Car Advice

[MrWallen]

yeah, i think i've settled on getting a new/near new civic or something like that. something with potential to upgrade, but won't get me into too much trouble for the time being.

[indulgence]

I have been looking at an 02 Acura RSX, affordable, uprgadable, you can probably find them for around 10-11k. I'm guessing it would be fun to drive, manual. Your parents might like it since they are supervising you. Good luck on your search.

[WickeDKlowN]

I still say Camaro. You should be able to find a 98 or 99 Z28 for that no problem. Or you could get with a 6-Cyl 00-02 for that no problem either.

[the_gifted_retard]

Hey Bear Claw you're right. What I meant to say that Japanese cars are very good quality for the price. I'm just saying from what Mr Wallen said he wanted in his new car I immediatly thought Honda because they are inexpensive and can be upgraded over time. They also get good milage for the most part.

I'm sorry for possibly affending anyone.

Mr wallen, good choice on the civic.

[Alley]

Be nice to your parents..... try to avoid sports cars. I mean the insurance after the accident will be an issue. You only have to pay the upage from it but, they are still paying the base. The more sporty type of car you get and such the more expensive it becomes. If you are smart you'll get a nice safe little 4 cylinder type and wait till your paying for your own insurance to really go fast and furious.

[wad04]

ok i bought a 2001 9-3 saab. coolest car ever, 205 horse power and turbo. Thing is fast as hell. and plus hardly anyone ownes a saab. mine costet 12000 w/ 44,000 miles on it.

[frop]

yeah, i think i've settled on getting a new/near new civic or something like that. something with potential to upgrade, but won't get me into too much trouble for the time being.

For the time being, 01-new Civics have very little potential w/o some serious cash because Honda changed a lot of stuff internally.

I researched it a while ago, and your options pretty much are turbo w/ 6psi boost or less, 50 shot or less of nitrous, or drop in a K20(I think thats it). Other than that, you're gonna have to dive into the motor & tranny & that gets expensive very quickly.

EDIT:

If you want a Civic, and just want to go fast, get a CRX, strip it down, & drop in a hot B18.

[Chris42050]

Do not get an american car. They are not as good quality as a Japanese or most German cars.

WRONG!

[Jaan]

Do not get an american car. They are not as good quality as a Japanese or most German cars.

You know what's funny ... a lot of Japanese cars are made in America with a large percentage of American parts, and quite a few "American" cars arn't made in America at all. I love the tini tiny little "Imported For" sticker on the back of my friends Dodge truck.

OKay, now what to get. Personally I like big luxury cars with V8's under the hoods. First of all the insurance is cheap on them, they tend to last a long time and are cheap to fix, cops don't notice you as much as a sports car, the back seats are huge, and you can fit 6 people in them comfortably, and they're usually pretty fast ... there's nothing like torque, and girls like a nice clean luxury car. All that ads up to fun. Pickup trucks are good too and there's a ton of them out there now to pick from used. When I was your age I drove a 1970 Delta 88, right now I drive a 1997 3/4 ton 4x4 Chevy pickup with a 454 V8. I've surprised a few cars on the highway with that old girl. The fun things about pickups are that you can throw all your gear in the back and go off into the woods. If I was your age right now I would probably choose either a Pickup or a Crown Victoria LX with a Police Package. Seriously, those Crown Victorias can be had cheap and they go like hell and corner good too. The hard part is finding one that has not been used by the police but was owned by a civilian or a private security force.

As a paractical matter, for 12 grand I would get a new Toyota or Honda. Used ones are hard to find in decent shape since so many people hang onto them. I have a 1999 Toyota Corolla LX in black and it's a really nice car for the money. I tried to get a used one when I bought her but they all wanted too much for cars with really high millage and it just wasn't practical compared to just buying new. It might cost you a *little* more than 12k, but not much more. It's good on gas too.

Sports cars are a huge pain in the butt.

[Jaan]

Once ya spend some time on the floor fixing these things for a living youl reliaze they all the same they break you fix em no matter who makes it.

Recently there was a news story on NPR where they were talking about customer satisfaction in cars. With cars that were just re-badged American (like the newer Chevy Malibu) people still reported them to be less satisfactory than the exact same cars called by a Japanese name. Perceived quality has a lot to do with it.

Of course, that doesn't apply to the garbage American car manufacturers were putting out in the 80's. I used to love blowing the 3.8 V6's that came in the A bodies of the day, and dropping in warmed over 350 Rockets. (c:

[sbpyro]

My vote is for a some thing that will fit your needs.
For example if you need to pull a boat, horse trailer etc then pick up a good truck (personally prefer a silverado myself) Just a city car get a civic, matrix, cobolt etc etc. Long rides with ppl get something with enough leg room (avalon, lincoln etc) but just pick what fits your needs (as opposed to happy with since you already recked your first one ).
Jaan could you please provide me an example of these "American" cars that are made in America. Not that I doubt you but it would be great ammo against someone, I know, who refuses to buy other brands of cars because they are "imports".

[skife]

Do not get an american car. They are not as good quality as a Japanese or most German cars.

not as good of quality huh?

then why on my search for a motor did i go out to my grandpa's place, find an old chevy pickup in the barn that has been sitting for the past 8 years, poured a little fresh gas down the carb, and put a new battery on it, why did it fire right up?

and the motor was a 350 small block chevy out of a '75 pickup.



if your going to be spending 12k on something, why not go with a nice 3rd gen camaro with the 350 TPI in it, really easily upgradeable, decent gas mileage, and they go like hell.

[MadPSIence]

12,000 ? how about a nice integra? i wouldn't but most people like them and it's a good car on the parent side of things.

[Thordic]

German cars have some of the worst maintenance records of any cars in recent years. Go check Consumer Reports. VW, BMW, MB, all have gotten bad reviews for maintenance.

[Jaan]

Jaan could you please provide me an example of these "American" cars that are made in America. Not that I doubt you but it would be great ammo against someone, I know, who refuses to buy other brands of cars because they are "imports".

I've been looking for a comprehensive list but I haven't found it yet. I'm sure there's one available. One car I know for sure is made in America is the Toyota Corolla. If I'm not mistaken they started making them here in 1986. Most of the parts are made here too, about 80% in my own 1999 example. There was a time where Mopar was using so many foreign parts in the 90's that the Mopar with the most American content had less than the Toyota with the least American content.