OT - Best import car for under $20K

[Guest Anonymous]

Looking at replacing my fiancee's aging toyota (1992 paseo) which in 6 years of ownership requires two front struts (this year) and one exhaust manifold (cracked and repaired under sympathetic warranty at dealer) cracked about 3 weeks after she bought it.

Other then that replaced timing belt as per scheduled maintenance and that was it - only oil changes other than that. So the idea of a 'new' or 'newer' car scares the crap out of her.

We are looking at the following cars both new and nearly new.

Honda Prelude 5th gen vti vtec (used)

jetta 1.8 t (new)

celica gt-s (new)

e36 bmw 325 (used)

e46 bmw 320 (new)

audi a4 1.8t quatro 2001 (used)

Interested to see what everyone thinks. I love the jetta (nearly bought one myself until my inka car found me but VWs quality is scarring me these days. VW does get some points as my best bud and 02 owner is a service manager for VW so car would always be tip top.

[Guest Anonymous]

I have a 2003 Golf 2.0L with 16k miles and my wife has a 2000 Golf 1.8T with 62k miles, both 5-speeds. Finish and build quality are high on both but my car is using an excessive amount of oil (currently being monitored) and my wife's car has needed about $1000 worth of non-warranty work in the past five months as well as a rebuilt transmission, fortunately under warranty, for the second-gear grind it's had from new.

I worry about what more will begin to fail on the 1.8T as time goes on, though (knock on wood) it doesn't use a drop of oil and is still quite strong. She'll likely keep it the next 18 months till the loan is paid off, but who knows what we'll do after that. I'm hoping to be out of the Golf within the next year and into a MINI...my car isn't exciting enough to justify the fact that I have to think about it at all. The MINI has enough personality to balance any reliability issues.

Out of your choices, my money would go towards the used BMW, if only because it will likely retain the most value over time and have the strength of its engineering to back it up.

Tim

'76 2002

'03 Golf

[Guest Anonymous]

I have seen a few with over 200k on them and still looking good. Plus there is the added benefit of being able to work on these WITHOUT needing a computer to read codes.(Rant due to current problem on our 98 Audi).

Might be worth a test drive if you find a clean example. See what she thinks.

[Guest Anonymous]

too much car for her.

[Guest Anonymous]

a really nice 90 or 91 325is can be had for a few thousand dollars. the m20 engines are super tough, and the cars are engineered extremely well and are very easy to work on.

[Guest Anonymous]

...though it's difficult to say what service will be like. I have driven both the Celica GT-S and the Jetta 1.8T (which is pretty impressive), and between the two I'd go with the Celica, if only because Toyotas are so damn reliable. Hope this helps.

Marty

'73 2002

'03 MCS just finished break-in

[Guest Anonymous]

I've got 223k on my original E30 M3 motor. Still pulls strong. A bunch of the suspension rubber is worn out now after 16 years. The car is still a blast.

We just saw our 1986 325 that we sold 5 years ago- still going and looking good. Wife said we should've kept that one.

[Guest Anonymous]

In the shop at every turn so I would have a hard time convincing her to go that route.

[Guest Anonymous]

too bad the style sucks IMO.

I think this week we will go test drive the celica. See if she likes the car.

[Guest Anonymous]

less mileage and a known profile gasket replacement. Really nice E30s can be had for under $5k and are a lot more troublefree than the E36s...

Or just buy a new Mini...

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

seriously, consider the 328, i just picked one up (high on miles - 100k) that's in perfect condition for about 11k. . . i've never been more pleased with the performance of a day-to-day car. =)

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)