which car to buy

[aceP5]

My car is probably totalled from the hail and I was looking for suggestions as to what type of car to buy with the insurance money i get for my car. I am expecting to have about $16500 to spend. I was thinking of getting a used car (maybe a 2001 or 2002) but I mainly want something with low mileage. I also want something that has more power than my P5 but that has the same feel (i.e. good handling). Right now I am really liking a Subaru Impreza (or WRX if I can find one cheap enough), VW Golf or GTI, a Mini Cooper, SRT-4, RSX Type S, or a Mitsubishi Lancer. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I also need something fairly reliable. I really want something with a turbo/supercharger too because I think it will be easier to mod. I'm not really sure which of the cars I named above are the best in terms of overall quality/speed/handling etc...

Don't hesitate to speak up and let me know what you think I should get.

 

[dominoy2k1]

id get a gti. but srt is another good choice. upgrade some suspension parts and you will be set.

 

[jred321]

audi a4. pimptastic.

the gti is a good choice too

 

[RenzoMSP]

RSX type-s or WRX

 

[aceP5]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I also forgot to mention that I want to get a car with a decent aftermarket. That way, i will be able to get cheaper parts and I will have more options to mod the car.

 

[mazdaspeedpower]

I'll say it right now, get the SRT-4...best bang for buck, and some very nice factory upgrades for a good price(ie boost controller, IC sprayer, s*** like that)...overall, it's a very nice car...especially the new ones that come stock with the LCD, but it is available for used ones. It's fast out of the box, and can be made ungodly fast with some mods..and the suspension upgrades available make it a very good ride...overall, best bang for buck, easy upgrades(including many the dealer will cover on warrenty), and it's fast, soo fast...hang with the best of em, and pay alot less. I'd hit...infact, if offered the chance again to choose between my speed and the SRT-4, i'd hit the SRT-4 in a second...I think alot of us would...not saying I don't love my speed....I do, so much, but the SRT-4 is a nice car. It's pretty damn reliable also(wierd for a dodge ), and even with some killer mods, ur safe, because dodge thought to put in some wonderful forged internals.....GET THE SRT-4!!!!!

 

[FC3s Boy]

2001-02 ES protege with a turbo kit or another P5 and turbo it, ive seen a few in the 8-10k range with low miles add another 4k or the kit and you'llbe running 13's

 

[aceP5]

2001-02 ES protege with a turbo kit or another P5 and turbo it, ive seen a few in the 8-10k range with low miles add another 4k or the kit and you'llbe running 13's

I thought about this but I wasnt sure if the turbo kits were emission legal. I want to be able to pass emissions without worrying about swapping stuff out (that would be hard with a turbo. I know HiBoost's turbo is off-road use only, so it wont pass emissions. I would definitely consider a turboed Protege if I can get it to pass no problem.

I think I would jump on any GTIs or SRT4s that I find used. A guy here at school bought his SRT4 for only about $15k-$16k. So that is not bad at all for a car that has most of the work already done on it. i think if I got one I'd just upgrade the suspension and then work on the performance.

 

[RenzoMSP]

I know it probably out of your price range, but the new 05 RSX type-s look really good.

 

[1sty]

INtegra Type R

 

[Nightmare]

Civic.























BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[lgagno1]

INtegra Type R

My friend may be selling his 2001 Integra Type-R soon. It's stock except for that it puts down 570whp.

 

[jaje]

srt-4 if you care about speed over all other aspects of the car

rsx type s if you want a good mix of speed, reliability, and comfort...don't forget with simple mods like a cai and hondata reflash you will be running in the mid 14s

 

[Fear]

the wrx is the most well rounded car of the group. the type-s new is actually more than a new wrx, and the srt-4 really is only good for going in a straight line (in comparison to the rest of course.)

 

[orangezoom]

Buy mine

 

[aceP5]

Buy mine

Your MSP? If I was in Florida I would definitely consider it.

My mazda dealer here just got certified as a MAZDASPEED dealer, so there are absolutely no used MSPs here. I would have considered a used MSP but there are none here.

About the SRT4, I have heard that they are really bad handling cars. How much modification would be needed to bring them on par with the P5 (or better for that matter)?

Another thing - I remember seeing a link somewhere to a page comparing 0-60 times for pretty much any car. It had stats like HP and torque. Does anyone have a link where I can look up cars and compare their specs like this?

Thanks!

 

[aceP5]

I was just reading about how the GTI has 173 ft-lbs of torque at just 1950 RPM! Wow, that is pretty incredible. I always heard it on their comericials, saying that they have lots of low end torque. I know that my P5 is so slow off the line and really doesnt feel fast until after 3500 RPM. Would all this extra low end torque (that is, most of the torque at a really low RPM) make the car accelerate really fast off the line? To me it seems as though it would, but then again I am not really that knowledgeable in the difference between HP and Torque. What do you all think?

 

[JOS3]

scion tC

 

[toucci]

I really like the RSX-S

I saw one today with the acura body kit on it... yummmy. even my dad liked it.

 

[mazdaspeedpower]

The SRT-4 just has understeer problems...just lower it with springs or coilovers, and beef up the anti-sway bars(does it have any stock?) all I know, is that some of the first mods available for the car were suspension, and people who own both(speed and SRT4) say that once the SRT-4s suspensions is modified it handles just as well, if not better than the speed did..which is pretty good, add that to some fast straight line speed, and ur a happy camper. Ride quality is very good on the cars too, and so long as you know wut ur doing, you can really power them through the corners, especially once the suspension is upgraded...think of it this way, the money you spent on the suspension, on other cars would have gone to performance upgrades..cept suspension is cheaper.