I need help(not mental)

[Erv]

Well I need mental help too, but, I don't think you can help me there.

I am in the market for a newer vehicle, give me some ideas, couple of req's and a few preferred things.

Requirements

MT
Newer no older than 2000
Some sort of ICE no need for a system though
No honda's just not my style
Less than 20K price tag
No german cars - they are a major pain in the tail to work on particularily VW's and BMW's don't know a whole lot about MB's may consider them if they aren't as nightmarish

Preferred

4 doors will settle for two if the seats are accesible
Boost or decent power if not boosted around 250
Low to mid 20's for mpg
Not econobox interior
15k price tag

Admittedly I've been concentrating on japanese imports, some vehicles i've been looking at are:

WRX/STI
IS300
2.5 RS old body style
Legacy 2.5 GT's
Evo's
RX8
Cobalt SS

So throw up some ideas, or if you've owned any of the vehicles tell me some pro's v con's.

I will use the vehicle as a daily driver with a month to bimonthly auto x and occasional track day. Basically, I am looking for a suitable all-around vehicle. I am not a big drag racer, but, will probably make a pass or two.

[Erv]

few other cars

Saab 9-3
Mazda MS6/MS3
G35

and I actually am thinking about the CTS-V's I didn't realize how cheap they had gotten

[BoostedFD]

I'd say MS3 if you want more luxuryish but it's probably going to reguire a good bit of suspension work to keep it from pushing like a dump truck. WRX/STi/Evo if you want something that handles good from the get go. RX-8 would be a great handling and competive in it's class car if you are going to AutoX it, but it's going to be more tempermental and maintence oriented than the others and the mpg is awful. May be one of the cheapest options though, I think low milage(30k) ones are in the mid to low teens.

Personally I'd probably go Evo/Sti unless it's just going to be a DD.

[TouringBubble]

What about an S60R?

I still think for comfort the 93 or the CTS-V would be a wonderful choice. It would be a much more livable space. I think the 93 is one of the sweetest rides out there.

But, you know my vote ... VI.

[claym]

a BMW 3 series?

[waflet]

hideeho
it all boils down to what you actually want. do you want an auto-x car that can be daily driven, or a daily driver that can be auto-xed? as far as track days go, just make sure it is a hard top & you should be good w/ any of the choices.

auto-x cars that can be daily driven:
wrx/sti
evo mr
MINI (its german, so i'm not sure about the maintenance, ask sean or greg)
240sx
rx-8 (not much of a back seat)
ms-3
cobalt ss
mid 80's porsche (not much of a back seat, out of date range, rather expensive to maintain but you can get them for less than $15000)

i ranked these based on stock performance, altered performance, appearance, cost to maintain, & suitability as a daily driver. this group has a range from ss to hs, just pick how deep into the pool you want to dive.

daily drivers you can auto-x:
g35
2.5 rs
legacy 2.5 gt
240sx
sentra ser v-spec
audi rs4
MINI
is 250/300/350
volvo s60r
ms-3
cobalt ss
gto (sorry, had to mention it)
mustang

i ranked these based on appearance, price to maintain, performance & altered performance. these cars are predominately ds & fs, with a few others thrown in as well.

notice the 240sx, MINI, ms-3, & cobalt are on both lists. i dont have any of them @ the top of either list, they all do well in both catagories.

i havent driven or seen one driven in anger, so i didnt include the cts-v because of lack of knowledge. go, drive let me know what you think.

my biggest recomendation is to drive as many of them as you can, then decide what fits you. for example, the only reason i have a g35 instead of a wrx or evo is that i'm about 1-2 inches to tall to fit in either of them comfortably. i had to lay the seat back to far to get ample head room. your an inch or 2 shorter than me, so it moght not be a problem for you.

l8rcu
waflet

[Cholewa]

What about an S60R?

I still think for comfort the 93 or the CTS-V would be a wonderful choice. It would be a much more livable space. I think the 93 is one of the sweetest rides out there.

But, you know my vote ... VI.

even an old R would be a lot more than 15k, and they are not the easiest things to work on with their haldex awd.

I'd get a subaru, they're the new old volvo.

[engled]

The answer to this question is always "Miata" I don't understand you guys. Come on drink the punch

[Erv]

Miata fits 0 of my requirements... LOL

No BMW's not only are they a pain to work on parts are more expensive than the car

Bill, neither the 240 or Porsche are 2000 on. I want a good all around car. It will not be a auto x only car. It will not be a track only car. It will be dailied(which is why I want at bare minimum high teens in mpg) It will be a fun car. It will have four doors, (My parents aren't getting any younger)

Mini's have less than no back seat.

