What car should I buy? (Update: Sold)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Danoff
  • 91 comments
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*knocks off the trash talk over Acuras*
I see I really didn't get any help. Why am I not suprised?
*sigh*
anyway, I did see the one quickie. I couldn't touch something like a Miata. that's considered a sports car for insurance purposes anyway. anything with more than 4 cylinders or less than 4 doors is considered a sports car, it seems :P
I'm talking, personally, something between neon and Cobalt sized. in the Subcompact range (US)
 
*knocks off the trash talk over Acuras*
I see I really didn't get any help. Why am I not suprised?
*sigh*
anyway, I did see the one quickie. I couldn't touch something like a Miata. that's considered a sports car for insurance purposes anyway. anything with more than 4 cylinders or less than 4 doors is considered a sports car, it seems :P
I'm talking, personally, something between neon and Cobalt sized. in the Subcompact range (US)
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Have you looked at the civic or RSX?

I've never heard of any WRX owner complain of their car being boring to drive.
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I know a guy who owns a WRX and a civic. He says the civic is more fun to drive because of the lack of feedback in the WRX.

And if you did consider an RX-8, keep in mind it is expensive to maintain, and it's a very thirsty car.
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It looks like the RX-8 is out of my price range anyway.
 
So what about the '06 eclipse GS? It has lots of horsepower, it's in my price range brand new, and it has a V6.
 
danoff
So what about the '06 eclipse GS? It has lots of horsepower, it's in my price range brand new, and it has a V6.
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Eclipse GS doesn't have a V6 - it keeps the old model's 2.4-liter four-cylinder, though power increases from 147 to 162. Eclipse GT is the pick of the range, with a 263-horsepower 3.8-liter V6 and 5-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission. I wouldn't get a four-cylinder, but I haven't driven the new Eclipse yet and I've only seen one, so I can't pass too much judgement.
 
I find the WRX is a very fun car to drive, especially compared to all the other cars I've owned (although none of those were very sporty). I've got enough power to pass most people in most cars on the road. When it was stock, the car couldn't handle very well, but after the parts I've thrown on, it'll keep up with anything in the turns.

The only bad thing is, driving it is sort of high maintainence. If I'm in 3rd or 4th gear and below 2k RPMs, acceleration is down-right horrid. I've been lazy a few times and just kept it there, but after a few cars pass me while giving me the bird, I figure its time to downshift.

Also, the car is just about as far away from luxury as you can get.

Other than that its an amazing car to drive.
 
danoff
So what about the '06 eclipse GS? It has lots of horsepower, it's in my price range brand new, and it has a V6.
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I wouldn't be too sure of the Eclipse. It's front wheel drive, and it has a decent sized engine also in the front (obviously), so it's definitley going to have some understeer issues (The 4-cyl would probably be a marginal improvement in handling). That, and it has a reputation for being a poser car like the Celica; certainly not the sort of reputation I would want my car to have.
 
Find something that saves you money at the gas pump, car insurance, and doesn't cost a fortune in maintience. A great reliable car would be the Maxima and or Accord. I owned a Maxima...they're great cars that last for-freaking-ever. 👍
 
The car is purchased!!!

I bought a certified per-owned '03 Acura RSX-S with 32k miles for $21k (after tax, title and license). That apparently is a $19,333 price on the car, just a little under what edmunds.com says its worth.

I argued with the sales guy, told him I had to shop around. Then he talked to the manager. Then I talked to the manager, then the manager left and came back and argued some more. The told me they were "taking a loss".... whatever! I paid a fair price and they turned a profit for sure.

I test drove the accord EX V6 but just wasn't impressed with the interior.

I'm really happy with the feel of the RSX. It's exactly what I was looking for, tight handling, a quality interior, lots of extras and plenty of power (for me anyway).
 
Yay, congrats! :) Good choice, good choice. :D:tup:

New cars are always fun – the first thing I always do is play with the instrument controls.
 
New cars are always fun – the first thing I always do is play with the instrument controls.
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Yea the controls are nice. I like having a sunroof.

