Looking at getting a car... need some help on options

[Kyle F]

Well, the wife wants a baby, so the Blazer is going.. its up for sale.

Now, my work truck is a Ranger Edge, and I will need to get rid of it eventually to since it wont fit a child seat and a wife plus myself.

So, I am looking for a family friendly car, but it must be fun as well. Believe me, I am considering purchaing a GN, but I am not sure I would like to put that many miles on one.

So, I like Silver, Blue and Black cars. Must be atleast low 14 sec car or capable of 13's with very few mods. I prefer stick shifts, number of doors doesn't matter, but the wife prefers 4 (This is not important though) and also needs to get atleast 22mpg Highway. And I love Turbos!

Now for the Clincher... must be able to be had for under $26,000 new or under $10,000 used.

So what cars should I consider... I am thinking SRT-4, what else is there out there that I might not have considered?

 

[Army MP]

How bout the Nissan Altima SE-R?
265 hp and very nice inside and out!!

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

You should click the find more button below my sig, last week i went new car shopping and the only car that i could afford was a turbo neon.Then i got to thinking about depreciation and new car taxes,new car insurance..... Its just not worth the hassle of owning another new car. I purchased a 2002 dodge cummins, in may 2002, its been paid off for 8 months now and thats the last new vehicle i will ever buy, i know i lost 10K on it already, thats why i will never sell it, i will die before i sell my dodge!

If you purchased a 80k NICE turbo regal for say 8k, drive the wheels off of it for 4 years and you should still be able to sell it for at least 6-6500 with 50K more on it.

Do not be afraid to put miles on these cars, i wished i never let my silver car(now daily driver) sit for over 5 years without hardly ever driving it. In 5 years i put maybe 2000 miles on it, most of that was from KC to Bristol-
Now ive put 5,000 miles on it since this past november, man i love to drive that car!
Get a turbo regal, make sure its from the south, no rust, doesnt need paint, not sunfaded, and a good decent reliable car and you shouldnt have too many problems if the gofastitis doesnt kick in.
Mine runs 12s on radials, went 11.3 120 with slicks 4 years ago, heads still have never been off.
Running 13s on radials would be purchasing a new $100.00 fuel pump,gut the cat, $60.00 RJC power plate,$70.00 Eric Marshall chip......
run low 13s would be purchasing Julios alky kit for 450???? make sure you get the chip made for alky.
Low 12s would be purchasing a set of 300 slicks or et streets.
Mid 11s would be purchasing rear suspension upgrades.

Keep it stock till you overgrow some of the bottlenecks, stock turbos run mid 11s, stock ics run 11s,just have fun with one but you need to upgrade the fan,radiator,trans cooler,and dont let it knock!

BW

 

[crownvic96]

subaru impreza WRX

 

[Kyle F]

Not that I am not appreciatig your efforts, but..... a Turbo Regal might not keep me happy. I mean I love the cars for what they are and how fast they can be cheap. Though, they are bricks... I would like to have somethign the handles decent. Thats why I have always prefered F-bodies to other muscle cars.

The Impreza WRX is a nice car, but I drove one... the clutch was funny, it has less Horse Power and weighed more than the SRT-4 and cost more... ofcourse it was a little roomier and had AWD... but come on LOL. Even the dealer told me he can't sale them since they made the Turbo Legacy Sedan.

Now, I had not considered the Altima SE-R.... I prefer car from the states, but I will look into that on.

 

[John Larkin]

Something like this?:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4553293541&category=6422

They'll do 14.0 with a pulley and there are more mods available. They do have torque steer unfortunately.

 

[Kyle F]

You know... my wife has a 4door GP SE and my Mom has a GT model. My Brother had a 97 GTP when they were first on the lots in 96. I don't know why I didnt think about those.

Great suggestion... I can even get a sunroof on it

I will add a used GTP to the List

 

[dragonational]

1996 impala SS. Its the family mans corvette Harry

 

[crownvic96]

Originally posted by dragonational
1996 impala SS. Its the family mans corvette Harry

very cool cars, or if you want something full size rwd and even newer look at a mercury marauder. those cars are pretty cool but performance wise were a flop so sales were bad and the cars had no resale value.

i saw one for sale at a dealer used with like 6k miles a year after it came out for only 20k. quite a steal if you ask me.

