Need Your Help and Honest Opinions

[Harrison486 10+ year member]

Well, the time has come to get a new (well used) car.

My daily beater (1995 Saturn SC2) got broken into a few weeks ago and has become very unreliable. The decision has been made that it is time to purchase a new car. I don't really have all that much money, only about $10,000. I am looking to buy from a used car dealer, and hoping that along with my trade in, I will be able to talk the dealer down a little bit. If that all works, I should be able to pull something that is listed from a dealer for anywhere $13,000 and below.

Anyway, I am having some trouble deciding what car to get. I know I probably need to personally test drive each of these, but right now that is not possible. I was wondering if any of you driven two or more of these or had any information or opinions you would like to share.

The current choices are (All would be manual):

2003+ Volkswagen GTI 1.8T

2000-2001 Audi A4 1.8T

2002+ Subaru Impreza WRX

2001+ Acura RSX (hopefully Type-S)

2005 Scion tC

What do you guys think? Anyone have experience with these? Anything I should add to the list?

Thanks again.

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[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

cant help u, i love all those cars. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

VW=Azbass

Audi= Worlddre/azbass

RSX=Kuijo

Those guys know those cars very well since they own them and have modded them a fair amount

 

[steveyblack 10+ year member]

subi, or rsx...euro's are hella $$$ to fix

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

well i vote audi or vdub because im a euro hooker dub/audi 4 lyfe

if you do go the audi route before purchase make sure you check your power steering hoses as those have been known to leak on thr 96-01 a4 as mine did when i purchased the car. Also check the MAF they were prone to probs as well...i generally speaking anything else that may go wrong is pretty expensive to fix so if you do go audi make sure you take good care of it.

And if you plan on using stock locations for you front stage forget about it because you only have 4" mids up front so glass would be just about the only way to get some decent sized mids up there. other then audi/ dub is where its at

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

The current choices are (All would be manual):

2003+ Volkswagen GTI 1.8T

2000-2001 Audi A4 1.8T

2002+ Subaru Impreza WRX

2001+ Acura RSX (hopefully Type-S)

What do you guys think? Anyone have experience with these? Anything I should add to the list?

Thanks again.

the gti or the A4 (1.8t) both are great cars . things to look for :

Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor: this can go bad with a short ram intake, a over oiled filter, or any kinda dirt, and throw a code.

Ignition Coils!!!!! watch out on the 1.8t engins these suckers tend to go bad quick (newer car the better) now on the 2.0 engin you will not have this problem

Water Pump: 2.0 and 1.8t engins. not a real common thing., but check it

these ^^ are common on cars older then 03. 03+ the better.

the 1.8t motor is strong and takes mods pretty well. can have some awsome gas millage is you dont keep gettting on it.

2.0 motors are very very strong. not the best motor to go fast with. but it you travel, etc this is a great car.

make sure you check the car over good. see how well mantained it is/was. check the millage. vw's can run 200,000 if well kept.

anything else, just ask away. or check the http://www.vwvortex.com

i just did a 2000+ road trip from AZ to NJ in my dub and it was great!

 

[Harrison486 10+ year member]

Quick note: I forgot to put the 2005 Scion tC in the list originally......

Thanks for all the information so far... Keep it up!

 

[kuijo 10+ year member]

2003+ Volkswagen GTI 1.8T

2000-2001 Audi A4 1.8T

2002+ Subaru Impreza WRX

2001+ Acura RSX (hopefully Type-S)

2005 Scion tC

Can't say too much about the volkswagen and the audi.

Now if you're looking for the best performer out of the bunch stock, i would get the WRX. They can be made quick for fairly cheap (stock turbo) and the AWD is amazing if you're going to be needing traction. However, they feel a bit sloppy(transmission) and cheap on the inside, and they look the ugliest IMO out of the bunch.

For the RSX. I love it, it has some luxury along with it being decently quick stock. There is a huge aftermarket for it, i can't stop finding new and diffrent things for it; and these k20 engines are awesome. A few people are putting 750hp and breaking into 10's on a stock block. But if you're not going to get a type-s, i wouldn't even buy one. The interior is amazing, you'll have to sit in one to feel for yourself. I picked this car cause it was a good medium between speed and looks. I get compliments on the car all the time and it was quite easy to get good time with at the 1/4 mile. It handles very very well, and the ammount of options i have for it is enough to get jealous over.

The Scion tC i think looks the best. Its got some very tasteful exterior mods you can do to it and you'll be dropping ladies panties like nobodies business. However its soooo sloooowww. And would costs quite a bit to make even remotely quick.

As for reliability i think that toyota and honda speak for themselves. the earlier WRX's have had some problems, so id read up on that and give the car you're considering a through investigation.

At some point you're going to have to sale the car (or crash it). And i think its important to know that the RSX is on edmunds top 10 list for best depreciating cars.

Your best bet is to get on some forums dedicated to these cars and read what people are saying about them. clubrsx.com is a good place to start for the RSX, and nasioc.com for the WRX.

Good luck, any car you pick i think you'll be happy with one way or another.

 

[Harrison486 10+ year member]

Once again, thank you for all the replies so far.

Let me see if I can describe whats important to me and see if that makes any difference in your opinions at all.

I obviously would not mind a fast car. That being said, however, it is not like I am going to be racing. And honestly, aren't all of these cars fast? This is going to be a daily driver and also be used for the 4-hour long ride to and from college. So I guess whats really important is comfort and reliability. Im not sure how much I will end up modding this car, probably not very much, maybe just tint, rims, and lowering it.

Hmmm did that change anything?

 

[Harrison486 10+ year member]

Ok, another change now...

While its not definite (I still need to do some more research), I am somewhat afraid that I am going to be ***** on car insurance for all of the cars above.

So just incase, I need some other options....

Now if I were to say that performance was not really a big deal (as Im sure anything that I would end up getting would be an upgrade from my little saturn), but more importantly I was interested in something that looked good, was comfortable, and reliable, what would you guys suggest?

 

[Rattlebrain 10+ year member]

Its not an import and its just a suggestion.... But I bought my 2002 Impala for a lot less than what your willing to spend. I like it. Rides good, Its comfy, gets descent gas mileage, not great. And I think the are pretty sharp looking cars IMO.

LOTS and LOTS of trunk space. That sucker has a huge trunk.

 

[60ndown 10+ year member]

i like a car i can park anywhere and no-one looks at it.then i can instal and not worry about getting jacked.as soon as you have any bling people will want to jack your chit.get a nice reliable comfortable ordinary looking car and put some great sounds in it.

 

[maldecido33 10+ year member]

get a truck

 

[yerrow 10+ year member]

i love my subaru!

but you also can't go wrong with the rsx.

 

[Harrison486 10+ year member]

Thanks for all of the replies so far.

Yerrow, I am extremely jealous. Every time I look at WRXs I always say how I would never drive a wagon. However, your wagon is nice as hell and makes me reconsider my thinking.

Rattlebrain, I may look into that. I have never really considered it.

Like I said before, a fast car seems real exciting, I am not going to be racing or anything. So one car necessarily being .2 seconds faster in the 0-60 isn't the strongest factor in my decision. Additionally, I have come to the realization that insurance on the RSX Type-S, GTI 1.8T, or the WRX might be ridiculous, so I have been trying to think of some other options. Speed isnt necessarily a huge thing as im sure any car I end up with will be an upgrade from my saturn. I have started looking into the 2005 Scion tC, 2004 Mazda Mazda3s, and the 2004 Mazda Mazda6s. Anyone have any opinions on these? Would the insurance on these be any lower than the others?

Thanks.