SwankCLS

I sold my 2001 CL-S a few weeks ago for a couple of reasons. First being that I want a manual gearbox. The other reason was financial -- I want to lower my monthly payment and pay off some medical bills from last year. I wish I could afford a 2003 CL-S 6-speed as I love the car, but I doubt that is going to happen unless Acura gives me a lease I can't pass up.

It looks like I have the following options: Toyota Solara SE, Honda Accord Coupe, Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, Nissan Altima 2.5S, VW Jetta 1.8T, or a Mazda 6i. All of the cars are going to be 4-bangers and about $21k or less. I've looked at them all and think I've narrowed it down to either the Spec-V or the Solara. Here is my take:

Mazda: cheap interior and I can't stand the silver dash trim. The dealer here didn't have a manual on the lot, so I didn't do a test-drive. Residuals suck on Mazda's so leases are actually more expensive than if I got a TL-S at $399/mo. No Zoom-Zoom for me.

VW Jetta: Decent car, but too much $$ for what you get.

Honda Accord Coupe: OMG, WTF did Honda do to the exterior? After seeing the car in person I didn't even want to test-drive it since I couldn't get past the looks. Anyone who says the CL-S is a glorified accord is just plain . (ok, wrong generation accord platform but still. I'll gladly pay a few grand more to get a CL/TL over the ugly new 7th gen)

Nissan Altima 2.5S: Nice exterior looks, powerful 4-banger, cheap interior. Waayyyy too much $$ for what you get.

Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V: Most definately the sportiest of the bunch. Interior is OK considering the cost of the car. The engine is pretty powerful for a 2.5L 4-cyl with 175HP and 180ft-lb of torque. 17" rims, decent handling, 6-speed, etc. External appearance is a bit dated. I like the front view but the rear is a bit lame. The 2003 fixes the major problems from the 2002: oil consumption and bad 6-speed trannies (go figure). Only big question is Nissan build quality and reliability since the dude from Renault took over a few years ago.

Toyota Solara SE: Nice looking car. I've mistaken quite a few of them for CL's when looking at them from the front. The engine is OK (160hp 2.4L) and the handling not up with the Sentra, but it will probably be the closest I can come to the CL in terms of appearance and luxury. It is a Toyota so reliability should be no issue. (won't have the sludge problem that exists on their 3.0L engine)

One thing is for damn sure: I MISS MY OLD CL-S! :'(

So what do you folks think between a Spec-V and a Solara? I guess it all depends if I want more sporty or more luxury. The Sentra does cost a few grand less than the Solara and may force my hand either way. Any of you folks have either one as a second car? Should I be worried about Nissan quality and reliability? Decisions, decisions....

Ashburner

Good luck... I'd probably look at the Solara.

Have you checked out the Corolla S? They look fairly sporty.

-Ash

Zoot

celica?

2001CL

If you can wait get a tsx 6 speed, but in the begning the leases will be really expensive.

SwankCLS

Yeah, I looked at it until I saw that it had a 1.8L (130hp and 125 ft-lb torque) hamster under the hood. The "S" only means that it looks sportier -- Toyota didn't do anything as far as performance to the car over the base model.

I pretty much limited myself to cars with large 4 cylinder engines that may have a tiny bit of performance when using a manual gearbox. I gotta have a little bit of torque. I doubt the Corola S will come close. It may also be too big of a step down from the Acura for my liking.

Oh, I looked at the RSX-S as well. Nice car, but I don't want a car that I have to rev up past 6000rpm to get decent performance.

I think the TSX will be a bit too much for me (mid 20's), so I crossed it off my list. I may end up waiting until it comes out before I buy my new car though.

OH yeah, I forgot to add one thing. My dog has to fit in my new car. She's a 125lbs great dane. And yes, she fit in just fine in my Acura. She sat like a person in the rear right seat and stuck her nose out the window. :-)

With that in mind, the Celica is out of the running.

Water-S

i personally suggest the Mini cooper S
with 165 hp 17 inch chrome rims
and aero kit it only came out to 22 grand (and it was loaded) (i was playing on mini's website)

TypeSKid

Used WRX!!!


Are you insane?!


Those things will totally roll, and they seem to be fairly reliable.


IMHO, you'd be INSANE to pass it up.


Get past the looks if you have a problem with it. A set of rims and springs makes it look INCREDIBLE. I don't know what else you can get for that price. AWD, EXCELLENT power &tq, econimcal, sporty, etc etc.

AT LEAST go drive ONE!!!

