# A good car in the 20k range? **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [December 20, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918 "2005-12-20T23:02:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Minglor](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/minglor/32/7373_2.png) [@Minglor](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Minglor)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/1 "2005-12-20T23:02:22Z")
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**Author:** ![djdstar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/djdstar/32/7617_2.png) [@djdstar](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/djdstar)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/2 "2005-12-20T23:10:35Z")
What do you want out of the car? Leaving it stock? ---
**Author:** ![zero\_assault](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/dfb087/32.png) [@zero\_assault](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/zero_assault)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/3 "2005-12-20T23:13:05Z")
isnt there a nice evo on here for sale for that much ---
**Author:** ![Minglor](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/minglor/32/7373_2.png) [@Minglor](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Minglor)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/4 "2005-12-20T23:16:14Z")
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**Author:** ![zero\_assault](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/dfb087/32.png) [@zero\_assault](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/zero_assault)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/5 "2005-12-20T23:27:02Z")
New Civic? Mazda 3? ---
**Author:** ![djdstar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/djdstar/32/7617_2.png) [@djdstar](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/djdstar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/6 "2005-12-21T00:04:59Z")
Honestly dude you’ll never be happy. Buying a new car isn’t gonna solve problems, you’ll always have car issues. You’re just trading em in for different issues…ie voiding warranty, dealing with service and getting stuff covered…etc. I’d get a slightly used car, you don’t get the hit of depreciation, and you’ve got the warranty. ---
**Author:** ![DannyP](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/dannyp/32/7271_2.png) [@DannyP](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/DannyP)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/7 "2005-12-21T00:13:16Z")
ive bought 3 used cars from dealerships and i got screwed everytime with crazy intrest rates if your going to buy from a dealership i would never buy used again just my opiion not with all these o% and 3.9% intrest rate for 20k look at a srt4 or scion tc mazda 3 or else i would buy from a private owner dealerships are out to screw you just my experiance ---
**Author:** ![Minglor](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/minglor/32/7373_2.png) [@Minglor](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Minglor)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/8 "2005-12-21T00:16:28Z")
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**Author:** ![2TurboZ](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/2turboz/32/7577_2.png) [@2TurboZ](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/2TurboZ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/9 "2005-12-21T00:33:53Z")
Not much out there for 20g new thats any better than something nicer a few years older…ie Sureshots Evo…hell of a lot nicer car…will hold its value better than any econo box you can buy new for under 20g and a whole lot more enjoyable to an enthusiast. ---
**Author:** ![Minglor](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/minglor/32/7373_2.png) [@Minglor](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Minglor)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/10 "2005-12-21T00:40:29Z")
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**Author:** ![2TurboZ](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/2turboz/32/7577_2.png) [@2TurboZ](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/2TurboZ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/11 "2005-12-21T00:42:59Z")
Not always true with your small dealership theory…alot of those cars are auction fodder from big dealers that dont consider them saleable on their lots for whatever reason. Sometimes going thru a private owner that has maintained the vehicle and has proof of that is easy because you can barter the price a little bit. Alot of aftermarket warranty companies will gladly extend a warranty on a solid used car. ---
**Author:** ![Minglor](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/minglor/32/7373_2.png) [@Minglor](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Minglor)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/12 "2005-12-21T00:54:08Z")
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**Author:** ![ly555is](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3bc359/32.png) [@ly555is](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ly555is)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/13 "2005-12-21T01:40:44Z")
with a thread like this, you’re going to get a lot of guys promoting their own types of cars for various reasons and a lot of questions as to what exactly you want out of a car. i’m going to skip the former and run with the latter - what do you want? FWD, RWD, AWD, TC’d, SC’d, NA domestic, import - nice interior, whatever interior - fast, classy, etc… a lot of questions you need to ask yourself. i mean i know what kind of car i want, but i’m a certain kind of person like everyone else. what do you want out of your 20k car? ---
