| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
|
 Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 1:12 am Post subject: what kind of car to buy? |
 |
|
| The wife and I will be buying a new car soon. I'm interested in the VW Golf and Mazda 3 Sport hatch. Any recommendations on a compact-mid size set of wheels? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 1:57 am Post subject: Re: what kind of car to buy? |
|
|
| byrddogs wrote: |
| The wife and I will be buying a new car soon. I'm interested in the VW Golf and Mazda 3 Sport hatch. Any recommendations on a compact-mid size set of wheels? |
I would stay away from the VW. Reliability is going to be a big issue.
I'm a fan of the Nissan GT-R. I can fit two kids in the back and still go 0-60 in under 3 seconds.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 2:09 am Post subject: Re: what kind of car to buy? |
|
|
| madoka wrote: |
| byrddogs wrote: |
| The wife and I will be buying a new car soon. I'm interested in the VW Golf and Mazda 3 Sport hatch. Any recommendations on a compact-mid size set of wheels? |
I would stay away from the VW. Reliability is going to be a big issue.
I'm a fan of the Nissan GT-R. I can fit two kids in the back and still go 0-60 in under 3 seconds. |
Had a 98 GTI that I drove into the ground for 7 years. It was reliable and no more expensive to maintain than the rest of the imports in my hometown. Seeing as how China is a big manufacturer of VW, I think it wouldn't be too terribly expensive to maintain here either.
Let's be realistic, I can't afford a GT-R. I just saw a Ferrari 458 Spider on Hongmei Lu here in Shanghai that I would love to drive. Low and behold, that is out of my price range as well. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IS-F
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 4:37 am Post subject: Re: what kind of car to buy? |
|
|
| byrddogs wrote: |
| The wife and I will be buying a new car soon. I'm interested in the VW Golf and Mazda 3 Sport hatch. Any recommendations on a compact-mid size set of wheels? |
I'm assuming you're not in Korea since they don't sell Mazdas here. My friend back home has a Mazda 3speed and loves it. It would definitely be on my list of compacts. I would also consider the following:
Lexus IS (although the new model is coming out 2014 and this is obviously more expensive than other options)
Honda CRZ
Mitsubishi Lancer
KIA Forte/K3
Honestly, I would much rather drive a sport compact than a larger car as they're more fun and easier to drive especially in Korea; however, just had a kid so now it's an SUV. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IS-F
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 4:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Sorry just read that you're in China! Let us know what you end up getting. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 9:30 am Post subject: Re: what kind of car to buy? |
|
|
| IS-F wrote: |
Honestly, I would much rather drive a sport compact than a larger car as they're more fun and easier to drive especially in Korea |
I agree. Though I wonder if anything would be fun to drive in Seoul given the traffic. 
| IS-F wrote: |
| just had a kid so now it's an SUV. |
Congrats on the kid. But don't give up on the IS-F dream. I drive my kids around in it all the time even when they were very young. Now it's funny to hear them demanding that I race other cars. There's only two negatives I can think of. The leather in the Lexus is somewhat fragile and scratches reveal a blue layer underneath. Your kid is virtually certain to scratch it up and since the scratches are blue, they are very noticeable. And I still have indents where the child seats were installed. That's why I refuse to add car seats to the Nissan.
What SUV are you think about? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 9:40 am Post subject: Re: what kind of car to buy? |
|
|
| byrddogs wrote: |
Had a 98 GTI that I drove into the ground for 7 years. It was reliable and no more expensive to maintain than the rest of the imports in my hometown. Seeing as how China is a big manufacturer of VW, I think it wouldn't be too terribly expensive to maintain here either. |
Golfs and GTIs are kinda different. I was just reading a recent thread on that:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2274041
Notice some of the comments on the Golf. For your convenience:
"Where to start... it was difficult to work on, even an oil change was a huge PITA. The car was dog slow, transmission failed 3 times in first 5 years, headliner was falling out of it after only a couple years, the sunroof rattled... that's just off the top of my head. I hated that car."
"Had an 03 golf. Loved it. Hated that the window motor broke twice, interior parts broke off without rough use, headlights kept burning out every six months, transmission would lock in cold weather forcing me to sit there for 30 minutes every morning just to get it to get into drive, and other nagging issues in the first five years of ownership. Finally gave up the car when the engine died from sludge. This is after religious oil changes with synthetic. My mechanic said engines from this era were prone to sludging and there was nothing I could do short of putting a new motor in it. Loved the car but hated it. It reminded me of a crazy artsy chick in college who was a good lay but would probably stab me to death in my sleep if I got married."
I just don't trust VWs. You generally don't hear people complain about Japanese cars having problems like these.
With that said, in that price range the car that would be at the top of my list would be the Toyobaru twins. They're very fun to drive, look great and are still somewhat practical. The reviews on them have been very enthusiastic. It's WAY more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow. The twins handle pretty well, especially once you switch out the low-rent tires I hear.
Some others to consider (I dunno which are not sold in your country):
- Subaru WRX Hatchback
- Ford Focus ST
- Ford Mustang V6 (305 HP for $22K!)
- Hyundai Genesis Coupe
- Hyundai Veloster Turbo
I would not consider the Fiat 500 (I found it to be dangerously slow and underpowered) or the Mini (horrific reliability record).
