YSSMAN's Infinite Crisis: Blackest Night (Post #816)

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i dont understand the concern with an old car. my car is eighteen years old as we speak and is the newest car i have ever owned.

my BMW 2002s are 1969 and 1976 models respectively. my 76 was my daily driver for nearly ten years.

what you need is a cheap beater. you can get one for $500. when it dies you can afford to junk it and get another one. as long as it runs, it doesn't have to look pretty. i picked up a 1990 saab 900 for $600. drove it a coupla years and my brother got $500 for it when he needed a car to trade in.

food for thought.
 
On that note: The Nova's one of the best you can get in that category: prime, rust-free, low-mileage, show-ready examples for a grand or less, that'll run like a top with tractor reliability. From what I've seen online, that is. The Blues and Grays seem to have held up best over the years. strangely, I havent' seen as many acutal Corollas of the same vintage, other than AE86s...
 
Most people don't like buying older cars for their daily driver. I for one will never buy a car that is more than one year old.
 
Smallhorses
Hate to "urinate on your proverbial bonfire" here TopHat, but I can't help pointing out that you'll make a whole bunch of Swedish people very angry by associating them with the squeaking Munchkin that is Bjork. :lol: :p
She's from Iceland. :sly:
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Vhu ere-a yuoo celleeng icelundeesh? Bork Bork Bork!
 
Joey D
Most people don't like buying older cars for their daily driver. I for one will never buy a car that is more than one year old.
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I'd pick up an older car if its a nice one, but generally speaking, I generally wouldn't look to buy too many cars that are older than 1993 (for safety reasons).

That being said, if I could find an MKII GTI around here for a good price, I'd jump on it. They were excellent cars way back in the day, and the same can be said for their GLI brethren. Obviously the older Miatas count as well.

I did find a 1992 Mazda Miata down in Kalamazoo (about 40 minutes away) for $4000 last night. This one is red with the tan top, alloy wheels, and 115K on the clock. Not too bad, but nice to know that there is at least one nearby...
 
-> Man, was I late:

YSSMAN
- Subaru Forester
- Mazda Miata
- Mazda Protege
- Ford Focus
- Volkswagen Golf GTI VR6 MKIV
- Chevrolet Cobalt Coupe
- Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
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^ As for those cars, heres what I have to say:

#7 Camaro Z28 = Isn't that you're concerned about gas mileage and insuance rates? Then forget about this car. :indiff:

#6 Chevrolet Coblat = I know that you love GM products, but come on. You know better than that! :indiff:

#5 Ford Focus = Uhh, I simply can't recommend this car at all. Sorry. :indiff:

#4 Mazda Protege = I used to own a Protege5, and it was the worst car I've ever owned. The gear ratios doesn't match for uphill driving; that 'excellent grip' is an overstatement the 1992 Accrod EX performs better; ABS are hard to find, and its brake/tire combo are subpar; and road grip has friction issues. :yuck:

#3 VW Golf IV GTI VR6 = You might be able to escape the gas mileage compared to the 1.8T, but I'm not quite sure about insurance, thou. :confused:

#2 Mazda MX-5 Miata = I respect this car like the rest of the guys here. And its a hoot to drive everyday and on the track (with the proper tune). But what happens after that? And when the weather gets nasty? ;)

#1 Subaru Forester 2.5XS = This doesn't mean that I'm a Subaru-biased just because I drive a WRX. But based on your assumptions of balance between work-school-play-anything in between, the Forester is the best choice. You may skip the 'sleeper' 2.5XT, for insurance and gas mileage issues. This SU-Wagon has its all the good credentials on reliability-safety-convenience, and drives pretty well (but avoid the A/T, get the M/T). And I repeat, I'm not telling you to 'join us' (w/ Darth Vader voice) with me (WRX) and Pako (LGT). I just want to highlight your needs. :sly:

~> Sorry if my post is a bit brief, because I'm about to leave work. :)
 
No worries!

