Yet another "what car" thread - "Fun" Commuter/4dr Edition

A coworker came to me today (as the "resident car guy" of our office) looking to replace is 1999 Protege that finally gave up the ghost this month...

His requirements:

• Seating for Four
• Two, Three, Four, Five doors are all acceptable (occasional transport of a 9 and 15yo son in an emergency)
• "Fun" (he'd stated early 2000's Jetta GLi's he drove were fun, but had heard of reliability issues)
• Stick or Automatic is acceptable
• FWD, RWD, AWD all acceptable
• "Decent" Fuel Economy Preferred (commuting 20mi one way 5 days a week) read as 30MPG+ is more than enough
• Planned 5 year retention
• Minimal maintenance/extra parts required (no fixer uppers)
• $5k cap preferred, $7k acceptable for "special" cars

From my limited scope of what he's stated he likes (E46 328i, 2000-2004 Jetta GLi) I'm tempted to push him towards V6 Accord, V6 Altima/Maxima, or even a 2002-2005 Civic Si (a bit smaller but very fun) or SVT Focus, possibly early G35 sedan?

Thoughts?

(entries encouraged to find examples within 100mi of St. Louis, MO)

I love my Volvo S70 T5M. Somewhat difficult to find with a manual transmission, but it's definitely possible. You'll likely have to catch up on some deferred maintenance also i.e timing belt and the such, and PCV system, however everything on the car is built well and easy to service.

The interior is bank vault like, and 0-60 in six seconds in stock form is pretty quick. Modifications are fairly easy, and 300whp is possibly with bolt-ons on the stock 16t turbo if he's into that kind of stuff. I've been averaging 26mpg so not good nor horrible. Seats 5 with lap-belts, and the rear seats fold down to haul crap.

In his price range he could likely find a very nice one that needs next to nothing, or he could cover all the maintenance and wear points on a lesser specimen and have a nice quick cruiser that will go another 200k.

Good grief...can he be any more vague? Any trans, any number of doors, any drivetrain.

The one thing I keyed in on was the minimal maintenance/extra parts. With that price range, I'd go Accord, Maxima, Mazda 3/6 type stuff.

Klayfish wrote: Good grief...can he be any more vague? Any trans, any number of doors, any drivetrain.

Given the vague requirement, I'd suggest an '04-ish Camry / Altima / Civic. They meet the cost / low maint and fuel economy requirements.

The Volvo / E46 / VW Alternatives will be more more fun, but are considerably more costly to run. The Civic Si is a little more fun than an Altima, but still not exactly a handling machine.

I paid 8k for my ZHP - it pegs the fun meter

$2300 for a V8 540i

I paid $3,000 for mine. One-owner with 130,000 miles.

The bottom is completely out of the E46 market. I'd suggest starting there. Find the lowest mileage unit he can for the price he's willing to pay. If it's past 100k on the clock, budget $1000-$1500 for a decent BMW indie to do the coolant system refresh, unless it's got record of having been done.

Offer them $6000 for this and spend the extra grand on the cooling system.

Duke wrote: The bottom is completely out of the E46 market. I'd suggest starting there. Find the lowest mileage unit he can for the price he's willing to pay. If it's past 100k on the clock, budget $1000-$1500 for a decent BMW indie to do the coolant system refresh, unless it's got record of having been done. Offer them $6000 for this and spend the extra grand on the cooling system.

I'll send that his way, he seems to have latched onto e46's

Klayfish wrote: Good grief...can he be any more vague? Any trans, any number of doors, any drivetrain. The one thing I keyed in on was the minimal maintenance/extra parts. With that price range, I'd go Accord, Maxima, Mazda 3/6 type stuff.

Agreed. The only odd one is the "fun" part. He'd probably be happy in a V6 accord/camry, but he took a ride in a buddies 350whp Speed3 and now wants more of a "fun" daily driver... (obviously this is way over his budget)

E46 ticks all the boxes, but it sounds the your friend isn't a car guy. If he's paying a shop to work on an E46 for him any time something goes wrong, he's going to seriously regret buying it.

You know, in this situation, its a lot like coffee.

