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Cars, cars, cars
precisionk
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I am looking to upgrade from my 04 Cavalier to something a bit more comfortable/fun to drive. I drive 50+ miles to work everyday so I figured I should be comfortable as I drive quite a bit. I am not a car guy by any means and looking for some direction on some ideas of cars to look at.
- No more then $15,000
- Used
- Don't want a 4 cylinder, prefer v6 or v8
- Would love a technology package with built in navigation for work
I would say I would rate the following of most important to least:
1. Comfortable
2. Unique looking
3. Muscle/Gas Mileage
Would appreciate any suggestions.
- No more then $15,000
- Used
- Don't want a 4 cylinder, prefer v6 or v8
- Would love a technology package with built in navigation for work
I would say I would rate the following of most important to least:
1. Comfortable
2. Unique looking
3. Muscle/Gas Mileage
Would appreciate any suggestions.
precisionk on
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Chrysler 300?
You can find Corvettes for around $15k.
Honda S2000.
BMW M3.
Volkswagon GTI.
My dad likes his Nissan Altima.
And, my mom likes her Sentra.
Well, there are a few suggestions. Hope it helps.
I appreciate the suggestions and will look into them.
Mileage, well, was hoing to keep it under 70k. As well as whatever car this is will be used year around so definitely don't want a deathtrap in the snow.
Also would prefer an automatic.
I'll recommend a Nissan Maxima. It's what I have, a 2003. It's 4 door, roomy, v6 with like 280 hp. Mine doesn't have any kind of technology package. I assume that would raise the cost quite a bit.
Look at a Jaguar X-type. V6, 2.5L or 3.0L, AWD (assuming you live in North America they are all AWD), classy and should be around your budget for a 2005 - 2007. Might have a bit of trouble finding one with Nav, but they do make them, so look around a bit. Checking Craigslist for Minneapolis there seems to be a lot (I don't know if you actually live near there but from your location status I guessed) in your price range that would be good options.
This one doesn't have your nav, but only 27,000 miles.
2005 3.0L for $13,999
2005 3.0L $13,940
None of these have the Nav you wanted, but do have most of the other features that a technology package on most cars would have. It also meets the comfortable, unique looking, and meets the muscle/gas mileage requirements (it has a good balance of the two, is what I'm saying, it's obviously not a Bugatti and obviously not a Prius.)
You might hear comments about the X-type being a Ford Mondeo, but it really isn't true, they share a platform, but over 80% of the parts are Jaguar parts. Also, Jaguar reliability has improved a ton since the 90s - which is another complaint you might hear about it.
Also, I should mention I'm a bit Jaguar biased and have a ridiculous love of them.
I think its because I drive a cavalier now and want an engine with a little more umph
I have looked at the Charger R/T's and they are a bit out of the price range. Haven't looked at any Pontiac's. I believe its my thinking that all 4cy are like my cav, slow and unresponsive. Not to say all v4's are, but I do like the power of that v6 or v8.
I have looked at some Acura's TL's as they look quite sexy, but I have never owned a "foreign" car that wasn't a Chevy/Jeep. I imagine having 100k miles on a TL is nothing for them?
As to the slow 4cyls, it really depends. A naturally aspriated (non-turbo charged) 4 cylinder is rarely going to have the accelleration of a performance oriented v8 and basically never the torque of one. They can still be pretty quick, though, and certainly quicker than your Cavalier. One you get into turbo charged 4 cylinders all bets are off on how fast they are, too. A recent Subaru WRX (turbo 4 cyl) will give my very mildly built '99 Cobra (8 cyl) a run for its money off the line in 0-60 and 1/4 mile and will be more forgiving of a bad launch due to the awd and would eat my car up in some twisties..
As a side note, it's not a v-4. 4 cylinder envines don't have the cylinders in a v-shape, they are generally all 4 cylinders in a line and called an inline-4 or just 4 cylinder. Not trying to be a pedantic asshole, hopefully just helpful so that you don't say something silly in front of a car salesman or on a less forgiving forum.
Thanks for the heads up. Yeah, I don't know much about the whole engine terms and what not.
Looks like the G8's look to be out the price range, though they do look nice.
Am I goofy enough to like the v6 Mustang's? I know its not a true Mustang if its not a V8, but I do like the body style of the 08-10's.
And with the money you save on the car, buy a $200 Garmin GPS.
The Aura isn't the prettiest car, but it has clean lines, is dependable, and something you could drive into the ground.
Actually, they were just talking about the new v6 mustang having 305 horsepower and being really fuel effiecient in the SE++ car thread.
Just don't go for the older v6 mustangs. those things suck.
You can easily find a 2005 to 2007 for under/around 15k.