The Subaru is still on the list of possible things (Impreza wagon as well), but they aren't nearly as cheap as the Miata, which is a problem. Snow, as always, is the wildcard. We've had some bad storms this year which makes me want to ditch the Mazda altogether, but at the same time, 90% of the winter is spent without anything on the road.

I'll have to drive both, see what floats around the market as it warms up. Otherwise, I'm not too worried about stuff right away. I just need to fix the car (Jetta) first...
 
I'd be looking at late NA (1996 or 1997) Miata, mostly for reliability reasons and the cheap and well-available parts. However, if I can find a cheap NB model, I'd shoot for that. No newer than 2002 I assume.

As for the Forrester, I hear that pre-2002 models can have issues with wheel bearings and the clutches, so I'm a bit weary on that, but I'd be happy with something around a 1999 or 2000 model I think. While I'd prefer the updated models that came later (with a vastly better interior), it can't be any worse than my 12 year old Jetta.
 
#4 Mazda Protege = I used to own a Protege5, and it was the worst car I've ever owned. The gear ratios doesn't match for uphill driving; that 'excellent grip' is an overstatement the 1992 Accrod EX performs better; ABS are hard to find, and its brake/tire combo are subpar; and road grip has friction issues.
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While a lot of us owners carp about the gear ratios, the rest of your problems were probably due to crap tires. I've never heard another Protege owner complain about handling... ever.
 
niky
While a lot of us owners carp about the gear ratios, the rest of your problems were probably due to crap tires. I've never heard another Protege owner complain about handling... ever.
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^ Crap tires that were OEM/stock; I tested this car thoughrougly to the limit than most people on street/mountain/highway. And all I felt was the lack of adhesion and the music that it makes (yeah right). :indiff:
 
Perhaps it's just that you got the wagon version. Or you wore your tires out prematurely doing all that "Testing."

I don't remember, they may have come with an all-season tire option. I might have a brochure somewhere in my collection here. maybe you got stuck with that... You see, I don't remember any magazine complaining about Protege handling. Then again, all I seem to remember are the MP3 and Mazdaspeed...
 
The Vanishing Boy
#7 Camaro Z28 = Isn't that you're concerned about gas mileage and insuance rates? Then forget about this car.
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A Camaro Z/28 gets identical (or better) mileage to any Subaru he's looked at. And Scoobies aren't cheap for insurance, either.

The Vanishing Boy
#6 Chevrolet Coblat = I know that you love GM products, but come on. You know better than that! :indiff:

#5 Ford Focus = Uhh, I simply can't recommend this car at all. Sorry.
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There is nothing wrong with either of these, and they will serve him better than the Golf would. And that's ignoring insurance and repair costs that all VWs have.


I'd say the Miata is what I would get (but only if you can find a low mileage one. Ones with really high mileage can be trouble free, but they are usually driven hard), but if you need space than you should get the Cobalt or Focus. The VWs are nice, but they are also (as you well know) expensive.

Alternatively: Ignore my point on VWs and look for a nice Corrado (which I would probably do), or a Lincoln LS.
 
I found it really odd how expensive the Subarus were to insure, about $30 more a month by comparison to a Miata. I still want to keep that door open as we do get some EPIC snow storms around here, but I'm staying clear of the turbo models no matter what. If insurance is expensive on the "slow" versions and the gas mileage is already so-so, I don't want to know what the "better" ones are like...

And as it has been mentioned, I'd love to get a Z/28, but I just can't afford it. I'll have to live through my father's '68 and the '09 he has on order... The pain!!!

I do have to admit that the VW door is open, but the pricing deals are just way too painful at the moment to really commit to one completely. The 1.8T just scares me to death, and anything with a VR6 is going to cost a pretty-penny to insure. Simply put, more VWs are a last resort (even though I still love them!), but I may check out the local VW "fan dealers" pretty soon.

I have found in my searches that the Cobalt is pretty much out of range in price these days. Its, on average, about $3-4K more than what I want to spend, normally on an LT Coupe preferably. And my God are they hard to find with a stick... Generally speaking, its the same deal with the Focus as well. I'd really prefer to get one with the Mazda 2.3L, but again, its a bit out of range.

