I'm 23, in college, and am hopefully getting out of my lease. I have a 2007 Cadillac CTS, which is a nice car. However, I'm at school way too much to pay for this thing, which leaves driving time to a minimum once the semester starts. Seriously, I take the bus to school, so why do I need a Cadillac? The CTS is a nice car, handles pretty well in my opinion, but with my situation now, I just want to get a used car.
I'm from a GM family, my first car being a Camaro Z-28, my second being an Alero. I have admired Japanese cars since... oh, I don't know, age eight or so, but never owned one. I would like your advice on what you think is worth buying for someone who finally wants to have a car that can be modified if they so choose.
I just want a used car that is reliable (well, before messing with it) and has great support for customization. Oh, and I want to spend under $6000, maybe more like $4000 to $4500-ish.
Thank you for your time and great writing in SCC, your articles always inform, inspire and sometimes humble. David BohilPhoenix, AZ
A: Thanks for the ass kissing, David. Now go buy a Miata. There are several reasons why the Miata is right for you, but the most important would be my personal sense of accomplishment at turning a former Camaro driver into a Miata guy. It will no doubt be a test of your independence and self-confidence for you to face your GM family from the seat of what they undoubtedly consider a fruity hairdresser car. It should just take a quick ride around the nearest corner (one family member at a time, of course) to change their minds.
You've given me no hint of your needs, other than the ability to customize the car somehow, so I'll take a couple more stabs in the dark. Based on your current CTS, maybe you need more than the two seats the Miata will give you. If you want to stay luxurious, consider a 1991 to '97 Lexus GS300. In your price range, you'll be looking at cars with over 150,000 miles on them, but Toyotas of this vintage are quite tough and the car's 2JZ-GE straight six is especially so. When you find the funds to start tuning it, the engine responds to all manner of mods, especially turbocharging. Being a six-cylinder, though, there are 50 percent more things to buy when you need spark plugs, injectors, etc, compared to the dirt-cheap Miata. That and US models only came with slushboxes. Ick.
If the Camaro is more indicative of your tastes, maybe you need a first- or second-generation Eclipse. Like a Camaro, Eclipses and Talons are easy to make fast in a straight line, and relatively stubborn when it comes to going around corners. Both can be made to corner well with some work, but it's not their natural strength.
Don't waste money on a non-turbo model. Power gains with a turbocharged model are cheap and easy, but turbocharging a naturally aspirated one is not. Buying a Diamond Star means navigating a minefield of known problems, from ECUs that fail with age (easy to fix) to thrust bearings that give out early (hard to fix), so shop carefully. Still, the rewards of boost are hard to overstate.
On the other hand, if the Alero speaks to your true automotive tastes, well, go buy a Camry and stop writing me.