Buying my first car

OP - if you can't tell. Most of us here aren't fans of buying new. Then we wonder why manufacturers don't cater to our "needs".

I'll just reiterate the 2-car method. Especially if you like working on your own. If your highway cruise-barge doesn't bother you - just get another fun car to round out the package. Hell, for even $10K you can get some pretty fast new-ish machines these days.

Quick thought on the RSX-S bait(ness) - valid point, but you can always just remove the badging. That's exactly what I did on my next GSR after some nice stranger borrowed my first one without asking and never returned it for some reason . . .

The rsx-s will definitely be a nice, entertaining automobile.

Unlike the miata, it would be fine for long trips and go MUCH faster in a straight line for the same MPG number.

Im sure it could be made to handle decently as well.

But for some strange reason i just imagined a situation in which i had $6k and i had to buy something that was fun, full of character, had major utility, was pretty easy to work on, and also fit my strange sense of style..

And in that situation i chose a Miata and a Woody Roadmaster Estate wagon.

i had an RSX-S for a while. if you have rough roads or a lot of stop and go traffic in your commute, you will hate it, as it will become obvious that it is trying to kill you. the roads in houston are so bad, that it was punishing driving to and from work. it was not uncommon to have the lap belt keep me from punching my head through the sunroof. also its not great for 6-foot plus folks. it was only fun when i had time to drive during off-peak hours, which was just about never. it was a momentum/handling car in a straight roads only town. YMMV.

In reply to LainfordExpress:

If you want to add a practical, reliable, fun to drive car with a bit of an aftermarket, you could also go for a Mazda3 and save a $$$ of money.

Buying a 3 year old 5 speed Mazda3 hatchback will get you a car with modern safety features, good gas mileage, good handling and reasonable insurance rates. You'll also avoid the biggest depreciation hit buying in that range.

There are a million ways to go at this. When I got my first job fresh out of college, I WANTED a new car. It's kind of a rite of passage, I guess. Yes, it will lose 25% of it's value as soon as you drive it off the lot. So what? It's your new car. Take your time. Enjoy the process. Drive everything. Read everything. Buy the car that both tickles your fancy AND gets good reliability ratings. No sense being a damn fool and having your car in the shop more than you drive it.

I drove my first NEW car for 14 years. I paid around $14k for an '89 Mazda 626 LX 5-speed. Sold it for $1400. Not as low a "per year" cost as my first used car (Mazda RX-2 for 5 years, bought for $500, sold for $425) but not bad either.

Don't listen to these freaks! Buy a new car!

I'm slowly being converted to the reasoning of one reasonably priced daily driver, possibly temperamental, with a "toy" second car for fun and auto-X and as daily driver backup. Mainly, I drive 50 miles a day and believe there is a car that I'd enjoy driving more than the USS Grand Marquis.

Looking into used Miatas, aka, The Answer. This muticar solution appeals to me, though I'm still all wish-washy about what I want for the fun-to-drive daily driver. I'm not scared of rear wheel drive in the snow, but lots of power and rear wheel drive doesn't sound like a great idea. I've driven my Grand Marquis in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania winters, and even drove the Fiat 124 Spider home in a foot of snow... Not that it was easy.