brianZortiz Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) I'm about to start school and need a daily commuter. There are 5 cars that I'm looking into, but need help choosing or one that you might have in mind. I'm looking for fuel efficiency (hwy miles), realibility, power. Low end torque is a plus. All cars come with standard trans, which is all I'm going to buy, no automatic. The 5 cars I am looking at are: 97-01 Honda prelude (base or SH) 02-04 Audi a4 1.8t 00-04 golf gti 91-94 Toyota mr2 turbo s13 240sx KA or Sr20det swap (sr20 are really common on craigslist) help me choose with pro's and cons's. My Z's will be my weekend cars. School is 30miles each way and will like to take trips on breaks (400 miles or less). I am also looking at VW TDI, but not too sure on them. Hope you guys have some good input and experience with the cars mentioned. Edited July 31, 2013 by brianZortiz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) Personally I'd add the Focus SVT [2002-04] to your mix. I'm on my 2nd, great daily driver [low on torque though], around town average 25, 30ish highway. 6spd getrag trans [same as mini], cold weather pkg incl; heated seats, mirrors and engine block. In dash 6 disc changer, with column controls and a factory sub in hatch, cruise, power; windows, locks, steering. Beefier front brakes, half shafts, lower springs, stiffer shocks, upgrade to rear discs and body kit. Around 100k miles should be in the $3-5k range, easy to work on and the parts are not [German] expensive... Edited July 31, 2013 by 1 tuff z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) My mile-eater for over 8 years has been a 5-speed '01 Accord Coupe. I've gotten 37mpg a few times, but usually average 31-35mpg in ~80/20 highway/city driving. My only qualms are the weak CV shafts and the diff gearing is a bit wide. Otherwise, it's been great! A quiet, reliable, and efficient daily commuter complements raucous weekend cars pretty nicely, IMO. Edited July 31, 2013 by Leon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianZortiz Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 ! tuff z, Nice. I am liking the style and they are in the price range you mentioned. Leon, the mpg for accord and civics are insane. Though, I probably wouldn't buy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) ! tuff z, Nice. I am liking the style and they are in the price range you mentioned. Leon, the mpg for accord and civics are insane. Though, I probably wouldn't buy one. They're great cars. If you must go with something on the list, then the Prelude is pretty much a sportier Accord Coupe. I'd expect mpgs to be less with the benefit of more power but otherwise I assume it's relatively similar to the Accord. With that said, it may be difficult to find a Prelude (or MR2 and S13 for that matter) that isn't beat up. FWIW, I would never consider the VW or Audi you listed. Performance isn't great, or even what I'd call good, with the added fun of higher maintenance costs and terrible reliability (relative to the Hondas). The diesel on the other hand is a good thought... Edited July 31, 2013 by Leon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianZortiz Posted August 1, 2013 Author Share Posted August 1, 2013 Leon, that's exactly the problem. The s13/prelude/mr2 that aren't kid owned and beat up are hard to find. The prelude has 200bhp and mph is like 20city/29hwy. The ford is a car I'm considering now. And it seems like everyone says the same about vw/Audi, really nice looking cars non the less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLATA Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Hey you live in LA, get a Miata, an instant classic, decent performance,good mpg, parts/mods are cheap,they hold the value at resale . My 2 centavos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R3VO 3VOM Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) I daily drive an S13 with stock KA-E (soon to be SR or 1J or RB. Can't decide as all the 240 kids have driven the price up on SR's. When I got my first 240 about 3 years after my Z to take over the daily driving they were $1500 complete; now they're bringing around $2000-$2500). I get 25-30 depending on where I'm going. My SR buddies get around 28 staying in the low RPM. I got my first one for $1200, but it had a piece of crap body. It ran and drove fantastic minus an injector going bad one day. But I've traded (because 240 guys will always trade if they like it. ha) 3 times and now I have the near perfect S13 Hatch I have now (minus the paint. Problem with S13's and old cars that are driven really). Although this one has had and ECU go bad (KA-E issues I've been told). So they can be found on the cheap, but it'll be a give and take. But with all that I'd recommend something Honda. Honda's are so reliable and parts are so cheap. They are everywhere in junkyards and so many share the same parts (S13's used to be in every junkyard but now I guess kids have figured out that if they part them out they can ask the same price for the shell as the junkyard would've paid them for the car and sell the engine to double their money). If I'd do it again, I'd try to get a prelude or integra. But even then, prices on those are slowly on the rise. My problem with Audi is the parts cost. Same