Car for ~$20,000

[djsushi]

Hello,

I'm new to these forums and figured I'd ask for a public opinion after reading countless car reviews on several websites.

Anyway, I'm planning to buy a new car in December or shortly after and will have approximately $20,000 to spend (would prefer certified preowned or used with low mileage, just for a break on insurance, since it's a lot more for a brand new car). I'm looking for a good balance between looks, horsepower (~200+), gas mileage (since I work a full time job, go to college, and have to make some road trips as a DJ), size (small/compact coupe or sedan, since parking a big car is kind of rough in the streets of Chicago), and features (nice stereo or at best, navigation, sunroof, etc.). I have a slight preference for turbos, but only because one of my long time friends claimed they were more efficient (he owned a Grand National and later also bought a Subaru WRX the first year it came out and constantly tried to talk me into buying a '98 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX).

A few cars that I've been looking at are the '06 VW Jetta GLI, '06 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, and a few others. I have a slightly stronger preference for imports, since I own a Mitsubishi Mirage, currently, and it has served me longer with less repairs than any of the domestic cars I previously owned.

I'm pretty open minded to what people have to say, so I'd appreciate any suggestions or comments about the choices I've listed or any additional suggestions for cars to consider.



(Oh yeah, and unfortunately, I can't drive manual, which is why I've already ruled out the WRX STi. )

[sickcallawayc12]

Welcome to AF.

First, there is no way you would get an STi for 20 grand anyway unless its been wrecked or anything less than preowned low mileage.

Second I encourage you to learn the stick shift.

I don't really understand why you want a coupe or sedan. Being a college student and a DJ, it sounds like you need the cargo space and a wagon or hatchback will serve you much better especially with a small/compact car so here are my suggestions.

You could look at an 04 and up WRX wagon/sedan with a, *sighs*, automatic tranny as this will give you just about everything you're asking for (well except low insurance maybe). I think they added leather, sunroof and such that year. You should see if the new Subaru Legacy wagons had a turbo option like the sedans do. A preowned one of those will probably run around 20 grand. I'm surprised you've had such good luck with that Mitsubishi as they are not exactly the most reliable of Japanese vehicles IMO. May want to look at a Volkswagen Golf instead of a Jetta. Keep in mind that a european vehicle like Volkswagen is probably gonna have a little higher maintenence cost. I'll try to post some sedans/coupes options later.

[djsushi]

Originally Posted by sickcallawayc12

Welcome to AF.

First, there is no way you would get an STi for 20 grand anyway unless its been wrecked or anything less than preowned low mileage.

Second I encourage you to learn the stick shift.

I don't really understand why you want a coupe or sedan. Being a college student and a DJ, it sounds like you need the cargo space and a wagon or hatchback will serve you much better especially with a small/compact car so here are my suggestions.

You could look at an 04 and up WRX wagon/sedan with a, *sighs*, automatic tranny as this will give you just about everything you're asking for (well except low insurance maybe). I think they added leather, sunroof and such that year. You should see if the new Subaru Legacy wagons had a turbo option like the sedans do. A preowned one of those will probably run around 20 grand. I'm surprised you've had such good luck with that Mitsubishi as they are not exactly the most reliable of Japanese vehicles IMO. May want to look at a Volkswagen Golf instead of a Jetta. Keep in mind that a european vehicle like Volkswagen is probably gonna have a little higher maintenence cost. I'll try to post some sedans/coupes options later.

Thanks for the reply!

As for stick shift, my wife is actually from England (where apparently almost the whole population of drivers drive manual), so she's going to teach me how to drive stick when she gets a car, but that may not be until after I purchase my next car (and even though she can drive stick, there's no way I'm letting her drive my next car ).

As for the cargo space, I forgot to mention that it's really not an issue. I'm not a wedding DJ or anything like that, so all I really need to carry with me is a flight case of records in addition to my college stuff that I just keep in my car. My Mirage currently has more than enough room to hold everything in half of the back seat. I'm actually looking for a compact coupe/sedan because of the parking conditions in Chicago being a bit cramped.

But like I said, other than that, pretty much horsepower, gas mileage, and stereo are important. I'm willing to fork out another $5000 or so if that money buys me a car that would be a more ideal choice.

[sickcallawayc12]

Well the auto may not be a bad idea. I dunno how great its gonna be to learn stick in Chicago, probably a lot of traffic.

For sound, I don't believe there is such a thing as a "nice stereo" from the factory. I would just save like $700 and get aftermarket stuff. If you really care about sound that's the best way to go.

I still stand by my Subaru choices. However I don't know too many "compact cars" that can produce 200+ horsepower. One that comes to mind is an Acura RSX Type-S. I believe that has around 200 horses but I think its a 6 speed only. Also look at the Altima coupe with a V6. They will fall around 20 grand give or take. Or maybe a Honda Accord V6 with a 5 speed automatic.