bucd Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Hello, So in the past few years i've finally got myself to stop taking out car loans to buy a car. Just deal with cash. So recently i had 3 cars, my 87 integra that i bought due to it being my first car and I got it to remind me of the good ol days. I drive it on nice days, it's been well kept and condition is near perfect for it's year. I had taken out a loan to pick up an 05 RL due to the low interest. I then impulsively bought a 07 RDX a month later with cash. Well...after trying to sell the RL with multiple let downs from 5 potential buyers that i really thought i had sold, i ended up posting the RDX for sale and my idea was to just drive the one that don't sell and deal with something else later. Well...i ended up selling both cars the same day. I didn't lose any money on them and i had my eyes on a Venza that was available at that time. Well that Venza didn't work and i needed to find something to get by. So after looking at a bunch of different places in the 2 days that i had, i decided to pick up a cheap car to get me by. That car was a 03 Mazda Protege 5. Now that it's getting nice out, i'm getting the itch. Always say i'm not looking to pick up something right now, but somehow i end up doing so. So i've always bought Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, with a few Dodge and Chevy trucks here and there. This was my first Mazda. Besides my first 2 cars, i've changed cars just about every year. Most of the time i have 2 cars, and just go back and forth. My son will be out of pre school this year and start kindergarden so i'll be able to save more money for when i go to get my next car. So ideally by this time next year i should have able $10k for a ride. But who knows, as much as i don't want to do car loans, last loan i took out for $10k was at 1.24% for 24months. If a good deal comes up, i may go that route again. Sorry to be long winded. So i'm thinking i'm ready to go out of my comfort zone. Some things i'm looking for: 1. 4 door Hatchback 2. Automatic 3. Fun 4. MPG 5. Low/reasonable cost of ownership - aka maitenance that won't kill the bank I was thinking Subaru, but i've test drove a few newer models and the automatics were not fun at all. So now i've been looking at Audi A3s. 2006 - 2009 are around that price for around 90k miles. I don't know much about these other than what i read. So thought i would post this up early to get some ideas from you guys. thanks in advance. -D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustlestiltskin Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Some things i'm looking for: 2. Automatic 3. Fun 2. Automatic 3. Fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdhill Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Mazda Protege5... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleguy Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 I had a Mazda 5 (Mini Minivan) as a rental once and had an absolute blast driving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Quik7 Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) V70R /thread Edited April 23, 2015 by 1Quik7 spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltboostin Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 V70R /thread 2nd Or boost the budget and find a V wagon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1647545532 Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 The Protege5 is one of the best economy hatchbacks ever made. Is that what you're driving now? It's not clear from your OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Get over the automatic. If you don't know how to drive a stick, learn. If your excuse is about some yappy neckbeard woman, teach. http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?227878-2004-V70R-MT-Titanium-Nordkap-%96-VA& http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h278/CJ0920/V70R/20150404_180620_zpspp5we5mk.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowHBK Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Protege5 for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucd Posted April 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 My 87 teg is a stick. I know how to drive, it is my wife. We swap cars sometimes. She drives a mini van. I tried teaching, it was not a good experience and she has no interest in learning. I'm sure if i bought a stick, she wouldn't care. But I would have to car pool her on some days if that's the case. May work, i don't know. Only way i found to learn, at least the way i did was buy a stick and drive it everyday till you get the hang of it. But yeah, i have the protege 5 now. I do like it, maybe i should look into getting parts from a mazdaspeed 3 (turbo, intake mani and whatever else is needed) probably be a better route. Don't have a great pic, but this is when i picked i up on Feb 2nd. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=924&pictureid=7982 Had alot of front end work that needed done. both wheel bearins, lower control arms, strut bar bushings, end links, outter tie rods, cv axle on driver side and seal. brakes/roters done as well. i never considered the volvo so that's a great suggestion as well. thanks guys, -D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeesammy Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 automatics are not fun at all. Fixed that for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackbar00 Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 GTP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Suggestion from personal experience: 8P Audi A3 (2006-2011). Some of the 2006-2008 pre-facelift cars are under $10K and they can be had with a DSG. They are essentially VW MK V GTIs with out the premium that comes with a GTI (seriously NADA value on a 2006 audi a3 is $9175, book on same year GTI is $9225). Issues are well known and well documented: do coil packs and cam follower every 30K miles, and timing belt every 70K. block off EGR and replace diverter valve with upgraded or forge unit. That being said my wife drives one every day with a 6 speed manual so....if you buy an auto already my wife is more man than you. Sexist ribbing aside, the clutch is pretty linear and light and the shifter isn't notchy like other Germans so if you had to make your wife drive stick every day till she learned it would be an easy car to do it in. It is a surprisingly fun car do drive and the interior is nice, often nicer than the GTIs (Dat tartan cloth tho). For some reason we actually were able to find the only A3 2.0T 6 speed that has less options than my brother's 0 package 2006 GTI (he had projector headlights and ours does not). she drives this everyday: http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f102/Geeto67/3edbb9cf.jpg Here is what I can say about service. If you have it serviced at the audi dealer they will charge you a fortune for literally everything. However, they will pick up the car from you and drive you home (at least if you live in dublin or close to). Plus they give my kid snacks and coloring books and don't mind when she crawls inside the showroom R8 and stands on the seat to work the steering wheel (she's 3, nobody can say no to three year old kids). However if you take it to a private garage the car is no more or less expensive to service than a VW GTI. ECS has the hookup on parts and is way cheaper and there are a lot of places that cover A3 mods in detail. We bought the car with 29,000 miles on it and it now has 75K. In that time we have replaced 2 sets of tires, one cam follower, a taillight (it was leaking), 3 bulb trays (because of leaking taillight housing), 1 set of coil packs, 1 set of brake pads (hawk GT pads) and 2 rear wheel bearings. We used this car to do auto-x in NY but have yet to use it for that in ohio, and when we lived in brooklyn we shared it as a solo car and I had the GTO and Jeep in storage. Currently the only issue with the car is that the thermostat is stuck open and it throws a check engine light every 5 days or so. I reset it by disconnecting the battery and it's good for another 5 days. When we do the timing belt we will replace the t-stat as it is buried so deep in the engine that it isn't worth fixing unless you are doing other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltboostin Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 GTP King of the gays And he wants a hatchback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucd Posted April 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Suggestion from personal experience: 8P Audi A3 (2006-2011). Some of the 2006-2008 pre-facelift cars are under $10K and they can be had with a DSG. They are essentially VW MK V GTIs with out the premium that comes with a GTI (seriously NADA value on a 2006 audi a3 is $9175, book on same year GTI is $9225). Issues are well known and well documented: do coil packs and cam follower every 30K miles, and timing belt every 70K. block off EGR and replace diverter valve with upgraded or forge unit. That being said my wife drives one every day with a 6 speed manual so....if you buy an auto already my wife is more man than you. Sexist ribbing aside, the clutch is pretty linear and light and the shifter isn't notchy like other Germans so if you had to make your wife drive stick every day till she learned it would be an easy car to do it in. It is a surprisingly fun car do drive and the interior is nice, often nicer than the GTIs (Dat tartan cloth tho). For some reason we actually were able to find the only A3 2.0T 6 speed that has less options than my brother's 0 package 2006 GTI (he had projector headlights and ours does not). she drives this everyday: http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f102/Geeto67/3edbb9cf.jpg Here is what I can say about service. If you have it serviced at the audi dealer they will charge you a fortune for literally everything. However, they will pick up the car from you and drive you home (at least if you live in dublin or close to). Plus they give my kid snacks and coloring books and don't mind when she crawls inside the showroom R8 and stands on the seat to work the steering wheel (she's 3, nobody can say no to three year old kids). However if you take it to a private garage the car is no more or less expensive to service than a VW GTI. ECS has the hookup on parts and is way cheaper and there are a lot of places that cover A3 mods in detail. We bought the car with 29,000 miles on it and it now has 75K. In that time we have replaced 2 sets of tires, one cam follower, a taillight (it was leaking), 3 bulb trays (because of leaking taillight housing), 1 set of coil packs, 1 set of brake pads (hawk GT pads) and 2 rear wheel bearings. We used this car to do auto-x in NY but have yet to use it for that in ohio, and when we lived in brooklyn we shared it as a solo car and I had the GTO and Jeep in storage. Currently the only issue with the car is that the thermostat is stuck open and it throws a check engine light every 5 days or so. I reset it by disconnecting the battery and it's good for another 5 days. When we do the timing belt we will replace the t-stat as it is buried so deep in the engine