Buying a car in LA & (Power to $ Ratio)

[MadCow809]

did you consider the GTO?

im not so sure on buying such a big car, i used to have a big, heavy, bulky mercedes, and that wasnt exactly fun to tool around. Sure it was great on the highway and stuff, but I would prefer a small, light, japanese sportscar or coupe'. i miss the agile, light weight japanese car that i love so much. Since i am in LA, the biggest market for japanese cars, i want to try and see if i can get an EVO or something. :lol:

having said that... what will i be looking at if i want a 2003ish Monaro? (or GTO, if thats what its called in USA)

 

[Spectre]

not really.. the in order to squeeze +- 220bhp from the 2litre, the compression ratio is higher than most N/A engine, therefore petrol does play quite an important role in terms of performance, you might not get more bhp from using the right petrol, but you definetely get more mid-range torque. Therefore making the engine pick up its rev alot easier.

Thanks for the website for the supercharger kit. I think i might just end up buying a 2litre Honda S2000.

Honda's ratings in the US market are achieved by using 91 octane gasoline. No significant additional benefits will be gained from using "better" gasoline unless you chip the car and have it retuned.

It should also be mentioned that the 2L S2K has rear diff and clutch problems that were never fully resolved and still continue to plague owners. (Buddy had one, recently sold it.) The S2K is also not practical as an "only" car for most people, as it has a tiny trunk and low payload.

 

[Spectre]

im not so sure on buying such a big car, i used to have a big, heavy, bulky mercedes, and that wasnt exactly fun to tool around. Sure it was great on the highway and stuff, but I would prefer a small, light, japanese sportscar or coupe'. i miss the agile, light weight japanese car that i love so much. Since i am in LA, the biggest market for japanese cars, i want to try and see if i can get an EVO or something. :lol:

having said that... what will i be looking at if i want a 2003ish Monaro? (or GTO, if thats what its called in USA)

If you get an EVO or WRX, it'll probably get stolen inside of a few months.

The GTO is at least as fun as an WRX (more, since you can actually do tailslides), and it'll EAT a stock WRX as a light snack. Let alone an Evo. Also, a big Mercedes is *not* the greatest handling car in the world. Jaguar owners call Mercedes "trucks" with some justification. The GTO is worlds better in terms of handling than even the last-gen S-class I drove.

Put it to you this way - I was going to buy a *new* GTO to add to the fleet (mostly Jaguars) because I liked it a lot; the problem is that the idiot dealerships in my area wouldn't sell me one the way I wanted and refused to order one. And their sales droids were very annoying - so I went back to my favorite make and bought a 2000 XKR instead. For the record, the XKR is slower in a straight line, and only marginally better handling - and the lack of a real manual transmission in the XKR shows. On the other hand, the XKR has a nicer interior, better road manners, and is much better looking.

I should also point out that you can get a used 02-04 Jaguar XK8 for the $25K budget you were mentioning. But the GTO is an excellent purchase, and most importantly doesn't stand out against traffic (always important with CA's speed enforcer cops.)

 

[llpc60]

More sex appeal too, and in LA, that counts. Chicks don't dig guys with 4-door Subaru's and bisexual's in 1st gen Miata's...

have you driven a miata? well I have driven a cobra, and what complete fucking garbage it is. anyone who chooses a bad car over a good one because of sex appeal, is the real faggot, not the one that drives the miata or 4-door subbie.

but if someone thinks like that, its good that they drive such rubbish, its kind of like natural punishment hehe

note: everything i just said is actually directed at my little sister who just got a cobra and concidently has said something similar to a forum member. I would never flame like that.

 

[MadCow809]

Well.. quite a few selection of cars i must say, so far ive got the RX8, RX7, E36 M3, MX5, S2000, GTO, WRX and EVO.


Must say that the S2000 is the one that id really want to get. The only reason why i held back when i had a chance to buy the S2000 in SA was because its way over priced. Having said that, im sure an EVO will be much more intresting to mod.....

