What to buy next? -Life after the P5

[fortworthmatt]

I admit I have a habit. A used car habit. I usually dont keep a car longer than two years and next spring I am going to sell my P5 and get something else. I really like my P5 though and love the size and versatility of the hatchback. It is great to park in tight spaces and zips through heavy traffice with ease. I just want something a little more luxurious this time. I still want a hatchback and would like leather, sunroof, etc. My budget will me $8-10k. I guess the next logical vehicle would be a Mazda3 or possible GTI. I just want to ask you guys as we all love the P5 for the same reason and wanted to get some outside input. I also want to keep the mileage at 60-70k. Thanks guys.

 

[P-Funk!]

Can't go wrong with the GTI...

Or you may find a Lancer Sportback (GTS or Ralliart) in that price range...

 

[njaremka]

"I" would go mazda3. but, that's me. a few more gadgets, slightly bigger, slightly more power, much more handling potential.

 

[ReginaldWagon]

Can't go wrong with another Mazda. I personally will never buy a VW again, they're nothing but a money pit. I was given a 2014 Passat rental with 17k on it and the transmission was already starting to have problems too.

 

[fortworthmatt]

Can't go wrong with another Mazda. I personally will never buy a VW again, they're nothing but a money pit. I was given a 2014 Passat rental with 17k on it and the transmission was already starting to have problems too.

Yeah I a little leary of a VW. I have had plenty in my younger days but I am talking about Mk1 and Mk2's - I dont hear many good things about their reliability in the sub $10k range.

 

[ReginaldWagon]

I had my VW for a very long time, and almost made it to 200k. Nothing but problems though! I went through so many oil pans, some under warranty, the heater core went out while I was driving, transmission had to be replaced and it had electrical problems. If the vehicle went over a bump it went turn off and I'd have to pop the clutch back on, which is pretty terrifying if you're going around a sharp curve. Don't get me started on the oil pressure sensor... I really liked that car, but never again, none of that fool me twice.

The 2014 Passat was actually more terrifying, they really cut back on quality. We've been having some heavy rains in my part of the country and this vehicle can not handle rain at all. Going up a hill at a modest speed the automatic transmission was downshifting so hard that it was shacking the car and you could hear an audible "clunky" noise.

 

[Bastian]

I actually haven't posted on here in quite a bit... I sold my P5 over the summer and purchased a 2000 VW Passat GLX wagon with 144k on the clock. It's been very nice to me so far, much nicer than the P5 ever was. I'm pretty sure the guy who had my P5 before me drove it hard, while my Passat was owned by an older man who treated it nicely.

The Passat has leather, sunroof, more power, better quality interior, and more creature comforts, but it does handle a bit more like a boat than the Protege did. But it makes up for that with greater comfort in general, and far superior highway cruising.

I bought it for $3300 and it doesn't have a scratch or spec of rust anywhere. I bought the Protege for that money, and the wheel wells were already falling apart.

 

[02protege5wagon]

Honestly it all matters about the care of the vehicle, I've owned both, the VW TDI is a great vehicle, my wife has an MK6 TDI sportwagon and a bunch of my friends and two of my brothers have VW that have never given them problems. As for that rental, let's be honest, people do not drive rentals like they would their own car. A lot of people abuse those vehicles. At 8-10k you have a lot options though. Just make sure to test drive and if you plan on modding, look at the available parts and especially tuning.

 

[tweety2300]

Do not get a mazda 3. I have one and it is a useless piece of s*** that mazda refuses to fix under warranty I paid for. Burns a quart of oil every 1500 miles and already has an oil leak. Best part is it has 55k miles on it. Interior quality is garbage as well. I will never buy another one, may consider the awd speed 3 if they make one but that's doubtful after this. Interior door handle snapped off, cat is already bad ( they claim cheap gas expect me to pay for it), interior rattles, trans slips here and there, blue tooth rarely works and averages 24 mpg

Gti is very nice but they always have some weird quirk with every car some minor some major

You could look into a matrix/ vibe my mom had an Awd one and it was awesome. Was flipped end over end several times, everyone walked away and it still started up and drove when they flipped it back over. 4 years owning it 130k miles only thing ever replaced was wheel bearing and O2 sensor and it had the s*** ran out of it. I'm currently looking for an awd 6 speed matrix with 2.4 to trade my wife's 3 in on. Not to mention they love the snow

My current daily is a prelude with h22a pretty quick should see mid 8s in the 1/8 mile. Handles great, not as good as my old MP3 but still impressive ,build quality is great. I've been through 6 other cars since my protege died 2 years ago and I've decided to keep it and I'm a major car *****. All bs aside go test drive one with an h22 you will love it.