The clutch is a peice of cake in this car. I've driven some much trickier clutches. I'm still a little weirded out by how close each gear is to the next, when I shift it's almost like I didn't shift. I can tell I'm going to be skipping gears a lot.
 
Congrats! Nice little car. What color is it?
 
New maxima or altima, granted that acuras are great (I Love them personally) if you can find one with low mileage I'd suggest a 93-95 Acura Legend Coupe Type 2. It has an NSX 3.2L engine but the camshaft is different and a couple of other detuned items but it still has around 240hp. My dad has 3 and they are quite fast.
 
And you can get them with a 6-speed manual, and some of the coolest wheels ever.
 
Congrats! Nice little car. What color is it?
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Blue. I would have gone with just about any color besides white... but blue was the color I wanted.

Now I just have to learn how to drive it well. :)

I have to admit that I was really shocked that I didn't like the other cars better. I expected not to like the power and engine noise in the RSX... but I found myself really liking all of the little things about the RSX. Like how the visibility was better, or the interior was nicer and I actually liked hearing the engine go to work.

I like the styling of the RSX better than any of the other cars in the lineup too, and I wonder just how much that influenced me.
 
danoff
The car is purchased!!!
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Excellent! Congratulations! Good luck (not that you'll need it with an Acura). :dopey:

I bought a certified per-owned '03 Acura RSX-S with 32k miles for $21k (after tax, title and license). That apparently is a $19,333 price on the car, just a little under what edmunds.com says its worth.

I argued with the sales guy, told him I had to shop around. Then he talked to the manager. Then I talked to the manager, then the manager left and came back and argued some more. The told me they were "taking a loss".... whatever! I paid a fair price and they turned a profit for sure.
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I'll have to remember the highlighted portion when my turn comes around.

I'm really happy with the feel of the RSX. It's exactly what I was looking for, tight handling, a quality interior, lots of extras and plenty of power (for me anyway).
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👍
 
Congrats danoff :) Enjoy it.

The gears in the RSX-S are stacked close together in order to keep the revs up and hot cam profiles on when you're running it hard. Definately a feature, not a bug.

The salescritter and the crittermanager were BSing you. Hard. No dealer in their right mind would ever "take a loss" on a car. Ever. That line is one of the oldest, stupidest tricks in the book.

Private party value for the an '03 RSX-S with that milage is $18,450 w/o cert. Trade-in is in the $15,000 neighborhood. I don't have a "black book", but would guess auction value for the same car is ~$13,500. It costs around $1500 for a dealer to cert an Acura. So figure they made 4.5k+ on that transaction at the very least. More if they helped you finance it.


M
 
Congrats on the new car Danoff!

And any dealer that sells a car for a loss is just plain stupid, just from a pure, logical standpoint. The only reason I could see for a dealer to sell at a loss is if they need to clear their lot for a huge shipment of new cars (likely when a hot new model is released), and they are sure they're going to regain what they lost with the cars that are coming in.
 
Ant car dealer that sells a car for a loss is a liar, unless it's a lot queen he just can't get rid of.
 
danoff
The car is purchased!!!

I bought a certified per-owned '03 Acura RSX-S with 32k miles for $21k (after tax, title and license). That apparently is a $19,333 price on the car, just a little under what edmunds.com says its worth.

I argued with the sales guy, told him I had to shop around. Then he talked to the manager. Then I talked to the manager, then the manager left and came back and argued some more. The told me they were "taking a loss".... whatever! I paid a fair price and they turned a profit for sure.

I test drove the accord EX V6 but just wasn't impressed with the interior.

I'm really happy with the feel of the RSX. It's exactly what I was looking for, tight handling, a quality interior, lots of extras and plenty of power (for me anyway).
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I must say it's a nice choice. Honda did well with the car's looks and, as always, the engineering is nearly peerless.

But now you're an "Integra" owner (yes you are... No point denying it...). So you must get:

Loud fart can exhaust.
NeonZ.
Penchant for racing anything at any stoplight.
 
and you get this coolass decal, too!

see...acura, honda, mugen, and spoon racing all in one. :lol:

got pics of the new ride yet?
 
Well I've had my RSX for a little while now... and I'm pretty much used to the transmission.

