Need some insight (enable me+tincan?+what car)

Yeah but for a recent college grad living at home with his parents, insurance is going to bend you over for full coverage on a sports car, regardless of your record. Its just the side of ageism that applies to young people. lol

You guys do realize you can just call someone (or go to a website) and find out what it ACTUALLY costs to insure a particular car, right? Am I the only person who does this before I start looking for a car?

KATYB: Do others typically get better mpg after a maf? I know you're pretty modified but I don't remember what you have on your car. There are some 6s in my price range but the biggest thing holding me back is the mpgs. From what I understand performance should be similar to a prelude with the 6 having an advantage in practicality and safety. I do have a hard-on for the hatch though . It is also the safest/newest of my options. What do you love the most? and dislike the most about the 6?

Spinout007: I think most people misunderstand me when I said the integra might need more power. At this moment in time, I'm driving a 115hp automatic vehicle with 170k miles. I may have the oppurtunity to pick up a clean 1-owner integra with <80k miles for $2000-3000, but that is if I can convince them to sell it to me.

Raze: None taken That's what i'm asking advice for. I realize now If i'm not going for an M3/s2000 I'm not spending over 5000-6000. I'm ideally shooting for a 80-100k vehicle and selling it at 135k or drive it til the wheels fall off.

Oltin/Yamaha: Yeah, My friend just got a m3 with m50 manifold and s52 cams. That's the biggest thing pushing me towards that direction. It is seriously a great car.

Vigo: I know I won't make money off of a car, but I don't want to lose an unnecessarily high amount. I.e. if my buy-in is 4k, barring any catastrophic accidents/failures/thefts. The most I'd lose on resale is 2k, vs. buying a 12k car and losing 3-5k depending on the vehicle.

ProDarwin: I actually intend to purchase an NSX but when I have my own house/garage. Hopefully the prices won't have gone up by then. The rx-8 I do love; I see an extremely nice one in the parking garage at work everyday, but I don't know the know how to rebuild the rotary if E36 M3 hits the fan.

Josh: The s2000 does push certain buttons, but I won't be able to dd it on the account I work at a university hospital (aka in the ghetto). I park on the street after work at the gym , and I'm not in the stage of my life that I could or want to buy a car that I can't enjoy most days. The 328 does attract me a lot as the buy-in is a lot less than the m3, but the depreciation is iffy. It's going to be dependent on when the e46 330i prices start coming down. what'll happen. It is still a good option though since I'm sure any clean sporty car should fetch at least 3k (in my area) as long as it doesn't have a ton of miles. I would prefer the LSD of the m3 for when I go skiing/snowboarding though.

Vigo: Yup, that's why I ideally want a <5k car which i will only get liability on. I would not want anything I'd need full coverage on. Sorry for the lack of knowledge, but at what point(price) do people typically drop full coverage on a car?

Josh: Haha, I would like to narrow my search a bit before that. As you can tell I have a lot of misconceptions with cars (depreciation), and not a lot of direction with what I want.

I guess, as of now my budget is going to be <6000, since I do not want to get full coverage on a sports car as a young male. (and i'm a cheapass as you can tell). Integra/prelude/328i and mazda6 trailing depending if mileage is up to par. Besides cooling system on a BMW, what makes it more to maintain? Would I regret getting a 328i over an m3 (that best car in the world thread sure has a lot of e36 m3 content).

Thanks for everyone's input I appreciate all the feedback

Well, that insurance question is a tough one. I made the decision to drop to liability right before my fiancee wrecked the Magnum i mentioned, so go figure. On the other hand, if i had actually pocketed the money i save on insurance SINCE then, i definitely would have enough to fix it by now.

The best way i know to not get screwed by insurance AND not get screwed by not having insurance, is to have several thousand dollars put away that you can stand to leave alone until you need it. Good luck with that, though. I frequently get several thousand put away, and it never stays put away. With all the speeding tickets i get i am putting serious thought into parking 25000 in my account and self-insuring as one of my life goals.

Since you're open to fwd, how about a manual-trans Maxima SE 97-99 or 00-03? They are comfortable for dd and easy enough to lower a little for auto-x. They don't take much care and feeding, and the entire car can nearly be taken apart with a couple of screwdrivers and two sockets, so they are pretty DIY-fiendly.

^Dang, thats a good idea. A 4th gen 5spd maxima is a REALLY good car imo, and about as fast as a prelude, gt-s, or stock gsr, or 328. And with a relatively simple and affordable motor swap, it's MUCH faster.

no 4th gen maximas! I had one and it has great power, but it's a really awful handler and the hoodline is really high. It is really the car that pushed me to focus on handling in a DD, hence my apprehension with the "heavier" prelude. If I had a 4th gen i'd probably go with a 00vi over a swap.

