I currently drive an 04 Accord and it's such a bore. Right now, I want to get either the new 07 G35 or IS350, but there are some things that I don't like about each car and I want to wait to see what the 09 TSX and TL will bring, because the current TL is everything that I want, but it isn't ~20k (used).

My plan is to sell the Accord, buy a ~20k car and keep it for 3 years. After the 3 years, I'll move up to the next gen TL or TSX in 2010 (so either a 2010 or 2011 model year Acura). If the new Acuras don't catch my attention either, I'll just keep the ~20k car for a while longer and save up for something along the way. The main thing is that I'll have a fun to drive car during that time.

The cars that I have in mind are:
04 TL if I can find one for close to 20k
05 Subaru Legacy GT
07 Civic SI coupe (I know it's not 20k, more like 25k)
your suggestion?

 

There are a lot of 04-05 TSXs that go for $20k or less. The TL does have good handling but it weighs a bit too much. What you can do is invest in some coilovers and they would improve handling considerably.

 

You could find a used 2004 - 2005 TSX for 20K or less...

 

used S2000...

 

not too fond of convertibles. even with an available hardtop. so the s2000 is out of the picture, although it does look very nice, just not something that i see myself in.

i've thought about the tsx, but they hold their resale value very nice, and if i were to consider one, i would just go with a TL.

 

03 Cl-s 6mt Ftw!

 

s2000 ftw..

 

he just said no convertibles lol...

stick with looking for that TL

 

Integra Type-R

 

RSX.
Assuming Honda power is not a requirement, the following should be considered: RX-8, Mazda 6, Sentra SE-R, Mazda 3, older BMW 3-series, Volkswagen Jetta & Golf...

 

Scuby Legacy You can get 06's for like 17ish

 

Jetta GLI or GTI, Civic Si, Mazdaspeed 3

 

'01 Prelude in excellent condition

 

New wern't they only like 22 or so? The SH maybe 25k...

 

With the New Civic SI I bet you could take them down, and get a good financing rate from Honda...

 

They hold their value quite well.

And yeah, they were in the mid 20's brand new

 

yeah, they have hardtop ones too..

 

I think the Civic Si would be a great fit for you. The Prelude is a great car, but I think the newer Civic is just a tad better alround, not to mention a heck of a lot safer, given a decade of progress. You should be able to walk out with a new Si for around 20k. A used for under 20k shouldn't be a problem.

Just for reference, I've driven the Civic Si and thought it was an excellent car. It had good power, and sounded great when in VTEC. It was thrilling to drive, and cornered pretty well with minimal body roll. Looks pretty decent, and has a more upmarket feel to the interior than Civics of yore.

 

the S2000 sounds like a good buy for the fun factor.

 

but its not GT..

 

Evo, best handling car for the money.

 

Get a brand new Mazda 3 for $17K. Best handling car in its price range.

 

get a 2001 M3.

I am pretty sure its the only body style of M3 with an actual 6 speed transmission,

not that BS tiptronic shit. Im sure you can find a used one for that ballpark.

 

+1 for Prelude SH

 

You can even find them cheaper than 20k. Plus it'd be a great car to have for a few years knowing it's only for the short term.

 

Great, now you've got me considering trading my TSX again

 

all years came with eithe SMG or 6speed. your not going to find an 01 for 20k unles if it had 100K miles on it and thats even a stretch. 03+'s have some new feature to them but they are in the mid 30's to 40's. i'm looking for an M3 right now and there is no way you can find one below 30k unless it had alot of miles on it.

springs and sways do alot for a car. an 06gt can be had for low to mid 20's great handeling with the all wheel drive and has the same block and pistons as the STI, i looked into buying one and heavily modding it. basically between that and a M3 i'm looking at.

 

The Preludes are very nice and I actually want a coupe because I rarely drive anyone else, and if I do it'll only be one other person. There aren't very many Preludes for sale in my area, socal, and they don't make them anymore so it's going to be even harder. I'm just going to cross it off the list.

The M3s go for +28k and that's with +60k miles in my area, so that's also out of the picture.

I'm basically down to an 04/05 TSX 6MT w/Navi and an 05/06 Subaru Legacy GT 5MT. The TSX is probably the wiser choice because it's more fuel efficient, carries a better resale value, looks better (imo), and most likely more reliable (honda reliablity and no turbo to worry about). Although I'm just worried it's going to feel like my current Accord consdiering it has the same engine and that it might not be that much quicker.

The Legacy GT on the other hand looks to be extremely fast, 90hp over what I have now will probably be noticable and the drive/handling will be completely different than what I have been used to with the Accord. I'm just concerned about the resale value and the life of the turbo with the LGT though... It's going to be much harder to find a used LGT with all the features that I want too since I rarely see them on the road. I'm not going to buy the car without taking a look and testdriving it first too.

 

So your looking for a car with good handling, power, good resale value and around 20k? You can always check out a used Evo, or a Evo RS. It sounds like thats what your describing.

 

I'm not looking for an extremely well handling car, which the EVO is, because I'll just be using this car to go to work and go out sometimes. Insurance is going to kill me too lol I'm only 22yo in socal...

 

Oh ok, i would go with the TSX then, its a handsome car

 

handeling on the GT is good stock, but with some suspension mods it can out handle an STI because the platform is better then the STI platform. it also has a bigger aftermarket the nthe TSX if your into modding and they can produce some big power. go to legacygt.com, they got some good info on those cars.