BTW, I am going to the Orange County Auto Show this weekend. If you want me to check out any cars there for you, let me know. I can also take pictures if you'd like. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks for the recommendations, guys. If it was solely up to me, I would most likely get a Japanese car like the Subaru WRX or Honda CRZ. My wife isn't real big on Japan, haha. So, to appease her I'm looking at alternatives, as she will be driving it to work. A Mustang would be pretty nice, but I don't know if they are available in China (never seen one here in 2 years).
Madoka, that would be kind of you if you would do that. You choose what you think might be of interest. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IS-F
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:53 pm Post subject: Re: what kind of car to buy? |
|
|
| madoka wrote: |
| IS-F wrote: |
Honestly, I would much rather drive a sport compact than a larger car as they're more fun and easier to drive especially in Korea |
I agree. Though I wonder if anything would be fun to drive in Seoul given the traffic.
| IS-F wrote: |
| just had a kid so now it's an SUV. |
Congrats on the kid. But don't give up on the IS-F dream. I drive my kids around in it all the time even when they were very young. Now it's funny to hear them demanding that I race other cars. There's only two negatives I can think of. The leather in the Lexus is somewhat fragile and scratches reveal a blue layer underneath. Your kid is virtually certain to scratch it up and since the scratches are blue, they are very noticeable. And I still have indents where the child seats were installed. That's why I refuse to add car seats to the Nissan.
What SUV are you think about? |
Thanks Madoka. Haha, still dream of the IS-F but I'm more partial to a C63 now. Regardless, both are just pipe dreams now. I had an IS250 a few years back when I was single. Now I drive a GLK. I swore that I would never drive an SUV but gotta think about safety now. It's a diesel so the gas mileage is actually better than the IS. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IS-F
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| byrddogs wrote: |
Thanks for the recommendations, guys. If it was solely up to me, I would most likely get a Japanese car like the Subaru WRX or Honda CRZ. My wife isn't real big on Japan, haha. So, to appease her I'm looking at alternatives, as she will be driving it to work. A Mustang would be pretty nice, but I don't know if they are available in China (never seen one here in 2 years).
Madoka, that would be kind of you if you would do that. You choose what you think might be of interest. |
Ah, the WRX; put that on my list too  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| byrddogs wrote: |
| My wife isn't real big on Japan, haha. So, to appease her I'm looking at alternatives, as she will be driving it to work. |
Wait, this car is for your wife?!?!? I can picture you guys at the dealership now . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RDVbO1320I
| byrddogs wrote: |
| Madoka, that would be kind of you if you would do that. You choose what you think might be of interest. |
If it's for her, wouldn't a cute ute or a Honda Fit be more appropriate? I just checked out the Fit (AKA Jazz). It's actually pretty nice. The seats fold back flat so that you can have a ton of storage space.
Regardless, I really, really like the FR-S, BRZ, FT86 cars. They look great, get decent mileage, and handle like a hardtop Miata. Do they sell them in Shanghai? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:33 pm Post subject: Re: what kind of car to buy? |
|
|
| IS-F wrote: |
| Haha, still dream of the IS-F but I'm more partial to a C63 now. |
The $1,700 gas guzzler tax on the C63 always left a bad taste in my mouth. I test drove it. It sounds wickedly awesome. It has a rumble at idle that the IS-F cannot match. Once you option it out, it gets kinda pricey, but I do know that MB dealers will deal on the price. $7000 off MSRP is not uncommon.
| IS-F wrote: |
| I swore that I would never drive an SUV but gotta think about safety now. |
No I understand. My concession to safety was never to use launch control with the kids in the car. 
| IS-F wrote: |
| It's a diesel so the gas mileage is actually better than the IS. |
I've found that how you drive influences mileage a LOT. Here's what I did in the Nissan this past week by driving more carefully:
http://i47.tinypic.com/6z0x0j.jpg |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IS-F
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 11:08 pm Post subject: Re: what kind of car to buy? |
|
|
| IS-F wrote: |
| It's a diesel so the gas mileage is actually better than the IS. |
I've found that how you drive influences mileage a LOT. Here's what I did in the Nissan this past week by driving more carefully:
http://i47.tinypic.com/6z0x0j.jpg[/quote]
Very, very true. How on earth did you manage that MPG?!
I think I drive very conservatively for Korea. I never unnecessarily rev my engine, never put it in sport mode, rarely go over the speed limit (how can I with all this traffic!). I used to drive about 20KM a day and filled up every 3 weeks or so (give or take a few days) with the IS. Now I drive a little less and fill up about once a month, with less expensive diesel! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 12:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
All depends- Have you got some extra money to burn on a fun car or do you need transportation?
I guess I'd follow that "boring" advice of getting one that get's good gas mileage, is reliable, cheap to insure, low in cost to maintain, good resale value, good for passenger safety, and one that you can take on business trips and the like.
If you have money to burn, follow Fat Tony's advice- "Listen to you heart".
If you want something in the middle, two words: Sport Sedan. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IS-F
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 1:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Steelrails wrote: |
| If you want something in the middle, two words: Sport Sedan. |
YES! But which one?!?  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
