Help Me Buy A Car Thread v.ScottyB: WITNESS ME BROTHERS

[ScottyB]

alright you filthy animals. this is going to go to hell in a handbasket so here's the rules:

• EDIT $16k ceiling, don't want a payment
• EDIT under 50k miles preferred
• max 10 years old
• must have side airbags f/r and a history of not murdering people because the ignition shit itself
• 4 doors or more
• nothing from farther north than PA
• no swapped/rebuilt/project BS
• no spinning dorito motors
• no private sellers that can't spell or talk in complete sentences, or dealers with names like Big Bill Hell's Challenge Pissing Thunderdrome
• will view any German options with a completely irrational level of distrust and anxiety on an emotional level
• MANUEL TRANS ONLY i'll drive an auto when i'm old and back to pooping my pants again
• NO silver, NO grey. can't take it anymore. eye burning colors preferred.

can move a little on some things but not on the trans, safety, color, or doors.

this is going to be a daily 99% of the time and rallycrossed maybe 4 times a year. it needs to be decently comfortable for 2 adults and a 4 year old on long highway trips, good A/C, good seats, pulling 30mpg without too much trouble. has to be able to dance in the turns when need be. not interested in a continual fixer-upper, if i'm touching the car for anything outside of basic routine maintenance i want it to be because i'm putting fun go-fast things on it and not hating myself, AKA: i don't want to be replacing worn out weatherstripping, rod bearings, fixing a hackjob aftermarket alarm, ripping the dash out for a new heater core, watching the plastic disintegrate around the interior, etc

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here's what i have so far:

2009-2011 Civic Si

not gonna lie, this is what i'm probably getting. i drove a '99 Si years ago and it remains the highest fun per dollar car i've ever been in. visceral and wanted to be hooned.
bueno
kickass N/A drivetrain + helical LSD
"lightweight"
good back seat room + fold down backseats
great seats up front
excellent aftermarket
simple, reliable
VTEC makes my giblets dance
truly the last of the golden era 8k RPM screamers for Regular Joes. after this MY they bumped displacement and dropped the redline
no bueno
will this get jacked the first time i take it to applebees or something
not a pretty face (but i like subarus so i could be tasteless)
interior looks like a spaceship had rough unconsensual sex with an arcade game
FWD
mcstruts
insurance? haven't checked.



2009-2012 Golf GTI (is that the mk6?)

always liked these. you guys keep buying them and most of you are functional adults so i have to assume there's a reason for this happening
bueno
BOOOOST
pretty much invented hot hatchness
can't argue with the interior
hatch space
just pretty to look at
big aftermarket
i know it would kill on long distance drives
no bueno
am i seriously going to have to chip the carbon out of the intake with a screwdriver every 30k miles?
E-LSD right?
FWD
mcstruts
its German so its guaranteed something, somewhere, is assembled to be as irritating as possible
CELs erryday



2005-2006 ZHP (already breaking my age rule here we go)

this strikes me as the best of the E46-for-normies
bueno
so pretty want to touch
good chassis, good power
can't argue with the interior
nice place to kill miles
seems like problems are at least a known quantity
solid aftermarket of course
RWD OMG SO PURE
no bueno
i can't find anything without a billion miles on it
rear side airbags were optional, i wonder if that's hard to find
seriously how fragile is this thing? chassis tearing out, disposable cooling system, CELs, do these throw the nut off the oil pump too?
is a 330i a better starting point?
its old now, i assume every example has issues of some kind
will BMW people try to curb stomp me if i rallyx this?

unless one of you can find me some kind of unicorn deal, no subarus, sorry. the ones i want don't seem to exist in my price and mileage requirements, and i don't trust 90% of the owners to know WTF they're doing enough to buy from them anyway. i did the scoob thing for 10 years, i guess its time for a break. plus, i'll go back someday when those dingalings figure out how to make a modern WRX wagon again.

[Apoc]

I think Mikey's was a white Mk6 and I believe he's on record as regretting selling it.

[ScottyB]

I think Mikey's was a white Mk6 and I believe he's on record as regretting selling it.

he's regretted a couple white hatch sales, can we confirm if this is a sickness?

