What japanese car should i buy for under $10,000?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JaxeN
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Why dont you just buy a honda civic DX hatchback, it will save a lot of gas and plus if your not going to modified it soon, just drive and save some gas, when you get money then you can always swap the motor or put body kits in and make it look like a spoon civic. I'm asian too and i like the civic 96-00 hatchback a lot, but since i cant afford it right now, im looking for a 89-94 240sx coupe, but when i get rich, im planning to get a civic hatch for looks and i will keep my 240sx to drift.
 
Do you have a garage? no i know your family has 3 cars already, but you could ask for a helping hand and they let you park in it. That should knock a bit off.
If you are gonna get somthing with high milage, make sure its made by a manufacturer that makes to-last cars.
 
If you looked around you could probably find a used Lancer for around 10k. Another possibility might be a Prelude from the mid 90's. You can easily find them for under 10k.

*edit* If you're looking for something a bit different, maybe an Accord wagon would be an interesting choice. I've heard good things about them.
 
First gen Eclipse/Laser/Talons just suck. People think they are the best things made but they are slow. Fun to drive yes, but hell I can take em in the Blazer and thats sad. Plus they fall apart, thats a fact.

2nd gens are better, they are less crappier. I had a 98 Eclipse, wasn't a super fast car but with a little engine boosting I made it pretty fast.

Civics, nah you don't want a Civic. Everyone and there brother has a Civic. Be different.

Dougs right about the Coralla Wagon, there sound, plus hey you'll have some room to haul crap or put a system in. And imagine modding a station wagon. Super fast and it would be a great sleeper.

If you really wanted a rocket though a Prelude would be good. I really liked those cars.They always have been nice, pricey, but nice.

Then there is always a Miata. There always good if your planning autocross our something other then drag racing. I've seen some pretty crafty Miatas.

Thats all I can think of for now.
 
Meh it was good car, but to many tickets and to many "I'll kill you ricer" threts. So hey all good things come to an end. It still boggles my mind about all the money I wasted though. Oh well. and WHAT WAS I THINKING WITH THAT WING???? Oh well, like I said its gone, it was totaled by the guy who bought her.
 
ya it was a long time ago I mean I had a mustang after that and now my truck and I'm closing in on a year of owning the Blaze.
 
Ya I got one some wheres. Damn was that car a POS. The rear hatch broke apart and I got pissed so I welded it together. It died so many times I'm glad I got rid of it.
 
Originally posted by BlazinXtreme
First gen Eclipse/Laser/Talons just suck. People think they are the best things made but they are slow. Fun to drive yes, but hell I can take em in the Blazer and thats sad. Plus they fall apart, thats a fact.
2nd gens are better, they are less crappier. I had a 98 Eclipse, wasn't a super fast car but with a little engine boosting I made it pretty fast.
If you really wanted a rocket though a Prelude would be good. I really liked those cars.They always have been nice, pricey, but nice.
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OK let me start with the fact that these cars are not slow. I will guarantee you that any 5 speed 1st gen TEL will beat a blazer with a 4.3L. 14.9 sec on a stock 2.0L pushing 10psi at max boost is not slow.
Next. You say they fall apart? Im sorry but I think I looked up the recalls on this thing and there are very little significant ones. Only things on a 210,000 mile vehicle that needed fixing was axles, brakes all the way around, and the oil pan needed to be resealed cuz the last owner was a moron. That much mileage and the car still pulled on all the other 1st gens I came across.
Next. You say 2nd gens are better? I think some may be inlcined to say so because of looks and rated numbers. They have weaker blocks. The rear ends on the AWD versions werent up to par with the 4 bolt's on the 1st gens if i member correctly. Stock they had a turbo less capable of performance than the 1st gens. They were rated at a higher HP but believe them to be less reliable than 1st gens.
Next. After saying this about the TEL's you call a Prelude a rocket? I am assuming you are talking about the previous generation VTEC's since we are talking about a vehicle under 10k. These things had the same hp as TEL's but were short 45lb/ft of torque. and their torque doesnt come until a peaky 5500 rpm while a TEL's is at aprox. 3800rpm. They weighed about 3000-3100lbs I believe. While the AWD versions of TEL's weighed about the same. The FWD's weighed in at a scant 2500lbs allowing them to chase down their AWD brethren and still run 14.9's.

