Which car is the best choice...

[Balla5900]

I have been offered the following cars at this price point (close friends owe me) ...but I have a few issues:
One is that I only have 10K (plus 2k for insurance) and would have to take out a loan for anything over that mark. Therefore taking out the smallest loan would be the best for me...
The second is that I want to get the most reliable of these vehicles because after I spend that 10 grand I'm out for a while on the repair/keep-up costs.
The third is fuel economy... I realize that most of these cars require premium fuel so therefore I want to get a car that won't have me going to the pump every two seconds.
The fourth isn't really an issue...more just preference as far as looks are concerned. The PiMpness factor I would say...the higher...the better...

So I guess I’m asking what would be the best vehicle out of these to buy covering those three issues.

'99 Honda Civic Si- $9k
'03 Infiniti G35- $16K
'02 Lexus IS300- $13k
'02 Acura RSX- $10k
01' or 02' BMW 325i- $13K-14K

****All cars are stock except the Honda which has tons of mods- body kit, exhaust, intake, rims...etc****

Thank you for the help.

[MexSiR]

Looking for relability? Buy the Honda Civic Si. Ive had mine for 1 year and a half, and I treat it real bad, in the sense that I race it A LOT...I street/track race it every week and abuse the engine, revving it to 8200 rpms lots of times. Its a great car, the engine/transmission hasnt givent me one single problem and it has been abused. The only problem that ive gotten is some rattles (due to jumps, races, potholes etc..) and the electric windows suck. Other than that it is Bulletproof. Its pretty fast when you are driving it alone, but when 2 or three people jump in, bye bye speedy honda, welcome torquless slow car.

I also have (in my families garage) a BMW 3 series (323i) 2001. Its a great car, defenitely pimper than the civic feels very solid and handles great. But its pretty slow, The civic Si eats it alive if both are driven by one person. If the cars are full, itll be a close match. The bmw is high maintenance cars, and wastes more gas than the civic, but its still pretty reliable.

The Lexus IS300 is an excellent/good looking car. Infiniti is the BEST car company in the world as far as reliability tied with Acura. So Basically its (Toyota and Honda), about as fast as the Si, but nicer interior exterior materials standard features.

Which to get? They are all very good cars except the Infiniti, IMO. Infiniti is not as reliable as Honda/Acura/Lexus according to reports, and Im not a very big fan of Infiniti.

If you want to beat the shit out of a car, be pretty fast, and very reliable without compromising fuel economy the Civic Si is the answer.

Want to look pimpish and have an all around car, get the Lexus or the Bmw.

Hope this helps.
Peace.

[DinanM3_S2]

Go for the Bimmer. Its fast enough, and handles better then any car until you reach much higher prices. The 3-series is the most fun you can have in a car until you reach the $50,000 price range. BMW's are incredibly reliable cars as long as you treat them right. They are simply fantastic cars. Go with the ultimate driving machine.

[kman10587]

I think your two best choices up there, considering practicality, reliability, and pimp factor, are the BMW 3 Series and the Lexus IS 300. I'm one of the only people on this forum who has driven both and liked the IS 300 better, but I voted for it anyways.

[Implode]

I agree, you should get the civic unless you care more about perfomance. But since alot of people have civics you might want something different.

[CaTasHtRoPhE 67]

just askin is the g35 a coupe or sedan

these are cars all good cars but the si might be the best choice or the lexus

[CaTasHtRoPhE 67]

dam i would buy an is300 if i could get it for 13k

[igor@af]

If you can get a G35 that cheap then that'd be my choice for sure.

[lancerboy]

The IS300 definitely has the most pimp factor, go with that or youll be sorry.

[CaTasHtRoPhE 67]

go with the is300 or the g35 there both sickass cars

[Underground_Killah]

Originally Posted by igor@af

If you can get a G35 that cheap then that'd be my choice for sure.

my idea...

buy the g35 and then sell it for twice what you paid for it..

buy the bmw and do the same thing

as well as the lexus...

after that, hell buy a civic, throw a big wing on it and call yourself pimp...

nah, seriously, i don't touch fwd cars because they are a pain to work on.. go for something rwd and more.... well... unpopular. the civic is way too overplayed and the newer ones are not as good as the older (imo)
just my

[honda_racing101]

Originally Posted by Underground_Killah

my idea...

buy the g35 and then sell it for twice what you paid for it..

buy the bmw and do the same thing

as well as the lexus...

after that, hell buy a civic, throw a big wing on it and call yourself pimp...

nah, seriously, i don't touch fwd cars because they are a pain to work on.. go for something rwd and more.... well... unpopular. the civic is way too overplayed and the newer ones are not as good as the older (imo)
just my

One question. How are FWD cars a pain to work on?

[Da *MIZ*]

Originally Posted by honda_racing101

One question. How are FWD cars a pain to work on?

I was going to say the same thing. Aren't most of the low budget import cars (DSM, Civic, Integra Etc.) pretty easy to work on? I've worked on a Talon TSi and I thought that it was easier to work on than my Monte Z34.

[drdisque]

FWD V6 and V8's are hard to work on because the back bank of cylinders is very hard to get at and the engine blocks access to alot of other things like the steering rack. FWD 4's aren't so bad.

[honda_racing101]

FWD V6s arent that hard either, and how many V8 fwd cars are out there as of now?