4 door parent pleaser

I am currently in the market for a new car. I am just starting into college and my Jeep gets 17mpg on a good day. That just doesnt cut it as I will be driving upwards of 150 miles a day, and I can only work 2-3 days a week. SO heres what I need from a new car Under 7.5k somewhat good gas mileage 25+ sporty(mazdaspeed, svt etc.) 4 or 5(I kind of like htachbacks) doors to keep the rents happy leather would be nice as would a double din stereo But both are not requirements

What I am looking at so far are the: Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege Ford Focus SVT zx5 Havent seen any sedan svt's VW GTI I know the 4 doors exist but from what I have seen arent in my price range Toyota matrix xrs Dodge srt-4 Any others I dont know about and should be looking into?

I am concerned about the reliability of the gti and the srt-4, but I havent spoken to many real world drivers that take care of their cars. Anyways I'd just like some input from the grassroots community my brother almost entered a festiva into the 2008 challenge and got alot of good support and said I should check out the forums here. Thanks

WRX?

7.5K buys a lot of gas...

4 door GTIs are only 2007+

The mazdaspeed protege is a nice car I don't think you could go wrong if you can find one for your price range

E46 touring? You'll need to be patient to find a 5 speed car but they're definitely coming into your price range at this point.

4 doors = 2 miatas

If you would like a new car, then I'd go with the Ford Focus. Would be a fun and happy times car, and may just satisfy the parents to boot. It's also got the space to carry lots of stuff back and forth from school. The Matrix would be about the same as the Focus, with a little better mileage, and a little less of the fun side. And the Mazda will be a little more fun and little less mileage.

However, I live by nocones first comment.

You'll likely get $1500 for the Jeep if you sell it, so at a cost of $6000 you are trying to get 10 more MPG (lets just say you got 30mpg to be gracious).

At $3/gallon if you drive 10,000 miles a year and your new car gets 30mpg average, you will save $764 a year. It would take almost 8 years before you broke even on that $6000 investment. And if your new car requires premium, well then it's far less of a gain that even that.

But then there is the maintenance and insurance costs to factor in as well. So it all depends, but I think a lot of the time we don't sit down and really figure out how much of an impact mileage really is to us. Most often it's not as big as we make it out to be.

MSP's are definitely becoming more affordable. The biggest problem with them, is they're kinda fragile, and it doesn't take a lot of power before you're talking engine and trans rebuilds. Going number on the stock turbo seems to be about 11psi with proper fuel before reliability becomes a concern.

SRT-4- interesting choice. They're faster than snot, sound cool and are dirt cheap. Problem is, the transmissions in those are made of glass, and any SRT-4 that's had any work done on it, is going to need a trans before 100k on it. Plus you have that stupid wing to deal with (easy to fix) and the rear windows are HAND CRANK (not as easy to fix. That's a running joke around the ms3 forums, wanna piss an SRT owner off? Roll your rear windows down.).

SVT Focus. Another interesting choice. Not going to be as powerful as the other two choices (At least as soon as you get an MBC on the MSP) but handle pretty well, and look subtle for what they are. Again though, be wary of any car that some boy racer has had his hands on, chances are the thing has been beaten hard. These were available in a 4 door hatch IIRC.

GTi.... Eh. They look kinda cool, but they're heavy. And not all that fast. And they have Volkswagen electrics in them.

As far as good college kid car? I gotta give it to the Toyota. Slow, boring, etc. Also least likely to have been owned by some F&F wannabe, look kinda cool, plenty of space, and it's basically a Toyota wagon. Plus AWD.

E46s are coming into your Price range.. and E36s already are.. but if you cannot do the maintance and repairs yourself.. you will quickly come to hate the cars and their labor inflated repair Bills.

blaze86vic wrote: If you would like a new car, then I'd go with the Ford Focus. Would be a fun and happy times car, and may just satisfy the parents to boot. It's also got the space to carry lots of stuff back and forth from school. The Matrix would be about the same as the Focus, with a little better mileage, and a little less of the fun side. And the Mazda will be a little more fun and little less mileage.

Ok well I guess the truth is I want a new car. The gas mileage of the Jeep is terrible and I would like a new car that gets better mileage, but I would also like a new fun car, and one that is less likely to roll over.

One reason I like the Focus is because if I wanted to and had the cash I could bolt in a v-8 for about 15k but at that point I could probably find a g8 or charger that would be much nicer.

I'm really not too big on the gti's but they were an option.

mndsm wrote: MSP's are definitely becoming more affordable. The biggest problem with them, is they're kinda fragile, and it doesn't take a lot of power before you're talking engine and trans rebuilds. Going number on the stock turbo seems to be about 11psi with proper fuel before reliability becomes a concern. ...Again though, be wary of any car that some boy racer has had his hands on, chances are the thing has been beaten hard. These were available in a 4 door hatch

Are the MSP's really that fragile or just fragile when abused like most cars? And Yes I am being VERY careful about that, that is the pme thign that makes me nervous about getting a "cheap" sports car.

Are the toyotas really that much slower they still have 180hp and I believe a similar weight?

EDIT I also meant to add that I have wanted very badly to check out the mazdaspeed mx-5 or even the rear wheel drive 99 miata but its a 2 door and that is my parents biggest requirement, and I'd rather not hear about the car in the driveway every night I come home for dinner.

mad_machine wrote: E46s are coming into your Price range.. and E36s already are.. but if you cannot do the maintance and repairs yourself.. you will quickly come to hate the cars and their labor inflated repair Bills.

