Looking for a car in the $10k range, need help...

klutch

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Do it for me.
Hey guys

So I need another daily driver. Trying to whittle down my options here. I've already got a truck for work duty, and motorbikes for pure fun. I'm looking for something somewhat interesting/stylish/reliable to drive, and something with respectable fuel economy. I'm looking for something in the $10k Canadian range. So far, I've narrowed it down to about 12 cars, available locally, mainly within my budget. Keep in mind, most of the miles are going to be highway, as I've got a 60 km round-trip commute, and it'll be driven year-round. I'd prefer a manual, but I won't rule out quality automatics.

04/05 RX-8 - Can be had pretty cheap around here, within a grand or two of my budget. I've taken one for a test drive, and the handling is well sorted, great fit and finish, nice interior, all the ones I've seen are very low milage. Absolutely terrible on gas - 22mpg highway stretching it, and the things drink oil. Totally gutless torque, so not a great highway car.

02-04 Audi A4 1.8T - One of my top choices, I've found a few nice examples with 70-100k km's, so not terrible milage. Great fuel economy, stylish, nice interior, awd, some manual examples, fairly reliable, easily chipped for decent power/torque, but kinda heavy. Easy on my budget.

06 Civic Si - Found one with 70k km's, nicely sorted car, 6-speed, good fuel economy, fun to drive, but fwd, reliable as hell. Bit of a budget stretch, but attainable. Like the Mazda, no torque, but apparently nice on the highway. 02-04 RSX Type-S would be an alternative, but they always seem to be bagged on by younger guys.

03/04 G35 - Mainly sedans that I?ve seen, usually in the 70-110k km range, but within budget. Pretty nice car, almost always auto, lots of power, decent looking car. Obviously I'd jump to get the coupe if I saw one within budget, but they're rare. Same with the 03/04 350Z.

05/06 Accord Coupe - Attempting to find the coupe with a V6 and 6-speed within the budget. Would be a top choice if I could find one with under 100k km's.

07 Altima 3.5 Coupe - Another top choice. Found one almost within budget at a dealer. Auto, but pretty quick, decent fuel economy on the highway.

I'd consider the 05+ Mustang GT's, but haven't found many of those for under $15k. Anyways, if I'm missing anything or if anyone has any other recommendations or yay/nay advice, I'd love to hear it, as I need to get something in the next couple of days.
 
Civic Si is the way to go... Especially for a DD.

The RX-8 sucks on MPG
The audi will kill you on parts if it ever breaks
The G35 is about the same as the audi
The Accord is going to be rare (otherwise a great choice)
The Altima isn't as nice as the accord and also auto

The Civic is FWD is a happy medium between AWD and RWD as far as snow driving goes. Plus as you said yourself it's fun and very reliable and cheap to run. Reliable being pretty much the most important thing in a DD followed by running costs and then finally fun.


Devils Advocate: How much do DC2 Integra Type R's go for up there in canadaland? (15 year rule means the 1995s just became legal) It has all the pros of the civic plus it is considered by many to be the most fun and best handling FWD car until the R26.R
 
G35 is a lot cheaper to fix than the Audi. Shares a lot of parts with Nissans.
 
Just found an 04 G35 Coupe with low km's for $11. The guy's email is bouncing back, so I sent the notice thing on craigslist to inform him. If I can get through, I'll take it - otherwise, if the Civic owner drops a grand or two off their asking, I'll make an offer. Spectre...I saw an 03 S-Type R for pretty cheap with low K's. Almost found myself seriously considering it.
 
Miata.

Wait, $10k?

Spec Miata.
+1

Miata with a hard top has all the pros (listed) of the RX-8, plus better (often significantly better) fuel economy, great reliability, cheap parts, etc., etc., etc.... And year 'round usability.

I'd actually be more interested in an older Civic rather than a newer one. They can still be ridiculously reliable, it'll be cheaper, and Civics seem to have gotten gradually less fun since the early 90s. Then again, I'm not sure how much salt impacts the long term durability of a Civic up there. Down here it's irrelevant.
 
240sx, parts are cheap and easy to come by thanks to the HUGE after market. If you run the stock KA, fuel economy is not bad, clean S13's can be had for under 5K.

Also this being Canada you might be able to find JDM 180SX's/S13's with the SR motor, which even stock makes that car pretty damn quick.
 
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The engine will explode at some point, gas millage isn't great, if you hit a butterfly you'll die, and anyone in a moped can beat you in a straight line. There is absolutely no good reason to buy this. I would not recommend it. I only post it here as these threads need one idiotic destructive suggestion.

Unless you are BlaRo in which case a TR6 would get you the women, a longer penis, and a movie deal.
 
Out of the ones you listed, I vote Si. Rip the airbox cover off and first time you hit vtec and take it to redline, you will know you made the right decision. Plus you really cant argue with the reliability; my friend beat his old engine to shit, shifting at 8k all the time, overheating it a few times, racing while low on oil, etc etc etc and its never had a single issue; now that engine is in another friend's car who drives it just as hard - about 130k of abuse and literally not a single issue.
 