SwankCLS

Heh. I mentioned the Mini Cooper S in jest to the woman and got an immediate veto. heh. It wouldn't fit my great dane either.

I'm going to pass on the Subaru. Call me nuts, but I'm paranoid about buying used and pretty much want a new car that I can break in and have a nice long warranty period. While the WRX has some serious balls, a used one has probably been ragged to hell and back. But I might just go test drive a new one for the hell of it.

I know I'll probably get slammed for mentioning it, but how is the new Tiburon? the 2003 looks a lot better, but... it is still a Hyundai.

Now only if I could afford the 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 that I saw last week at the local Nissan dealer. 0-60 in 4.2, 1/4 mile in 12.7. The owner said he paid close to $300k for it recently.

I think I'm leaning towards the Spec-V. Invoice price of $16,266 gets a pretty good car for the money. I finance $15k and my payments would be about $275/mo vs $500/mo I was paying for my Acura (financed $25k for 60mo). Insurance on the Spec-V would be slightly cheaper per year than the CL-S (about $700/year vs $750/year through State Farm).

bkknight369

the sentra is pretty hot...i like those cool rims...make sure you mod it

synth19

I'm all for the WRX as well! I see what you mean about a new car vs an old....but get a WRX with low miles and an extended warranty! You cant beat that, if it's certified and you have the extended warranty, you should be set!

SwankCLS

The first mod on a Sentra would be to get a smaller antenna like the one on VW Jettas and Passats. The second mod would be to replace the god-awful red guages with some indiglo's. I think quite a few people are having problems with intakes blowing out MAF sensors and Nissan trying to claim that their filter/intake caused it. I'm not a big mod person anyway.

synth19: a WRX with low miles and extended warranty = $$$$. Edmunds lists the price at over $16k for a used 2002. A quick check on autotrader.com reveals crack smokers asking $21k for their 2002's with 12000 miles.

6spdmanual

VW Golf R32

mmmm

Water-S

that car tight but it's way more than low 20 grand.
I heard it's gonna be upper 20's to low 30's

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

so niegotiate!!

fender4

Haven't I seen used 2001 cl-s's go for 20 - 22,, I know the dealer gives 19 on trade in's.

Pappy

Get by the looks of the new Accord and go that route. Best value for the money.

ferizzo

I say either get the Accord (personally I don't like the front but the rest of the car is tight.) or the WRX. 12k miles for a 2002...I'm sure you can negotiate it to 19k-20k! Sentra SE-R doesn't sound bad either.

ThoroDredCLS

Get the nissan sentra spec v R. I have a friend who has one with CAI, Greddy exhaust, black with red-black interior and some other junk done to it. When I had my cls we traded cars for a day, and I really enjoyed his car for a nissan. You get the same engine in the 2.5s altima but in lighter car and better sporty characteristics. You can't past that up. My friend has not had a problem with his car yet.

SilverBullet_RENAMED

Even though the Jetta is 21k, it has the best build quality in the bunch you selected. Especially the interor. Love it!

That would be the car to get, especially its really easy to get alot of power out of that 1.8t

ga2000

go with the spec v peppy car handles great

Hot Rum

to keep it around $20k, I would go for the Mini Cooper! Or....the Civic Hybrid, or the Toyota Prius. The last two will qualify you for a $2000 tax deduction.

SwankCLS

Well, it sucks to be me. My new car purchase will be pushed back yet again due to another root canal and crown. Total dental bill is about $4000 in the past 2 months. My bank account has been owned.

I've pretty much been waiting for good deals to come around and found one that got my interest. It would be a lease, but that's OK by me. Anyway, it is on a 2003 Saab 9-3 Linear and Saab has a lease deal for $299/mo for 36mo and $999 up front (includes first payment). Not too shabby on a $26k car. It has a 2.0L 4-banger w/ a turbo that puts out 175hp and 195 ft-lbs of torque. A 210hp/221ft-lb version will be out later this year (more boost, same displacement). It won't be nearly as fast as the CL-S, but judging from the reviews and pics it looks fairly nice.

I was almost set on getting a Spec V, but Nissan kind of worries me with quality and reliability issues. But then again, GM bought Saab so ...

Anyone here own a Saab or know someone with one of the 2003 9-3's? Some pics:

http://www.edmunds.com/pictures/VEHI...artner=edmunds

http://www.saabusa.com/main/image/br...n_intro_US.jpg

chef chris

I've seen a ton of Saab's in Eurotuner...

Looks like they've got plenty of aftermarket support. Cool cars.

Sounds like it's a good choice.