planning on getting a new car .. any suggestions?

[tear2wo]

ok well i just got my old job back .. so im motivated now to start saving for another car. im planning on having between $5-7k by the end of this year. thats with help from my parents, savings, and possibly selling my car (if any1 wants to buy it) ..

i want a pretty new car, 03+ . with decent gas mileage yet still have some speed. the car can cost between $5k and 10k .. i dont mind paying off the rest.

so far i have the 06 Altima SE-R in mind and 06 scion tC . any thoughts on these cars?

any other cars i should be looking at ?

thanks guys!

[Rusty]

Can you get an Alitma SE-R for 10K?

if so i would go for it. Nissans are fun cars to drive.

I enjoy my TSX although it was like 14K last year when i bought it so you might have to really search to find a cheaper one.

You've got a good amount of money to spend there are plenty of other options out there.

[Tippey764]

At least your saving up your money first and not getting a loan on it.

[tear2wo]

nah . im 19 with shitty credit already. chances are i cant get a loan or anything, thats why im trying to pay most of it off cash.

[Rusty]

maybe you should consider getting a very small loan (like 3K) so that you can try to repair your credit while you're still young

[tear2wo]

hmm i doubt ill get any type of loan .. i cant even get a credit card . n at my new job ill b making like 300$-$400 evry 2 weeks. its only a part time since i got school

[deevergote]

A small loan would definitely help rebuild your credit. Your parents can co-sign, and you can get one with a fairly high interest rate (which won't kill you if it's small!)

As for the cars... The TC is a bit girly, IMO. Not a bad car, but it's never inspired me. 160hp is also a little weak by today's standards. It would be reasonably efficient and reliable, though... and they've stayed the same over the years, pretty much... so it won't look like you're driving an older car.

The SE-R... I'm torn. Sometimes I think they look great. Other times... not so much. That generation Altima was a little goofy looking, IMO. I like the new one, but they're out of your range.
What about a Sentra SE-R SpecV? Nice power, smaller car... more efficient, and probably even cheaper. I'm not a huge fan of Nissan's FWD cars, but that one has some scoot to it.

Or a Mazda3. The 2.3L models are zippy. They look good. They handle well. They have plenty of aftermarket if you want to play with them. The cockpit was a little tight for me, but I'm 6'0, 180lbs (and I was heavier when I drove one)... if I recall, you're smaller than that.

[Rusty]

What about a Sentra SE-R SpecV? Nice power, smaller car... more efficient, and probably even cheaper. I'm not a huge fan of Nissan's FWD cars, but that one has some scoot to it.

Or a Mazda3. The 2.3L models are zippy. They look good. They handle well. They have plenty of aftermarket if you want to play with them. The cockpit was a little tight for me, but I'm 6'0, 180lbs (and I was heavier when I drove one)... if I recall, you're smaller than that.

I was going to say the Spec V b/c everyone knows how biased I am... but since you brought it up, here I go.

The spec V is a great car. I had an '02' and loved it. They are very sporty and the low end torque never gets old. That's what makes them fun. They aren't the greatest on gas mileage but it's not horrible either. I only tried to figure mine out a couple of times and I believe it was around 25-27 mpg with mixed city and highway. Their reliability gets better with the newer ones but even with the 02 and 03's it's all minor stuff that I was able to deal with on my own.

I also test drove a Mazda Protege speed. I'm not a be mazda fan but it was pretty nice. It's a stock turbo car and it's definitely got some pep.

[deevergote]

The MS Protege makes like 170hp... for a turbo car, that's sad! I remember looking up the specs when you were shopping, Val.
Of course, turbo cars are quick and easy to bump up the power, at least to some extent. I'm sure anther 30-40hp is just an EBC away...

[tear2wo]

A small loan would definitely help rebuild your credit. Your parents can co-sign, and you can get one with a fairly high interest rate (which won't kill you if it's small!)

As for the cars... The TC is a bit girly, IMO. Not a bad car, but it's never inspired me. 160hp is also a little weak by today's standards. It would be reasonably efficient and reliable, though... and they've stayed the same over the years, pretty much... so it won't look like you're driving an older car.

The SE-R... I'm torn. Sometimes I think they look great. Other times... not so much. That generation Altima was a little goofy looking, IMO. I like the new one, but they're out of your range.
What about a Sentra SE-R SpecV? Nice power, smaller car... more efficient, and probably even cheaper. I'm not a huge fan of Nissan's FWD cars, but that one has some scoot to it.

Or a Mazda3. The 2.3L models are zippy. They look good. They handle well. They have plenty of aftermarket if you want to play with them. The cockpit was a little tight for me, but I'm 6'0, 180lbs (and I was heavier when I drove one)... if I recall, you're smaller than that.

i would love to get a small loan , but my parents cant even cosign because since they filed for bankruptcy theyre credit went to shit as well. my plan is to get me something called a secure credit card , then after 3 months ill be able to get a regular credit card and ill start building my credit from there.

i was actually looking into the sentra se-r spec V . the 03's look really nice. its funny because the rims i had on my old cb7 coupe came from a spec V . they arent too expensive either, like 7 grand so id be able to buy it straight cash . but all the ones i find around here have like 100k+ miles so that has me kind of iffy ..

[Rusty]

Miles are just a number when take care of the car. Just try and find one that has had documented maintenance. Also the 02's and 03's were the first model years and there were a lot of recalls. I would make sure they were taken care of a while ago. I had my engine replaced b/c the Pre-cat broke down, got sucked back into the engine and cracked a piston. They also have problems with the butterfly screws on the intake manifold coming loose... I would check to make sure all of them are there before you purchase it.

[deevergote]

The good thing about the SpecV is that it's not really a fancy performance engine in there. Nissan made that in the American fashion... drop a big engine into a small car. It's the base Altima 2.5L engine. A lame duck in the Altima, but in the Sentra, it's a monster.

The problem is finding one that wasn't beat on. Being affordable, and geared towards the younger crowd, chances are they've already had one or two abusive owners. Val was lucky enough to own hers years ago, when it wasn't so old.


The unfortunate thing is that with your target price range, you're pretty much limited to Japanese. Any European car (other than a VW) is going to be old and beat. Any American car will have been made in the years that were pretty bad for domestics... You MIGHT be able to find a V6 Chrysler 300 in your range. That's probably the only thing I would consider. GM cars were crap in the early 2000s, and really didn't get better until just recently. Ford hasn't had anything very interesting in those years, unless you want a Mustang, or maybe a Lincoln LS (fairly weak, though I truly love those cars...)

[mercyboy]

WELL for me...IM just waiting for 5 years....Then getting a 2000 Nissan SKYLINE R34 GTR.....It's going to cost 15,000 when it comes here to canada...But worth every penny.....and it's Right hand...So if you happen to wait more years..I would get a highperformance vehicle...It's worth to drive too

[deevergote]

It's going to be another 4 years before the 1989 R32 GT-R is going to be legal in the US... and that's only if they don't change the laws by then (OBD1 came into effect around then... different emissions standards might change the EPA and DOT exeption rules that 25 year old cars currently fall under...)

[tear2wo]

thatd be a good option but i want to get rid of my cb ASAP!