Another car recommendation thread!

modelm

New Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
2
Hi all,

I'm not a frequent poster, but a long time lurker. I just accepted a job which will require me to relocate from New York City to Los Angeles. Having lived in Manhattan for the past few years, I never needed a car. Of course a car is essential to life in Los Angeles, which means for the first time, I will be a car owner! I'd like to get your feedback on a potential car for me.

My criteria:
Manual transmission
Sporty (solid steering feedback)
Reliable
Needs to be somewhat practical - Need to lug the golf clubs around.
Fuel economy - Not a primary concern. I've heard horror stories of LA traffic. I plan to live as close as possible to the office.
Has to be available - As I don't currently have a car, and absolutely need one in LA, I don't have time to launch an in-depth car search.
Price: I can spend ~$20k

Cars I've considered:
2012 Ford Focus - It looks good, and probably good value for money. But I wouldn't want to buy a car in it's first year of production. Also, I heard the electric power steering kills the steering feedback.
2012 Mazda3 - Drives very well for a car in this price range, but I can't get past the looks. It's hideous.
BMW 3-series (E46) - It's the ultimate driving machine! Handles well and drives very well. RWD a major plus. I'm concerned about reliability and expensive repair costs.
Subarus - I like Subarus, but I don't really need AWD in LA. My dad has a WRX wagon. I think the gear box almost ruins the car though. The gear shift just feels knotchy. Maybe they've sorted it out in later models?

Please let me know your thoughts
Thanks!
 
A blue one. :p
 
Save a bit more, then buy a Subaru BRZ. You're welcome.
 
Can you get a Legacy Spec.B for that price? They're a little over $20k here but that should mean they're nice and cheap over in America. The 2007 Spec.B I think has the 6-speed manual derived from the WRX STi which is a pretty good gearbox compared to the WRX 5-speed, 243hp (again, the engine is derived from the WRX STi) and a Torsen LSD.

Aside from that, I'd probably get an E46 with a straight-6. Actually with that, any E39 5-Series' with the manual for that price?
 
Clubs won't fit into a Z or S2k. And LSx motors are dead solid... certainly more so than most Subaru engines :p

If they fit in a Miata they will fit into the Z :p The LSx motors are solid thats true what about the rest of ther car like electrics? :p
 
Hmm..

New:
- Fiat 500 Abarth (not technically available yet, but soon)
- Focus
- Mini Cooper
- Mitsu Eclipse

Not new:
- BMW E46 M3
- BMW E39 M5
- BMW M Coupe
- Toyota Supra
- 05-08ish Mustang GT
- Evo 8/9
- 04-06 Pontiac GTO
- Pre-facelift Boxster (you actually can cram golf clubs into one)

For my money I'd go with a Supra, as it has the most potential, GTO, as it has the most power out of the box, or any of the BMWs.
 
Last edited:
Hi all,

I'm not a frequent poster, but a long time lurker. I just accepted a job which will require me to relocate from New York City to Los Angeles. Having lived in Manhattan for the past few years, I never needed a car. Of course a car is essential to life in Los Angeles, which means for the first time, I will be a car owner! I'd like to get your feedback on a potential car for me.

My criteria:
Manual transmission
Sporty (solid steering feedback)
Reliable
Needs to be somewhat practical - Need to lug the golf clubs around.
Fuel economy - Not a primary concern. I've heard horror stories of LA traffic. I plan to live as close as possible to the office.
Has to be available - As I don't currently have a car, and absolutely need one in LA, I don't have time to launch an in-depth car search.
Price: I can spend ~$20k

Cars I've considered:
2012 Ford Focus - It looks good, and probably good value for money. But I wouldn't want to buy a car in it's first year of production. Also, I heard the electric power steering kills the steering feedback.
2012 Mazda3 - Drives very well for a car in this price range, but I can't get past the looks. It's hideous.
BMW 3-series (E46) - It's the ultimate driving machine! Handles well and drives very well. RWD a major plus. I'm concerned about reliability and expensive repair costs.
Subarus - I like Subarus, but I don't really need AWD in LA. My dad has a WRX wagon. I think the gear box almost ruins the car though. The gear shift just feels knotchy. Maybe they've sorted it out in later models?

Please let me know your thoughts
Thanks!


- Based on your target price, I assume you also don't want to spend much on maintenance. That will throw things like BMW's and Porsches out the door.
- Rather than rule out the Focus based on hearsay, just go test drive it and decide for yourself if you like the steering. It's a terrific car....and the Focus ST will be even better.
 
- Based on your target price, I assume you also don't want to spend much on maintenance. That will throw things like BMW's and Porsches out the door.

They don't cost fundamentally more to service than anything else if you use a good independent mechanic or do it yourself.
 
I've had my E46 330i for almost four years. It's not a bad car reliability-wise if you maintain it properly. The car has never left me stranded, but, I will mention that I have a lot of work to do on it now that I'm around 76k miles. Which is where a lot of E46s are going to be at in the used market because the owners just found out that they have to do about $1500's worth of work.

I have to replace the valve cover gasket, get some suspension work done, an alignment when I get new tires and have my oil filter housing checked out. If you can do work yourself and have access to the right tools, an E46 M3 would be perfect. But, if you don't have that kind of skill/equipment/whatever, find a reputable independent shop and don't get an M car.

They're not perfect cars, but they're pretty damn good, the E30 would be your best bet, though as they're dead simple and cheap. Then you can buy 1st gen Mazdaspeed 3. Honestly, though, I'd buy a G50 911 and a cheap motorbike :p
 
They don't cost fundamentally more to service than anything else if you use a good independent mechanic or do it yourself.

A friend of mine with an E39 M5 would disagree with you. Parts are horrendously expensive. Porsche parts are pretty expensive too, and will cost you a great deal in either time or money. Ever tried to change the sparkplugs on a 997?
 
A friend of mine with an E39 M5 would disagree with you.

My experience with the car, which spans about 20k miles on a high mileage example, was entirely trouble free. My Z4M has likewise been bomb proof.

Porsche parts are pretty expensive too

To a degree. While some parts are quite expensive, e.g. body panels, brake components, and things of that nature, things that wear from typical use are not that much more expensive than anything else. More than Kia parts? Sure. More than a Toyota or Nissan? Not really.

Ever tried to change the sparkplugs on a 997?

Many times. Put it up on stands, pop the rear wheels off, and it takes ~20 minutes with the right tools. And you only need to deal with them every 30k miles / 2 years.

The biggest problem people tend to have working on Porsches is spending hours trying to manipulate tools around the engine, when they could have just removed the components in their way and had the job done a fraction of the time.
 
Don't know if US isn't different, but the steering in my Aus Fiesta is very good- well weighted, the only time it might feel "floaty" is at very low speeds (and that is occasionally an advantage). Pretty sure the Focus has the same steering.
 
I agree you don't need "AWD" in california, but Subarus can be pretty fun regardless. I'd stay away from higher mileage turbo ones... and I totally agree with you on your sentiment that the WRX tranny feels like shifting a truck. Hardened shifter bushings help a lot - short shifter too. They are really easy to work on, IMO, compared to FWD cars. But the other japanese cars mentioned above (even the FWD ones) are pretty good too.

If you want a fun beater, the older proteges are super light and handle pretty well in stock form. I get a smile on my face every time I drive em.
 
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