 

[The_big_dill]

Everyone has a different experience with cars, and those who despise a car are usually owners who had a bad experience.

I personally don't like German cars, and don't get me wrong, they are usually well made cars, but the cost of maintaining one along with the addition of difficulty of labour on those cars is what turns me off those cars. Many of my friends have been keen on getting BMWs regularly only to figure out what BMW really stands for when you get a used one at a surprisingly low price.

My Protege5 has a bunch of little issues as well as a major one, but after the $500 I spent to buy it, I have not put anything more than an Oil filter and plugs to keep it running. After a year of driving, guess what my next car is going to be, a Protege5. But thats just personal experience.

To counter Tweety's complaint, My friends Mazda 3 runs like new, and he doesn't do anything to his car except for oil changes.

 

[tweety2300]

When you complain that your car burns a quart every 1500 miles and mazda says they won't do anything about it because it's designed to burn up to a quart every 1,000 miles and I should consider myself lucky they can go **** them selves.

Mine runs like its old and it is new

And don't even get me started on the seat brackets

 

[The_big_dill]

I understand your frustration, they told me that my fsde intake recall wasn't covered based on my VIN but I beg to differ.

I don't think it's just mazda that makes stupid claims... I read about companies that sold cars with a long no rust warranty, turns out the rust has to have penetrated a hole in the metal to be qualified as rust

 

[fortworthmatt]

Thanks for all the info guys. There are always examples of bad experiences even with the best made cars and vice versa. There could be that BMW or Audi out there that might be a great car but I am not going to take a chance on it. The owner I that I bought my P5 from had all the records on the vehicle and did all the maintenance but I have still had to put more money into the car than I expected, but that's life. At least the car is in good shape. Having bought and sold many cars over the years I know you win some and you lose some. I have driven cars for a year and sold them and made money on them many times if I can find the right deal but that usaully does not happen. I have thought about a Vibe/Matrtix but from what I have read they are not really that sporty, and maybe thats okay I guess I just need to drive one. Who knows what I will end up with, it just depends on what I can find at the time I have the cash in hand.

 

[tweety2300]

I mean it was a little slower than my MP3 which is the slowest car I've ever owned, but it also only had the 1.8 not the 2.4 I think there's a 60 or 70 hp difference. My celica with 105 hp was faster. Hell the civic with a jdm d15b was faster than my mazda 3 and it smoked more than a diesel.

Although "sporty" is dependent on the driver. Could be top speed, acceleration, handling etc. everything on the list to me is slow. Although my play toys usually make 300+whp.

And I do the same. Buy and sell and profit. I paid $650 for a civic and traded it for a prelude with an h22 swap, motor alone is worth more than what I paid for the whole civic. Just bought a shell for $300 motor and trans will run $200-300 and half ass spray paint job it'll go for 2,000+ tax time. The "Honda game" is my game to make a killing off stupid people

 

[The_big_dill]

Haha. Yeah, Honda and Toyota is typically the car people go for as they have a good history of reliability. I can't believe at the prices I see people pay for a matrix.

 

[Natey]

How about a used is300 wagon? Pretty much a more luxo, RWD P5. I've been kinda eyeballing one for a surf car. A clean one is right around 10k these days.

 

[tweety2300]

It even looks like a p5....

 

[fortworthmatt]

How about a used is300 wagon? Pretty much a more luxo, RWD P5. I've been kinda eyeballing one for a surf car. A clean one is right around 10k these days.

Yeah I have seen those around. Might be a good option if I can find one with low enough miles.

 

[02protege5wagon]

Omg I've been searching for a is300 wagon if you find one in manual, get it! It's rare! Lol

 

[Traum]

How about an EP3 Civic Si? I am not 100% certain about US production model years, but it should fall into the 01-05 mark. The post-facelift version with the 5 lug wheels is the unicorn version to aim for, and it probably starts in the 2004 model year.

The K engine in that car is "only" the 160hp K20A3, but the K20 is such a nice engine that the car still pulls really, really strong.

Another related candidate is the RSX, preferly the Type S. The 05-06 Type S are the unicorn models to aim for. The 210hp it has, the easy torque, and its natural willingness to rev make for a very different experience compared to your P5.