Thinking about a new car?

EVIL NICK

ALL CAPS,
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I'm thinking about buying a new car, but I don't want to overlook anything...

I'm looking for sub 25K, 4 door domestic sedan.

Right now the SRT-4 looks tempting, but what else should I be looking at?
 

Ely13

Sultan of Slugs
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Honda Accord or Nissan Altima. More fun to drive than a Camry. Won't give you the problems an American car will, much better driving performance, much better fuel efficiency, much better resale value.
 

DangerousK

MotoGP and Formula 1 Freak
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The Scion xB...my friend has one with 18's on it...TRD exhaust, sport springs, intake, and I'm not sure what else...for $12,900 it was a good buy....great on gas as well.
 

Force

Zantetsu's Blade Sharpener
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EVIL NICK said:
I'm thinking about buying a new car, but I don't want to overlook anything...

I'm looking for sub 25K, 4 door domestic sedan.

Right now the SRT-4 looks tempting, but what else should I be looking at?

SRT4 is my choice for a sub 25k sedan, but as a loyal subaru fanboy, I'd test drive a wrx as well.

Matt
 

RAINBOW PONY

DASH DARK ANDY K,
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Corolla XRS is about the best 4 door you can buy for the money, 180hp, has the celica-gts engine in it. Very nice. 20k too. The Ion Redline is good as well.

If you want gas milage get a Ford Focus ZX, 28 city/36hwy.

Scions are garbage IMO, cheap ass cars, they don't cost much but in the long run they won't last. The TC is just a stripped down Celica as well.

The altima is garbage, nissan quality has gone downhill since renault bought them.
 

Magnaflux

Onigami Isle Castaway
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I'd seriously consider an Altima if you're in the market and can afford it.

The new altimas blow away the image of the old ones.

It's like Nissan took the old Maxima formula and improved on it.

Edit: on second thought, I'm not sure how you define 'domestic'. Technically the Altima is a domestic.

American wise, the Monte Carlos are good. I really like the Pontiac Gran Prixs. The Grand Prix has 4 doors, lots of room and they look good to boot.
 
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K_K

Honourary Irishman.,
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under 25k huh? SRT-4, nissan sentra SE-R spec-V, honda accord V-6 vtec. that's about all you should look at there. most bang for your buck in my opinion.
 

Ely13

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DashK said:
why? i didn't sleep with your mom as a joke.
Instead of running your mouth off like Cameron Diaz, why don't you read Magnaflux's post instead?

Nissan/Infiniti was getting thrashed in the Japanese and American markets until Renault came and bought a majority share in the company. From there, they put Ghosn (known as 'le cost cutter/killer') in charge of the company. What happened? Here's what BusinessWeek (arguably a more reputable analyst than DashK) had to say:

http://yahoo.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_40/b3902012.htm
Nissan's Boss
Carlos Ghosn saved Japan's No. 2 carmaker. Now he's taking on the world
OCTOBER 4, 2004

...

As turnarounds go, the Nissan saga is in a class by itself. In 1999 the company was straining under $19 billion in debt and shedding market share in both Japan and the U.S. Ghosn was also being undermined by Nissan insiders who wanted his reforms to fail. So when he was about to announce the closing of five factories, he didn't tell his own board of directors until the night before, recalls Jason Vines, who served as Nissan's North American public-relations chief early in Ghosn's tenure and now heads PR for Chrysler Group. And to ensure those in the know wouldn't spill the beans, Ghosn threatened: "'If this leaks out, I'll close seven plants, not five,"' Vines says. That boldness -- and the factory shutdowns -- led to menacing hate mail, and Ghosn began to travel with a bodyguard.

These days, though, Ghosn is more hero than target. Last year, Nissan reported profits of $4.6 billion on $68 billion in revenues, up 8%. It looks set to boost earnings by another 6% and sales by 9% this year, brokerage Morgan Stanley (MWD ) says. Nissan's $49.7 billion market capitalization is the second biggest in the industry, after Toyota's (TM ). It has overtaken Honda as No. 2 inside Japan. And Nissan leads the global pack in operating margins (11.1%).
In 2002, Car and Driver was raving about the guy and suggested that he's perhaps the one man that could bring respectability back to Ford. Just run a google search on him and see what he did to Nissan in terms of sales, performance, reliability, etc. Would I have suggested a Nissan 10 years ago? No. But now, Nissan is top-tier as far as affordable automobiles go. As much crap as I give to France, you guys did an amazing job with Nissan.
 

SonicBoom

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DashK said:
The altima is garbage, nissan quality has gone downhill since renault bought them.

You don't know anything.

I've had my '05 Altima 3.5 for almost a year now, and it's awesome, I've had zero problems. Not too good on gas milage due to the bigger engine, but I'll fly right past whatever DashK is driving.

edit: I had a 97 Grand Prix before that, what a piece of crap. I will never buy a GM car again, new or used.
 

RAINBOW PONY

DASH DARK ANDY K,
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SonicBoom said:
You don't know anything.

I've had my '05 Altima 3.5 for almost a year now, and it's awesome, I've had zero problems. Not too good on gas milage due to the bigger engine, but I'll fly right past whatever DashK is driving.

edit: I had a 97 Grand Prix before that, what a piece of crap. I will never buy a GM car again, new or used.

heh, what I drive would smoke your soccermom wagon altima.
 

SonicBoom

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DashK said:
heh, what I drive would smoke your soccermom wagon altima.

Lets see some pics of your car then. (Not that I trust whatever you post is legit)

And wagon?
 

Magnaflux

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Seems like a good time for DashK to log off. :smirk:

He usually does right before he gets called out on the carpet.
 

