Car Shopping...

[corey]

I used to love cars... Really... I have had a crush on the new Mustang like you wouldn't believe...
I test drove one... It was just a V6, the new 2011 with 305bhp... It was fast, and sexy... but handled like a the titanic...
Just didn't do it for me, major disappointment...

Which brings me into the realm of car shopping.
I'm turning 25, my insurance premiums have dropped STUPENDOUSLY.
My 2000 Plymouth Neon has me near my wits end with how make the beast with two backsing lame it is.

But herein lies my problem...
Shopping for cars has all the sudden become the most boring, uninspiring, heart-crushing, soul-draining activity that I have partaken in over the past month.

It sucks.
NOTHING is appealing to me.
NOTHING AT ALL.

Help me
$25k-ish is my range.

Test driving a GTI tomorrow hopefully, although the reliability (or lack thereof) turns me off...
not too paticularly enthused by the looks either...

FML.

i just want another bike.

[vincheung]

.

[Turf]

i just want another bike.

BAM, solved (get another bike)

cars are overrated

car design has bothered me forever however if you're like me and have no idea what practicality is here are a few winners


(if you can find one in the US)





http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-Lotus-Elise-Chrome-Orange-One-Owner-FLAWLESS-/250692081310?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3a5e69969e#v4-38
(can pick up a used elise  )



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1952-Bonneville-land-speed-SCTA-Lakester-belly-tank-/350390858922?pt=Race_Cars_Not_Street_Legal_&hash=item5194ec34aa#ht_2505wt_941
(not streetlegal but very cool)

I'm not a practical man

[Lor]

You could get another bike and a smart car.

[DucofWestwood]

Check out the subaru legacy gt and/or wrx. Might have to go cpo depending on your budget but I loved my legacy gt.

Also once you find the right model just do it all by email or phone. Tell the local dealers what u want and let them compete for your business. Less time in car dealerships = more time on the bike =

[Raux]

BMW 1-series coupe

fun as hell and quick-go-kart-like reflexes

[RAT900]

get a sensible Honda Civic or Accord, embrace its plain-ness and sensibility...

I hear ya on car-shopping doldrums...

outside of exotics and vintage...everything seems pretty much to be a generic blob of sheet metal primarily backed by statistical differentiators and gadgetry level

and if it isn't a lump of air-streamed sheet metal it is a chunk of Stealth fighter-esque origami that 20 years from now will in retrospect look as ludicrous as a Studebaker bullet-nose

if I see one more car ad of some clown in a sedan kicking up dust 4 wheel drifting in a desert or making a mad-minute run on a public twisty

I may start screaming and not be able to stop

It almost seems that their collective pitch is more geared toward competing with each other to not be labeled Queen of the Pigs....rather than competing for capture of our imagination with genuine distinctions

the sop to us is..."you can drive aggressively in this baby and get reasonably good mileage"....ahhh yah sure!...give me a Ford 500 rental with all the insurance options on it and a 5th of Wild Turkey and I'll show you what a car can do :-)

[Raux]

  freaking HONDA

[The Architect]

car shopping = 

A used BMW is not a bad idea.

A bland Honda is good also.

Can't go wrong with a Toyota and their imaginary throttle issues. 

After speaking with most car salesmen I feel like taking a shower.    

We bought a car once just because the salesman wasn't and asshole.

  

[Howie]

GTI, just check out the dealer real well.  Bad dealers are their reliability problem

[lethe]

GTI, just check out the dealer real well.  Bad dealers are their reliability problem

+1

Just for shit and giggles test drive a TDI too, the GTI is more fun (duh!) but the diesel feels faster than it's 140 hp would suggest.
I wish I could've seen the face of the BMW 540 driver that couldn't lose mine in the twisties. Oh wait, I did when I passed him after backing off before a corner and carrying a lot more speed coming out of it. 

[muskrat]

how about a Mini Cooper S?  that thing is fun as hell to drive and has almost as many mods as a Monster.

[corey]

how about a Mini Cooper S?  that thing is fun as hell to drive and has almost as many mods as a Monster.

we have one already
i'm a bit spoiled in the handling department because of it too...
unfortunately, we're a 2-car couple (at least SHE thinks we are... i'd like to be a 1-car-4-bikes couple...) We love it to death, most fun car I have ever driven... but it's in the shop every two months. literally. And the people at our dealer SUCK. I'm trying to avoid that with my next car purchase.

I guess i need to qualify the real kicker...
It needs to be an automatic, because I just dont think I can handle the aggravation of the manual around these parts.
The tiptronic in the MINI is perfect, that's why I'm intrigued by the GTI and it's dual clutch setup.

We'll see how today goes, the looks of the 2011 with it's dual exhaut are ever-so-slightly arousing.

As for the mustang, well... I owned a 65 resto-project that never went anywhere (had all the parts, none of the time)...
Which reeled me in on the looks of the 2011 BIG TIME. I also had an 88 5.0, which i loved. After thinking about it, I guess maybe I loved that it was a small car that handled GREAT (after about 2k worth of suspension upgrades), rather than it being a Mustang... Although i loved that 302 sound...

Sigh.

Have driven a Civic Si. Lady's brother has one. Nice car, i dunno, just isn't pushing the right buttons i guess...
All the input is appreciated, keep it coming if you can!

I'm essentially looking for a fast, fun car around 25k that's an automatic.. manual IS a possibility though.
might get into a mazdaspeed 3 today as well..

[redxblack]

If you want to avoid the repair shop, get a Toyota.
If you want some serious torque and handling in a sleeper car, the Subaru is a great suggestion.

[duccarlos]

I keep hearing bad things about the VW's. Even from people that live in Europe. Funny how they prefer to drive Fords over there. Go figure. I can't really give you good advise when I have a thread myself asking for car advise. I am trying to narrow the list by doing test drives. I hate dealing with dealers, but they turn into their asshole selfs when I tell them I'm not looking at buying until next year. When I know what I'm buying, I'll be doing everything else online.