*think think think* buying a car is such a pain in the arse...

 

[MadCow809]

have you driven a miata? well I have driven a cobra, and what complete fucking garbage it is. anyone who chooses a bad car over a good one because of sex appeal, is the real faggot, not the one that drives the miata or 4-door subbie.

lol:lol: , clarkson chose the gallardo spyder over the F430 partly because of the sex appeal (the looks) . so that implies..............

 

[klutch]

have you driven a miata? well I have driven a cobra, and what complete fucking garbage it is. anyone who chooses a bad car over a good one because of sex appeal, is the real faggot, not the one that drives the miata or 4-door subbie.

but if someone thinks like that, its good that they drive such rubbish, its kind of like natural punishment hehe

note: everything i just said is actually directed at my little sister who just got a cobra and concidently has said something similar to a forum member. I would never flame like that.

Nice flaming, gay-bashing post. I know it can be hard to interpret 'tongue-in-cheek' comments in the interweb, but come on...

If you live in California, you're going to spend a lot of time on the highways. I'm not discounting the smaller cars; I'm as much of a fan of them as the next person, and having driven nearly every type of performance import allowed into the Americas, I know their redeeming features. Highway cruising, however, is not one of them. There's a reason why V8's gained notoriety in the US.

 

[BlaRo]

lol:lol: , clarkson chose the gallardo spyder over the F430 partly because of the sex appeal (the looks) . so that implies..............

That JC is some sort of new God and that everybody should follow what he says mindlessly. Anything he says is automatically correct and true, and to believe otherwise is to be a heathen.

 

[thedguy]

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of an E36 BMW. The M3's are cheap, and you can upgrade them with the euro spec parts to bring power back up. But as I said before seriously look into a 318is with the supercharger kit. It may sound rather weak, but drive a 318is the way it was meant to be driven, and it's amazing what the car can do.

There's only a few other cars that let you have that much fun without breaking the speed limit.

 

[MadCow809]

That JC is some sort of new God and that everybody should follow what he says mindlessly. Anything he says is automatically correct and true, and to believe otherwise is to be a heathen.

not really... to me.. Clarkson is just a fat pommy git(Sasha even said that at the MPH 07), he is a great motor journalist and an excellent tv presenter, and i doubt anyone will be any better than him. But he talks a lot of garbage to favour himself and his taste of cars, and most of the times, i find that his comments are very biased. Which is why i found it amusing when llpc60 said that when "anyone who chooses a bad car over a good one because of sex appeal, is the real faggot" Because in his own world, everyone else is a faggot, but him.

 

[MadCow809]

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of an E36 BMW. The M3's are cheap, and you can upgrade them with the euro spec parts to bring power back up. But as I said before seriously look into a 318is with the supercharger kit. It may sound rather weak, but drive a 318is the way it was meant to be driven, and it's amazing what the car can do.

There's only a few other cars that let you have that much fun without breaking the speed limit.

Without a doubt the E36 M3 is a great master piece, BMW's 6cyl with RWD and whats even better, NO TRACTION CONTROL!! w00t! Problem is that its an old car, and old cars tend to have lots of problems. And since i have owned an old mercedes before, i know there are some certain issues & reliability problems about old cars that will make this E36 M3 unbearable to own.

1) Warranty & Motorplan - Sure you can get an extended warranty and motorplan, but BMW is very strict about modding and choosing your spare parts. If its not original, you lose your warranty, you fiddle(mod) around with your car, you lose your warranty. You service it with some non BMW-approved service centre, you lose your warranty.

2) Service - Are there any BMW approved repair centre?? What am i looking at for each service? Labour fee?

3) Parts - Are there any original parts available? Do i have to wait? Are they expensive?

4) Reliability Issue - Since the car will have a bit of milage on the clock, and some parts need to be replaced due to wear and tear (E.g Tyres, Clutch, Brake, Oil.. etc). How much is it gonna cost me?

