Need help car shopping. Anyone driven these:

Hey Chris,
Chris Mapp said:
TickDoc,

What's that white car in the pic you posted?
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TickDoc can more fully answer the question. As mentioned earlier in his post, he'd sold his much beloved "Supra." If I remember my car history, back then, the Supra was a souped up Toyota Celica. In later years (the 1990's), the Supra grew up into it's own sports car. Now days, I've seen a mid-1990's mint condition Supra with 20-30K miles selling for $50k.

So to re-answer your question, likely an early to mid 1980s Celica Supra. Let's see if I'm correct. :)

I edited and attached his photo to show only the car you were referencing.
 

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I can't really say I'm a fan of anything on your list, but whatever you do, stay away from Mitsubishi. My sister has bought two Eclipses and they're junk, poorly made cars that feel gross to drive and sit in and they rust out faster than 01 knives at the beach.
 
Rich,
I am glad to see the Maxima and Altima are much improved over the past few years, and I have ridden in them. When I worked at Avis in the late-90s, I was convinced that "Maxima" was the Japanese translation of "barely drivable" and "Altima" translated to "Real piece of crap". Like I said, the new ones are much improved - both with power and styling, particularly the interiors. Unfornately though, they are only available as sedans and I know families that do drive those models, so they are out of the question. :)

If I see a family driving an '04 Thunderbird with carseats, sippy cups, and "My Child's an Honor Student at Pansy Kidd Middle School", I'm crossing Thunderbird from the list too. :D

Lizardman U,
Based on your post, talking to other people, and internet research I'm going to stay clear of Jaguar. I'm not looking for another 'project'. Living in rural area where repair services are hit-or-miss (at best), it seems like a bad idea. Would be cool to buy one somone had already converted though.

Needle,
Thanks for the input on Mitsubishi. I've heard similar things about the older ones, but also know people who really like their's. So far they don't really 'talk' to me anyway. So, what sort of cars do you like?


Still haven't been to town for test drives yet. I'm irritated that I didn't go today. I was supposed to get called for drill-out but it never happened. :mad: Oh well, wife is after me to get houe ready for Baby, so I stained some woodwork for the library - probably future toyroom.
:barf: :mad: :eek: :(

Best Wishes,
Bob
 
NeedleRemorse said:
I can't really say I'm a fan of anything on your list, but whatever you do, stay away from Mitsubishi. My sister has bought two Eclipses and they're junk, poorly made cars that feel gross to drive and sit in and they rust out faster than 01 knives at the beach.
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Not to mention they start burning oil at around 50,000.

Lizardman, you do know that Jaguar is now owned by Ford, and the engines and trannys are what you'd find in a typical Ford product. A hell of a lot more reliable than in years past.
 
I knew Ford had controlling interest in Jaguar, and I know that Jags can be tweeked and that a lot of hot rods (1930's fords) will use a Jag rear end and a Chevy motor. I was refering to the mid 80's to early 90's XJ-12 as it is a pretty car and converting the engine/trans to Chevy for parts availability. When I bought my '76 stingray for $5500 I could have bought a 90's Porche 928 (look like half an egg, but darn fast) for the same money, the deciding factor is parts and service availability as I live in a rural area (town has 5000 population) and have to drive 30 minutes to a town with 25000 population for groceries or other services.

Bob could buy an older Jag like a 1967-1972 Jag XKE 2+2 with the big six cylendar.

and I like my Chevy's as parts are a lot less expensive than on the Fords (just personal preference I guess) unless you are talking GT-40's (old and new) 1950's pickups, Shelby and AC cobras or pre 1973 Mustangs (the GT 350 and 500 included)
 
Thanks for the answer Ron. I thought it looked like an older Celica, or maybe a Tureno (or however it's spelled).
 
The S2000 might be my choice, but it is a very uncompromising car. It will likely not handle winters well at all, the powerband is very peaky, the ride is stiff, and the interior is very spartan, but decent quality.

The Thunderbird is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Hardly on the radar as a performance car. I think there are far better engineered and more engaging cars available for the money.

The Lancer Evolution and Impreza STi are great performers and practical too, but are really souped up economy cars.

From what I've read in magazines, the new Eclipse is a more relaxed sports car than others. I would compare it to the Acura RSX more than the RX8 and 350Z though, since it's FWD.

The Infiniti G35 coupe seems like a great choice. It's fast, luxurious, handles well, and looks great. It is basically a 350Z, but has rear seats and is a probably a tad less sporty.

Infinity_G35.jpg


Alternately, there are plenty of great sports sedans in this price range I'd look at... particularly the Acura TL, Lexus IS, the G35 sedan, and of course the BMW 3 series. If you want something with even more performance than the G35, look at the BMW M3. M3s are pretty practical for a sports car, but they ride roughly and are priced much higher.
 