I am really torn, I like the ms3's, but, from my understanding they are much worse in the body roll department than evo's.

RX8's have a fairly decent rear seat, I fit comfortably in the rear behind a 6ft tall driver, and the seats are actually accessible with the suicide doors. I also believe that they are the cheapest cars on my list.

CTSV is basically a 4 door GTO same motor slightly more weight but can actually fit a big tire in the rear unlike the GTO where they major screwed us with 245's being the biggest you could go.

I threw the cobalt on the list mainly for giggles as I can't afford the 4 door version but also because of how cheap it is.

I hadn't even thought about the sentra, they have fairly decent handling but i seem to remember some serious precat failures.

BTW I am not looking for a FTD car, I want a fun daily that can be pushed on occasion.

[Cholewa]

I would get a subaru. they're simple cars to work on, and they don't brake if you don't mess with them too much. While the interior bits might seem a little cheap, it's still a great car for the money.

do it.

[87RX7RACER]

Well, I own a Cobalt SS. Mine is an 06 and it has about 48k on it. They are nice cars, the interior is a little cheap, but if you get one with the G85 package (sunroof, LSD) it also comes with some really nice and supportive recaro's. I've never autox'd my car so I couldn't tell you how well it does. I used to street race mine a long time ago and I even blew up the stock motor (21 psi, LEAN tune)...But other than that-for the money, you definately cannot beat the performance.

You can pick up a good used, probably GM certfied Cobalt SS for less than 15k, which would more than be in your price range. Personally, if you had the cash, I would spring for the Turbo Cobalt, but since you don't-buy a CTS-V and charge it....lol.

The choice is yours, but in this market right now, it's gonna be hard for anyone to buy anything. My Cobalt is on lease and it expires this month-and I really wanna buy a truck to use as a tow vehicle for my RX-7. But the way interest rates are right now, I don't even know if I'll be able to afford it!

My top picks (used):
350Z-no backseat, but with this thing, you won't need it. Absolutely, hands down, the best car on the list. GREAT aftermarket support + Nissan quality = badassness.
STi-lots of space, but your buying basically a maxed out version of a WRX, plus you can count on it being ABUSED...
CTS-V-need I say more?!?! 1. It' a caddy. 2. It handles extremely well. 3. RARE.
EVO-Obvious-but fuel mileage will BLOW. Small gas tank. CHEAP interior. 99.9% chance that it WILL be abused.
RX-8-Handles well but is kinda ugly.
Cobalt SS-excellent handleing and cheap when used. BUT FWD=bad.

My worst picks:
G35 (handles like crap and heavy)
Mini (no local dealer support and almost no backseat)
GTO (not an AutoX car, although fun)
Mustang (again, same thing-live axle rear end blows)
BMW 3-series (EVERYONE has one now)

Choose wisely!

[zukitek]

My pick would be an IS300 hands down.

RR

[87RX7RACER]

My pick would be an IS300 hands down.

RR

Ricky! An IS300 is a piece of crap...lol. The brakes are really bad and I don't think they handle very well? I just know about the brakes because there was a guy who had one at my first DE event at TGPR. His brakes were fadeing so bad by the end of day one that he couldn't even drive the car on day two!

-Vincent.

[Erv]

IS300 is very sluggish, brakes actually felt pretty good. Maybe he was riding em a lil hard.
They have the pimp factor though and are easy to NA-T.

[ZX3Focus]

I can give some long-term livability perspective on the RX-8. My wife has had an 06 6-speed RX-8 since 06.

Its really not hard to handle on the street. When it's raining hard, it's oddly nice that the rotary doesn't dump all its torque on you by 2000 rpm. Also, the torsen LSD it has makes launches a lot easier.

We haven't pushed it hard for long periods of time to attest to its durability under a beating, but our RX-8 has been a paragon of street reliability. My Focus is quirkier at 20000 miles than the RX-8 is at 42000.

The RX-8 actually impressed me on rear seat space. I'm 6'1" and 260 pounds and fit very comfortably back there. It can be a stretch to get a 6-footer behind a 6-footer, though (most coupes would suffer from this).

The suicide doors to the back seats let the car tote things you wouldn't guess it would. We carried an elliptical exercise machine home in box by popping the rear doors and shooting it straight across the rear console (much to the surprise of the Sears loading crew).

Our real-world mpg numbers are:
In a nasty city commute down US 280 and I459: 18mpg
On a 75mph interstate cruise: 22mpg

Those only lag a little behind other rwd cars with similar hp levels.