with BMW and the Euro market really. Unless its a golf. Those are cheap. Edited August 1, 2013 by R3VO 3VOM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bone028 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 My daily driver is currently a 2011 Xterra (which I love other than the MPG), and before that, it was a 2002 Sentra SE-R SpecV (very fun car, horrible engine quality). If the Z is meant for a fun weekend car, and you want reliable daily transportation with good gas mileage, then I wouldnt even bother with any of the cars you originally listed. Not that they are necessarily bad, just that I find VW/Audi's of that year range to be HORRIBLE quality wise with electrical gremlins out the wazoo. I have a 2002 Jetta 1.8T that I let me girlfriend drive and that thing sucks. As said earlier, the 240sx/MR2/Prelude's are going to be challenging to find unmolested. I would honestly look at the Ford Focus as suggested (SVT or even just a regular focus ST or even a base model) and you really cant go too wrong with a Honda for reliability and cheap parts. If it were me, a maxima or altima with the VQ35 would be my choice for used cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) Get a honda civic. I just filled up my girlfiend's 2003 (1.7L/5-speed) and got 38mpg with 60/40 highway city driving. It's gutless, but that's not the point. Getting 400 miles for under $40 is the point and the car was a whopping $4200! Edited August 2, 2013 by cockerstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NgoZ Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 My brother had nothing but issues on an 02 Audi A4 that he thought he picked up for a steal, it wound up costing him a bunch of cash then it got flooded out in Houston once it was working. Out of those choices, I would pick the Prelude. Easy to fix, and easy to find parts unmolested or not. Find one cheap with a decent motor, dump a few bucks and your good to go for a year or 2. I always had a Honda for the past 16 years in my driveway. If open to civics, just like Cockerstar said, good mileage, cheap, and if want it to look different, they are mods out the ass to make it look unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Get a honda civic. I just filled up my girlfiend's 2003 (1.7L/5-speed) and got 38mpg with 60/40 highway city driving. It's gutless, but that's not the point. Getting 400 miles for under $40 is the point and the car was a whopping $4200! Bingo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCchris Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) Listen to Leon! My dd is an 01 Accord Coupe (177k on the clock) that my wife bought new in 01. She wanted a new Accord in 2011 so I got this one. Absolutely dependable and 30 mpg. I've had several Honda's including a 94 Integra GSR with the world famous vtec. It ran great, and I had to punish it to get less than 30 mpg. It had over 250k when I sold it. Also dependable! I had added several bolt-ons including a header, hi flo cat, exhaust, cold air intake, and chipped ecu. chris Edited August 2, 2013 by NCchris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianZortiz Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 Man those mpg numbers are tempting. The Prelude is now a top priority, but will look into a clean civic or accord. I don't want to put a body kit or nothing of that sort, but the LA honda (civic/crx/accord/integra/rsx) scene is different. They put such a bad rep to the car and it seems like everyone has one. That's not the point though, mpg and reliability, The ford SVT looks good, might get one of those, but it still doesn't compare to honda accord or civic mpg. I'm buying a car mid August so I have some time to narrow it down to a good car. Its also unfortunate to hear bad reviews about the audi and VW, no I know I will stay away. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 My brother had nothing but issues on an 02 Audi A4 that he thought he picked up for a steal, it wound up costing him a bunch of cash then it got flooded out in Houston once it was working. Out of those choices, I would pick the Prelude. Easy to fix, and easy to find parts unmolested or not. Find one cheap with a decent motor, dump a few bucks and your good to go for a year or 2. I always had a Honda for the past 16 years in my driveway. If open to civics, just like Cockerstar said, good mileage, cheap, and if want it to look different, they are mods out the ass to make it look unique. I've got plenty of VW stories to share (of the water-cooled variety), that's for sure. For one, my sister's Jetta has been an absolute nightmare. We've had more Hondas than anything else. This isn't brand loyalty, they just make solid, enjoyable cars. Listen to Leon! My dd is an 01 Accord Coupe (177k on the clock) that my wife bought new in 01. She wanted a new Accord in 2011 so I got this one. Absolutely dependable and 30 mpg. I've had several Honda's including a 94 Integra GSR with the world famous vtec. It ran great, and I had to punish it to get less than 30 mpg. It had over 250k when I sold it. Also dependable! I had added several bolt-ons including a header, hi flo cat, exhaust, cold air intake, and chipped ecu. chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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