posted
As far as the choices go, here's where I'm at:
I don't like the new Celica... the headlights scare me, and Snay is aware of that. Plus they're tiny.
Civics, I enjoy... I had a Civic up until last summer, and I LOVED That car. Mechanically, never a problem, and I drove it HARD. I didn't notice that it was underpowered at all, and I found out from experience several times that in a crash, the car holds up pretty well, plus it was pretty roomy and comfortable, for it's size. A perk for the Civic as well is that you can get the Hybrid Civic and it gets 50+ MPG which is VERY nice and environmentally sound
Jettas? Don't have one, never have HAD one, but I have a lot of friends with them and they wouldn't give those cars up for anything. None of them have ever had a problem (these are all the newer body-style Jetta, not the older one) and I just think they're so CUTE!
Plus there's plenty of room in both the Civic and the Jetta for a kicking stereo system ;-) And a family, if Snay chooses to have one of those in the near future
BUT, I think that in determining the car for Snay, we're all missing the boat - given his history crashing into "objects" (ie. deer), maybe instead of coolness and design we should consider something even more important -
Crash Safety Ratings
Civic~ The 2000+ Civic is rated a first choice by the Institute for Interstate HIghway Safety in all categories. Definately a winner!
Jetta~ The Late '99+ Jetta is rated the highest score in all categories by the IIHS except the Structure/Safety cage and Restraints/Dummy Kinematics which both scored average. Still a good choice, but the Civic scored better.
Celica~ The IIHS has not tested the Celica, but according to crashtest.com, it is rated good overall, doing very well with frontal impact collisions, but only average with frontal offset. Also, it's very lightweight which raises some concern.
Also remember, 4 door cars are generally safer than 2 door cars, AND are cheaper to insure.
The moral of the story? I think you should look into getting a Toyota Corolla Sport - they're cute, reliable, and even safer than the Civic! Plus there's still room for a stereo ;-)
~LOA
-------------------- "You are anal twattypoo who has ruined my good mood" PsyLiam to TSN May 01,2006.
Registered: Mar 1999
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-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
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Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I was trying to think of other cars that might be decent to also look at:
Acura Integra - A nice alternative to a Civic, 3 or 4 doors, sportier styling then Civic, same Honda reliability. (1.8L 140hp I4, 5-speed, 25/31mpg)
Mazda Protege/Protege5 - 4-door (Protege) and 5-door (Protege5), sporty styling in some models, Ford-built engine. (2.0L 130hp I4, 5-speed, 25/31mpg)
Nissan Sentra/SE-R - 4-door only, blah-ish looks, SE-R hot car with more aggresive looks if you can find one, engine is widely used and parts are available. (Sentra: 1.8L 126hp I4, 5-speed, 28/35mpg) (SE-R: 2.5L 165hp (standard)/175hp (V-Spec) I4, 6-speed, 23/29mpg)
Oldsmobile Alero/Pontiac Grand Am - Dunno how you feel about American, but these cars are 2 or 4 doors, and the 2-door has as much room in the rear seat as the 4-door, also has V6 but only with an automatic. (2.4L 150hp I4 or 2.2L 140hp I4 [depends on year], 5-speed, 26/33mph)
Subaru Impreza - 4-door and wagon, the 2.5RS/2.5TS models are pretty nice non-turbo alternatives to the WRX, tons of room, true sedan, TS wagon has plenty of extra cargo space. (2.5L 165hp Flat-4, 5-speed, 21/28mpg)
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
And Car Boy says he has no interests... 8)
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
Well, I'm helping my aunt go car shopping to replace her 1988 Civic LX sedan. I went with her to a Honda dealer and saw that...
A) the new Civics have 112 hp 4-cyl engine B) the new Accords have 140 hp 4-cyl engine C) the V6 Accords have 240 hp engines
But since you want a used car... ever try buying through car auctions? I took a friend there to buy herself a car. She lucked out with a 2001 BMW 330i sedan that was repossesion by the Feds. It was fully loaded, silver with grey leather interior, 17,558 miles, and in excellent condition. She bought the car for $19,856 plus whatever else the auctioneers threw in. She drove home a nice used car for under $22,000 that used to cost around $50,000. You might want to try that Snay.
-------------------- "It speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow, it's not all going to be over with a big splash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans." -Gene Roddenberry about Star Trek
Registered: May 1999
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posted
Toyota's blue is a nice color. Does it have a spoiler? And I thought you wanted under 20k miles?
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
And I thought the Focus was bad. Pretty soon, they'll be making cars where the headlights stretch from the bottom of the front bumper to the back end of the trunk.
Registered: Mar 1999
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-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
The '94 GTs looked, uh, less Fordish. Those had unique styling, dammit...
Registered: Nov 1999
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