All above things i mentioned are not exactly cheap, which is why im more biased towards a 2002-2005 model, instead of buying an 11yr old car.

Feel free to correct me if im wrong, for ive never owned an E36 M3, Im merely pointing out the kind of stuff i had to go through when i had my '95 Mercedes E320 Sportline.

 

[Spectre]

There are many BMW dealers in SoCal. However, they are not cheap to have work done there. They sell more BMWs in the US than they do anywhere else in the world, so you need not worry about finding service or original parts here. They will not be cheap, and you might have to wait for some of them to be sent to your dealer from a central distribution warehouse (the US is huge).

BMW reliability is a bit suspect of late, and the last E36 is now long out of it's extended warranty period.

Also, the GTO has traction control, but you can turn it off - completely off. Arguably, the GTO is a better handling car than a 3-series out of the box. Go test drive one and see what you think.

 

[MadCow809]

There are many BMW dealers in SoCal. However, they are not cheap to have work done there. They sell more BMWs in the US than they do anywhere else in the world, so you need not worry about finding service or original parts here. They will not be cheap, and you might have to wait for some of them to be sent to your dealer from a central distribution warehouse (the US is huge).

BMW reliability is a bit suspect of late, and the last E36 is now long out of it's extended warranty period.

Also, the GTO has traction control, but you can turn it off - completely off. Arguably, the GTO is a better handling car than a 3-series out of the box. Go test drive one and see what you think.

I'd love to.. the only thing thats stopping me from test driving all the cars is the simple fact that i dont have an us license .. right now im busy getting my international license renewed, and hopefully by May i should get my student visa and only then i can apply for an us license. *sigh*

 

[thedguy]

The one downfall to BMW's in the US, they aren't at all cheap on parts. About the only parts I know of that are cheap are probably the brake pads and rotors. Spectre pretty much hit the nail on the head with 'em.

I'd say if your unwilling or unable to work on the car yourself, to pass on the bmw, or hang on to some of that 25k you'd have spare to do any work on the car.

I don't think the e36's have all that many problems though, the M42 has a timing chain tensioner that needs replacing every 70k miles (but BMW doesn't state that), and it's oil pan bolts like to back out and drop in the pan. Both are very easy to prevent/maintain. The tensioner is a 2 minute job and requires a 12mm wrench. The pan bolts just need to be retorqued once in a great while.

BMW dealer labor costs are about $100/hour, but dealers are some of the worst places to go to have your car worked on IMO. Take it to a specialists shop instead, probably cheaper, and will be more willing to use aftermarket parts. And are less likely to rape you on parts costs than the dealers (though not always).

And I am forgetting, SoCal has a severe lack of Low mileage E36's, as you'll find out, it's hard getting around with out putting a lot of miles on a car there. You do have the benefit of a large enthusiasts following. SoCal was the place most imports were sold in the US for a long time, especially old Japanese tin. Then you get all the yuppies that had to have the benz's and bmws.

I'm putting in a lot of effort on this and I know I shouldn't.

www.autotrader.com is the common place to look for cars.

If you want to find a rather good deal though, look in the local papers, especially the OC register and whatever the Riverside county one is called (brain is failing me ATM). For some reason people forget that cars are posted in the papers and owners don't get a lot of calls on them. Also the Recycler is a great paper as well. Usually coasts about $1.50 and are at most grocery stores and gas stations.

 

[Spectre]

You can almost double that rate for dealer service in SoCal. The dealers there for high-line vehicles like Jaguar, BMW, and Mercedes charge $150-210/hr for labor now. As you state, you can take the vehicle to a specialist garage and save a lot of money - $75-160 is their typical going rate, I am told.

You can also check into Craigslist.org, and select the particular part of SoCal you're in for a list of cars available in your area.

