car choices

[thatguyMatt]

I owned a RSX Type S in high school so listen when I say that they are FANTASTIC daily drivers. I averaged 28-30 mpg in mixed driving and got up to 35 highway. Yea its FWD and the 2.0L K20 engine isnt very torquey but once you get it up to 6k and the cam changes over it rips. I wish I still had mine. :/ I wouldnt buy and Audi if your going for MPG's, quattro kills the economy. I especially wouldnt buy a B6 with the 1.8T because they are slow as balls.

[stamar]

If you're driving on the street, you shouldn't be in situations that RWD really matters. You can barely rotate a 318is with the throttle. IMO the M42 is a timebomb waiting to blow up in your face.

If I had a budget of up to $9000, I'd get as close to an unmolested E36 M3 all day long. As long as you don't lead foot it you can get 26 mpg highway.

But out of your choices, the RSX seems to be the best choice.

I think I agree with you an e36 m3 is one of the best cars you could get for that much.

[mikeb23ft]

My personal opinion is to avoid any VW/Audi product after the Mk2. I spent a lot of time looking at MKiv GTIs before I wound up in my E30. The only people who have anything good to say about the cars are those who have owned them or are just VW fanboys. Maintenance costs are insane. The build quality just isn't there.

Keep your E30, do something else with the money. Put it in a mutual fund or retirement account, use it to pay for school, throw a party, something. The M20 isn't that bad on gas. I got, honest to God, 32mpg highway last weekend out of mine. Just use all that money you were going to buy a new car with to buy gas.

[Mercury[BKM]]

i fully agree with the e36 M3.. you can find GREAT condition ones for 7-9k
maint is kind of gonna be higher though.. as well as insurance

nice leather seats, they look good, only haters are going to be people who bought shitty ones or can't afford them.. all in all great cars.


have you thought about maybe a 2zz swapped MR2 with a hard top?

[RMWNick]

I have an '05 Saab 9-3 w/ an automatic, it is a lot of fun to drive and is pretty awesome on fuel mileage. It's a third-gear and above car with the turbo. I've driven a 5-speed 9-3 and it was, of course, much more fun to drive than the auto, but 5-speeds are very hard to find in the midwest.

Several years ago I was looking for an inexpensive fun car and test drove a RSX-S, Celica GT, Hyundai Tiburon GT and a Mustang Mach 1 ('01) - all manual transmissions. The Mach 1 obviously had a lot more power, but the build-quality was awful. I was very disappointed in the performance of the RSX-S. The Celica GT was fun to drive, but made a lot of noise in the cabin. Quite honestly, the best over-all car was the Hyundai. It a bunch of torque, had the most quite interior and was overall the most fun to drive.

Just my 02 cents.

[Jables]

Oh boo hoo $52 to fill the tank. I pay ~$80 a tank despite the fact the Aussie dollar is stronger, so to you guys it's like.. $82.. /rage

Anyway... Buy good cond M50 for some money (idk what it costs for you guys, $20?), drop it in, get better fuel economy than e30 318is (it's true - my car is living proof), spend the rest on your choice of alcohol/hooker/further modifications/track days/birthday presents/petrol/stock market etc.etc. - you will be winning

Also, if you don't have a huge truck or a V12 supercar, the driver can make a huge difference in gas mileage. Things like accelerating gently (not retardedly slow), getting off the accelerator a long way before you need to stop instead of accelerating up to a point and using the brakes (remember - using the brakes other than for avoiding small children is like wiping your ass with $100 bills) - USE THE BRAKES MINIMALLY!!

Reading traffic, consistent speed in slower traffic (just let the car in front stop and start like a moron infront of you and hang back, going slightly slower but at least you arent speeding up/slowing down)

it all helps

[e30jake]

I used to think 2nd gen MR2s looked much better than the 3rd gen convertibles

You sir, have changed my mind

[stamar]

the 3rd gen mr2 is one of the most beautiful production cars ever.

Just saw one of the local ones in awesome green with a suede leather top.

Not an extremely good value at all usually. kinda twice what a miata is going to be...

http://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/2919247074.html

but if I had 8k Id search for one.

[Mercury[BKM]]

yeah im kind of torn between buying a LS swapped s13.5 or a boosted 2zz hardtop MR-S

been looking into both of them recently (for a DD sinc ei no longer have an e30)

[Massimo]

This dose not help but came across this image on the PPF forums the other day and now I want an E36 like this.

[HarukoE30]

I would seriously find an 318i/is late model & Rev the happy shit out of it. I would look more towards the trips you take besides school versus buying another car to save gas.

[thatguyMatt]

Honestly if your simply trying to save money, dont buy another car. You will never make up what you spend on gas in what you lose in maintenance, depreciation and other running costs. Just fix up your e30 and enjoy it. :)

[Mercury[BKM]]

you'd get mad bitches in an mr2... gotta think with your dick befor eyour brain while in college

[lambo]

If we're talking mr2's now, why not an AP1 S2000? If you drive ultra-mega-conservatively you get 36ish mpg, bitches will love it and an AP1's are hovering around 10k...

[nando]

Mr2s.. god why? such horrible, ugly stupid cars. :|