**Author:** ![RuBiCaNT](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/rubicant/32/7622_2.png) [@RuBiCaNT](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/RuBiCaNT)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/14 "2005-12-21T04:43:31Z")
If you don’t have your heart set on a brand new car, I would recommend getting an Outback sedan 01 - 05 (whatever years were not Turbocharged). I have an '01 Outback wagon and I could not be more pleased with it. It has been as reliable a car as I have ever driven. Mine had 70k miles when I bought it and I got it for $12k after tax and tags. You can probably pick up a newer model for 20k with a lot less mileage. The only gotcha is the Sedans are extremely rare especially when you start looking at 5 speeds. ---
**Author:** ![MaximaSE98](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/maximase98/32/7600_2.png) [@MaximaSE98](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/MaximaSE98)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 4:55am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/15 "2005-12-21T04:55:05Z")
are SE-R Spec Vs still under 20k…that would be my choice ---
**Author:** ![Zer0DazE](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/zer0daze/32/7624_2.png) [@Zer0DazE](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Zer0DazE)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/16 "2005-12-21T05:11:02Z")
buy something you can pay cash for. if you cant pay cash, then you cant afford it. if this is your first “real job” then this goes double. its still a J-O-B (just over broke). until you have career, at least a 3-6 month salery cushion in the bank, and zero debt getting a loan for a car is a bad idea. leasing or fleasing is even worse (run the numbers and figure out the actual intrest rate you would be paying… its usually up near 20). make your money work for you, dont work for it. edit: if you must buy a car, buy something that will hold its value a lot of the suggestions here are bad as far as that goes try a used ITR sureshots evo awdrifters evo any evo used lexus or acura. you get reliable, easy to fix, and something that will hold it resale value ---
**Author:** ![sureshot](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/sureshot/32/7578_2.png) [@sureshot](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/sureshot)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/17 "2005-12-21T05:13:50Z")
> [@2TurboZ](#): > > Not much out there for 20g new thats any better than something nicer a few years older…ie Sureshots Evo…hell of a lot nicer car…will hold its value better than any econo box you can buy new for under 20g and a whole lot more enjoyable to an enthusiast. thanks for the kind words :tup: lots of good advice in this thread… ---
**Author:** ![Tkklemann](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/tkklemann/32/7298_2.png) [@Tkklemann](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Tkklemann)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/18 "2005-12-21T05:42:39Z")
If you do decise to go new, I would be tempted at the WRX’s… But, I just can’t deal with other peoples used cars… I’ll take mine brand new… But, as for a used, I would go with the list posted before: AWDrifters EVO Sureshot’s EVO I dunno about the ITR, only because someone will steal it, and most likely it has been beaten by the previous owner… Possibly a new RSX, or even a very lightly used 05… ---
**Author:** ![Daddie](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/daddie/32/7621_2.png) [@Daddie](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Daddie)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/19 "2005-12-21T06:01:09Z")
Whatever you do, try to have at like 40-50% of the car’s total cost (with tax + reg) in cash. Take a loan out. Pay pay pay. On the new/used car note… if you are not going to tinker, buy slightly used. I bought a 2002 S2000 with 19K on the odometer, for under $20K. It is a freakin’ steal. I had a couple offers for 22-23K already, and I’ve put 3K miles on it haha. I still have a warranty that is about to be extended for another 4 years. Other incentives : Mitsu is giving 2 fucking years worth of free gas. One toyota dealer is giving like, 1 year free gas and free maintainence (brakes, clutch, blah blah blah). All things said and done : I’d go with a base mini cooper. Nothing spectacular, but is a hoot to drive, handles amazingly, pretty well made, great gas mileage, excellent customer support, and holds it’s value very well. And since you are up in buffalo - Towne BMW i have seen first hand and heard MANY great things about them. Other vehicles that I would think of : Hyundai Sonata - for it’s excellent build quality and excellent price for what it comes with, plus it doesn’t look / feel like a piece of shit anymore, but I would label this car as a “lifer” car, where you can’t really sell it because resale sucks, but it is a good car to own. Civic Si - probably over 20K when all is said and done, but 200HP of pure unadultered vtec is always fun. Honda reliability/quality. A little too “spacey” for my tastes. Toyota Corolla (GTS?) - the one with the celica GTS motor, peppy :tup: Not as expensive as the Si and probably a ton more rare. BTW - the tC isn’t going to be the next Grand Prix, they make a “limited” number of them. ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918/20 "2005-12-21T06:17:46Z")
> [@DarkkstaR](#): > > I’d get a slightly used car, you don’t get the hit of depreciation, and you’ve got the warranty. YES. [Next page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/a-good-car-in-the-20k-range/5918.md?page=2)