I've been shopping around for a second car lately and have set my price to be around $18,000USD to $22,000USD. Basically, with that budget, my cars are:

1-Honda Accord
2-Mazda 6
3-Nissan Altima
4-Toyota Camry
5-Audi A4 (pushing it for price tho)

ANYHOW, of the cars listed, I believe that the Altima and Camry are long-shots and the A4 I have yet to drive. I did test drive the Accord (and despite what people think, I do have to politely disagree that it is AS good as our beloved CL-S; yes, it is a nice car but, it ain't no CL-S in terms of overall feel and quality...Sorry!) and Mazda 6 (suprisingly good!)...Anyhow, to be thorough, I also went to the local Volkswagen dealership to check out the Passat. And although I completely ruled out purchasing the Volkswagen, a used 1999 silver Audi A6 Quattro was available with approx. 46,600 miles and asking for $20,450USD...! I test drove it and was VERY impressed. Anyhow, just want some opinions. Is there too much mileage on this car? Should I scrap considering the other cars altogether (Honda et al.) and just go for the Audi? Thanks in advance for any input!

 

I am liking what I am hearing about the Mazda 6S and the Accord V6.

 

fawk both of those cars.. my boy just got this car and its nice looking and suprisingly FAST AS HELL!!!

the Nissan SE-R V-Spec!!!! 6 speed manual - 175HP and TORQUE (not sure of the #) that would sit you back in your seat!!!!! It also has a big upgrade market!!!! he got his fully loaded for $18k... cant beat that!

 

Yes, SE-R is a nice little rocket to have...but, it does not suit what I need. Need a car that's a touch larger...SE-R is too compact/smallish for me...

 

Yeah the Nissan SE-R Spec-V is pretty quick and fun to drive, but it is loud, flimsy, and has a very cheap interior. Like the performance, hate the quality. The cars Yumchah has listed are of much better quality. I was impressed with my test drive of the Accord V6 and am excited to take out a Mazda 6 one of these days...

 

Yep...the Accord and Mazda are nice alright...but, WHAT ABOUT THE USED AUDI A6?

 

Well, here's a quick and very brief comparison (my opinion of course, so you don't have to take my word for it) for those wondering b/w the 6 and the Accord:

- Mazda 6 gets points for its exterior look (esp. with the GFX package added) and sport-shift feature
- Accord gets points for its superior interior and dual climate-control feature
- On the test drive, the Accord felt smoother but the Mazda felt sportier (I had more fun with it...but, then again, it was because I digged the SS on it--It does not annoyingly shift from 1st to 2nd like our CL-S!)

Of course, I would have been content being stuck on these 2 nice cars...but, the bloody A6 had to appear and be offered for the same price...now, I am in a quandary. For that price, I probably would not flinch because the A6 blows away both cars hands down. However, used cars is a tougher choice as

1-I have never bought one before (a used car)
2-Warranty for the vehicle given it's age already
3-Maintenance costs on European cars are notoriously high

So...dunno for the moment.

 

Is american out? You should check some out. Alot of very good deals to be had, since the American cars are discounted so much. The Camary is very nice. Do you need a V6? The 4 bangers are still nice just with less power. & you can get 5 speeds with them.

 

1-Honda Accord=FUGLY (coupe and sdn)
2-Mazda 6=cheap ass POS
3-Nissan Altima=NO WAY
4-Toyota Camry=decent(probly best bet for reliability n comfort)
5-Audi A4 (pushing it for price tho)=WannaBE BMW

just HMO.....or just spend 10k on a civic or less on a beater, and use the rest for S/C and other mods for the CLS

 

forget all of those and get a used integra (94-97) and mod the shyt out of it with the rest of the money


car: $7000 ( depends on what you find )
Headers: $300
intake: $200
cams: $150
exhaust: $500
ignition upgrade: $500
intake manifold: $250
coilover kit: $1K (maybe less)
tie bars: $600 (front and rear upper and lower)
Type R Kit: $5000 (painted)
Carbon Fiber Hood: $400

And that's only $15900

that leaves plenty of money to do some heave engine work to get it tuned up the yin yang, and maybe even drop in a turbo or supercharger!!!!

these prices are all estimates that i came up with back when i had an 97 integra.

 

another idea which i've had actually lately was to save up for an rsx and just have an acura family in your garage. then you have two project cars to slowly work on. I personally like this idea more.

 

Thanks for the input!
Actually, I did consider the idea of picking up Civic and modding the heck out of it. However, I need a mid-sized 4-door sedan here...and unfortunately, that's how it's gonna be...

But, I guess I'll give the Camry a test-drive too...Guess the A6 is not generated much buzz here.

 

You forget that the integra GS-R came in 4 Door!!! heheh but i know it's not a mid size car.

my last car was the integra GS-R 4 door and most people never realized it was four door for some odd reason, guess it's because they are so used to seeing them fixed up and most of the time they were coupes.

anyways, i had a grip of stuff lined up on my integra before a hit and run driver drowned all of that. and ever since then i've been thinking about getting a second car like you to have.

 

I would RUN away from any Audi A6... MANY, MANY quality problems - especially electrical! You would do better with your other options.

 

It doesn't seem like many people here like the Altima option, but definately look at it. It's quite sporty like the 6 but has another 25hp. The exterior isn't as nice as the 6 but imho it's better than the Accord. And you can get a stick with the v6 Altima, something not offered on the Accord Sedan. They only weak area of the Altima is its interior, it's not that bad imho, but not near as nice as the Accord.

 

Ack...! Damn. I really liked that car... Smooth, AWD, and luxurious to boot...Ah well. Thought it was too good to be true.

 

go with a basic WRX(i know it's mid 20's MSRP) but i'm sure you can get into one for 22K. WRX has all-wheel drive plus you can mod the holy hell out of them. I think the WRX will be like the next integra as far as mod parts offered.

 

i 2nd that!

 

Yeah, I considered the Subaru...however, I recall back when I was shopping for my CL-S and did my comparisons with other cars near the same price bracket, I noted that the WRX had a pretty shoddy interior. Absolutely phenomenal handling and fun-factor with an interior that was kinda sh*tty?

 

How about a used A4...1998>2000???

Usually selling around $19 or 20K. I was about to buy one before I bought my second CLS. I've never heard of quality issues with these cars & there's plenty of aftermarket support.

 

Thanks for the input chris3240929, however I may just spend the extra few 'Ks for a new A4--it probably won't be Quattro because that sends the cost over my budget...

BTW, what are you doing with TWO CL-S's?

 

I say get the Accord. My parents recently got an 03 Accord EX. The back is kinda ugly, (it has grown on me slightly) but the car drives very nicely, is VERY high quality for the price, and overall is a great car. Definitely the best mid-size sedan IMO. It screams quality to me.

The Mazda 6 also very nice, but I just don't trust the quality of Mazda - I guess being associated with Ford scares me. The engine is an "improved" version of the Duratec V6.

Camry = Way too expensive for what you get. It can go over 30k when you load it with options

Altima = Cheap interior, and overall just looks blah to me. I actually think the Accord looks better (maybe I'm crazy)

A4 = Very nice, but again more expensive than the rest

 

Hey, thanks for the input...! BTW, did your folks get the Honda kit (i.e. spoilers) with their car? Did it look good?

 

Naah. They didn't get the spoilers. I actually saw an EX with the spoiler today driving home from work. It didn't look that great, as the back is high to begin with, so it made it look even bigger.

The back-end is where the Accord looks it's worst, so anything to highlight that area is a bad idea IMO.

I would recommend either that Accord or the A4 (if you want to pay the extra $$), although I have driven the Accord quite often, and I like it a lot.