Sold my S2000. Help me pick a new car.
11-15-2012, 09:52 PM
#31
At $15k and under, revising what I said earlier based on some more input, my favorite candidates so far are:
Later model (Avoid 1st Generation?) Mini Cooper/Cooper S--
EPA Fuel Economy: 26/34 (2008 base model)
Fairly reliable: Yes, although more up for debate than on a car like the S2k.
Torque down low: Mini Cooper S--Yes, however I believe the base model is lacking power
Easily Modded: Yes on the S model, but probably not for the base model as far as power goes.
Mazdaspeed3
EPA Fuel Economy: 18/26 (2008 Model)
Fairly reliable: Yes I believe so
Torque down low: Yes most definitely, gobs of torque down low!
Easily modded: Yes
Subaru Impreza WRX
-EPA Fuel Economy: 18/25 (2007 WRX Sedan)
Reliable: Yes most definitely (although many/most have been abused/modded to $%^*,and not necessarily modified in a good way)
Torque down low: Yes in the 2006+ models with the 2.5 liter engine, or the 2004+STI which only comes in a 2.5 liter for the U.S (however the STI is not nearly as much of a budget friendly car).
Easily modded: Yes most definitely, perhaps too easily as evidenced by many of the cars out on the market.
These are the front runners in my opinion, however everything that has been mentioned is a potential candidate for the "right" price, not based just on the market, but based on what you can afford, keeping in mind the total cost of ownership--see Edmunds TCO and it will attempt to guesstimate for you (although you may want to calculate this on your own for a more accurate representation). According to Edmunds TCO, you are looking to spend about $40,000 on your car over the course of 5 years, including depreciation, gas, insurance, maintenance/repairs, and financing if applicable. However, I have found that this number is a little inflated if anything, so you may be looking at spending closer to $30,000 unless you put a lot of money into modifications or end up with a mechanical nightmare. Keep in mind this number is based on the entire cost of the vehicle over 5 years, so it can easily be much lower or higher than the 40k based on how much you drive, how well you take care of it, what ends up going wrong, whether you take the car to a dealer or are able to maintain it yourself, etc.
Finally, if you were willing to go a little over your budget for the upfront cost of the car itself, you could get a 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe with the 2.0T. After a quick search, I found that you can pick up a nice one for just over 15k, so I recommend looking into this as well if you are into them at all.
Later model (Avoid 1st Generation?) Mini Cooper/Cooper S--
EPA Fuel Economy: 26/34 (2008 base model)
Fairly reliable: Yes, although more up for debate than on a car like the S2k.
Torque down low: Mini Cooper S--Yes, however I believe the base model is lacking power
Easily Modded: Yes on the S model, but probably not for the base model as far as power goes.
Mazdaspeed3
EPA Fuel Economy: 18/26 (2008 Model)
Fairly reliable: Yes I believe so
Torque down low: Yes most definitely, gobs of torque down low!
Easily modded: Yes
Subaru Impreza WRX
-EPA Fuel Economy: 18/25 (2007 WRX Sedan)
Reliable: Yes most definitely (although many/most have been abused/modded to $%^*,and not necessarily modified in a good way)
Torque down low: Yes in the 2006+ models with the 2.5 liter engine, or the 2004+STI which only comes in a 2.5 liter for the U.S (however the STI is not nearly as much of a budget friendly car).
Easily modded: Yes most definitely, perhaps too easily as evidenced by many of the cars out on the market.
These are the front runners in my opinion, however everything that has been mentioned is a potential candidate for the "right" price, not based just on the market, but based on what you can afford, keeping in mind the total cost of ownership--see Edmunds TCO and it will attempt to guesstimate for you (although you may want to calculate this on your own for a more accurate representation). According to Edmunds TCO, you are looking to spend about $40,000 on your car over the course of 5 years, including depreciation, gas, insurance, maintenance/repairs, and financing if applicable. However, I have found that this number is a little inflated if anything, so you may be looking at spending closer to $30,000 unless you put a lot of money into modifications or end up with a mechanical nightmare. Keep in mind this number is based on the entire cost of the vehicle over 5 years, so it can easily be much lower or higher than the 40k based on how much you drive, how well you take care of it, what ends up going wrong, whether you take the car to a dealer or are able to maintain it yourself, etc.
Finally, if you were willing to go a little over your budget for the upfront cost of the car itself, you could get a 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe with the 2.0T. After a quick search, I found that you can pick up a nice one for just over 15k, so I recommend looking into this as well if you are into them at all.
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11-24-2012, 07:28 AM
#36
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