$20,000 or $400 a month to spend on a car, what would you get?

[zerocool84]

The new eclipse's are heavy dogs. I would most definitely get a civic si over the eclipse.

 

[thomsbrain]

You'll get a lot more bang for your buck if you buy used. At $20K, you can get some pretty nice cars that are only a few years old, often manufacturer certified. Cars that cost closer to $30K when new.

Second, I really hope you have more money to put toward a down payment. Because if you need a $400 payment on a $20K car, that would indicate you have a really small down payment and will be instantly upside-down on your loan the second you drive the car off the lot. That means if you get in an accident, you'll lose money that you apparently don't have. I pay $240 a month for my used $20K car, so that should tell you something.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Miata starts at $21k and the solstice at $22k.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: sirplayalot
2007 Honda Civic SI!

I drove one, GREAT car and VERY fun to drive!

http://automobiles.honda.com/civic/ SI Coupe or Sedan! 🙂

Honda's are great cars, might have to look at the Civic again. Certainly something to think about.

BTW I love Honda's version of 'build your own' where you get all of 4 different choices to pick from (besides color) Meanwhile the Volvo C30 has so many choices that you actually get to pick where the first scratch shows up at.

GM is the same way. I prefer to pick my options. Check out MINI's build site if you want your head to spin with options.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Personally, I'd go with Miata, Mustang, then Solstice.

But then again, I like my cars to be fun 😀

 

[ognabor]

mazda3! (the Speed, if you can)

 

[railer]

Originally posted by: zerocool84
The new eclipse's are heavy dogs. I would most definitely get a civic si over the eclipse.

The eclipse goes about 3500 lbs. But, every high school punk around has a civic - those things don't do a thing for me. 139 ft/lbs of torque? HAHAHAHAHAHA!

As long as we specify a v6 Eclipse, that will chew up and spit out any civic SI. Much better styling on the Eclipse vs the civic si IMO.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: railer

Originally posted by: zerocool84
The new eclipse's are heavy dogs. I would most definitely get a civic si over the eclipse.

The eclipse goes about 3500 lbs. But, every high school punk around has a civic - those things don't do a thing for me. 139 ft/lbs of torque? HAHAHAHAHAHA!

As long as we specify a v6 Eclipse, that will chew up and spit out any civic SI. Much better styling on the Eclipse vs the civic si IMO.

Just admit that you were not blessed with a large package. Everything you seem to say points to it.

Everything I see says that a Civic Si will run neck and neck with the overweight pig, err... Eclipse. It kind of reminds me of those Toyota ads they used to run for the Celica, "Looks fast!"

 

[railer]

yea sry for trying to give intelligent car advice instead of spouting off about "everything I see" like and ignorant f#cking imbecile that doesn't know sh!t.

Anybody who's smart enough to type can see that the 268 hp eclipse v6 does the 1/4 in 14.4, while the 197 hp civic si does the same 1/4 in low 15's. Duh!

If speed isn't your thing, fine, but only an idiot would claim that a civic si is as fast as an eclipse v6. (Or Altima VQ, Maxima, etc, etc, etc.)

And if you're not into speed, the GTI is a better car than the civic SI anyway.

Try not to get your panties in such a bunch over a Honda.....it's pitiful.

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: railer
yea sry for trying to give intelligent car advice instead of spouting off about "everything I see" like and ignorant f#cking imbecile that doesn't know sh!t.

Anybody who's smart enough to type can see that the 268 hp eclipse v6 does the 1/4 in 14.4, while the 197 hp civic si does the same 1/4 in low 15's. Duh!

If speed isn't your thing, fine, but only an idiot would claim that a civic si is as fast as an eclipse v6. (Or Altima VQ, Maxima, etc, etc, etc.)

And if you're not into speed, the GTI is a better car than the civic SI anyway.

Try not to get your panties in such a bunch over a Honda.....it's pitiful.

There is more to a car than numbers and speed. In terms of overall design, the Civic Si is great. Vehicle dynamics and fun to drive factor are the Civic Si's strong point.

And how is the GTI a better car than the Civic Si?

 

[Blackjack200]

3 Mazdas you might want to check out:

RX-8: Rotary engine deliciousness. The rotary engine provides good power in an engine that's about 120 lbs lighter than a comparable OHV piston engine. These things are supposedly a blast to drive (never driven it myself) and they rev to 9,000. Downside: Terrible gas milage (17-18 MPG), not the quickewt in a straight line. BTW, don't get the automatic transmission. Not only is it a crime against humanity, it's also like 20-30 horsepower less.

Mazda Miata: Very light with good power and RWD layout. Can be raced with minimal modifications. Downside: gay stereotype

Mazdaspeed 6: Basically a poor man's M5. Turbocharged and intercooled 2.3 litre engine, outstanding handling, understated and practical 4 door design. No automatic transmission available. Downside: ???

I think the Miata and speed 6 can both be found new for $20,000 (speed 6 might be a stretch) RX-8 would likely have to be 1 or 2 years old.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: railer
yea sry for trying to give intelligent car advice instead of spouting off about "everything I see" like and ignorant f#cking imbecile that doesn't know sh!t.