 

[MadCow809]

I'm putting in a lot of effort on this and I know I shouldn't.

www.autotrader.com is the common place to look for cars.

If you want to find a rather good deal though, look in the local papers, especially the OC register and whatever the Riverside county one is called (brain is failing me ATM). For some reason people forget that cars are posted in the papers and owners don't get a lot of calls on them. Also the Recycler is a great paper as well. Usually coasts about $1.50 and are at most grocery stores and gas stations.

Thanks for your effort, really. Ive already looked through the autotrader, it was the first site that poped into my head. Ive found plenty of 02' 03' Honda S2000s with decent mileage & price. I will try the paper later on this week, but if possible, id like to buy the car from the dealer, not from private sale.

 

[thedguy]

I'm starting to realize that you really want something with a warranty, and possibly with some kind of service contract for maintenance... something I think bmw does on their new cars.

HOLY crap, it just hit me like a ton of bricks! LEXUS IS300... seriously. I think they are in the low 20's now, can be had with auto or manual, pre-owned certified (which means warranty), it uses an extremely reliable engine, is on par with any new or older bmw. I think the only downside is it's no m3 and it's got "altezza tail lights" but that is because it is an altezza with a more powerful and torquey engine.

Check that one out. It may be your best option really. A friend of mine has one and loves everything about it, especially the part where it's not a BMW so no chassis cracking/tearing problems

 

[MadCow809]

I'm starting to realize that you really want something with a warranty, and possibly with some kind of service contract for maintenance... something I think bmw does on their new cars.

HOLY crap, it just hit me like a ton of bricks! LEXUS IS300... seriously. I think they are in the low 20's now, can be had with auto or manual, pre-owned certified (which means warranty), it uses an extremely reliable engine, is on par with any new or older bmw. I think the only downside is it's no m3 and it's got "altezza tail lights" but that is because it is an altezza with a more powerful and torquey engine.

lol yeah, i have enough problems in my life already (actually i dont....:lol: ) but since im extremely lazy and fussy, the last thing i want is a broken car with no one to blame on. Which is why reliability and customer service is really important for me. Lexus is known for their good customer service(at least in SA), and im prepred to give it a shot.

About an year or so ago, I drove the new Lexus IS250 (Auto with paddle shift) that was launched in SA, and i was deeply impressed by the level of comfortness and the luxury. However, the V6 could be more powerful, i wasnt impressed by the power at all, mainly because the car is extremely heavy (if i can remember correctly, 1900kg with a few odd toys installed). Therefore it made it boring to drive, even with the RWD drivetrain setup. To be honest, the Audi A4 2.0T FWD car was a lot more exciting than the IS250 (shhh... dont tell anyone... i was actually considering on buying the A4 2.0T).

Im not so sure about the IS300 though, since this specific model was never introduced in SA. Therefore I hardly know anything about this car and the engine. But if its anything close to the IS250, then id rather buy the S2000. Simply because I dont have to buy a family sedan, and I believe that weight kills all the fun of driving.

 

[thedguy]

The car is lighter than the 250. A friend of mine has one, and he's driven the IS250 and IS350, he much rather have his 300.

http://www.caranddriver.com/cars/4013/lexus-is300.html

215hp, 2jz I6 (same as in the supra, sans turbos), 3200lbs. It's a Toyota Altezza with a bigger engine. This was Toyota's 3 series fighter, but most reviews said it couldn't beat the e46 330I because it didn't have a manual the 1st year it was out. I'd take it over an Audi A4 in a heart beat.

Audi/VW aren't known for their great service in the US. They are consistently on the bottom of EVERY consumer satisfaction survey.

 

[Spectre]

Im not so sure about the IS300 though, since this specific model was never introduced in SA. Therefore I hardly know anything about this car and the engine. But if its anything close to the IS250, then id rather buy the S2000. Simply because I dont have to buy a family sedan, and I believe that weight kills all the fun of driving.

You might know it better as the Toyota Altezza.