[Apoc]

Different kinds of regret... one is because the car was great, the other is because the buyer was not.

[ispoonwithmugen]

66k miles STI
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/thread

[ScottyB]

66k miles STI
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://columbia.craigslist.org/cto/d/2004-subaru-sti/6247251874.html">https://columbia.craigslist.org/cto/d/2 ... 51874.html</a><!-- m -->

/thread

wtf that's crazy...at that mileage even with a built motor that should be an 18, 19k car. i wonder what's up...

just wish it wasn't silver...super tempting but that thing has to suck balls to deal with on long trips with a 4" exhaust :lol:

[.RJ]

GTI GTI GTI GTI GTI

[ViPER1313]

Buy your car back and get it fixed

[WRXtranceformed]

I would personally love to see you rally cross an IS300. Can you find an older IS350 in that range?

Will try to think of more, but i like the GTI and Si ideas already

[WRXtranceformed]

Buy your car back and get it fixed

With super glue

[ViPER1313]

New Ford Focus non ST. Can be found right in your price range. Almost as much power as that SI but a better chassis, and brand new.

[JPolen01]

Get the Si. They are great daily drivers and have the quick punch of power to get through traffic. I bet it would be a blast to rallyx. Reliability forever. No it won't get stolen. Don't the people in your part of the country like trucks? They won't even notice a civic.

[SlimKlim]

GTI GTI GTI GTI GTI

GTI GTI GTI GTI GTI

GTI GTI GTI GTI GTI

GTI GTI GTI GTI GTI

GTI GTI GTI GTI GTI

[.RJ]

UNPIMP ZE AUTO

[Jake]

Applebees? Who the fuck eats at an Applebees?

Umm let's see. Civic Si would be a good option and I don't think they're ugly per se. GTI is a good call, not much to say beyond that.

If you're gonna rallycross an E46 it better have had the rear subframe reinforced or you need to do it. Beyond that, the non-M E46's are stout cars. Cooling system every 100k, keep oil in 'em and drive. ZHP purists would smother you with a pillow if they found out you were "ruining" one of the "precious almost-an-M3" cars that so many people think they are by rallycrossing it, but fuck them, you're out driving it and having fun. It's a 330i with bumpers, cams and a tune. Don't pay extra for one but they do look a bit sharper than a non-ZHP.

[SlimKlim]

BOOST OR DIE

[ViPER1313]

Buy your car back and get it fixed

With super glue

And JBWeld

But with the buyback money plus a couple G, I'm sure it could be made 100% again by a good shop.

[Senor_Taylor]

I want to go on the record saying I don't like any of these options for you. None of these cars will handle the abuse of rally cross in any fashion similar to the subie. I think you'll be disappointed at how quickly they get torn up.

The SI is one of those cars I think all of us wouldn't mind and it would be a cool car if we were in highschool, but it's just not "enough" in enough places to actually be a car worth writing home about. Not really a car to be proud of, unless you're Polen.

The E46, as much as I'm a fanboi, again, eh. I think it's a car you'll look back at twice when you head into work and will perform well, but if your heart isn't in it, it's not going to be a good time when it comes to bushings and other little BMW quirks.

The GTI? As much as I want to hate it, I think it's probably the best fit out of that list, but I still feel like there is something better out there for you.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Ken]

Honestly all these threads boil down to these suggestions:

GTI
Miata
Some variant of BMW 3 series
Mazda 3
Mazda CX-5
TSX Wagon even though no one can ever find a decent one (price or condition) but suggest it anyway.
Focus ST even though it's always immediately shit on
Lexus IS
WRX/Outback/Forester
BMW 5 series

And, when people ask for more sport focused:
Mustang
Corvette
Miata again
S2000
E36 M3

So, peruse through that list and you should be good.

New Ford Focus non ST. Can be found right in your price range. Almost as much power as that SI but a better chassis, and brand new.

I would personally love to see you rally cross an IS300. Can you find an older IS350 in that range?

Will try to think of more, but i like the GTI and Si ideas already

Two down. C'mon guys we can do this!

[Jake]

A stick-shift CX-5 could be The Ultimate Rallycrossing Machine with a second set of rimz and knobby tires, but I think Scotty would hate it for DD duties.