But, it was amazing in the snow, pretty comfy, had oodles of torque, and lightweight for what it was. I think i would sooner get a 7th gen v6 accord than a maxima.

I feel like i'm not as much as a speed demon as you guys, but maybe that'll change over the years. I was pretty satisfied with the power of my stock base integra on cool days. Do you think if i go with a slower car i'll regret it? I ideally want to get something i'll be able to enjoy for awhile until I have to man a minivan.

I had a 5th gen Prelude - it autocrossed pretty well. I don't think you'll find too much wrong with the handling. The only thing is that the PS sometimes doesn't keep up in slaloms, so you fight it a bit in slaloms. Otherwise - if I found a clean one when I have money I'd be back in it in a heartbeat.

Yeah, I think i'm leaning most towards a 5th gen prelude. As much as I'd love a 328i for the same price, I would be more comfortable with a fwd car for snow driving. It seems like a good blend of power, economy, and handling.

Would you guys suggest I pony up for a SH? They're typically a little bit pricier or higher mileage than a similarly priced base. 110-120k vs 80-90k. I don't plan on doing many modifications other than simple breather mods and basic suspension.

lnlds wrote: As much as I'd love a 328i for the same price, I would be more comfortable with a fwd car for snow driving.

Good god, this misconception drives me nuts. I put snow tires on my 328i, and it became the best snow vehicle in my family (better my than dad's CR-V and mom's Mazda 5), as long as the snow wasn't deep enough to turn the front bumper into a plow (in such conditions the CR-V is better, at least until you get out of the driveway). I still can't convince them to use real winter tires or consider RWD cars.

Leave the traction control on and the 328 will do nothing unpredictable in the snow. Turn it off and it's silly sideways fun. How on earth is this a negative?

In reply to Josh: What misconception? I never said rwd wasn't as good. I simply stated i was not comfortable with it. It'd be my first rwd car and I'd have to DD it through any storm that comes through even in the middle of the night, not just some pre-plowed 9-5 commute. Also you're not driving a regular peg-legged 328i. I would be less apprehensive to snow driving with a lsd. Btw very nice car

The misconception being "you need to have a FWD/AWD car in the snow". I can understand not being as comfortable with it, but I still believe that nearly everyone would be safer in the snow in a RWD car with good snow tires than a FWD/AWD car with all season tires, so it hits a button with me when anyone rules out a RWD car based on winter driving. Especially if said person is planning on driving through the winter without using proper winter tires.

Regardless of drive I will be getting a separate set of tires for whichever vehicle I purchase. I share a similar frustration with AWD drivers thinking they're invincible when they really only have the same stopping power as anyone else.

That being said, I appreciate your input, and did not rule out winter driving based on RWD. I would prefer an LSD. I have been caught in deep snow while playing but was able to wiggle myself out of it since my car was fwd. How was the change in snow characteristics going from your open diff to the m3 diff? Also the more I look at m3s, the more I want. I'm sure with some more seat time it'll be no contest, but at the same time, the frugal person in me says to buy the cheapest car i'd be happy with

I think i would sooner get a 7th gen v6 accord than a maxima.

Cant argue with that. I think i like those even more but the price difference between a 4th gen max and a v6 7g accord (especially a manual coupe) is fairly huge proportionally.

Id go for the higher spec/trim every time. Who cares about miles. Most of the cars ive ever DD'd have had over 200k miles. My 2001 Honda Insight has 334k on original motor. My 85 CRX i was DDing a few months ago has 220k and sat for a year before i starting DDing it. Im currently DD'ing a 95 neon with 219k. On and on. The difference from 90-110k is negligible imo. That's all baby mileage.

Vigo wrote: Who cares about miles. Most of the cars ive ever DD'd have had over 200k miles. My 2001 Honda Insight has 334k on original motor. My 85 CRX i was DDing a few months ago has 220k and sat for a year before i starting DDing it. Im currently DD'ing a 95 neon with 219k. On and on. The difference from 90-110k is negligible imo. That's all baby mileage.

Agreed. Once you're 3 or 4 years out and past 60k or so, condition trumps mileage every time, because future reliability will be far more dependent on how well the previous owner took care of the car than how many miles are on it. And yet people continue to use mileage as an indicator of value well past the point that it is an effective measure. As a used car buyer, I frequently take advantage of this pricing inefficiency :).

http://imgur.com/9C1qe,ob4xn,0BSE7,s2G06#0

Paid a little more than I wanted to ~2.5x challenge 115k miles, but the car seems to be very well taken care of. Can't wait to do some maintenance and start modding.

Good choice! If handling and cost-of-ownership are top priorities, it'd be difficult to top that last gen Celica.

Vigo wrote: Well, that insurance question is a tough one. I made the decision to drop to liability right before my fiancee wrecked the Magnum i mentioned, so go figure.

I hope you meant to say you dropped collision and not liability.