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YACT: Help me spend my money

G

Gyrene

Banned
So, with the advent of my car being stolen last night, the insurance company will be paying me the full KBB value of my car, ~$12,000. My fiancee's parents, who were originally going to trade me a Cooper S for my car, feel bad and are giving me and extra $8K. So, I have about $20K to spend on a new car. I need it quick, and I figured all the car gurus here could help me pick my next car. I have no preference between domestic or import. I want something with a nice interior, and now that I get some help buying a good gar, I'd like to get a "peppy" car again. I miss the quickness my Supra had, and while the Si was nice, it's just lacking in power. So, give me your opinions. 🙂
 
Cheap fast car = Dodge Neon SRT4 (something like that.. it's turbo)..

VW GTI 1.8 Turbo (180 hp).. spend additional $600 for chip and get 220-240hp and 240-250 torque)
Acura RSXs


all these are around $20k range..
You can get a GTI for around $18k


 
Originally posted by: jumpr
Mazda6s with Sport Package - $22635 and 0% financing for 60 months until March 31.
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I'm paying cash, so financing isn't a concern. 😉
I've heard mixed reviews on the Mazda6 though.
 
Originally posted by: Gyrene
Originally posted by: stev0
Originally posted by: notfred
Mustang GT.
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What's the interior like in those? I've only seen the older, mid-90s models.
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crap.

still got that annoying pull for lights on thing. still got those crappy ass buttons on the side. still got the ugly ass center console.

but has lots of torque so it's okay.




anyway, i'd say srt4 for speed, used wrx, used is300? if they go down that far, maybe a superchared maxima, grand am gtp
 
Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
Originally posted by: Gyrene
Originally posted by: stev0
Originally posted by: notfred
Mustang GT.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

What's the interior like in those? I've only seen the older, mid-90s models.
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crap.

still got that annoying pull for lights on thing. still got those crappy ass buttons on the side. still got the ugly ass center console.

but has lots of torque so it's okay.




anyway, i'd say srt4 for speed, used wrx, used is300? if they go down that far, maybe a superchared maxima, grand am gtp
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Whats wrong with a pull switch for the headlights? Thats one of my favorite parts about the newer stangs interior. I like that a lot better then the stupid turn or push switches used on most newer cars. Now if only they would have put the lowbeam/highbeam slector on the floor I would be in heaven.
 
Originally posted by: Nutdotnet
If you want the best car and you don't plan on doing any upgrades for 20k get the Neon SRT-4.
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The words 'Best car' and 'Dodge' shouldn't even be in the same sentence. The only decent Dodge made is the Viper. All the rest are craptacular.

Skoorb's choice of '03 Maxima is a good one. I'll admit to being a little biased on this since I do own one but it a great car for the money.
 
I drove an '04 Mustang V6 for a week...which isn't a GT but interior should be the same. Anyway, you couldn't PAY ME to own that car over just about anything else. Holy hell it was a HUNK OF CRAP.

Above the gas pedal was this piece of trim that dropped down and my size 13 boot kept getting caught on making it tough to switch between the gas and the break. The seating position is aweful - you can't see over the hood of the car. Getting out of the car in a tight parking spot requires acrobatic feats - low seating position combined with large clunky doors makes for an easy door ding on your account waiting to happen. The crappy foam they put in the seats was already crushed down in only 2600 miles of driving make you sit at an angle. And yes the pull switch to turn on the lights made it feel even cheaper.

I wish I would have taken the civic for the rental instead.
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
I drove an '04 Mustang V6 for a week...which isn't a GT but interior should be the same. Anyway, you couldn't PAY ME to own that car over just about anything else. Holy hell it was a HUNK OF CRAP.
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So what car under $20k would you buy? There is going to be a trade off either way. And I think you are far over-exaggerating, but IMHO I would trade a bit of interior quality for a powerful V8 instead of the 1.6 liter go-cart engines they put inside Civics.
 
Originally posted by: Chiropteran
Originally posted by: vi_edit
I drove an '04 Mustang V6 for a week...which isn't a GT but interior should be the same. Anyway, you couldn't PAY ME to own that car over just about anything else. Holy hell it was a HUNK OF CRAP.
Click to expand...

So what car under $20k would you buy? There is going to be a trade off either way. And I think you are far over-exaggerating, but IMHO I would trade a bit of interior quality for a powerful V8 instead of the 1.6 liter go-cart engines they put inside Civics.
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I've owned 2 Mustang GTs and both were great cars. Fast and fun to drive. Interior on my '94 GT was far superior to the interior on my '86 GT convertible though.

I've seen some Mustangs that had larger than average guys drive them and let's just say that the seats don't hold up well to "large bodied" drivers.

Mine was plenty comfy for me though and I had them both for 5-6 years and put over 100k miles on them (they had about 30-40k on the clock when I bought them).

I think they are a good value for the money. I wouldn't buy the V6 though.
 
So what car under $20k would you buy? There is going to be a trade off either way. And I think you are far over-exaggerating, but IMHO I would trade a bit of interior quality for a powerful V8 instead of the 1.6 liter go-cart engines they put inside Civics.
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Personally, I'd look at a VW GTI 1.8t and replace the ECU with one from APR for a nice gain in power.
 
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