Recommend a car for me please

[Medellon]

Hi, I'm looking for a new or slightly used car and want some advice. I would like to keep the price around $25,000 give or take a grand or two and I would like something a little sporty. Sedan or coupe does not make too much a difference as I rarely have more than 2 people with me at a time. I drive a 2001 Acura CL now and I am partial to Japanese cars but would be willing to give U.S. cars a shot. I am 39 years old so no pocket rockets as those do not appeal to me, thanks for your help.

 

[Tyrant222]

Legacy GT?
Altima SE?

Let's see, do you want good gas mileage too? The new camaro is right around the corner.

 

[Medellon]

Gas mileage is not a great concern to me as my job is pretty close. Hmm, need to check out the new Camaro.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

new accord LX v7 2008 =] perfect for around 25k

 

[Jawo]

I've been looking at the Mazda6. Its in your price range, aggressive styling, good performance, and Japanese.

 

[exdeath]

Since you want sporty and classy, don't care how big the back seat is or what gas mileage it gets, and said the magic number $25,000 I'm going to give my two cents and pimp the car I own and know best:

2003/2004 Cobra is in that price range with 20k-30k miles and can attain 500 HP to the wheels with very little in bolt ons if you crave performance. If you find one original owner and factory stock, it's often been taken really care of or been a garage queen. Forget anything you know or heard of about Mustangs, the 03 Cobra is in a completely different class of car with the Viper and Corvette, or as close as you can get for 1/3 the price.

At 3,665 lbs for the coupe it's lighter than any of the new muscle cars coming out (Charger, Challenger, GT500, and safe to assume the new Camaro given the trend, are all at or pushing 4,000 lbs) and is as legendary as the MKIV Supra TT when it comes to stock bottom end robustness and power potential per dollar spent on mods. A pullied or Kenne Bell/Whipple '03 Cobra is virtually unbeatable on the street. On the more technical side, its got independent rear, 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS, Brembos, traction control, severely underrated hand built 390 HP/390 TQ supercharged 4.6L 32v DOHC V8 built with an iron block, 6 bolt mains, forged crank and Manley H beam rods and forged pistons at 8.5:1 from the factory, mated to a Tremec T-56 6 speed also used in the Viper and Z06 and pretty much any high performance RWD 6 speed car made.

Aside from suede leather seats with power driver seat with power adjustable bolsters, lumbar, simple silver and electroluminescent gauges, and stitched leather steering wheel, shifter, and parking brake lever, and metal inlaid pedals, the interior is a bit dated and clumsy.

But it's a raw muscle car that owns at the stoplights, it's not a Lexus or Caddilac. It's not just for the straights either, it can carve the corners and hang out with BMWs and Corvettes in that department pretty well too considering that it's 'just a Mustang'. While not a Lotus or Porsche obviously, the suspension and handling of the '03 Cobra is the most overlooked and underrated aspect of it even though it's probably the part that received the most attention from SVT. The biggest strength of the 03 Cobra however is the insane power modability on the stock engine. I don't think any other car comes close for the money other than it's import sister, the MKIV Supra TT.

A LS2 GTO is also a comparable car in that price range, as is a Supra TT if you can find one in that price range, as the prices on 6 speed TT Supras have gone up and the cars more rare since the Rice and the Superglue movies came out.

On the more balanced side of things if you want a little bit of everything and reasonably sporty:

I'd say the last generation of BMW M3 (with the 333 HP straight 6) also for an excellent all round jack of all trades master of none type commuter (better interior than most cars with more power, but more sporty and powerful than a dull all out luxury car), but I think those are in the $25-30k mark.

350Z and G35 from Nissan/Infinity...

Toyota doesn't have anything really sporty but the new Avalon and Camry with the 2GR-FE are nice in terms of power and luxury features for the money.

And I haven't kept up on the Honda/Acura side of things to say anything about them.

Come to think of it there are too many nice cars in the $25k new or used range to list them all, so unless you have some more specific requirements in mind, it's going to be overwhelming to choose due to the number of options available.

 

[GoatMonkey]

Also there is a new Acura TSX that is supposed to be available spring 2008. This one is supposed to have the option of being a coupe. And the rumor mill is saying it's supposed to have a 300hp engine option. I haven't seen any real pictures of it yet.

Of course you have the BMW 1-series coming soon, possible available for mid $20s. Sorta stubby looking but should be awesome to drive.