The G35 is tough - FordCrusherGT on this forum had his mother run one from Virginia back up to New York City and IIRC halfway there the oil light came on; she kept driving.

Turns out due to someone leaving the drain bolt loose, all the oil leaked out - it was bone dry when he checked it in New York City. Car still ran, though the hydraulic lifters were not happy. He sold it shortly thereafter (with the problem disclosed, of course) but the last time it was heard from it was still running.

I really don't think you could do that with anything else on that list except maybe the Altima as they share the engine.
 
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I hereby second the G35. My mother has a 2007 and the only thing that has gone wrong, was the check engine light came on because the fuel cap wasn't on properly. That is it. Not withstanding the fact that it is very fast and a ton of fun.
 
Read this in the morning but was at BBQ all day so didn't get a chance to reply. From that list I would go with the G35 as well. My only real problem with the G from that era is thr cheap looking and feeling interiors. I am sure they don't stand up well to UV damage in some parts of the country either but that shouldt be a problem where you are.
 
Avoid the G35, they eat tires and brakes. According to my cousin who owns one, they designed the rotors to wear as fast as the brake pads - he ends up replacing his rotors at least once a year.
 
Even if that's the case, it's easily solved (like it is on the ML430, which is really, really bad about it) - fit EBC Sport Slotted/Dimpled Rotors and Greenstuff pads next time by. Though I'd not heard about that from anyone who wasn't hammering the brakes on a regular basis - in which case, almost everything in the class does the same thing.
 
I only have experience with the RX-8 (and I have the *gasp* auto) but it's fine on the highway. RPM at 65-80 mph in 6th is no higher than it would be in a 4-banger but the engine is a lot smoother and actually rather quiet (if anything, the tire roar and wind noise are more of an issue).

As much as I will defend an auto, I would not get one of the 04-05 models, it was a crappy 4-speed that had ECU problems. The gearing on the manual might be different as well (or should be, the engine goes to higher RPM).
 
I suggest the FD RX-7, it pretty much won't fit any of your criteria but it's AWESOME.

Also take a look at the S2000, they are pretty good cars, only thing is that they REALLY like oil, like ALOT.
 
04/05 RX-8 - fun but not DD highway fun.

02-04 Audi A4 1.8T - easy enough to find, hopefully you don't mind a soft ride. but like you said, easy power, great cars. parts should be easy and cheap enough to find as long as you don't go to Audi for them.

06 Civic Si - great cars, not bad looking, but not IMO a place I want to spend that many hours in.

03/04 G35 - love them and love the sound they make. known tire wear issues because of the factory alignment. basically drive it hard and its fine. Recent airbag recall but who needs those anyway. comfortable and easy to find parts for. Do not mod this car, just ruins it.

05/06 Accord Coupe - Nothing wrong except its just plain vanilla. not much to distinguish it from a sofa.

07 Altima 3.5 Coupe - cheap luxury, nice engine, ugh looks.

If it were me, I would buy another miata(used to have one) Sold mine last year for $8k in Calgary and my hardtop for $850. You will never want for fun. the guys at FlyinMiata are awesome. cheap car, cheap thrills. Makes the drive home everyday that much better. Drove mine 360 days a year(5 bad snowstorms that a black small car with a black hardtop and black steel wheels is a little black hole surrounded by pickup trucks, not a good idea).
 
02-04 Audi A4 1.8T - easy enough to find, hopefully you don't mind a soft ride. but like you said, easy power, great cars. parts should be easy and cheap enough to find as long as you don't go to Audi for them.
Easy enough to solve with either an aftemarket suspension (around $700 for Bilstein shocks + H&R springs) or getting a USP. Also if you are looking at the B5 models I'm pretty sure the S4 can be had for around 10K.
 
Easy enough to solve with either an aftemarket suspension (around $700 for Bilstein shocks + H&R springs) or getting a USP. Also if you are looking at the B5 models I'm pretty sure the S4 can be had for around 10K.

Agree on the suspension. Canada doesn't have near as many S4 Audi cars available.

Having said that, Calgary is so skewed for my rarer RS4 I've seen or known about 10 different ones. Last Saturday at the track we had a 599GTB(at least 2 GTOs have been ordered), 430 Scud, ford GT heritage edition, 2 Carrera GTs, Audi R8 V10, 2008 Viper ACR and one of 3 - 458 Italias in North America, not including the bunch of corvettes, vipers, M3s and 911s. There are 5 new GT3RS 911s in town. this is for a population of just over 1 million. I know that Vancouver is skewed that way as well with the Lambo dealership.

So I don't hijack your post, go here to see some pics. http://forums.finalgear.com/photography/new-458-italia-in-canada-44776/
 
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