Testing has been shown that time and again (especially in America) people describe their ideal coffee as "bold, flavourful, and rich".

And then when they have people test coffee's, the blandest and ones probably considered the most crap win.

Same with cars. Suggest an appliance to the dude that is automatic and requires as little maintenance as possible. The dude is probably an askhole (asks opinions and then doesn't follow them, or even worse, follows opinions and then bitches about everything wrong after the fact).

I would not steer towards E46 if he's not doing the work. V6 Accord or Maxima will tick enough of the FUN box here.

My 318ti.

Shameless plug.

03-04 Maxima SE with a 6 spd. Not quite there in the fuel mileage dept., but fits all of the other needs for sure! I'll do some hunting on Craigslist and try to post a few after work...

Possibly a later generation sentra SE-R? I mean it sounds like it would check about everything and you don't have to pay the SI tax or pony up to Euro mantiance prices

unevolved wrote: E46 ticks all the boxes, but it sounds the your friend isn't a car guy. If he's paying a shop to work on an E46 for him any time something goes wrong, he's going to seriously regret buying it.

There are several ways around that:

1) Do simple stuff yourself - they're very easy to work on, and it's a good learning experience. Disc brakes are easy and can be done with the scissor jack, 2 wrenches, and a big C clamp, and parts can be had for under $100 per wheel WITH new rotors.

2) Find a decent independent import mechanic. STL is large enough that there should be several. I got a wheel bearing changed at one of the best indie BMW shops in the midatlantic region for under $500 total.

3) Ignore some of the minor crap that can be ignored.

One of these. I get 35MPG at 75MPH. Small wagon versatility. 200K miles easy. Fun to drive with a 5spd trans.

Downside, not a lot of aftermarket support.

HiTempguy wrote: You know, in this situation, its a lot like coffee. Testing has been shown that time and again (especially in America) people describe their ideal coffee as "bold, flavourful, and rich". And then when they have people test coffee's, the blandest and ones probably considered the most crap win. Same with cars. Suggest an appliance to the dude that is automatic and requires as little maintenance as possible. The dude is probably an askhole (asks opinions and then doesn't follow them, or even worse, follows opinions and then bitches about everything wrong after the fact).

Bit jaded?

He's actually genuinely interested in owning more of an enthusiast car and is in the point in his life where he can afford it. His wife drives an S40 and has no problems paying for maintenance (going so far as to say "you get more out of the car, so you have to put more into it, but it's worth it")

I really do think he'd enjoy an E46, and i've made him aware that at minimum he'd be looking at doing a cooling system overhaul unless the seller can provide reciepts of doing so.

clutchsmoke wrote: I would not steer towards E46 if he's not doing the work. V6 Accord or Maxima will tick enough of the FUN box here.

Those are also on the list. I think he's going more by "feel and soul" than complete utilitarianism.

In reply to Autolex:

The accord gets double wishbones up front. They're entertaining enough on the street when properly driven.

How about a TSX? A little harder to find a manual, but I have heard good things about the auto too. Great interior, reasonably fun and Honda reliability. Should come really close on the MPG requirement too.

Dark horse maybe a CL Type-S 6-speed? I loved mine, smooth J-series V-6 with a nice trans and lots of creature comforts (xenons, heated leather seats, sunroof, etc.).

v6/5spd accord/altima/maxima or the IS300 all get my hearty approval in this situation. Honestly, i would only get an e46 if it was a 330 manual. The smaller engines are just boring unless you do most of your driving on twisty roads. In fact, i hope none of the people who ever said that the FRSBRS was underpowered then went on to recommend sub-330 e-46s because i feel like that would be hypocritical.

Box Caprice with an L98/200-4R swap and all the tasty 9C1/Impala SS bits you can throw at it.

06+ civic si (coupe/sedan) or acura tsx. I went with the civic because of the lsd. It is pretty boring most of the time but when you are in the mood it sure can put a smile on your face. So far it has been very reliable only had to replace a window regulator (bought that way). Only downside is they might be hard to get one with lowish miles in his price range. I am averaging 23 mpg over the last 10 fillups this cold winter of mostly city driving. 30+ mpg should be doable on the highway if you keep it at 70 or less.