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what car should I get thread #34824236482

7K views 42 replies 27 participants last post by  Armour 
#1 ·
I love my jetta, but I'm sick of driving automatic and am not sure of long term reliability. I'm about to hit 42k which puts the value of my car at about 13000, maybe 12.


Here is what I want: Manual transmission, 13000 maximum pricetag, somewhat good gas mileage, (~25 mpg+) dont really care about body style, as long as it isnt a crossover, suv or truck. I would like something alittle more reliable that the 2.0t (even though it is a good engine imo) Must be somewhat fun to drive...

Here is what I have in mind...
-an unmolested mk4 R32 (problem is anything in my range usually has 100k+)
-8th gen civic si (these also seem to be pretty high mileage in my price range)
-any 2.5L, mkv/mkvi volkswagen (i hear these are somewhat slow?)
-clean 5th gen prelude

What am I missing? How reliable are mk4 R32's? Should I totally rethink what I want?

pic of my current car (with hipster filter, of course)
 
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#2 ·
It depends on how much space you want and where you live. If I was looking to buy a new-ish car right now that was reliable, safe, and got great gas mileage, I'd get a Honda Fit Sport. That model is built in Japan. They actually loose money on every one they sell, and because of where it is assembled, build quality is top notch. Gets stupidly high gas mileage, will last forever, carries a bunch of crap for the size, maintains resale value, insurance will be cheap, tires are small so you won't have to spend a fortune on those when it's time for new ones and you can park it in spots most cars wouldn't fit in sideways.

Yes, it doesn't have a lot of HP, but it also weighs almost nothing. Reviews I've read of it from people that like sports cars and hatchbacks have been very positive and refer to it as eminently tossable. It'd be fun in corners.

Not sure what the used values are like, but considering they are around 18k new, you should be able to find on in your price range used. just remember, get the sport version as it supposedly has a little more pep. I'm very much a sporty/sports car guy and my current plans, when my VW bites it, is to pick up a fit sport when I can afford it and, when I have an extra garage space, get an old Lexus SC 300 and drop a single turbo supra motor in there so I have a sleeper with around 500hp for the weekends and a great city car with stupid gas mileage and low insurance for every other time. I think it's a good plan!
 
#4 ·
I was looking at fit sports on autotrader...they seem to be really well priced. Only thing is my neighbors across the street have one and they already had to get rust repair on the doorsills :eek:
Car is an '08 but then again they dont wash it very often....
 
#5 ·
I forgot to add, nothing is too small! I would actually like to downsize from my jetta, as anything else I drive is too big, and I love how small my Superbeetle is.
 
#6 ·
I've never lived somewhere rust is a problem (moss in the PAC NW, but not rust). As long as there is paint on the car and a protective coating underneath, you should be fine, right? If you buy a car that has spent its life somewhere where the roads aren't salted you should at least be able to get one with no issues like that. It'd be a little more expensive to travel to get it, but you could make it a road trip.
 
#12 ·
I dont know if upstate ny is particularly bad or what...you would not believe the rust here. If you dont diligently wash your car at least every other week you will see rust. Hell, I wash my car once a week from april to at least november and I have rust bubbles in 3/4 of the door sills.
 
#10 ·
just my luck that i'm looking for a mk5, auto, less than 100k miles, in upstate NY, but don't have $money !!!!

good luck with your search

not sure what this winter will bring but i also would consider subaru WRX or audi quattro

both are prob more than $13k though .....
 
#11 ·
Yeah, if you're looking for reliability I'm thinkin' a MK4 R32 is not where you want to look. MK5's were a huge upgrade over MK4s in every way except for looks. Faster, handle better, more reliable, the only thing that wasn't as good about MK5s was the looks in my opinion. I'm really not sure why you are worrying about reliability when your car only has 42k.

Why not a MK5 GTI with a 6 speed? It's pretty much the same thing you have now except lighter and manual.
 
