Official Update of YSSMAN's "Infinite Crisis"
As if Christmas Day, 2007
So, I've been doing some thinking and things are a bit tough. With near-certainty, I'm hoping to have a new car by the end of the school year, but of course there are still plenty of variables that may in fact derail that plan completely.
So, an updated list of requirements:
- Must be no more than $10,000 USD (give or take $2,500 depending)
- Looking for $300 or less collective car payment + insurance payment
- Fun-to-drive is first and foremost
- Cheap
- Fuel-friendly
- Reliable (should be higher?)
...The biggest wildcard, living in Michigan, as always is the snow...
The top two cars (thus far) have been such:
- The Subaru Forester (pre-2003?): Moderately reliable, pretty well-built, but falls short on the fuel economy and fun-to-drive factor. Insurance isn't nearly as cheap as I'd expect either, which is unfortunate. They're pretty easy to find in Michigan, which is a bonus, but I'm unsure of pre-2002 updated models. Getting into that year range gets
very expensive.
- The Mazda Miata (NA & NB): For the most part, the Mazda meets every criteria. They're really cheap to buy (I've found nice, low-mileage NA models for less than $7000), really cheap to insure (less than my Jetta), cheap to fuel, cheap to fix, and overall don't require much fixing in the first place. Thing is, we've got this thing called snow, and we occasionally get a lot of it. As much as eight inches in a few hours the other night... That causes problems. BIG PROBLEMS.
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Recent developments:
The $10K cap and the preferred $300 monthly fee, for the most part, is all that I can afford. At most. That would pretty much eliminate any kind of long-distance travel (unless I get a raise at work), and most other "non-important" things as well.
That being said, two new vehicles have recently landed in my lap:
- 2002 Honda Civic Si Hatchback: After seeing one on the highway yesterday, it got me thinking... I really don't "hate" Hondas all that much, I love the hatchback body style, and they certainly aren't that slow either. They seem to be cheap-ish to run, cost the same to insure as my car, and can be had for $9000 or less these days... That is, if you can find one unmolested.
- 1995-1998 BMW E36 328: This is Doug's suggestion, as discussed in private. The price is certainly low, and the insurance rates actually aren't that bad either. Thing is, replacement parts scare the living hell out of me, and they not being of newer generations, I'm even less knowledgeable of the cars themselves. Snow is still an issue with the RWD models, but good tires can fix that. I have no idea what gas would be like either...
- 1999-2001 BMW E46 323: I've already been yelled at for this one, but it seems like a logical step forward. See above for similar reasonings.
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My mood changes from time-to-time, and that is unfortunate. The cars seem to be a bit consistent, and I'm still weighing my options. I just wish the damn snow wasn't this much of a problem....
I'm probably in the minority with that, and I love my Integra to pieces. It's one of the few I've ever seen that are unmolested and in great condition with ~10k a year on it. I know what you mean about having lots of young "import fans" getting a hold of them and managing to dent every single panel on the car and putting an obnoxious wing on them. It's a shame, really.