Yes I thought very much about an e36 and was going to look at the 540i with 6spd BUT my mother is very against her 18 year old son having a luxury car :(... so those were a no go.

Xarles wrote: Are the MSP's really that fragile or just fragile when abused like most cars? And Yes I am being VERY careful about that, that is the pme thign that makes me nervous about getting a "cheap" sports car. Are the toyotas really that much slower they still have 180hp and I believe a similar weight? EDIT I also meant to add that I have wanted very badly to check out the mazdaspeed mx-5 or even the rear wheel drive 99 miata but its a 2 door and that is my parents biggest requirement, and I'd rather not hear about the car in the driveway every night I come home for dinner.

MSP's really aren't that fragile. I guess I automatically look at any "performance" car and assume it's going to be stock about as long as it takes to get it home. If you leave it alone, you should have many trouble free miles with it.

mndsm wrote: At least as soon as you get an MBC on the MSP MSP's really aren't that fragile. I guess I automatically look at any "performance" car and assume it's going to be stock about as long as it takes to get it home. If you leave it alone, you should have many trouble free miles with it.

What did you mean by a MBC in your first post? Forgive me my brother is the car guy and normally he explains this to me but he moved out to cali :( for me :) for him

And I might upgrade the car but I wont do anything that will affect my reliability because I don't have that kind of cash flow.

If you plan to do a V8 RWD swap in the future with the car, then it's probably best to get something that is already RWD. Lexus IS300. I really think they look pretty nice, and have a great looking gauge cluster. It's got a very build-able 2JZ in it factory, and it's already RWD. Though, they are a little pricey.

He's a college kid and he has already said a luxury car is not in the equation.

blaze86vic wrote: If you plan to do a V8 RWD swap in the future with the car, then it's probably best to get something that is already RWD. Lexus IS300. I really think they look pretty nice, and have a great looking gauge cluster. It's got a very build-able 2JZ in it factory, and it's already RWD. Though, they are a little pricey.

Yes like plance1 said the luxury car is not an option.

Plan however would be the wrong word for the v8 swap, i think its just nice to have that option, I think if I was going to spend that kind of cash, right now I'd go with a kit car like the Factory Five Mk3 Roadster or something.

I did some quick looking around in trds catalog and they even sell coilovers for the matrix, makes that car more tempting althought the mazda and ford still have the edge I think.

Xarles wrote:

mndsm wrote: At least as soon as you get an MBC on the MSP MSP's really aren't that fragile. I guess I automatically look at any "performance" car and assume it's going to be stock about as long as it takes to get it home. If you leave it alone, you should have many trouble free miles with it.

What did you mean by a MBC in your first post? Forgive me my brother is the car guy and normally he explains this to me but he moved out to cali :( for me :) for him And I might upgrade the car but I wont do anything that will affect my reliability because I don't have that kind of cash flow.

MBC= Manual boost controller, to give you more PSI out of your stock turbo. Cheap, common upgrade for turbo'd cars.

In reply to mndsm:

Ahhh ok that makes plenty of sense. Thanks

Xarles wrote: Yes I thought very much about an e36 and was going to look at the 540i with 6spd BUT my mother is very against her 18 year old son having a luxury car :(... so those were a no go.

Maybe you should tell your mom how much safer a BMW is than some of the other cars you may be looking at. I whole-heartedly agree with the E36 suggestion. I have a '97 328is and it's a great commuter.

~2001 Maxima? ~2004 Mazda 6 i Hatchback?

In reply to dj06482:

Yes I did try that but she is upset about the image and what I would be makign the neighbors think and that they would have to get a nice car. Also "Your father doesnt even drive a bmw." hmm I wonder why? I really would love like a 1998 540i but oh well.

I just saw an Altima SE-R but thats out of my price range. So what about the Sentra SE-R Spec V?

Commuter
Reliable
Some fun
Sensable

To me this all adds up to a 2000+ Toyota Celica GTS
If not that then the best Celica you can afford.

All the sensability and frugality of a Corolla with a more exciting exterior and a highly functional hatchback.

Edit: I guess with my suggestion I failed to grasp the first word in the title (4 door.) Clearly the Celica is a 2 door but the hatchback does add fuctionality.

In reply to pres589:

I thought about the 2001 maxima not great mileage but it has a v6 which is nice (but only 190hp?) and leather.

Heres a possiblity on that line: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=272823280&dealer_id=57213621&car_year=2001&engine=&fuel=&lastStartYear=1981&sort_type=priceASC&systime=&default_sort=priceASC&drive=&style_flag=2&body_code=0&sownerid=53185450&seller_type=b&min_price=&color=&model=MAX&keywords_display=&advanced=y&distance=200&doors=&keywordsrep=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&awsp=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&rdm=1262725086066&marketZipError=false&keywordsfyc=&search_type=both&transmission=Manual&max_price=7000&max_mileage=&end_year=2011&make=NISSAN&start_year=1981&certified=&num_records=25&make2=&address=33569&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&cardist=17&standard=false

In reply to jrw1621:

How does the sentra compare to the others though?

Other advise since you are young.
Before you choose any car, call you insurance company and ask, "If I buy a (insert car) how much would it cost me to insure that per year?"

You can call with multiple cars or even call about one car at a time. If you do not get an answer immediately while you wait on the phone, you will likely get the answer sent back to you by the end of the day. You may very well be suprised the difference in various models and various engines.

In reply to jrw1621:

Yes very true I almost forgot. In anyones experience does the size of the engine make as much of a difference as the car? Or is it more the value of the car?