Also, the regular mazda3 is a good car for a great price. A good friend of mine had one for a while that was pretty much loaded out, and it was very nice. Comfortable, lots of great modern toys for making your drive more fun and comfy, a good stereo... not quite as fun to drive as my GTI, but definitely nicer with more creature comforts. He sold it with a dent in the back for about 13k, so you could probably find a nicely optioned one without damage for 14-15k. I think his was a 2007 model.
And yeah, get a separate nav. Much less expensive than an auto maker's in-dash unit.
Look for an '08, they redid the interior after '07 and it's nicer even on the lower models.
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From a fun and reliability perspective, I'd definitely recommend one (I've had a couple old 90's 4 cylinders that I learned to drive in, an '83 5.0, and my '99 Cobra). They aren't the most distinctive cars due to being common (at least in v6 trim, but 99% of the people you meet couldn't tell you the difference) and the interiors are pretty bare bones, so they may not be what you're looking for. As has been mentioned, though, stuff like a nav and the like can be added later for pretty cheap.
The rwd aspect also makes year round driving tricky sometimes, but really, just be smart and you'll be alright. I've known many people who drove v8 mustangs year round in the snow and whatever. Plus in most non-rural areas, the roads are cleared enough that you're ok to drive within a day anyway.
I really have to agree with this. I have 3 friends who have Mazda 3s, and they love them. And my friends, like me, are complete car nuts. They want performance, and cornering, and all that. And yet, they all love the Mazda 3s and drive them more often than their other higher performing cars. It has more torque and horsepower than your crapalier ever had, and corners better, and has better reliability, and better gas mileage.
If you're really set on having an engine with more than 4 cylinders, why not look at the Mazda 6 then?
My question for you, is why do you want a car with more "umph," as you put it? Are you just cruising for most of the time to work? If that's the case, why would you want a car with a larger engine that's going to suck more fuel, with a larger engine of which you're not really going to take advantage? Are you looking for something that you can mod? Do you just want unnecessary speed, unnecessary money wasted on gas at the pump every week, and unnecessary speeding tickets and moving violations? Are you looking for just a daily driver to get to work, and replace your current car, or what? What exactly is your motivation here?
My dad has a 2001 mustang V6, it guzzles gas and isnt' that fast of a car.
actually I meant the even older ones. I think they were late 70s or early 80s that were truly horrible cars.
Why so if I may ask?
Do you by any chance have Microsoft's SYNC in your fusion? Talking regular Fusion or the hybrid?
Excellent AWD system. They seem popular with the frugal skiers I know, with packages that include engine block heaters, seat heaters, hill hold, and roof racks.
They're basically Hondas for the snow.
When my Rav 4 dies I'm getting a Forrester. You see a lot of them in MA because they're nice looking and good in the snow.
I don't, they started making the SYNC standard the build right after mine. It's still got an Ipod jack and a nice sound system, though I bet you could find a fusion with SYNC in your price range. I would recommend a regular fusion. It's unlikely you'll find a hybrid for under 15000 that doesn't have a ton of miles on it. The 3.0 V6 doesn't get fabulous mileage, and the AWD makes it slightly worse still ( I get about 20 mpg city, 27 highway ) but it does have some balls. And with Utah winters I wouldn't trade the AWD for anything.
If you are commuting as much as you say, you should really not be too hasty in abandoning 4cyl economy. You can find 4s with turbo that still sip gas when you want AND have plenty of "go fast" when you need it.
It's the car I am getting as soon as I get out of college and get meh a jub. Meh like that lack of moving parts in electric cars, equals less breakable parts. Not to mention electric cars fuel is 30 cents a gallon equivalent and electric cars owns gasoline cars off the line up because of their amazing torque. Leaf looks nice, love the back end. Plus Captain Planet loves it.
Something I've discovered though, is there really isn't a car for everyone. Despite how popular or acclaimed or cool looking any car is, you really have to go out there and find the one that fits you. Do some test driving, because it should be pretty obvious when you've found your car.
Other options would be the Audi A4, several VW's also used the 1.8 liter turbo engine (4 cyl). Though then you're getting into Audi's and VW's, which are much more expensive to maintain/repair. You also get the benefits of a sedan with the Legacy.
All this is before you get to the fact that the car is incredibly fun to drive. It's fast, and coupled with a 5 speed manual it gets from 0-60 somewhere between 5.7 and 6.8 seconds (depending on who you reference), not to mention the AWD makes taking corners oh so awesome.
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So, V-6, Turbo-4, bored-over smallblock V8, whatever, if you test out a car that's even sort of geared to performance you're going to find it a lot zippier than your current ride.
If you're at all worried about snow performance I second the Subaru suggestion. If you are a skilled driver who pays attention to what his car is doing you can go rear-wheel-drive, just get good tires to put on in the winter and swap in regular tires for the six weeks of summer you get up there.