The Legacy is on it's way out so, i'm trying to decide what's next...
My parents are willing to give me thier extra car, basically what i'm driving now, a 1997 Lumina with 170k ish. I know the car has been very reliable, but it's not really all that exciting. Still, I'm going to drive it for awile, why not? I still get around 30 MPG with it ,and it's comfy.
What I have been thinking though...I'm only looking to spend about 4k on the top end...I will not buy another car with an auto. One thing I must try to keep in mind is that I am about 6' and have weight lifted for sevral years now, plus, I am big framed to begin with. Comfort is semi important. The Legacy seemed Just big enough.
1994-1997 Mustang GT.
Pros: Mid 14 second quater, I love torque, great sound, RWD in the summer woot!, I can still get engine parts at local junk yard for freaking cheap, Mods are freaking cheap, 2v 4.6 reliable
Cons: 18 town/ 27 highway, RWD in the winter booo, Ridiculous desire to Mod!, every whiny civic will want a peice, Cop bait.
1993-1997 F body
Pros: LT1, Torque!, high 13 sec quater stock, RWD in teh summer, less desire to mod than mustang etc
Cons: 19/27, more expensive to mod, every whiny civic will want sone along with the mustang guys, Expesive overall, Not easy to find junkyard parts, RWD in the winter, cop magnet
1996-1999 v6 Fbody
Pros: Still decent power, RWD summer, 21 city/ 30 highway, 3.8 is a common engine to find stock replacemnt parts for, t5 strong with a v6
Cons: Will wish I had sprung for v8, winter driving, cop magnet, Still expensive overall, mods not cheap.
1994-1999 Acura Integra
Pros: 25/31, ok in winter, still handles reasonbly for FWD, shoud be reliable, still reasonbly gutsy if pushed...
Cons: not cheap, torqueless, not the type of sound I apreiciate, Mods mostly available not my taste, parts not so easy to get at bone yard, Vtec jokes ensue, Every eclipse, prelude, civic, and mx6 will want a peice.
1997-1999 Escort Sedan
Pros: 28 city/ 38 highway, parts at bone yard easy to find, not much desire to mod, not a cop magnet, Cheap!!!
Cons: Slow, might be small for me, back seats means carpool, not a wonderful handler.
1997-2000 Jbody coupe (non z24)
pros: Cheap...not much desire to mod, plently of totaled doner cars.
Cons: Slow, reliably is suspect, awful body roll, squeeks,
1994-1998 corolla/ Prism
Pros: good MPG, no desire to mod, reliable
Cons: No desire to mod (haha), slow as hell, boring, most people want a small fortune in my area for the toyota version.
1996-1999 Mazda protege
Pros: Handles well, 1.8L peppy, reliable, parts avaible at boneyard. Good MPG
Cons: 1.5 most common engine, Still FWD, might be small
I might consider a civic coupe or hatch, but the last time I knew, people wanted as much for them as Integras, Mustangs, etc (IDK WHY!). No Neons (i've seen them at work), nothing from DSM in genral, no 240sx's, I won't own a Volkswagon, no trucks, No hyndias need apply, no wagons, five-six speed only. I'm not ready for another Subaru, won't be for awile. Oh, I can't fit in a Miata...
Any sugestions? Thoughts?