And the new Honda Accord coupe is supposed to be available in a couple of months. Looks fairly good, especially from the back. Probably somewhere around 270 to 280hp, and mid to high $20s also.

Someone already mentioned the 2009 Camaro. I think they're supposed to be available fall 2008, not sure though, but they look awesome. A redesigned Mustang is supposed to be available in 2009, rumors are: 5.0 V-8, twin-turbo option, DSG style 6 speed transmission, refreshed styling featuring rear fender arches. There's also a Challenger coming, I'm not much of a fan of that.

If you're looking for something that's available now, a BMW 3 series that's a few years old can be found for mid-$20s, but get that extended 5/100 warranty. Acura TL, Infiniti G35 coupe, both are nice and can be found with low miles for around $25k. There's the GTO also, good deals can be found on that one. Subaru Legacy GT is good. Nissan Altima coupe can be found for about the same price range as a used G35. A current Mustang GT is also not a bad choice. There's the Chrylser 300 if you like to look like a pimp in a giant chromed out car, not exactly sporty though. If you like luxury cars, there's the Mercedes C230, and a coupe variation (CLK I think?), they're a little underpowered, but they have a fantastic interior and a classy looking exterior. I'd get the warranty on one of those too.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: exdeath
Since you want sporty and classy, don't care how big the back seat is or what gas mileage it gets, and said the magic number $25,000 I'm going to give my two cents and pimp the car I own and know best:

2003/2004 Cobra is in that price range with 20k-30k miles and can attain 500 HP to the wheels with very little in bolt ons if you crave performance. If you find one original owner and factory stock, it's often been taken really care of or been a garage queen. Forget anything you know or heard of about Mustangs, the 03 Cobra is in a completely different class of car with the Viper and Corvette, or as close as you can get for 1/3 the price.

At 3,665 lbs for the coupe it's lighter than any of the new muscle cars coming out (Charger, Challenger, GT500, and safe to assume the new Camaro given the trend, are all at or pushing 4,000 lbs) and is as legendary as the MKIV Supra TT when it comes to stock bottom end robustness and power potential per dollar spent on mods. A pullied or Kenne Bell/Whipple '03 Cobra is virtually unbeatable on the street. On the more technical side, its got independent rear, 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS, Brembos, traction control, severely underrated hand built 390 HP/390 TQ supercharged 4.6L 32v DOHC V8 built with an iron block, 6 bolt mains, forged crank and Manley H beam rods and forged pistons at 8.5:1 from the factory, mated to a Tremec T-56 6 speed also used in the Viper and Z06 and pretty much any high performance RWD 6 speed car made.

Aside from suede leather seats with power driver seat with power adjustable bolsters, lumbar, simple silver and electroluminescent gauges, and stitched leather steering wheel, shifter, and parking brake lever, and metal inlaid pedals, the interior is a bit dated and clumsy.

But it's a raw muscle car that owns at the stoplights, it's not a Lexus or Caddilac. It's not just for the straights either, it can carve the corners and hang out with BMWs and Corvettes in that department pretty well too considering that it's 'just a Mustang'. While not a Lotus or Porsche obviously, the suspension and handling of the '03 Cobra is the most overlooked and underrated aspect of it even though it's probably the part that received the most attention from SVT. The biggest strength of the 03 Cobra however is the insane power modability on the stock engine. I don't think any other car comes close for the money other than it's import sister, the MKIV Supra TT.

A LS2 GTO is also a comparable car in that price range, as is a Supra TT if you can find one in that price range, as the prices on 6 speed TT Supras have gone up and the cars more rare since the Rice and the Superglue movies came out.

On the more balanced side of things if you want a little bit of everything and reasonably sporty:

I'd say the last generation of BMW M3 (with the 333 HP straight 6) also for an excellent all round jack of all trades master of none type commuter (better interior than most cars with more power, but more sporty and powerful than a dull all out luxury car), but I think those are in the $25-30k mark.

350Z and G35 from Nissan/Infinity...

Toyota doesn't have anything really sporty but the new Avalon and Camry with the 2GR-FE are nice in terms of power and luxury features for the money.

And I haven't kept up on the Honda/Acura side of things to say anything about them.

Come to think of it there are too many nice cars in the $25k new or used range to list them all, so unless you have some more specific requirements in mind, it's going to be overwhelming to choose due to the number of options available.

Your post is awesome Everything is insightful and spot-on. Couldn't go wrong with any of those recommendations.