Looking for a new car... what to get?

[Jon]

Ok I'm seriously looking at getting something a bit newer than my 90 CB.

I've looked at a handful but nothing seems to tickle my fancy like the CB did and still does. I asked around a bit to see what people said were "fun to drive" vehicles and got all sorts of shit responses. So thought I'd post here and see what you guys have to say.
So say you had $6K to spend on a vehicle, OTHER THAN A CB7, that is fun to drive, what would you get?

[1990accordex-r]

Look around for Mazdaspeed proteges, pretty sure they are cheaper in the states. Impreza RS, Celica all trac, Sentra SER spec V, 3rd gen altima 6 spd, and 4th gen maxima 5 spd all come to mind around that price range.

[Law Grandeur]

you could get an MSP. peppy, turbo, fwd, nice style. if you are looking for great power after mods...turn away now lol. but with a few mods and suspension work, these are really fun cars. 3rd gear is glass and a/c switch fucks up a lot. also brakes seize a lot on proteges too! i actually have that problem now -_-

impreza rs if you can find one that wasnt beat on

celica all trac....good luck finding one of those. even the 80s model is hard to come by nowadays

sentra spec v....qr25de are prone to "blow up". they supposedly fixed it on the 05+ models but ive still read failure on those. the Qr is a shit engine. you are better off buying an 02 or 03 SE sentra with the roller rocker sr20 and adding a turbo kit

3rd gen altima...v6 or bust. once again the qr25de (2.5L) is ass and more piggish on the alty. preferably get an se-r model for the sportier looks and tune (also known to give 350z's a run for their money but they will never admit it!)

as for maximas...the newer the better but they have been pretty solid vehicles from the start. just ugly cars lol (except for the 00-03 models yumm )


with 6k id get a 99-02 infiniti g20 5spd. you could probably find tons of old school MKIII poopra turbo and mr2 turbo. if you can locate a 90-93 sentra se-r for 3k, you have 3k left to turbo (cheap and readily available) and do suspension mods.

if you live old school cars, find a decent conditioned old vw bug with rust free heater channels and stroke that motor out with a scat kit or empi kit. east 14 sec car for dirt cheap

you could always be boss and buy an isuzu impulse RS turbo. awd turbo intercooled weightless wonder sleeper!


find your style of car..go through cars on cardomain and browse around. then find prices.


forgot to mention, if you can find 2003 corolla XRS for cheap id get one. they are reliable and very quick with mods. check them out on youtube! only the 03 model though (more HP, better redline, and sooner activation of LIFT)

[1990accordex-r]

Yeah, the V6 altima is what I meant. I've seen SER's going for 14k+ still so I don't think he would find one for 6k lol.

[Law Grandeur]

surprisingly enough when i went shopping for one i found a few for like 10k. granted the miles were high (90k+) but i wouldve gotten one anyways. but i wanted a gas saver so i went against it. something i regret lol

[1990accordex-r]

x2 on the Corolla XRS. Lotus used (Still uses?) the motor in the XRS for their elise's
Here in Canada they go for like 6 - 7k so I could imagine they would be cheaper in the states.

edit: Cobalt ss's go for around 6 grand now...

[Accrdwgnguy]

Miata. 1800lbs, RWD, convertible.

But I think you said you are a big guy, if you are over 6ft you may be uncomfortable.

[Jon]

LOL, yeah I'm big (6' 3", 250) so they need to fit me.
I remember when I went shopping the first time and NOTHING fit me. Finally I slid into the CB and it was like the heavens opened up. Still surprises me to this day that out of all of the vehicles I did try that the little econo import did, just love it.

There are a few "necessaries", such as it needs to be a manual. This will limit the number of people who will ask to borrow it (as most people I know don't know how to drive stick).
And it can't be a couple. I need cargo area to haul and ship large packages as well as lazy people.

I've looked at a few Mazdas (my Mom owns one and it's still peppy after all these years, like 23 years), but none fit me too well... the footwell area is just too damn cramped.

I keep forgetting to take a look at Nissans because they just aren't popular around here. If it's not domestic garbage or a pickup truck, they're not on the road around here.

Neighbor has a VW Bug (71 Super Beetle) and there is just no way I can clutch the thing, it's like trying to drive a pedal car... my knees are smashed up against the steering wheel, pretty comical. It reminds me of trying to drive a Fj40 LandCruiser, just low to the ground.

Heading up to Canada to pick up a vehicle is always an option, after all I live in Idaho . So I may expand my search a few miles.

I chose $6K as my target price because thats what I can afford right now if I don't sell the CB. If I sell the CB (I've already received two offers ) I can bump my price range up a bit.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Definitely a few that I either forgot about or never would have thought about looking at. So I'll take a look at the entire list you've given me and let you know what I come up with.

[GeoffM]

Pagani Zonda

Didn't read the first post btw, so I don't know your requirements.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

Fun to drive..... Get something RWD/AWD

[Jon]

Pagani Zonda

Didn't read the first post btw, so I don't know your requirements.

I can afford one...

[GeoffM]

I can afford one...

That's only a model.
Get the real thing for the low low price of $160k!

[ChampCoupe]

i am having the same problem. only two cars that could catch my interest are the 95 lexus sc400 and 99 subaru impreza 2.5rs 2dr

[deevergote]

Pagani Zonda

Didn't read the first post btw, so I don't know your requirements.

You know, Geoff... I HAVE banned trolls before, just because all they did was stir up trouble. You're very quickly approaching that point.

[HenRoc]

I actually would not mind an Si (FG chassis). I would put down as much as I can on an Si and just cut the payments as low as possible.