Ely13

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Not to be crude, but STFU n00b.

DashK said:
The altima is garbage, nissan quality has gone downhill since renault bought them.
SonicBoom said:
You don't know anything.

I've had my '05 Altima 3.5 for almost a year now, and it's awesome, I've had zero problems. Not too good on gas milage due to the bigger engine, but I'll fly right past whatever DashK is driving.
http://waw.wardsauto.com/ar/auto_wards_ten_best/index.htm
2002 Ward's Ten Best Engines
BY BILL VISNIC

...

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
3.5L DOHC V-6


Engine type: 3.5L 60° DOHC V-6
Displacement (cc): 3,498
Block/head material: aluminum/aluminum
Bore × stroke: 95.5 mm × 81.4 mm
Horsepower (SAE net): 240 @ 5,800 rpm
Torque: 246 lb.-ft. (334 Nm) @ 4,400 rpm
Specific output: 69 hp/L
Compression ratio: 9.5:1
Application tested: Altima 3.5SE

The bad news: We have to say “so long” to Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s spectacular 3L “VQ” DOHC V-6, retiring from Best Engines competition after seven consecutive wins only because, (paradoxically to us,) Nissan is discontinuing in most world markets the 3L variant of the ground-breaking modular VQ engine family.

The good news: the larger 3.5L VQ we now get to replace the 3L simply is more of a good thing. Chocolate fudge smothering chocolate ice cream, if you will.

The outgoing 3L VQ checked out producing a maximum of 227 hp. The new 3.5L V-6, as tested in the 2002 Altima, makes 240 hp. In the Maxima, the engine's tuned for 260 horses, and next year we'll see it develop even more juice when it shows up for duty in the reincarnated Nissan 350Z sports coupe.

Sharp readers will know that we first tested the 3.5L VQ V-6 last year in its inaugural application, the Pathfinder SUV. To save time, we'll summate by saying that the aging Pathfinder was not the ideal showcase for the engine.

That's changed, of course, proving our assertion that a Best Engines award often comes down to an auto maker's acuteness in matching the right engine with the right vehicle (and, sometimes, the right transmission, too). In the new Altima chassis, the 3.5L VQ is downright invigorating: there's momentous thrust in every gear, right through to the redline — thanks, Nissan, for the available 5-speed manual, by the way — and this engine feels stronger that its 240-hp rating. For the new engine, though, it's at least partially explained by the healthy 246 lb.-ft. (334 Nm) that comes from the extra half-liter.

The 3.5L VQ V-6 is a rare treat: delightfully flexible, but backed up by the muscle of bona fide torque. And it's not all attributable simply to extra displacement. The 3.5L VQ V-6 offers some serious upgrades: an excellent infinitely variable valve timing system, a first to the VQ family and, Nissan's engineers claim, the world's first variable valve timing to use electromagnetic control of camshaft phasing.

Finally, we're impressed and relieved that the VQ family's competitor-crushing NVH and refinement haven't been compromised. A new “silent” camshaft chain drive and strategic block stiffening pitch in to ensure levels of refinement that continue to be the envy of engine designers worldwide. After building the world's best V-6 engine for the last seven years, Nissan engineers haven't relaxed — their new 3.5L VQ V-6 again rewrites the definition for “world-class.”
 

RAINBOW PONY

DASH DARK ANDY K,
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SonicBoom said:
Lets see some pics of your car then. (Not that I trust whatever you post is legit)

And wagon?

you have a new style altima right? everytime i see one theres a soccerball sticker over the gascap and a bitch is driving it...

for your info I drive an RSX
 

RAINBOW PONY

DASH DARK ANDY K,
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SonicBoom said:
Did your parents buy it for you for making the cheerleading team?

You'll get passed.

heh, an altima won't pass an RSX dude, your 0-60 time is shit even if you have a V6.
 

K_K

Honourary Irishman.,
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oh and the volvo S40 is within your price range i believe, and that one is fast and cool too.
 

K_K

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Ely13 said:
Read and removed.
hey man don't worry about dash K, he's an idiot and likes to think he knows things about cars. renault's purchase of nissan saved them much like Lee Iacocca saved ford, and then chrysler. and renault and most of the french car companies have always made a great car, i just wish they were here in the US for more than the late 1980's.
 

Ely13

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Yeah. Unfortunately, the cars Renault brought over in the early 80s had terrible reliability, and the styling was often very poor as well. I've heard they've come a long way since then, though I'm only familiar with Italian and American supercars. Seems like it was akin to the bad press Audi got with that 60 Minutes episode, but much worse.

You're right, I shouldn't get involved with DashK's grabassing. I guess it's pretty pointless since no one in this thread agrees with him.
 

K_K

Honourary Irishman.,
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Ely13 said:
Yeah. Unfortunately, the cars Renault brought over in the early 80s had terrible reliability, and the styling was often very poor as well. I've heard they've come a long way since then, though I'm only familiar with Italian and American supercars. Seems like it was akin to the bad press Audi got with that 60 Minutes episode, but much worse.

You're right, I shouldn't get involved with DashK's grabassing. I guess it's pretty pointless since no one in this thread agrees with him.
yeah but the cars peugeot brought over here in the 80's were great, and still run these days. i'm looking at picking up an 85 peugeot 505 turbo here in a few months, i love those cars
 

aegreatone

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Posts
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say, all i gotta say is...

stay away from the honda civics cuz they easy to break into. If the locks are in the side doors, real easy to pop. avoid.

dont get a chevy cavalier cuz they dont have good engines.

For 25k i would invest in a Chevy Impala, wit some nice rims and some shades, it'll look nice.
 
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