Looking For A New Car, Suggestions?

rave5096 · 04-21-2002, 07:05 PM

Hi All, Its Me Again :-)

I'm going to be getting a new car this summer (Late June, Early July) and I'm torn about what i want :-) I can only handle 10K-14K, and I'm looking for something that I can mod with ease, and is smaller than my 94 GMC Diesel. Heres what i'm looking at, i was just wondering if you guys knew anything about them (good or bad) that i didn't....Thanks

Anyways heres the list

Second Generation Toyota 4Runner (Third Gen if i can find one within reason)

A mid nineties camaro/firebird

3rd generation Rx-7 (provided i can find one)

4th Gen Honda Prelude, 5th Gen if i can find one within reason.

I'm leaning torwards the 4runner, just to keep my 4 wheel drive ( I live in idaho) but a camaro or a rx7 would be a nice change from my bulky fullsize pickup, despite the rear wheel, and the honda's a nice alternative :-) Anybody know anything i don't?

alan889 · 04-21-2002, 08:59 PM

You can get a nice 85-88 Corvette in that price range.

PatO · 04-21-2002, 10:32 PM

Ooooooo.... Corvette.....
I have an old Jeep that is really starting to show it's age, so a late model "summer car" would be nice. Split the miles between a couple old cars and I'm bound to get the same reliability of an expensive new car.

Squeezer · 04-22-2002, 02:22 PM

I would stay away from the RX7. Although it is a VERY nice car, you'd have to find someone in your area that works on rotary engines (and depending on where you live that may be hard).

I would get the Honda Prelude...its not as fast but it will last you 200K+ miles with ease.

You can also look around for an early 90's TT 300zx or maybe if you get lucky find a Supra in that price range. If you really want straight line acceleration go for that. I would stay away from domestic cars for reliability sake.

alan889 · 04-22-2002, 02:34 PM

" I would stay away from domestic cars for reliability sake"

Did you learn that driving your rice burner? Why don't you look for a Japanese house and a Japanese lawnmower to mow the grass and a Japanese wife to read the writing on the side of your Japanese car parts?

Just kidding

AL

lstrunk · 04-22-2002, 03:36 PM

Hey Squeezer, care to explain my s-10 with 230k miles that runs great besides a tapping valve (which I am fixing very very soon) ??

Squeezer · 04-22-2002, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by alan889
" I would stay away from domestic cars for reliability sake"

Did you learn that driving your rice burner? Why don't you look for a Japanese house and a Japanese lawnmower to mow the grass and a Japanese wife to read the writing on the side of your Japanese car parts?

Just kidding

AL

No, my family has been domestic for many years (and still is).

In the 80's we were chrysler products and then in the 90's till present we are ford (dad's side of family) and GM (mom's side of family). So we've been to every end of the spectrum with domestics and they just don't hold up like our 2 Hondas have. The chrysler product were always having carbourator problems.

We had a 95 accord bought in summer of 94 and the only thing to happen to it was the thermostat went out and the AC clutch+compressor went out. It had 194K miles and still going strong. But my sister's now ex-bf totalled it 2 months ago.

I now have a 2000 Honda S2000 with 42K miles and never had a problem with it.

My best friend in high school had a 97 Pontiac grand am. At about 48K miles the transmission (Auto) would slip shifting into every gear and when it engaged the whole car would jerk violently to one side and the low traction light would come on. He finally traded it in on a 98 Accord EX and has had no problems with it since (this was about 1.5 years ago).

In my experience, imports have been more reliable then their domestic counterparts. Your experience may have been different, but I am just saying what my experience has been.

Currently we have in the family a 94 cutlass that burns a quart of oil a week, a 92 Astro tha tis on its second engine and had the AC fan replaced 4 times, the fan motor replaced, the emissions light is on 24/7, and many other small things. We also have a 2002 Silverado and a 2000 Blazer but they haven't had any problems yet, but they are both still new. (These are all on my mom's side). Other cars we had were a 94 Jeep Cherokee that ran pretty well, and a 96 cavalier which didn't give major problems but had to go back to the dealer a few times for some warrently problems (hole in the muffler when brand new and some other things) and we had a 91 pontiac grand am. Don't get me started on that piece of ****. It was in the shop more then it was on the road. I think EVERY part in it had been replaced atleast once and in many occasions more.

On my dad's side we have a 92 Explorer and a 96 or 98 Expedition (Can't remember which). The Expedition has held up good but the Explorer has about $1.5K in parts new on it in the last year.

So my family has had a lot more domestics then imports (what is that, like 10:2) and the imports have been holding up a lot better.

