid 90's audi a4
mid 90's 3* or 5 serise
an acura legend or the slightly newer coupe they made (3.2cl i think?)
tacoma trd (has to be 4x4)
jeep wrangler(4x4)

im not set on any manufacture or any car. im open to ideas. this isnt something i want to put a single mod on, it has to be clean, look good, reliable better than 19mpg for normal driving, and decent on insurance(not too much higher than my ludes).


*this would be the only car i would put any money into... and that would be on a m3 motor and probobly rims.

Probes are nice. You could buy mine if your interested.

[Wren57]

Lexus sc300. What is ur price range?

[CD5Passion]

^ agreed
sc is beautiful, my friend is buying one soon. Just drop a supra engine and single turbo and you're set

[ChrisCantSkate]

well... i have a standing offer of 8k on my car. i could probobly talk my parents into lending me a few thousand once i can sell a few shirts so they know i'll have an income of some sort.

i actually was thinking of one of these too.. just well.. slipped my half asleep mind. i know you were looking at these for a while, so maybe you know... hows the trunk space? also leg and headroom in the front seats? im guessing that the 2jz holds together quite well in the higher miles since im going to need it to last a few years.

[ChrisCantSkate]

Originally posted by Shardsofxapril
Just drop a supra engine and single turbo and you're set

the one thing i dont want is another money pit. i know "just a 2jz-gte and slight turbo upgrade" dosnt sound like alot, but i priced this out and well... for the price it would cost me i'd rather lease a new bmw or something

[ChrisCantSkate]

ok i said lease at the end of my last post and ive been thinking.... if i have 8-12k to spend, would it be a smarter idea to just lease something for 3 years or so put my money in a separate account(maybe even invest half) and pay car payments off of that.

[Wren57]

I would highly advice against leasing and investing your remaining money hoping to make up your payments. That is very risky and after 3 years you might wind up w/ no car and no money.

The sc300 is great. I highly suggest you drive one. I tested an auto with 160k miles. The engine was SILENT, the tranny shifted PERFECTLY, and not a thing was wrong with it. GREAT cars... and remember, it is an i6, so it is perfectly balanced. It won't be a money pit unless you make it, and has plenty of grunt (225hp) from the factory. The sc300 5speed is rare (accounts for 5% of all models made), but can be found, especially in Florida. It also fits nicely in your price range. It has some speed, elegance, is smooth, has room, good reliability, etc etc. Should I be a car salesman?

[ChrisCantSkate]

yeah... ive been thinking about that investment idea and am leaning against it. same with the lease... i want to own my car. imma look around for some 3-series and sc300's in my area and see what i like and can afford.

[CD5Passion]

you can get a sc in great condition for not to expensive I'm sure you can find a nice one for 8k more or less, most are in the high mileage range now and manual are hard to find, my friend spent a month searching and finally found one in Ft. Lauderdale or somewhere. good luck

[ChrisCantSkate]

i found a 94 with 70k miles on it for 9k. its the lowest mile one with best price. auto tranny.... but its not that big of a deal for me with this car. if i do down the line plan on swapping a gte in, i can always swap in a 6spd. im gong to keep looking though

Get 328I!!!!!!!!!! that is the most amazing car ive ever driven. with the auto its still great beacuse that is one of the first manumatic trannies and it has a sport mode when u realy whanna move. the lexus is nice but that it is is a compromise betwwen a meredes and a bmw. well the bimmer is the real deal for betwwen10-13 grand (depending on milage) this car get 25 mpg has 207 ft lbs of torge 189 horsepower quarter in 15.0 and 0-60 in 6.5 and this car handles like its on rails i never ever got it got squeal the tries and i was takin it 100 throught mountain passes god that was funn. has leather seats a nice sound system a decent trunk power seats sunroof mirrors windows dorrs all the goodies and you get the famous bmw styling thast never out of date still got enveying looks and complements on a 8 year old car. and that bmw paint was so gorgeos now for about 15 g's ya get a 1995 m3 wich sounds great but i must warn you becasue m parts will rape u up the ass and then it will realy get mean m parts are just to expensive dont get the bimer if ya cant find one with low miles but if you do jump on it like a hobo on a ham sandwich once ya drive it youll never want anything else belive me im tring to turn my mazda into a bimmer but nothing compares to the real thing just drive one and you'll agree

[KwikR6]

I used to work for Lexus and I have driven SC300's...SC400's here and they were pretty amazing dude.
I've fallen in love with the 3.2CL's by Acura. They are perfect for me. Odd how I'm thinking of the same thing you are.

