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What car would you buy with 18-20K?


caseyctsv

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I had an 02 GTI and liked it but did not LOVE it. Will probably still drive a newer one.

 

I love the sound of an R32 but I am sure it would be near impossible to find one of those.

 

It's a good sign when owners hang onto their cars.

 

I know of a couple R32s that are for sale here in Ohio in good condition, that I have been tossing around buying, myself.

 

AWD, VR6(VERY few things to worry about on these motors), decent gas mileage, Sporty, sound like sex.. love them!

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Well I officially sold my other car tonight so it is on. I found a great deal on a 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 but am afraid I am going to hate the torque steer.

 

You can drive mine on Saturday if you go to Cars and Coffee. The only thing I don't like about the car as a daily is that it rides pretty stiff. Handles great but beats me up. I am however spoiled with the ride of the Fusion Sport. Completely different car.

 

I've never driven a GTi but have driven my friends old R32 plenty of times and it rode nice.

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M3 have some issues you may want to look into. Not to mention stiff seats Which are annoying on a trip longer than an hour or sitting in traffic.

 

 

 

If you just want something that will be fun and still be a great daily the s60r is the way to go.

 

Or Saab 9-3 aero are dirt cheap

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It's a good sign when owners hang onto their cars.

 

I know of a couple R32s that are for sale here in Ohio in good condition, that I have been tossing around buying, myself.

 

AWD, VR6(VERY few things to worry about on these motors), decent gas mileage, Sporty, sound like sex.. love them!

 

 

You forgot SLOW though....:yuno:

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Why not? Maintenance?

 

They can be, yes.

A decent percentage of them end up needing all of the chain guides/ chains ect. replaced due to poor maint / oil change intervals or abuse.

 

It's a $6-8K procedure, so I'd not run the risk on a high mileage one. I'd much rather have the M3, despite lack of AWD in that generation of the 2 models.

 

They do sound damn good though!

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Torque steer can be annoying at first, I've found myself getting used to it over time though. Like Tim said, suspension is stiff for a daily driver on shitty Ohio roads. Clutch is also finicky but again you won't notice it as much after a couple months.

 

Aside from those cons, I have no other complaints. By far the best seats I've ever had in a car, get a TIP/SRI and rear motor mount and it greatly improves the driveability of the car. You can haul plenty of stuff, back seat room is decent, and it's actually really good for long road trips because of the seats.

 

Also, I still haven't gotten sick of surprising the shit out of people that think it's just a regular Mazda 3 with fancy wheels. Gets very little unwanted attention too, both from cops and ricers alike.

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With good dedicated snow tires almost anything can take Ohio's snow.... If it is indeed THAT bad out, maybe you call off that day lol

 

I know many folks on here , like me, were out literally plowing 270 for ODOT a couple times last year in our lower than usual cars, even w/o snow tires. I think we all made it decently.

 

Sounds like the winner is a Subie for this thread

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They can be, yes.

A decent percentage of them end up needing all of the chain guides/ chains ect. replaced due to poor maint / oil change intervals or abuse.

 

It's a $6-8K procedure, so I'd not run the risk on a high mileage one. I'd much rather have the M3, despite lack of AWD in that generation of the 2 models.

 

They do sound damn good though!

 

Any 50k german car will be expensive to maintain, including the e46 m3.

 

Do some research on the s60r if you are still considering it. It is expensive to maintain (as to be expected) and are not fast. A lot of owners are experiencing huge maint costs and the car doesn't have the payoff other high maint cars have.

 

Everyone has their priorities, anyone that spends 25k on a new gti or ms3 could just as easily bought a gto and beater, so drive a bunch of cars, and report back!

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It's between the M3 or the S4 for me of course. The M3 is sportier right out the box, but the S4 has 4 doors and quattro. The S4 sounds good, the M3's sound I dislike. Both of them have their issues.

 

Based on your requirements I think the S4 fits your needs better because it can fit 4 comfortably (better than the M). If it came down to it, I think I'd probably take the S4 too. It's a tough one though.

 

My brother has an S60R. It's a nice car, but it's no M3 or S4.

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