Help me buy a small car

[spesmilitis]

Keep it coming guys, I'm loving the advice.

I don't care about how fast it is or how sexy it looks. All I need is a car that will get where I need to go, efficient on gas, will save me in a crash, and I can drive it for years without having to do any major repairs.

 

[Road Demon]

Keep it coming guys, I'm loving the advice.

I don't care about how fast it is or how sexy it looks. All I need is a car that will get where I need to go, efficient on gas, will save me in a crash, and I can drive it for years without having to do any major repairs.

What is your budget? Stay Japanese if you want relability and higher resale value.

Honda Accord a great ride. Better than a Civic, which are way underpowered, but I like the Honda Civic Si ~ 23K. The Civic Si is kinda quick and great gas mileage w/ a 6 spd.

Mazda3 ~ 18K. OR a Quick Mazdaspeed3 (as someone already mentioned).

Scion Tc is Ok, but rather young demographics.

Impreza WRX ~24K is my choice. Upgrade the tires (800) and flash the ECU (Cobb Tuning Accessport ~650) and its real nice. I drove one for 40K miles. Gas milage takes a hit due to AWD.

Acura TSX ~ 28K.

Nissan Altima SE-R. a little more flavor than the the SE.

Lancer Evolution Base, a bit under 30K. Lots of potential.

BTW: I drived a modified STi.

 

[SmoothTalker]

People keep missing the fact that he doesn't care how fast it is.

Lancer Evo? If you don't care about speed, why would you get a fairly expensive car that squeezes 300 hp out of a two liter engine. I may be wrong, but wouldn't that kind of pressure on the engine be bad for reliability?

 

[SmoothTalker]

Not that Evo's are bad cars mind you..

The new Evo X will be the first model sold in Canada and I'm considering leasing one for a few years. Not really interested in buying because like I mentioned above, I don't think it's long term potential is very good with that kind of pressure on the engine.

 

[spesmilitis]

my price range is around 12-16k

 

[Kidfabulous]

My vote still goes to the Mazda 3 after seeing your budget.

 

[Vice]

Get an Audi A4.

Decent price, very nice body shape, somewhat nimble, and everyone, especially girls, love it.

Or, with that price range, get a BMW 3-series.

 

[Monster]

Get an Audi A4.

Decent price, very nice body shape, somewhat nimble, and everyone, especially girls, love it.

Or, with that price range, get a BMW 3-series.

He said $12-16,000

Just get a Civic or Chevy Cobalt

 

[AlexTheGreat]

get a used VW Mk4 (1999-2004) Golf TDI. it's reliable, the engine's indestructible, the interior is NICE (you can't find as nice in the same category .... germans are heavy on details ), and those cars are some of the most economic things you'll find (read: more than 1000KM on a 55L tank) while still having a LOT of power (if you know anything about engines, you'll know that torque is what drives the car, HP is what drives the sale. a TDI has 90HP, but 180ft-lbs of torque. Trust me, you'll FEEL it kick, especially since the max torque kicks in at 1750RPM and goes up to 4000RPM (redline at ~5k).

a golf TDI is customizable, it's gonna be cheap if you shop around, and maintenance isn't too bad either.