In reply to mtn :
Then he'll have to maintain and insure 2 cars.
In reply to mtn :
Then he'll have to maintain and insure 2 cars.
Parking for two cars in NYC is no fun at all. I was paying $625 a month for parking back in 2003.
captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:Parking for two cars in NYC is no fun at all. I was paying $625 a month for parking back in 2003.
He's moving to the Garden State.
In reply to mtn :
I totally misread that as the inverse.
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
True but they ae getting pretty old.
There were lots of Fiesta's with with the na 1.6 and 5 spd. I had two. First one got totaled and I traded the other for the FiST.
GTI. I've been driving stick my whole life (I'm 45) and the GTI (mine is a 2018 6MT) has the best clutch and shifter of any car I've owned (including Porsches, BMWs, Acuras, Hondas, and others).
Plus it's a stellar commuter - good MPGs, great brakes and handling, great interior., and can be found with LSD depending on year and model. Not a rocket ship in a straight line, "quick" not "fast" but also not slow.
Plus, to my knowledge they don't have the rust issues a lot of other cars you'd find in that price range might have.
iceracer said:In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
True but they ae getting pretty old.
You aren't wrong, although there is still a good amount of sub 100k miles examples around.
A lot of great options have been put out there, another thought is a Honda Accord with the 5spd (bonus points for the Sport model in the '13 and up Accord). It's bigger than some of your other options, but I would at least test drive one.
dps214 said:I can't imagine bolting a fiesta st suspension to a 1.0 car is going to be noticeably cheaper overall, especially if time is worth anything. Plus you still end up with the lesser engine.
My thinking was take off shocks/spring would be like $200 and yes I'm assuming labor is free, but it wouldn't be terrible to pay someone. A bilstein b8 setup is $800. I'm assuming this this is a $4-5k, 5 year old car.
What does everyone think of upping the budget a couple grand and getting one of the twins? (FRS/BRZ)
In reply to remfb :
I suspect that if you can wait until the new ones are on showroom floors, or until the 400z is on showroom floors, that first generation twins will suddenly get much cheaper.
2014-2016 Forte5's are in this price range. 201hp, 6spd manuals, comfy, fun and all that. Much less crappy than the fu.... umm. .... ford.
A word on the focus. I had issues with my 05 eating the factory clutch at 60k and read at the time that it was a common issue, but I don't remember which years seemed to have the issue.
That said, it was a great car and very fun with intake/exhaust. Also ford performance suspension is available for cheap, and the FSWerks turbo kit is well reviewed...
I absolutely love my naturally aspirated 2007 Mazda 3 2.3L. I agree with you on the looks of the 2nd Gen MZ3, should be worth a test drive though. Unfortunately first gens are getting old and mine has required to usual 15yr old car maintenance. I would think Focus wouldn't be too far off in fun. Link below for my build thread:
https://www.mazda3revolution.com/threads/2007-2-3l-mod-reviews.232727/#post-2510353
Alternate suggestion: 128i. 2 doors, but 4 seats
My daughter absolutely loves her 2012 Sonic. She has the 1.4t with the 6 speed. It's not exactly fast but it is fun as hell to drive. It's at 146k as of last weekend and it is getting maintenance beyond oil, tires, and brakes for the first time since she bought it.
remfb said:What does everyone think of upping the budget a couple grand and getting one of the twins? (FRS/BRZ)
Owned an FR-S for 8 years... highly recommend if you don't mind the boxer motor and its 'peculiarities'. The manual transmission is one of the best if you like direct and notchy feel (like a nice precision rifle bolt) with no slop, and it's factory suspension is REALLY good... so good I never felt the need to change it out (though it was feeling a little bit worn at 65k miles.) Chassis is something else on it... stock other than tires and pads it felt better than track prepped Integra RS and Camaro RS I had before. Its compared to the Porsche Cayman and 944 in how it drives/feels (Cayman was actual the benchmark car they used when designing it). Absolutely pure joy to drive... miss it.
Stage I Exedy clutch highly recommended when time to replace it/throwout bearing... much better feel with hardly any increase in effort.
Interesting read on development of the 86/FR-S/BRZ
We still own the 00 Focus ZX3 bought new and tracked for years. We also have a 16 SE Sport. It's a great car. It handles like it should, it looks like it should gets decent mileage, and is quick enough.
Neigher had clutch problems at 140K and 65K currently
After my Fiesta ( I hated that car sooo much) got totaled by a stop sign runner, I was on the hunt for a Focus for me as well.
A ST is just stupid fast and neither of us needed that for every day driving.
Just make sure it's a standard transmission, and it'll be a great car.
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