So...please don't tell me about how all i have is a bunch of jap cars and i'm a rice burner. I think you should get your head out of your *** and come to the realization that domestics just are not and have not caught up to the reliability level that japanese imports are at.

Squeezer · 04-22-2002, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lstrunk
Hey Squeezer, care to explain my s-10 with 230k miles that runs great besides a tapping valve (which I am fixing very very soon) ??

lstrunk, you just recently bought that S-10 and for all purposes you don't really know if its on the original engine, 2nd engine, etc...

And so it "runs great" but has a tapping vavle? Kind of an oxy moron....might not be blowing smoke, but if it has a tapping valve, then something is wrong.

alan889 · 04-22-2002, 06:32 PM

"So...please don't tell me about how all i have is a bunch of jap cars and i'm a rice burner. I think you should get your head out of your *** and come to the realization that domestics just are not and have not caught up to the reliability level that japanese imports are at"

OK then let me repraise it.....America didn't get to where we are today by people running out and buying everything overseas. I don't care if it's a car or a pair of jeans, my money stays in the U.S. as much as possible.

ps..
ALL front wheel drive cars are pieces of crap. Not just the foreign ones. So to me you don't even have a real car, it's just another little toy car. A little JAP toy car. I did look at it, it's a pretty one though.

PatO · 04-22-2002, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by alan889
come to the realization that domestics just are not and have not caught up to the reliability level that japanese imports are at

Just to fuel the fire -
How about Jap cars made in the US?

rave5096 · 04-23-2002, 12:56 AM

He he, just to add more fuel, my truck has been in my family since 1994, and now has 204,000 miles on it with only normal maintenance :-) Its just to big for me in this new city life :-) And On the RX-7 thing, I'm fairly sure that there are some rotary shops in town. I would hope so...if not i'll have to go to another state :-)

Squeezer · 04-23-2002, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by alan889

ps..
ALL front wheel drive cars are pieces of crap. Not just the foreign ones. So to me you don't even have a real car, it's just another little toy car. A little JAP toy car. I did look at it, it's a pretty one though.

You do know that my Honda is rear wheel drive, right? All S2000s are rear wheel drive. I think you should read up on foreign cars a little more before you go making false statements about them.

http://www.hondacars.com/models/s2000/features.html

alan889 · 04-23-2002, 09:22 AM

"My Honda is rear wheel drive. All S2000s are rear wheel drive. I think you should read up on foreign cars a little more before you go making false statements about them."

What a marvelous idea, make a rear wheel drive honda. They must have learned that from us. Read about foreign cars..na I'm not the least bit interested.

King_Xerxes · 04-23-2002, 10:13 AM

Ohhhh, this looks like fun.

My family drives domestic cars too and I don't recall ever owning one that hasn't had to go to the "doctor's office" less frequently than myself or my brothers. With us, it's pretty much been all Fords with a Chevy, a Pontiac, a Dodge, and an Oldsmobile thrown in. We never had more than 3 cars at a time however, and even still, every month at least one of them had to be taken in for something. And due to the very nature of Ford mechanics (or at least the ones around here) they usually had more wrong with them after they got out of the shop than when they went in.

Now to add a new element to this conversation, I attribute this poor reliability to the American work ethic, if such a term can even be said with a straight face. The people in this country constantly think people owe them something. The concept of taking pride in your work, especially with an assembly-line job probably would be considered a joke to most working-class Americans. I could go on, but the point is made.

The result is a product assembled (in most cases, not manufactured) by people who are only thinking of their paycheck and how much longer they have until their shift is over. In this country, quality is a reasonable sacrifice to make for energy and time. This carries over to the garage as well, where the mechanics are more interested in how much money they can squeeze out of you rather than how to get your car running as best as possible. In Ford's case, I am convinced they would routinely disconnect things seldomly used (such as the cigarette lighter or air conditioning in the winter) just to have you bring the thing back and pay to have it "fixed".

My father continues to buy Fords because of his driver's edge credit card which gives him substantial rebates. I ask him why he keeps buying these obvious pieces of trash and he tells me that with the rebates from the credit card, he can afford to have a Ford last only a few years before getting a new one.

But for me, these experiences have led me to determine that the only way I will ever own a domestic car is if it is given to me.

Squeezer · 04-23-2002, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by alan889
"My Honda is rear wheel drive. All S2000s are rear wheel drive. I think you should read up on foreign cars a little more before you go making false statements about them."

What a marvelous idea, make a rear wheel drive honda. They must have learned that from us. Read about foreign cars..na I'm not the least bit interested.

Don't forget that the GM engineers stated in AutoWeek that the exterior design of the 5th Generation Corvette (C5) was copied from the Acura NSX. Guess what? That is a Honda.

User Name		Remember Me?
Password