[ebpda9]

how about the new 3.2 tl. that car looks fast as it's standing still, it's pretty comfy, and when i drovge it it's like outta this world. plus you get 270hp. after i drove it i fell in love with it, and i want one so bad. i think it tops any 5 series beemers to date, only thing that i really hate about it is the fwd. if you wait for a year or so you might be able to get the awd vesion of it.

or how about a subaru leagcy with a 4 cylinder ? you can swap in the ej25at in it and you get like 300hp ? or the forester xt ? an "suv" that does 13.8 in the quarter

[guywithastang]

Go for the audi, with the 1.8t of course. 180 hp at first, add chip, 235 hp, exhaust, 245hp. $1000 spent in mods= fast ass car. Cant go wrong with that!

[ChrisCantSkate]

no mods... cause it will just snowball.

hows reliability on a4s? i herd they had electrical problems, but never herd of anyone actually having anything go wrong with their car, or anyones they know.

[ebpda9]

Originally posted by ChrisCantSkate
no mods... cause it will just snowball.

hows reliability on a4s? i herd they had electrical problems, but never herd of anyone actually having anything go wrong with their car, or anyones they know.

i heard of quite a few of them having problems. german cars have a weird electrical system (weirder than GM)

[ChrisCantSkate]

you know anyone that has had problems? and what they were? also the cost of repair if it wasnt a DIY repair. cause i've "herd" of alot of things, but to tell you the truth, ive seen hondas have more problems than most other cars

*eidt*

i'd rather have one bill of $2000 because of some wiring flaw or something than a 200 axle job cause my CV boots sucked, then a 1000 job because the syncros are made out of brass and wear too fast, then my tie rods get fucked, then my valves dont seal right, and my motor ticks and its normal(the ticking sound), and my stitching on my leather comes undone a little for no reason other than normal sitting wear and tear. then my trunk sitcks, and my spare tire well cant hold more than like 10 lbs on it, and my passenger power window switch dosnt go up(my side works fine), and my sunroof rusted even though i washed and waxed it all the time(common 4th gen problem), the plastic trim peices cracked(on my old prelude) my a/c makes a weird nioose .... i can keep going but you get the point. sure theres no huge problems(well the syncros, thats the only one that didnt happen to me) but 50 little things suck.... real bad

[guywithastang]

A guy I work with has one, no problems. I have a beetle turbo S (same as a base TT) and I have no regrets. I really have become fond of german cars


I forgot to mention I have heard of the electrical flaw and have yet to experince it.

[blind34_1]

while we're on the subject of Audi, you might consider a volkswagen, one of the turbo diesel models. You said you were worrying about gas prices, well there you go. I was considering buying one, but since I have no money, that shoots that one down.

DONT GET THE AUDI same cost to repair as a bimmer worse resale value their engines dont come close and i have never ever ever ever ever ever seen an Audi beat a BMW in a comarison test. ive driven one and the bimmer is in a whole nother league ok the new ones are cool but you dont have 19g's to spend and the turbo engine has relaiblity probs up the ying yang you know how they bupped the hp up they just got a new ecu and raisted the boost no other mods dont to protect the engine get a bimmer all engine all the time and how can you say no to real wheel drive

[Wren57]

Originally posted by 4doorspeedman
DONT GET THE AUDI same cost to repair as a bimmer worse resale value their engines dont come close and i have never ever ever ever ever ever seen an Audi beat a BMW in a comarison test. ive driven one and the bimmer is in a whole nother league ok the new ones are cool but you dont have 19g's to spend and the turbo engine has relaiblity probs up the ying yang you know how they bupped the hp up they just got a new ecu and raisted the boost no other mods dont to protect the engine get a bimmer all engine all the time and how can you say no to real wheel drive

.

[guywithastang]

The 1.8t does not have a reliability issue. the engine can handle 400 hp with no internal modification. If you can find a bmw in the same price range that can compete, be my guest

the 1.8 is a realitivly recent motor to the audi line up so they will cost ya about 19g like i said before ok for that much ill just get a 97 m3 with low miles that should compete dont ya think

[ChrisCantSkate]

19g's for a 1.8t? are you kidding? the 2.8's are their top of the line a4 (aside from the s4... but thats not a a4) i was seroisuly looking at buying an a4 about a year ago, and i found at least 50 within 300 miles with decent miles and under 15g... and quite a few under 11. the 1.8t motor is nearing 10 years old if im not mistaken

[ebpda9]

worse resale value translates into a lower buy price for thecar used. sincerely i am not too fond of any Volsfwagen AG products unless it's a Carerra especially the 4S. But a beemah it's one of my top choices. They have electrical problems too ( i have a friend that has one) but i like the build quality and the driver involvement in a beemer better than in an audi, but to each his own.

[guywithastang]

I would never pay 19k for a 6 year old car

only electracal probs i hade was that the raidio illumintor thing didnt work so you couldn't tell what station you were on it was annoying but if you squit just right with the sun behind ya you could kinda see it o ya and the volume knob only worked when it wanted to so somtimes instead of turning the volume down it would go all the way up and would go donwn until you turneted ther car off and i had the prieum sound system it got lound lol

[ChrisCantSkate]

what about infinity i30's? anyone know anything about htem? my friend had one and it was sooo nice to drive