Im sorry but I just dont get your logic if there is any here.
 
i have a question, is it a bad idea to buy a used car that has already been slightly modified? such as new bodykit, rims, spoiler, exhaust, etc...
 
Originally posted by BlazinXtreme
First gen Eclipse/Laser/Talons just suck. People think they are the best things made but they are slow. Fun to drive yes, but hell I can take em in the Blazer and thats sad. Plus they fall apart, thats a fact.

2nd gens are better, they are less crappier. I had a 98 Eclipse, wasn't a super fast but with a little engine boosting I made it pretty fast.

:lol: HAHA I have to make fun of you now... 1G DSM's are slow? and you can take them in a Blazer.. haha I would love to see that. 2G's are Mitsubishi's mistake. How can you say they are better? They are poorly engineered, they have poorly engineered crank-walking 7-bolt engines. They are heavier, bigger, uglier, ricier. They have tiny Micro-Machine Garret Turbo's. They have weak suspension that has NEVER held past 3 stages of a rally. Using your english, the 2G's are "more crappier."
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Tofu4G63...We also have to keep in mind that this logic is all coming from someone who owns a Blazer extreme... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: .. woooooo cool factory body kit duuude!
 
Originally posted by TS1AWD
Tofu4G63...We also have to keep in mind that this logic is all coming from someone who owns a Blazer extreme... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: .. woooooo cool factory body kit duuude!
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Yes, but he works/worked as/for a mechanic and owned an Eclipse before the Blazer. I would say that he'd remember what he's seen a lot of in the shop. I would remember what I'd seen a lot of and stay away from those cars. I would advise others accordingly also.

Maybe your experience has been different.
I personally have no love for the Eclipse. I have a friend that has a 2nd Gen that's given her all sorts of problems. Up to and including having a rear wheel fall off while driving down the street.
And this is a 40-year old woman who maintains her car well, and it's bone-stock. She also doesn't drive with the enthusiasm of most teens.
Now, I know you and Tofu are Mitsu nuts, but Joe (BlazinExtreme) goes thru cars like most people go thru socks. In the two years I've been here he's bought/traded five or six different cars, including two cars bought at auction for $50 apeice. The Blazer has hung around the longest, so I'd say it's probably the best one so far.
I'm happy that you're happy with your Mitsus. But ease up the Flaming.
His opinions are based on his experiences. Your opinions are based on yours. But in the end they are still opinions.

For JaxeN My advice is to by the newest, lowest mileage car you can afford.
The 4th Generation Prelude is also in your price range. And for all the 'ricer' crap, it's not as popular for modding. So you should be able to find one that hasn't been abused too much. And it has the H22 in it.
I don't believe any new driver needs too much power under his/her right foot. Mostly, that is a recipe for disaster.
 
I don't think you should buy a modified car for several reasons.

1. You don't know what quality of the parts they used. I mean for all you know, they bought all their parts all Wal-Mart.

2. Generally if they're into modifing cars then the car has had more than it's share of enthusiastic driving.

3. It's better to modify a car to your own tastes.

Gil is right, find a car with the lowest milage you can afford. It would be better to have a stock car that runs than a modified one that breaks down. If you want to find out more about a car from the reliability point go to www.epinions.com or www.edmunds.com they have a list of what goes wrong most often on each car and how much it would cost you to fix.
 
Gil, Im not going to go against your statement, because it is true, he owned a 2G DSM wich are the ones that break alot. I live in a DSM family, I have a 91 TSi, my brother has a 92 TSi and GSX, and a 91 and 92 GVR-4, my dad has a 91 TSi and my mom has a 91 Talon. All of our friends have DSM's, 1G's and 2G's.. Alot of them come here for work, and most of them are the 2G's. We do more 6-bolt engine swaps into the 2G's because the 1G 6-bolts are alot better and more reliable engine. It does have to do alot about how you treat your car on how long it will last. My brothers 92 GSX runs 11.5's @ 120 mph and it breaks like every other trip to the dragway, but its also putting down 400hp, its also not a daily driver. My TSi, I run 12's at around 320hp, and its my daily driver, it daily runs 18-19 psi, and It has NEVER broke at the dragway, I have always drove it home from the dragway, and I have done nothing to the car in over a year but change the oil every 2,500 miles. So I can understand that experiences with the cars can be 2 sided... One may say that they break every time you drive it, which I know as well as the next person that I have seen it with some cars, but with mine, they go forever. I have a friend that has an 02 extreme (S-10), and he has the custom sound, air bags, the works, and its god awfully slow. He knows it. And I dont know if the S-10 extreme is the same as the Blazer, but I couldnt think about how much could be different. You can understand that I took a direct assualt towards the cars I love, so I gave one right back. When someone says that their blazer can beat my DSM, I will definatly show no signs of backing down and defending my car. I had no intentions of directly insulting blazinextreme, im just defending my car
 
Ever thought about a motorcycle? I'm thinking of either keeping my current car and getting a motorcycle (maybee a yamaha R1) or selling my car and getting a BMW M3. Or maybee just keep saving my money for the GTR.
 
