Helping a friend out...

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Boz Mon

Boz Mon

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One of my friends is in the market for his first car. So far his budget is 5k and he is gonna go looka at a Mitusbishi 3000GT (not a VR-4) Myself being a connoisseur of Honda Preludes reccomended a 4th gen Si. I dont think he has much criteria besides being reasonably quick, reliable, sporty, and not a civic. Any help would be much appriciated. 👍
 
Boz Mon
being reasonably quick, reliable, sporty, and not a civic. Any help would be much appriciated.
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That is a great mentality to get into. I have a question though, what is his preference? JDM's, European, Domestic, or none? I'm sorry if I'm being blunt, but this pretty much needs to be gotten out of the way here, or arguements will commence.
 
I dont think he really has one. I talked to him before and he said that he was looking at an S10 and a Jeep but he wanted something more sporty.
 
Does he have a job? That could influence it too, because he might need to haul stuff and a small truck might be good choice. I can't think of any small sporty car that I know are reliable right now though.
 
yea he has a job but not one that requires hauling things. I'm pretty sure he wants a car though and not a truck
 
i suggest a bus pass after his lobotomy.

how vague is "more sporty, but not a civic." a non VR4 3000GT is about as sporty as my 300E and wheres the sport in that.

thats like when you ask a chic what she wants to do on a date and she says "i dont know." theres no winning. tell him to plant his lips where the sun dont shine and walk away. no use helpnig those who dont know what they want.
 
neanderthal
i suggest a bus pass after his lobotomy.

how vague is "more sporty, but not a civic." a non VR4 3000GT is about as sporty as my 300E and wheres the sport in that.
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A non-VR4 3000GT is about as sporty as a Daewoo Lanos. Do you realize that once the Dodge Stealth was cancelled, the 3000GT got an available One hundred and sixty horsepower version? The thing could get shelled by minivans.

Prelude is a good recommendation - how about a Talon TSi AWD, Eclipse GSX AWD, or Laser RS Turbo AWD?
 
M5Power
A non-VR4 3000GT is about as sporty as a Daewoo Lanos. Do you realize that once the Dodge Stealth was cancelled, the 3000GT got an available One hundred and sixty horsepower version? The thing could get shelled by minivans.

Prelude is a good recommendation - how about a Talon TSi AWD, Eclipse GSX AWD, or Laser RS Turbo AWD?
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My only concern with those cars would be reliability. As a first car on a tight budget those probably aren't great choices. It would suck for him to sink all his money into that car only to have it break down a few months down the road and he not have the funds to fix it.

As for the non-VR4 3000gt, that's a horrible choice. They are heavy and slow. A girl in my high school got one when she turned 16 and that car was no fun to drive at all. It simply just weighed to much for what hp it had.
 
I'd always recommend a Focus hatchback. Just make sure you get the 2.0/.3 Zetec.

Or heck, depending on the climate. A Miata.
 
Hmm, I'd recommend a 2nd gen RX-7 preferably a non turbo as they are usually a little more hassle free than a turbo version. Although, those cars can become a money pit and possibly not the greatest if you want reliability. Hp for one of those is 148 for the S4 RX-7 and 160 for the S5 RX-7, they are light cars so the NA's are decently quick. Heck, I'm probably just suggesting the 7 because I have an obsession over them... About something a bit more reliable and faster, what about fox body stang with a 5.0?
 
Mustang and Camaro are also brilliant suggestions - the best one he can afford. They're quick and somewhat painless to own. They're popular with this crowd (sub $5k looking for a fast car), but there's a reason for that.
 
Thanks for the replys guys, I havent talked to him since Wednesday but I'll let him know what you guys said on saturday.
 
M5Power
Mustang and Camaro are also brilliant suggestions - the best one he can afford. They're quick and somewhat painless to own. They're popular with this crowd (sub $5k looking for a fast car), but there's a reason for that.
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Yea, I found alot of 3rd generation Camoros fro sale on autotrader back when I was lookin for a car. They weren't that expensive but I was lookin for a 4th generation.
 
A non VR4, as said, is no fun. It's pretty much like a Civic, it gets you one place to the other, no fun involved without the Civic's mileage.

If he does find a VR4 in his range, steer clear. It's probably been in a repair shop more than 10 times in 6 months.

I would suggest a Camaro or Mustang as said. Cheap, reliable, and easy to get power into.
 
I'm going to go with my standard under 5k car suggestion:

An older Subaru Impreza or Legacy. Decent comfort, practical, handle well, good looking, and very reliable. It's his first car, he shouldn't be getting anything like a DSM or RX7, the maintenance alone will be killer, and a beginning driver shouldn't have that sporty of a car. I learned the hard way with my first car, a '91 Miata, what happens when an inexperienced driver gets it into his head that he's driving a "sports car", and ended up totalling it on a twisty road.
 
Ewww... who buys Subarus?

It's been a while, TF, how is the WRX working out? I still remember the pictures from the day you got it!
 
It's been great, actually...

Aside from some major engine trouble early on, which was caused by the previous owner's excessive mods, and which was completely covered by warranty, parts, labour, and all, it's been flawless.

I thrash the car way harder than I should up in the backroads and on the tracks, and it just takes what I throw at it, and asks "more please"!

I'm loving this car, and have every intention of keeping it until at least the end of college. (Which I'm starting this fall.)

I'm still, by the way, of the opinion that an older Subie is a great choice for a moderately-inexpensive first car. Current prices are excellent compared to the competition, and they're great cars.
 
Takumi Fujiwara
I'm still, by the way, of the opinion that an older Subie is a great choice for a moderately-inexpensive first car. Current prices are excellent compared to the competition, and they're great cars.
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Meh, maybe. Why not just a Camry or Accord? Or a Malibu? They're all priced quite similarly, if we're talking mid-90s.
 
M5Power
Meh, maybe. Why not just a Camry or Accord? Or a Malibu? They're all priced quite similarly, if we're talking mid-90s.
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No AWD.

The Subarus, do, if the buyer decides later on that he wants to go that way, also have a large potential for performance modification/upgrades, the Camry has nearly nothing, and the Accord has little but rice available.

Additionally, the Accord, being a Honda, is going to be notably more expensive to insure than a non-turbo Suby.
 
Takumi Fujiwara
No AWD.
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I agree, but if the SUV fight we had about a month ago in this forum is any measure, AWD is not only un-necessary, it's shunned, the absolute bain of humanity. Furthermore - and this is just what I learned from the SUV thread - no matter how old or incompetent we are, we should all learn to drive rear-drive performance cars in the snow because it's "not that hard". Finally, AWD is not a reason for buying an SUV nor is it a reason for buying any vehicle because a good set of snow tires should do, despite the cost of those tires over time.

The Subarus, do, if the buyer decides later on that he wants to go that way, also have a large potential for performance modification/upgrades, the Camry has nearly nothing, and the Accord has little but rice available.
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Performance upgrades?! For a Legacy?! Ewww...

I think AWD is the only plus for the Legacy over the Camry and Accord but I can give you something that negates that: horsepower. Camry and Accord have V6s, Legacy cries at night about how it does 0-60 in the mid nines. And Imp isn't much better (with the 2.2) though admittedly a manual makes it somewhat competitive.
 
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