Help me narrow my focus, car buying sub $20,000

[D4ng3r]

Originally Posted by bestwheelbase

Can you get a decent E46 M3 for under $20k?

Found this one:

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/BMW/M/VAN...S200451911413/

I think 80k km is the max I would get on a used bimmer.. I have heard wayyyy too many horror stories about maintenance costs on one of these.

Do you have any experience with the BMWs, and how much they cost to maintain? That would be a killer for me...

$18,000 for a 2003 BMW m3, or same price for a 2009 WRX. Thoughts? I'm leaning towards newer= better, taking into consideration my desires for fit+finish / reliable.

[Godzpeed]

Originally Posted by D4ng3r

Found this one:

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/BMW/M/VAN...S200451911413/

I think 80k km is the max I would get on a used bimmer.. I have heard wayyyy too many horror stories about maintenance costs on one of these.

Do you have any experience with the BMWs, and how much they cost to maintain? That would be a killer for me...

$18,000 for a 2003 BMW m3, or same price for a 2009 WRX. Thoughts? I'm leaning towards newer= better, taking into consideration my desires for fit+finish / reliable.

I'd take the 09 WRX rather than an used M3, even tho the M3 is a far better car.

Especially with a budget like yours, I don't think its a good idea to buy an used BMW. remember the M3 was around 70-80k brand new, even the used price is under 20k now, its still cost the same to maintain a 70-80k car.

But i'd skip the WRX and go straight to a STI, maybe 06 or 08 STI would be a even better choice.

[Godzpeed]

Originally Posted by justaquestion

Is that right? Your girlfriends Yaris has a turbo bolted to it and its dead reliable? Because I know being the smart adult you are, you would never reference a NA Yaris in a response to someone talking about a FI Yaris.

TIL: Yaris, only small economy car that gets 40mpg..

Toyota engines are pretty much bulletproof, my old Yaris that had been supercharged never had a single problem and runs just like a factory engine.

Even my Fit that had been turbo has been reliable for the past 200k KM.

Both of these cars has been tuned to have around 180WHP with no internal upgrades

[GenkiElite]

Originally Posted by justaquestion

Is that right? Your girlfriends Yaris has a turbo bolted to it and its dead reliable? Because I know being the smart adult you are, you would never reference a NA Yaris in a response to someone talking about a FI Yaris.

TIL: Yaris, only small economy car that gets 40mpg..

Whatever kid. Your stupidity just glows through more and more every time you speak.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by GenkiElite

Whatever kid. Your stupidity just glows through more and more every time you speak.

Originally Posted by justaquestion

That must be why you dodge questions and go straight to name calling. I really hope your some 17 year old pretending, and aren't actually a grown man.

If you two want to go argue, take it outside of this thread, will you?

[GenkiElite]

Originally Posted by justaquestion

That must be why you dodge questions and go straight to name calling. I really hope your some 17 year old pretending, and aren't actually a grown man.

Not really name calling, just pointing out your demographic. The point is both the Yaris aka Vitz and the Fit are highly capable vehicles with great tuning potential but most peaple dont just slap a turbo on something and call it a day because they realize theres more to it than that. You want to get an old tired ass EG chassis and boost it be my guest. Odds are you'll fit right in with the crowd. This probably would have been acceptable 7 or 8 years ago but most have realized that having torque with a usable power band is more important than peak numbers (unless your're drag racing". The fact that you have no Idea of the potential of said vehicles means you're probably just thumbing through old issues of SCC. Either way I didnt want to get into a whole rant about it, I just want to point out the fact that you're previous comment was uninformed and you sound like a fool.

[Godzpeed]

How many race track have you been to? just 3??? and seriously, how many cars have you driven?

FYI, There are Vitz Cup in Japan, and Toyota sells Vitz cup cars directly from the factory with LSD and roll cage.

[D4ng3r]

Are you guys done with the Vitsz/ Yaris argument? Can we keep it on topic please?

[Homeslice]

Hey guys, I am new to the forum, but wanted to remind you of the 4th gen eclipse. I own one and LOVE it! A lot of people hate, but its because they don't know the potential they have or have read really crappy reviews from biased people who only think AWD Turbo are the way to go. This car is a rocket with the V-6 (fastest car i've owned) and is in the price range/HP you are looking for, and it turns heads left and right. I break necks as much as the new FR-S and BRZ i'm sure and this car has been around for almost 7 years. They are very mod friendly and you can have around 300 HP with I/H/E and a retune which will set you back an additional $2000 if you go with quality I/H/E (injen)

Just my .02

and a pic of my eclipse to show you what you can work with

[Guff]

NA 5-Spd Supraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

[OrbitalEllipses]

Used Euro = bad deal. You want a lot for your money it seems like..

[D4ng3r]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

Used Euro = bad deal. You want a lot for your money it seems like..

I do want a lot for my money, I want the best bang for my buck that I can get!

Currently looking at the 128i (2008) and a newer GTI. Trying to factor in RWD vs FWD, even if the FWD car is said to have excellent handling. Any thoughts?

[D4ng3r]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Hey guys, I am new to the forum, but wanted to remind you of the 4th gen eclipse. I own one and LOVE it!

Hey man, thanks for taking the time to post and upload your pic. You have a nice car there! I can really appreciate it. The one thing is I just don't really have a thing for the eclipse. I would say that I'm more interested in other options based on look alone. I'm stoked that you enjoy yours man, have fun!

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by D4ng3r

I do want a lot for my money, I want the best bang for my buck that I can get!

Currently looking at the 128i (2008) and a newer GTI. Trying to factor in RWD vs FWD, even if the FWD car is said to have excellent handling. Any thoughts?

This thread screams MS3 to me, especially when I read the thread title. Fun little car for sure. Your description though, is essentially the S2000. $20000 will definitely get you a late AP1 or an AP2 in pretty good condition. Not sure what they sell for up north, but a few years ago a 3 year old AP2 with less than ~30000 was selling in the neighborhood of $17000 USD.

I would stay away from Euro, as I said. A used BMW or Volkswagen/Audi Group is a bad purchase any day of the week that I would stay away from. I know lots of people who don't; they either like the cars or the status/image they get from them despite the ridiculous maintenance costs and constant mechanical problems.