Help me decide what car to get!

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BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
16,815
1
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So I needs me a new car, and it must be a coupe, and must be manual. So far I can think of:

95-99 Eclipse - Bit slow, bit rough, and, its a mitsubishi

2000+ eclipse - Smoother, but uglier, and well, its still a mitsubishi.

2000 Mustang - Beastly, gas guzzler, v6 isnt that fast and probably cant do much but go in a straight line, and...its a ford.

2000 Cougar - Looks cool, somewhat unique, not the fastest but not the slowest, inexpensive but probably not bolted that tight, and...its a ford?

2000 Tiburon - Inexpensive, a bit wacky looking, not too fast, but cheap.

2003 Tiburon - Most expensive of the bunch, looks slick, culd be faster, but should be under warranty, least likely to break down, and doubtfully can be found under $8000.

2000 Celica - Small, handles great, no torque, loud and buzzy, probably gets tiring, but is the sportiest of the bunch and is damn expensive, although toyotas last forever.

2000 solara - Basically a two door camry, but is as fast as anything else on the list, and probably the most comfortable of them all, which has got to count for something...and toyotas last forever.


So far the only one Ive had a chance to drive was the cougar, and it was a good drive, but I dont want to make any decisions just yet...
 
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BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
16,815
1
81
Originally posted by: alien42
how about a prelude?
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Mostly out of my price range. Id prefer not to spend 8000 if its going to have over 100K and likely be riced.
 
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kyparrish

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2003
5,935
1
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saxophonoia on these forums has a ~2000 Solara 5spd coupe that he bought used. I rode in it the other night, the thing has 137k miles on it now, and still feels solid as a rock, and is a NICE ride. I'd go for the solara or celica.
 
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BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
16,815
1
81
Originally posted by: kyparrish
saxophonoia on these forums has a ~2000 Solara 5spd coupe that he bought used. I rode in it the other night, the thing has 137k miles on it now, and still feels solid as a rock, and is a NICE ride. I'd go for the solara or celica.
Click to expand...

Ya, I was really leaning towards that one, for all of the above reasons. Problem is that its really, really hard to find a manual one, since the vast majority of them are autos.

How did it handle? Was it as smooth and quiet as online reviews say?
 
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alien42

Lifer
Nov 28, 2004
12,869
3,299
136
Originally posted by: BD2003
Originally posted by: alien42
how about a prelude?
Click to expand...

Mostly out of my price range. Id prefer not to spend 8000 if its going to have over 100K and likely be riced.
Click to expand...

i got my 98 for 8k with 85,000 miles and it is in excellent shape (not riced)
 
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kyparrish

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2003
5,935
1
0
Originally posted by: BD2003
Originally posted by: kyparrish
saxophonoia on these forums has a ~2000 Solara 5spd coupe that he bought used. I rode in it the other night, the thing has 137k miles on it now, and still feels solid as a rock, and is a NICE ride. I'd go for the solara or celica.
Click to expand...

Ya, I was really leaning towards that one, for all of the above reasons. Problem is that its really, really hard to find a manual one, since the vast majority of them are autos.

How did it handle? Was it as smooth and quiet as online reviews say?
Click to expand...

yeah, smooth as silk. Very quiet. Handles great. Gets good mileage with efficient shifting, or really sh!tty mileage if you dog it out (duh).

We were roomies in college, and the Solara fit 4 guys with luggage comfortably on a road trip to Atlanta from Charlotte once. I don't really know anything else about it, but he'll probably help you out if you need anything. Hit him up on PM.

 
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Mr N8

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2001
8,793
0
76
I like the Solara option, even though it has an old person stigma.

You could also look into a 98-00 Subaru Imprezza RS or a 98-99 Integra.
 
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BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
16,815
1
81
Originally posted by: Mr N8
I like the Solara option, even though it has an old person stigma.

You could also look into a 98-00 Subaru Imprezza RS or a 98-99 Integra.
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Its only an old person car if you drive it like one. :p

Oh and too many doors/too ugly, and just plain too ugly. :)
 
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Mr N8

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2001
8,793
0
76
Actually, you can get the Imprezza as a coupe...but if you don't like the looks, it's not an option. :)
 
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mitaiwan82

Platinum Member
Nov 29, 2000
2,209
0
0
6th gen ('98-'02) Honda Accord coupe...bascially the direct competitor to the Solara. I may be biased, but I think the Accord looks much better than the Solara. Since you want a manual tranny, you'll have to settle for the 4-cylinder engine. The only major problem I know on these cars is that the automatic transmissions on the V6 models can fail pretty early in its life(My '99 V6 coupe is at 88k miles and still running strong). However, this would be a non-issue for the manual transmission.
 
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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,034
127
106
Why a v6 mustang and not an 8? I don't think the 6 banger gets much worse mileage then the other cars listed and the 8 isn't much worse then the 6. And they can turn fine and they aren't lame FWD. You left out f-bodies.
 
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TUKIN18S

Senior member
May 12, 2005
495
0
0
Out of the choices I would choose the Celica. Why does it have to be a coupe. There are plenty of European cars that are manual in a four door. Check out VWs and such, also give Hondas a shot.
 
Kelemvor

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
81
I always thought the TIburon's looked kinda cool with their funky corners and curves and such. Don't know anything about them though.
 
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AmericanRebel

Member
Sep 18, 2005
112
0
0
I would suggest a V-8 mustang. It has decent power and the gas milage is decent if you drive it properly, the same goes for a Camaro/Firebird. Plus, these cars have a lot of aftermarket support and are easy to work on. If you want something more exotic you could get a porsche 924/944/928, but the maintenence is expensive
 
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BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
16,815
1
81
Originally posted by: TUKIN18S
Out of the choices I would choose the Celica. Why does it have to be a coupe. There are plenty of European cars that are manual in a four door. Check out VWs and such, also give Hondas a shot.
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Cause I'm young and have no responsibilities and want to get a coupe while I still can. :)

I just got out of a test drive of a 96 celica ST. Looked great, definintely looked and sounded the part, but didnt play it...my auto neon is faster. Maybe if I could turbocharge it for under $1000. :p
 
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