Anybody who's smart enough to type can see that the 268 hp eclipse v6 does the 1/4 in 14.4, while the 197 hp civic si does the same 1/4 in low 15's. Duh!

If speed isn't your thing, fine, but only an idiot would claim that a civic si is as fast as an eclipse v6. (Or Altima VQ, Maxima, etc, etc, etc.)

And if you're not into speed, the GTI is a better car than the civic SI anyway.

Try not to get your panties in such a bunch over a Honda.....it's pitiful.

There is more to a car than numbers and speed. In terms of overall design, the Civic Si is great. Vehicle dynamics and fun to drive factor are the Civic Si's strong point.

And how is the GTI a better car than the Civic Si?

I am not a Honda fan boy......far from it but the Civic Si is much more fun to drive than the Eclipse Gt. I am not really into 3500lb "tossable" cars.

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: railer
yea sry for trying to give intelligent car advice instead of spouting off about "everything I see" like and ignorant f#cking imbecile that doesn't know sh!t.

Anybody who's smart enough to type can see that the 268 hp eclipse v6 does the 1/4 in 14.4, while the 197 hp civic si does the same 1/4 in low 15's. Duh!

If speed isn't your thing, fine, but only an idiot would claim that a civic si is as fast as an eclipse v6. (Or Altima VQ, Maxima, etc, etc, etc.)

And if you're not into speed, the GTI is a better car than the civic SI anyway.

Try not to get your panties in such a bunch over a Honda.....it's pitiful.

There is more to a car than numbers and speed. In terms of overall design, the Civic Si is great. Vehicle dynamics and fun to drive factor are the Civic Si's strong point.

And how is the GTI a better car than the Civic Si?

I am not a Honda fan boy......far from it but the Civic Si is much more fun to drive than the Eclipse Gt. I am not really into 3500lb "tossable" cars.

i had more fun driving a neon srt-4 compared to the si and i'm stereotypical against dodge. the "fun factor" may be there with an si but it's overrated, imo, and i think the fun just comes from the vtec engine. no power, all noise so you think you're zooming. not that it's slow...just you think you're going faster than you really are. speed3 is definitely funner than the si and it's cheaper (after markup) last i checked.

 

[railer]

There is more to a car than numbers and speed. In terms of overall design, the Civic Si is great. Vehicle dynamics and fun to drive factor are the Civic Si's strong point.

And how is the GTI a better car than the Civic Si?

I agree. Not every wants/needs/cares about speed. I was just responding to a stupid person. 😀

The GTI and Si are close enough to be personal preference. C&D picked the GTI over the Si last year, and there are fewer GTI's around my area than Si's, so I'd go that route if those were my 2 choices. But the Si I'm sure is tons of fun and probably more reliable, so also a good car.

 

[nitrousninja]

I went with a 2005 Legacy GT auto with every option and only 5600 miles on it.


I went from a 460/458 '03 Cobra that I just sold. The LGT is a ton of fun for the money. AWD, turbo, and for $1500 you can get around 250rwhp/280 rwtq and not lose any drivability. For $5K you can upgrade the turbo and all the support mods and get in the 350rwhp range.

I test drove a Mazda 3/6, G35x and coupe, a few different BMW, and a couple Audis and the LGT was definately the best all around for the money. In the end it's what YOU want out of the car not us.

 

[newmachineoverlord]

The Toyota Prius is around that price range, and given that it's 40 miles to work, that's what I'd get if I had that budget. For what I actually have, see my recent thread
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2097737&enterthread=y . A Honda Civic would be even cheaper but get worse mileage.

 

[ProfJohn]

A Prius huh? hmmm it's 3 miles to work which means I would only have to fill up maybe once a month.

Could stop at gas station every time I mail off a payment 🙂

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: alimoalem

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: railer
yea sry for trying to give intelligent car advice instead of spouting off about "everything I see" like and ignorant f#cking imbecile that doesn't know sh!t.

Anybody who's smart enough to type can see that the 268 hp eclipse v6 does the 1/4 in 14.4, while the 197 hp civic si does the same 1/4 in low 15's. Duh!

If speed isn't your thing, fine, but only an idiot would claim that a civic si is as fast as an eclipse v6. (Or Altima VQ, Maxima, etc, etc, etc.)

And if you're not into speed, the GTI is a better car than the civic SI anyway.

Try not to get your panties in such a bunch over a Honda.....it's pitiful.

There is more to a car than numbers and speed. In terms of overall design, the Civic Si is great. Vehicle dynamics and fun to drive factor are the Civic Si's strong point.

And how is the GTI a better car than the Civic Si?

I am not a Honda fan boy......far from it but the Civic Si is much more fun to drive than the Eclipse Gt. I am not really into 3500lb "tossable" cars.

i had more fun driving a neon srt-4 compared to the si and i'm stereotypical against dodge. the "fun factor" may be there with an si but it's overrated, imo, and i think the fun just comes from the vtec engine. no power, all noise so you think you're zooming. not that it's slow...just you think you're going faster than you really are. speed3 is definitely funner than the si and it's cheaper (after markup) last i checked.

Hey me too........some torque is fun