If your looking for a quick ride, check out a used '04 - '05 Subaru Forester XT. 2.5 liters of intercooled, turbocharged flat four fun. It's basically a detuned version of the 300 hp WRX STi engine with a smaller turbo being fed by a functional hood scoop. Car & Driver got a 0-60 time of 5.3 seconds and hit the 1/4 @ 13.8 seconds. Definitely a sleeper if there ever was one. And there would be room for the new baby. :) Here's Car & Drivers review.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=6854&page_number=1

I have an '05 XT. It's a blast to drive. The turbo comes on quick (virtually no lag) and the 4.44 limited slip gears really give it snap. Fast, fun and AWD. Not to mention pretty useful and practical on the mountainous roads of PA. I'd buy another one.

Just a heads up, the '04-05's are quicker then the '06's. Subaru changed the gearing in the '06 and it lost a little jump.
 
Andrew Taylor, ya know you posted a pic of an S Type, not an XJS.
I vote Corvette, C3 or C4 (that makes the range of years from 1968-1996), fun, reliable and easy to mod.
The RX8 is a bit gutless as its too much car for the engine, they shoulda stuck it back in the RX7
 
A used Audi TT will fit easily within your price range. If you like the look of the Eclipse, the TT is similar (but with cleaner lines and better looking IMO ;) ). Older 1.8T can be gotten for less than $20K (depreciation has not been kind). I don't know if the 3.2l 6 cylinder would be in your price range.

The 1.8l turbocharged 4 cylinder models came in coupes/convertibles, 180hp/225hp, FWD/AWD. After a couple of years the 180hp was only available in the FWD with automatic transmissions.

They aren't the fastest, or the quickest, but they are "sporty". And if you've never driven a turbocharged car before you may (or may not) get a kick out "non linear power curve" when the boost comes on.

The coupes have 4 seat belts (though the backseats are only useful for small children/emergencies/short trips). It is a hatchback, so the entire backside opens up, and the back seats fold flat.

Over the lifetime of my car, I've averaged about 25 mpg. I used to do a lot of highway driving, and now I do mostly short trips in the city.

Avoid very early "Neimen Marcus" editions. Aside from that version, there were some common issues with instrument cluster failures and fuel sensor failures. Timing belts were prone to failure before the manufacturer's recommended servicing at .. err 110k miles (I think). Most people in the know change them earlier (60k - 80k).

AudiWorld has an active TT forum: http://forums.audiworld.com/tt/
The TT users are generally pretty active and have routinely held some really nice (and really large) get togethers.

FYI: regarding the A3 and the DSG: the DSG actually has 2 clutches. 1 clutch for the odd gears and one for the even gears. It is computer controlled, so there is no actual pedal to operate.
 
GarageBoy said:
Andrew Taylor, ya know you posted a pic of an S Type, not an XJS.
I vote Corvette, C3 or C4 (that makes the range of years from 1968-1996), fun, reliable and easy to mod.
The RX8 is a bit gutless as its too much car for the engine, they shoulda stuck it back in the RX7
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Quite right young sir. I lost count when they stopped the E-Type and the XJ12 with the two 12 gallon fuel tanks. I like the Corvette to as long it is red or black. I saw a canary yellow one the other day... not nice.
 
Thanks for all of the comments. I've been working non-stop for the past couple of weeks and still haven't been shopping yet - nearest "city" is a two-hour drive. A bit cold for convertible shopping anyway...

That new Cadillac shown in the photo above is pretty darned hot. Wife loves the angular shape, but I prefer a car with nice curves - I told her it's a "guy thing". Plus, it's completely unaffordable - it costs more than our freakin' house! But since those high-end American cars depreciate like falling rocks, it would simply be a matter of waiting three years for a used one. :)

I do love the Infinity G35, but I'm really leaning towards a convertible. The Eclipse isn't available in convertible either...

Best Wishes,
Bob
 
I just bought a 2005 GTO. Its a liitle plain looking, but handles great, and 4.6 sec 0-60mph with the LS2 400h.p. 6.0 liter V-8. The dealerships are giving them away.
 
I wouldn't hold your breath on that Caddie to depreciate- the only thing that drops faster than the bluebook price on an American car is the interior's condition. The windows and sunroof on our 2000 Yukon XL have a speed and gracefulness that I might compare to shifting tectonic plates, and switches, buttons, clips, trim pieces are all snapping, bending, ripping, or otherwise failing. Not good :jerkit: And I'm not sure that I believe a more "luxury" oriented GM/Ford product would be all that more durable.
 
Based on internet research and looking at photos, I'm really leaning towards the Nissan 350Z, if I can find a blue, used, convertible, with the 6-speed manual transmission. I'm having a lot of fun at Autotrader. :)

-Bob
 
I think you'll like the 350Z.

I would check on the transmission. I heard that there were some issues. I'm pretty sure they were handled under warrenty, so don't worry too much.

Some advice I've gotten over the years that seems to hold true:
"Don't buy the first year of a new model." That is when all the bugs are found.

Good luck.
 
Check out an '04 Honda Accord EX V6, six speed stick, 240 horsepower. It's in that price range. Great fun, lots of power, and it's a Honda. I had one for awhile before going back to trucks.
 
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