What car should I get?

  • Thread starter Thread starter alexlam24
  • 124 comments
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Doog
Definitely. The answer is always Miata, they say.
Also, why not Mini? I can certainly vouch for those; they're a blast to drive, and the precision is just fantastic. There's so much control. If you wait a year, you may find some older Coopers for your price range, and most used Coopers seem to be stick shift as well. A Cooper S will be out of the price range, though.
But that Miata seems like a really good catch. See what you can do about it.
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MINI's are laughably expensive to maintain. My transmission went out on mine and it was in the neighborhood of $10,000 to fix it. Plus they are all super expensive as they tend to hold their value well. Even broken the Ford dealer gave me $10k on a trade in.
 
Joey D
MINI's are laughably expensive to maintain. My transmission went out on mine and it was in the neighborhood of $10,000 to fix it. Plus they are all super expensive as they tend to hold their value well. Even broken the Ford dealer gave me $10k on a trade in.
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Ok so I have a Miata, Honda something, and probably a 2006 Audi a4
 
No Miata unless you want your heterosexuality questioned. I'm saying the B7 A4 would be a cool fit. Although the turbo lag is pretty ridiculous in that car. It also fits 4 to 5 short to medium hight people instead of the Miata which fits 2 small.
 
GTMail
No Miata unless you want your heterosexuality questioned. I'm saying the B7 A4 would be a cool fit. Although the turbo lag is pretty ridiculous in that car.
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B7 A4? Weirder name than MP4-12c
 
No weirder than all the other alphabet soup Japanese car names.
This is a B7.

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B7 is just the body style classification of the 2005.5-2008(I believe) model year.

Edit: Damn you guys are quick!
 
Doog
No weirder than all the other alphabet soup Japanese car names.
This is a B7.
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Me gusta, now make it 5 grand
I like the old generation Audis better because they're cool. They were made before Audi was mainstream
 
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A late 90's A4 Avant(if you're into that) would be trick. I was seriously considering picking one up for $3,000 not to long ago.
 
Ooh btw do you need credit if you want to buy directly from a person? No credit card yet :(
 
A turbocharged 5 year old A4 that's reliable at 5k? Hoo-kay.

A Miata is a great car, decently reliable, and fun. But it's not very practical compared to, say, a Civic, a Mazda Protege5 or a Focus. Pick something Japanese, mass-produced, with a stick and front wheel drive and you're getting something that will last you a fair bit and save you on needless gas bills. and if it's a Focus (I know... American) or P5, it'll be fun to drive, too.
 
A turbocharged 5 year old A4 that's reliable at 5k? Hoo-kay.
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My dad drives Audi's for over 30 years and every single one of them made the 300000km marker.
My S3 with an stock turbo and more boost is 170000km old and still theon the first turbo
Bought a A4 2.8 quattro for 4k 8 months ago to tie over till the new A6 came, not one single problem

I know Audi had problems with some engine in the US, but don't say Audi's aren't reliable. They are rock solid
 
*ibo* S3 Racer
My dad drives Audi's for over 30 years and every single one of them made the 300000km marker.
My S3 with an stock turbo and more boost is 170000km old and still theon the first turbo
Bought a A4 2.8 quattro for 4k 8 months ago to tie over till the new A6 came, not one single problem

I know Audi had problems with some engine in the US, but don't say Audi's aren't reliable. They are rock solid
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I've had a B5 A4 for about 9 years now. Straight up the most problematic car I've ever had. I've replaced the headlight switch 3 times, the power steering rack twice, had to replace most of the gaskets before 100k miles, and the list goes on and on. I love it, but the one I have is far from reliable.

That said, I would not recommend a used Audi.
 
*ibo* S3 Racer
My dad drives Audi's for over 30 years and every single one of them made the 300000km marker.
My S3 with an stock turbo and more boost is 170000km old and still theon the first turbo
Bought a A4 2.8 quattro for 4k 8 months ago to tie over till the new A6 came, not one single problem

I know Audi had problems with some engine in the US, but don't say Audi's aren't reliable. They are rock solid
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Last I looked, the threadstarter's price range is $5k. A turbocharged Audi in that price range is a no-go.
 
Doog
As far as I know, nope.
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Yay!
niky
Last I looked, the threadstarter's price range is $5k. A turbocharged Audi in that price range is a no-go.
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I'm pretty sure my parents would shell out a grand or two, but that's about it. Might get a Miata. Does anyone here know if you can fit a full size cello in the trunk?
 
alexlam24
Does anyone here know if you can fit a full size cello in the trunk?
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You'd have a hard time getting a violin case in the trunk. I think even the viola players have to step up to an S2000, although I think you'd realistically need a much larger vehicle with a trunk (or small wagon) for a cello. You could probably get it in the passenger seat with the top open, but that's just daft at anything above 20 mph.

Then again, you could definitely fit one in an xB/Matrix/PT Cruiser*...wagon-oid body styles (rear seats folded down), for example.

(There's got to be a stringed-instrument forum thread that would know this answer better than most of us!)

* Note: Don't buy a PT Cruiser, just using that as a size example.

[/former orchestra dork]
 
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Pupik
You'd have a hard time getting a violin case in the trunk. I think even the viola players have to step up to an S2000, although I think you'd realistically need a much larger vehicle with a trunk (or small wagon) for a cello. You could probably get it in the passenger seat with the top open, but that's just daft at anything above 20 mph.

Then again, you could definitely fit one in an xB/Matrix/PT Cruiser*...wagon-oid body styles (rear seats folded down), for example.

(There's got to be a stringed-instrument forum thread that would know this answer better than most of us!)

* Note: Don't buy a PT Cruiser, just using that as a size example.

[/former orchestra dork]
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Honda fit then? Its got a manual, its a Honda and can go faster through slalom test than a ZR1(car and driver)
 
What about a Nissan Sentra SE-R (B15) the price is at about $5K, not sure how if you can find one that is not been modified and parts/repairs would be cheap.

640px-2002-03_Nissan_Sentra_SE-R.jpg
 
RocZX
What about a Nissan Sentra SE-R (B15) the price is at about $5K, not sure how if you can find one that is not been modified and parts/repairs would be cheap.
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I saw a 2006 Honda civic si going for about 8 thousand. Is that good?
 
You're still aiming for something too fast and expensive for a first car, why does it need to be an Si Civic, why not just a normal one?
 
Duffers917K
You're still aiming for something too fast and expensive for a first car, why does it need to be an Si Civic, why not just a normal one?
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I like manuals and my parents know a guy that works at a Honda dealership so I get 50% off oil changes and state inspections...etc
 
I wouldn't call a Civic EP* hatch fast for it's class nor slow, to be honest. But fold the seats, and a cello should fit.

On the other hand, oil changes and state inspections aren't terribly expensive propositions. Many states have a forced amount in which they are required to sell the inspections for, regardless of their posted labor rate(s).


* I think it's EP. Can't swear by it.
 
Have a cello need and a Civic to fit it in?

honda-civic-si-5-ep3.jpg


Wallah, the EP Civic.
 
They make regular Civics in manual.
You're gonna crash your first car guaranteed, why buy a nice one just to wreck it?
 
HELLAFLUSH240SX
They make regular Civics in manual.
You're gonna crash your first car guaranteed, why buy a nice one just to wreck it?
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I'm not that bad of a driver -_-
 
How would you know of you've never driven on the road?
 
ilikewaffles11
How would you know of you've never driven on the road?
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Because I'm Asian and I know it
 
alexlam24
I'm not that bad of a driver -_-
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Illusory superiority or the Dunning-Kruger Effect?

I'll stop giving any advice now.
 
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