 

[Kyle F]

Originally posted by dragonational
1996 impala SS. Its the family mans corvette Harry

Yea, I wish I could get the mone together to afford one with about 60,000miles on it. Though, to be honest... I dont really like workign on the LT1. Thos dam Opti ignitions suck arse. I learned that with my 95Z, plus you only get 265hp to start off with in like a 2.5ton car.

I am thinking possibly smaller. We are only going to have one kid(for now LOL). The GTP was a good idea... I liek Pontiacs... maybe by the end of this year I will be able to pick up a GTO easily.

I think my problem is that I like american cars, but I am looking to get somethign lighter and sportier.

Could an older Eagle Talon fit the bill? How do car seats work in them?

What about finding a Gasp! Turbo Charges Civic or accord

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Dont get a DSM unless you like playing the lottery, i have a 91 laser that ive had for almost a year, no back seat darned near and always worrying about the timing belt breaking.

I would suggest a 91 or 92 galant VR4, they have the same motor and tranny as a DSM, turbo 4cyl 5 speed,4 door,4wheel abs 4 wheel steering, ect.... I purchased one in 95 and blew the head off 3 times and the dealer never got the timing belt set right after 4 times. Nice car to have, i just had a bad experiance with my 91.

GTPs are nice cars, make sure you find one with the correct tranny, buddy of mine purchased one and it had a NA trans installed

BW

 

[CTX-SLPR]

Tranny's are a problem on the W-bodies, the L67 supercharged 3.8 has been known to lurch tranny's bone stock, I can testify to that. I just had mine rebuilt about 3k miles ago at 93k and the car is bone stock. If you get one, get a 99-01 Regal or 99 or newer GTP. The newer the better for the 4T65E HD that is in there but the cars also started loosing thier owner control and going with everything in the computer past about 00 or 01. I like my 97 Regal GS, but its got its share of problems and like I said, its already lurched a tranny.
While you can't get one for under $10k used, a Cadillac is a lot of good car for the money, but there get an 00 if you are feeling lucky or an 01 or later for a surer bet as they redesigned the Northstar in 00 and it took till about 01 to get the design bugs worked out. Eldorado ETC's are probably right around your price range and the Seville SLS's aren't much more and are more useful. Unfortunately they are really hard to mod as no one bothers with the OBDII computers on the Northstar.

Just some of my comentary,

 

[BuickMike]

Do yourself a favor and talk to some people who have recently had a baby before you make a car selection. Take a good look at all the baggage, stroller, etc that you need to drag along with your baby and you'll be changing your mind about what cars to look at.

My wife and I bought a used '99 Regal GS when we decided to try for a baby. Our son was born Jan 22 of this year and looking back I would have not bought this car with the intention as a family wagon. As roomy as it is, I still hate prying the stroller into and out of the trunk and it's hell to take the baby in and out of the car since his seat is in the middle of the back seat. Looking back I wish we looked into a midsize SUV or a wagon.

It's a fun car. I've got a few mods into it like a 3.4" pulley, custom PCM, bigger TB, cold air intake, shift kit, and exhaust mods. I've never had it to the track, but I pulled a car length on a LS1 Camaro the other day. Then again, with mods come gremlins just like in TR's. I'm also seriously paranoid about the tranny taking a crap on me. The Climate control sucks, and it is common for power window motors to go out. Torque steer is bad too. My wife wants a Nissan Murano, but there's no way I can afford it.

 

[kh440]

hate to say it but as far as the best choice overall in terms of practicality/fun to drive may be a subaru. the wrx os available as a wagon and the forester is also available with a 2.5 turbo (not the sti motor). expect low to mid 20k for a 1-2 year old model.(the wrx is a bit small but there are a ton of mods out there for it,not sure about the forester)

 

[6-b-kwik]

i just bought a 02 gtp in dec 04 wit 26000 miles on it for 14.400 bought a big warranty for it cause these cars do eat tranny's i didnt eat one yet but i know i will i already start modding and cant stop! nothing like beating on imports and mustangs with a 4 door! but then again im 22 no kids yet!! i love my gtp drive it more than gn.