#19 ·
Yeah, if you're looking for reliability I'm thinkin' a MK4 R32 is not where you want to look.
Don't have much to add except that my R32 has been perfectly reliable since day 1 of ownership. Only time I had to get it towed is when I ran over a nail and it destroyed my front tire. As everyone knows the fix a flat kits that came with them (no spare tire due to the rear pan setup with the awd) suck and don't work.

have you thought about a e36 m3 for your prices? It might take a month or two but you can definitely find the right one for your price range and sub 100k miles.
 
#20 ·
-any 2.5L, mkv/mkvi volkswagen (i hear these are somewhat slow?)
I don't know about that. A newer 2.5 MT Golf with the 170hp 2.5 is pretty quick. Also, they are the most reliable car VW has ever built (more reliable than the average Honda or Toyota, according to Consumer Reports). Certainly much more reliable than anything else on your list.
 
#23 ·
8th gen Si or Accord V6. You might also try to find Acura Cl Type S 2003 with manual, but those are rare to find.
 
#32 ·
I'll go along with these. /obvious bias

Also a good choice if OP doesn't mind driving an older car. However, at nearly 3000lb it's not exactly leaps and bounds more agile than the 7th-gen Accord V6 and is much less powerful. I do like the SH ATTS though, and the Accord has an open diff.

Im not sure how fun to drive these are, but IMO they look nice and the interior is a nice place to be.
I think mine is quite fun to drive despite having the 5AT. With a 6MT they are very speedy...like low 6s to 60mph.

I had one (03 6MT V6). One wheel burnies. Not all that fun due to size/handling.
Compared to what, though? An S2K or ITR, sure. But at around 3200lb they are not that big.

Any wheel drive sucks on ice. Did you mean rwd sucks in snow?
The S2K will be even worse due to low weight and frisky suspension. Big diff between that and a big, solid 5-series or something in the snow.
 
#27 ·
Maybe I'm reading too much into what you asked for, but when you said you wanted something reliable what I heard was, "I don't want to spend a ton of money on maintenance". That would rule out the BMW, Subaru, VW, and Audi suggestions (I just replaced the second throttlebody in five years on my car at $400, the fluids are stupidly expensive and when small things break they are often picey to replace so don't tell me VW's don't cost a lot to maintain). The Mini seems like a good option, but that's based on my ignorance of their maintenance costs, however, they are considered a premium brand and will likely price parts and service based on this. They also tend to hold their resale value very well, which means one in your price range is going to be beat up and/or high mileage.

As I pointed out in my initial post, tire cost is something that you should consider. You won't ahve to do it too often, but if you get an all out sports car like the S2k it'd be a waste not to put good, stick rubber on there, at which point you're going to go through tires much more quickly and they're going to cost a hell of a lot more. The Fit has tony little wheels with tiny little tires which means they're cheaper to replace.

Small and lightweight is where you want to go with this.
 
#34 ·
I was looking at these and mazdaspeed 3's as well...dont mazdas have awful rust problems though? My uncle has an MPV (pretty sure that's the name) minivan and the rust is unbelieveable...pretty sure it's an '03 or '02 though.

That being said, mazdas do catch my eye from time to time.
 
#37 ·
If you're going with a VW stay away from naturally aspirated if you want to go faster. I mean, you will go faster with mods, but HP gained per dollar spent on mods is a lot lower than with a forced induction engines. Forced induction and high displacement engines give you much more out of mods and tuning that 4-6 cylinder N/A engines. Trust me, been there, done that, never going back unless I have a weekend car to have fun in (or unless it's an M3)
 
#41 ·
^^^ That does not look good!! ^^^ Then again, neither does the Honda...

Don't know exactly where you are in upstate NY, but in general, this is one of the worst areas in the country for salt. They just use an enormous amount of it on the roads so any car driven in winter here will have rust everywhere. I wouldn't touch an older Mazda around here - 5 year old ones are known to have rusted through fender wells. I also don't drive anything remotely special through the winter here. Even a single winter will mark the car for life.

How about a Volvo C30? They are probably a little bit out of your price range, but they are unique, available with a manual and a T5 motor, are good in the snow, and Volvo's rust less than almost any other brand.

 
#42 ·
My vote would be for a 1st gen TSX 6-speed manual.
 
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