So yeah, the Miata so far looks the best. Except for the snow part. We'll have to see what the market turns up, and indeed how much cash I have on hand this spring and go from there. If I can get the VW running properly, I may drive that for a while too, I don't know.

Being flat-broke and knowing that you may need a new car really, really sucks.
 
I just thought I'd mention that I have no idea how much my car costs to insure.
 
No. But my parents have never even mentioned the price to me, so it's obviously not expensive enough to incite objection. Apparently Civics are pretty cheap.
 
When I had first started checking prices on an '02 Civic Si, insurance rates were pretty cheap on that. About $130 or so a month for full-coverage and a $250 deductible. Personally speaking, that seems pretty cheap for what would otherwise be considered a "sporty car."

Maybe because everyone hated it insurance rates are cheap?
 
I doubt it. It's just a Civic. Safe and reliable, plus there weren't a ton of them getting tuned and wrecked at 140mph on the highway (okay, maybe the hatred did play a role).
 
They're hard to find without some kind of modification, or maybe its just this time of year. I really do like the car, but then again, I've always had a sick fascination with hatchbacks. Plus the stick shift is nifty in those cars...

I'm just not too keen on the more recent Civics, and its sad. I'd have to say that the Si Hatch is probably the last of the "modern" Civics I'd go for other than the "true Civic" (ie, the Honda Fit).

Now what would really kick-ass would be to find one of the hyper-rare Mitsubishi Ralliart Sportwagons. They were only sold here for a year, and I want to say only a hand full ended up selling. I've maybe seen two, and I know there is one nearby my house.
 
How expensive would a previous gen Passat VR6 be? They were pretty reliable too.
 
Pretty much. I'd probably be looking at something in the neighborhood of $150-160 a month for a B5.5 model... God only knows what a payment would be as well...
 
Hatchbacks are the way to go, I'll be hard pressed to ever own something else during my life time. They are roomy and you can still fit a bunch of crap in them. The Civic would be a good choice, I have no idea why they were hated so much, I always liked them.
 
Joey D
The Civic would be a good choice, I have no idea why they were hated so much, I always liked them.
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They called it an Si, then put a Toyota Camry suspension in it and space saver donuts all around. It handled worse, revved way less and was slower than its predecessor. And it was hatchback only, which in America is like selling a car that is powered by burning American flags. The Ford SVT Focus also came out at roughly the same time, and completely blew it away. Meanwhile, Japan got the redesigned Type R, which was arguably better in every way than its predecessor; which just furthered resentment more.

It would be the rough equivalent of the next Mini coming out as a thinly disguised 1976 Gran Torino that someone took a bat to, and then saying it was better because there was more space and it was only a little slower.
 
The SVT Focus, it appears, is much harder to find than the Civic. Odd, even in Michigan I suppose...

The local Honda dealer (the one ran by douchebags) has a 2002 Civic Si with 68K on the clock for nearly $13K, about $2000 more than what it should be (if you ask me).
 
YSSMAN
The SVT Focus, it appears, is much harder to find than the Civic. Odd, even in Michigan I suppose...
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I'm sure there were a lot less of them.

YSSMAN
The local Honda dealer (the one ran by douchebags) has a 2002 Civic Si with 68K on the clock for nearly $13K, about $2000 more than what it should be (if you ask me).
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I dunno. A look on Autotrader suggests that is about right.
 
YSSMAN
The SVT Focus, it appears, is much harder to find than the Civic. Odd, even in Michigan I suppose...

The local Honda dealer (the one ran by douchebags) has a 2002 Civic Si with 68K on the clock for nearly $13K, about $2000 more than what it should be (if you ask me).
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Which Honda dealership did you go to? Fox? Rivertown? Borgman? I've had decent luck at Fox and Rivertown, but I've only gone there for parts and an oil change for my sister's car. They weren't too friendly with the oil change situation but that could've been miscommunication on my sister's part as well, with the attendant.
 

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