However,

Shifting is notchy going from 1-2, and 2-3. The 1-2 notchiness almost feels like grinding when it goes in gear. The 2-3 feels like it goes in gear because it literally stops your forward movement, but if you let out the clutch you find out that you're not really in gear.

I've gotten used to the 2-3 notch when it shows up on occasion and when I feel it I just push a lot more and it goes past. The 1-2 thing bugs me though.

I looked it up and it turns out that RSX owners all over the place have the exact same complaint - the synchros in the low gears aren't holding up. There's a service bulletin out there about 5-6 gear but that's not my problem.

So I called up the dealer (I've got a super huge warranty on this thing so I'm not too concerned). He said that he's heard this lots of times and that they're working on a procedure to fix it. He said they'd probably release another service bulletin in a month or so and that I should check back.

Now that I know it's not my crappy shifting this is going to bug me. I hate that 2nd gear feels notchy, and since I'm way way way under warranty so they're going to fix this bastard. It turns out that they have to drop the tranny to do it though.


Anyway it's not like the car doesn't run or it isn't fun. It just doesn't feel super smooth when I'm shifting into second. I can live with it, but I'd much rather not.
 
Hey danoff, congratz on the car, but I got a question or two

What were you lookin for in a car when you purchased the RSX? I may be a bit bias, but If i had enough to finance a 20+K car, I'd buy something like an SRT-4 new. (Maybe you can alter my thinking)
 
sicbeing
Hey danoff, congratz on the car, but I got a question or two

What were you lookin for in a car when you purchased the RSX? I may be a bit bias, but If i had enough to finance a 20+K car, I'd buy something like an SRT-4 new. (Maybe you can alter my thinking)
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Right here:

danoff
Ok. Here's what I'm looking for (in this order)

Handling
Luxury
Power
Gas Mileage
Practicality
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I wanted handling above all else. Power is not nearly as important to me as handling.
 
Thank you, I suppose I missed it =).

How does it respond? I hear the RSX's power doesn't start until high in the RPMs.
 
sicbeing
Thank you, I suppose I missed it =).

How does it respond? I hear the RSX's power doesn't start until high in the RPMs.
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It's good enough for me on the power. The majority of the power doesn't kick in until the higher RPMs, but there is still a substantial punch at the lower end.
 
Seems like Japanese transmissions in general are a bit notchy – I've stalled the Subaru on more than one occasion because I thought I'd put it into first but it had actually stopped just short. I mentioned this to my dad, and he said every Japanese car he's had has been like that. For the longest time my mom couldn't get the Subie's transmission into reverse unless she pumped the clutch first.
 
Sage
Seems like Japanese transmissions in general are a bit notchy – I've stalled the Subaru on more than one occasion because I thought I'd put it into first but it had actually stopped just short. I mentioned this to my dad, and he said every Japanese car he's had has been like that. For the longest time my mom couldn't get the Subie's transmission into reverse unless she pumped the clutch first.
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Interesting. I did not know that. Had I known I might just have saved a few bucks and gone with the automatic instead of the Type-S.... nah.
 
Eh? Audis 4 cyl engines are more than reliable. Theyre used everywhere so I dont know why people are sayng that theyre not reliable.
 
yeah, one of my brother's friends has a 2003 type S. personally i really like the car. he has a couple bolt ons but he has had more than a few problems.
he had the 1st-2nd grind and basically killed his 2nd gear for a while so acura fixed it....but they left quite a few things disconnected in his engine bay so he was pretty pissed (he bought it brand new) about that, then it started running sort of funny and his power steering cuts out i guess (but he has underdrive pulleys so that may be contributing to the power steering deal) so i think its actually at the dealership getting some more stuff replaced and his clutch is starting to slip too i guess
<8- \
either way, a stock clutch was never meant to handle much power to begin with.
congrats on the buy though! <8- )
 
Young_Warrior
Eh? Audis 4 cyl engines are more than reliable. Theyre used everywhere so I dont know why people are sayng that theyre not reliable.
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Wrong thread man. You must be an uber leet tabbrowsa.
 
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