Originally posted by JaxeN
i dont think american cars would suite me since im asian.
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No offense, but this is quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever read.
 
Originally posted by Gil
Yes, but he works/worked as/for a mechanic and owned an Eclipse before the Blazer. I would say that he'd remember what he's seen a lot of in the shop. I would remember what I'd seen a lot of and stay away from those cars. I would advise others accordingly also.

Maybe your experience has been different.
I personally have no love for the Eclipse. I have a friend that has a 2nd Gen that's given her all sorts of problems. Up to and including having a rear wheel fall off while driving down the street.
And this is a 40-year old woman who maintains her car well, and it's bone-stock. She also doesn't drive with the enthusiasm of most teens.
Now, I know you and Tofu are Mitsu nuts, but Joe (BlazinExtreme) goes thru cars like most people go thru socks. In the two years I've been here he's bought/traded five or six different cars, including two cars bought at auction for $50 apeice. The Blazer has hung around the longest, so I'd say it's probably the best one so far.
I'm happy that you're happy with your Mitsus. But ease up the Flaming.
His opinions are based on his experiences. Your opinions are based on yours. But in the end they are still opinions.
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As we were saying, 2nd gens arent that great of a car.

A car's reliablity can be severly negated due to poor maintenance.... I'm not talking maintenance intervals but the level of knowledge of the person performing even routine maintenance such as say rotating tires. I am willing to bet that your friends wheel was due to a person outside of the Mitsubishi dealership servicing.

I have worked at a very big Chevy dealer and seen the number of problems associated with many vehicles. Chevy's are very bad for reliability IMO as having been through many repairs and recalls that could be called blatantly stupid when overlooked from the factory. You say his current vehicle has lasted the longest, perhaps it is because it is the newest he has owned? I dont know this but it is my guess.

Also....... what was Blazin's reason for getting rid of the Eclipse?
 
He just has incredible luck when it comes to car deals.
The Eclipse was one of the later ones before the 3rd gen came out. His was a convertible. I think those came later in the run.
The woman I know with the Eclipse had the wheel and part of the axle come out froim under her car. Thankfully it was at low speed.
I grew up in a Ford Family, and am a big "blue oval" guy.
With the exception of the Venture my wife drives currently, my other GM cars have either been really good or complete ****boxes.
I had a '77 Cutlass 4-door that was pretty, but ran right only for the first 3 months I owned it. I was too poor at the time to have the tranny replaced, but I think that would have fixed it's major problem. It seemed sound otherwise.
I've had two Pontiac 6000's. The V-6 LE model was left to us by my wife's gma. It came to us with less than 30,000 miles on it and it crapped out fairly often. Usually it was the computer.
The 4-cyl. was a good car. But, when it died, it died suddenly, unexpectedly, and in a big, if very quiet fashion.
I have only been stranded one time in any of my Fords, and there have been many, and that stranding was due to my inability to rebuild a Holley 4bbl carb.
My son has an '89 Probe that was a little iffy at first, but once it was sorted out, it's been a pretty good car. My
92 Escort has been good as well. The thing about my Fords that has kept me loyal, even when they break down, it's in such a fashion that I've been able to limp home, and then to the mechanic.
Hopefully, my next car will either be a Mazda 6. Or a gently used Taurus. (My wife thinks it's time I had a "grown-up" car.
 
Originally posted by neon_duke
No offense, but this is quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever read.
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And bearing in mind some of the nonsense posted by our 20,000 members over the years, the competition is pretty stiff.
 
Originally posted by Famine
And bearing in mind some of the nonsense posted by our 20,000 members over the years, the competition is pretty stiff.
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Famine,
That's twice you've had me in stitches laughing today.
The first with "It's a girl thing" and the Toilet lid chained to the floor.:lol::lol::lol:
 

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