that it isn't worth fixing unless you are doing other things. This car is what made me start this thread. I saw one on the road and got me wanting to look. This is very informative. So 2.0T over the v6? Thank you, D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 VR6 A3 is quattro DSG (haldex). It is essentially a 4 door R32 without the good brakes. the VR6 is a tough engine but now you are dealing with more systems, more stuff to go wrong, and more service items. My buddy with a Mk V R32 went 40k miles without an oil change so the engine is tough. The philosophy I have with Audis is that the less electronic stuff in them the less problems you have - base 2.0Ts are dressed up hot hatch VWs. If you can live without onboard nav and fancy gagets the car is just nice, simple, sporting German transport. I do not even want to think about what a service on a DSG costs, but I imagine any repair where you pull the tranny is expensive. The Vr6 is about 40 more hp over the 2.0T so there is def the fun factor. Wife's car has cold air, turbo back stainless exhaust, and bigger injectors. It had a tune but we flashed back to stock, with the tune the car was as fast as my friends stock R32 but now...who knows. We flashed it because the first week we kept getting CELs and decided it wasn't worth the extra boost or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeesammy Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 My buddy with a Mk V R32 went 40k miles without an oil change so the engine is tough.. I'm sorry, but that is just sheer dumb luck in my opinion. With all the things I hear about VR6's and the timing chain rattles and guide/tensioner issues, I think he got the needle out of the haystack. It may not have blown but yank the oil cap or valve cover off, I'll bet that thing is sludged to hell and back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 From a roll, a 2.0t should match the 3.2. From a dig, awd and dsg will destroy it. Once they have a tune, it evens things up, except from a roll, the 2.0t should start pulling. 3.2 gets awful gas.mileage, 2.0t is capable of 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeesammy Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 3.2 gets awful gas.mileage, 2.0t is capable of 30. I forgot this part. I wanted/want a VR6 soo bad. I just can't get over the awful fuel economy of the VR platform. That sound though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 I'm sorry, but that is just sheer dumb luck in my opinion. With all the things I hear about VR6's and the timing chain rattles and guide/tensioner issues, I think he got the needle out of the haystack. It may not have blown but yank the oil cap or valve cover off, I'll bet that thing is sludged to hell and back. Im positive luck had something to do with it. He went 40k without an oil change in the 30-70k mileage range on a car he bought new. He was also a dealer tech (yamaha boats) and then restored old Brit cars before going back to school to get an engineering degree in robotics, so I'm pretty sure he breaks his new toys on purpose just to have something to do. I'm also sure that engine is sludgy as hell and I will never buy a used car from him. That said he poly bushed the whole car and then proceeded to have no end to trouble with the suspension, but that was his only mechanical trouble. He had a lot of suspension and brake mods done to the car it was at the point where if you mashed the brakes as hard as you could from 50 mph the computer rolled down the windows and put the flashers on because it had thought you were in an accident. But back to the wife's car - we are both lead foots and the car averages between. 23-27 mpg in mixed driving. If we take a road trip, use the cruise control, and keep it under 80 we see 30mpg. I can't fault it's fuel efficiency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackbar00 Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 King of the gays And he wants a hatchback! 1. 4 door Hatchback 2. Automatic 3. Fun 4. MPG 5. Low/reasonable cost of ownership - aka maitenance that won't kill the bank It meets 4.5 out of 5 of the propossed requirements. I thought it was fair to state it as a possibility. I will go back to fucking myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pat Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 I am not sure if you would be interested, but I will have an 05 Subaru Forester for sale here shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 Rally pat makes a good point - I am surprised nobody mentioned a 2002-2007 WRX wagon or an 08 and up WRX hatchback. or a Forrester. Or a Legacy GT wagon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o0n8 Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 But yeah, i have the protege 5 now. I do like it, maybe i should look into getting parts from a mazdaspeed 3 (turbo, intake mani and whatever else is needed) probably be a better route. Are you saying speed 3 parts on a protege? That's not going to work. Everything you describe in the op is the protege 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucd Posted April 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 Are you saying speed 3 parts on a protege? That's not going to work. Everything you describe in the op is the protege 5. Typo. Meant to say mazdaspeed protege. I talked to a guy yesterday that had it done to his old P5. Said put money in savings till you have enough for a mazdaspeed 3. Its not worth it. Thx -D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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