Buy the Accord. Sure it's boring, but you won't have to worry about it. There's a lot to be said for minimizing stress :)<br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 7:49 PM, David Pertuz <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:davidpertuz@mindspring.com">davidpertuz@mindspring.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">I have an opportunity to replace my G20 and just for curiosity's sake I<br>thought I'd see what some of y'all had to say about the choice. This is,<br>
I suppose, OT, but since the list is a bit of an old-timer's club with<br>very low traffic I figure we'd enjoy the traffic spike. Besides, if<br>Larry wanted to I'm close enough to chastise in person.<br><br>My primary car is my P10 G20t, a '96 which is up to 160k by now. It has<br>
a 10:1 engine from SOKO that I installed (light refresh with rod<br>bearings, etc.) at about 105k; it is cosmetically OK (no rust, since<br>it's a Texas car, but bad paint on the roof and a dent on the RF<br>fender); mechanically good, but needs a few things (fix wipers, front<br>
struts, probably a wheel bearing) done that I've been putting off. I've<br>thought of replacing it this year, with another less-old car with (as<br>far under as practicable) under 100k miles that I can drive for some<br>
years without too many things starting to wear out - the G is getting up<br>to that mileage.<br><br>Option 1: keep the G20t. I enjoy it a lot, it's a good size, it's fun to<br>drive, fast enough (I don't need a fast car to enjoy it), gets pretty<br>
good mileage, I'm very familiar with it, etc. I don't drive very much -<br>less than 10k per year, and virtually all of that is out-of-town trips -<br>so the mileage isn't as big an issue as it would be if I drove tons. If<br>
I could get a brand-new P10t, I'd do that. This is a cheap option, since<br>I don't have to spend a lot on maintenance, even with stuff wearing out,<br>compared to a car payment, which I'll never have.<br><br>
Option 2: Buy something less old, with a lot fewer miles, that I can<br>easily pay cash for. Cost would have to be $7k tops, $6k would be nicer.<br>Ideally $4k cash plus whatever I get for the G20 (I'm a big saver.) I<br>
bought the G20 for $4k in 2004 and spent about $1k on putting the new<br>engine in it a year later, so I've got my money's worth in<br>fun/cheap/reliable transportation before; I'd be happy to do it again.<br>
<br>Requirements are that the car be not-large, practical (hatchback is<br>preferred, folding seatback is mandatory if a sedan so I can fit a bike<br>inside), easy to maintain myself, reliable, fun to drive, manual<br>transmission, 30mpg+ on the highway First thing that comes to mind here<br>
is a Mazda Protege5 wagon. VW GTIs or Golfs or Jetta wagons also come to<br>mind, but I'm suspicious of their reliability. Mazda 3 hatch. Maybe an<br>old 3-series or 5-series, but the ones within my budget would be<br>
high-mileage. Not sure what else. I've never driven a P11 G20, but it's<br>never really excited me. Historically I've always known what I've liked,<br>but my taste in cars seems to have suspended itself in the mid-1990s and<br>
earlier. Also I tend to find something I like and stick with it - I've<br>had my SE-R for 18 years and my Fiat for 20. And my goal is to get a<br>lowish-mileage car.<br><br>Option 3: buy my grandfather's 2004 Honda Accord. It's a 4cyl/auto sedan<br>
with an absurdly low 16k miles. It's pretty nice to drive, isn't too big<br>for me, has a folding seat, gets good mileage, etc. Also it is a lot<br>more refined than I'm used to what with being newer. If I go by KBB the<br>
low mileage puts it out of my budget but since this is a family deal and<br>it's not too far off I could buy it within my budget. Only major<br>downside is the automatic. I hate automatics, and have never owned an<br>
auto-trans car. It's just that the car is in very good shape (save for a<br>strong right pull) except for a bit of cosmetic stuff I don't care too<br>much about, and has a billion years of life left in it, esp. at the rate<br>
I drive.<br><br>It would make sense if I drove tons or was certain to keep it for a<br>decade, but while it would be a no-brainer with a 5MT, I'm not sure I<br>can live with an auto for years and years. Granted, I do have my Fiat<br>
Spider for fun stuff in warm weather and if I ever replace the rod<br>bearings and the 8 other things I can drive my SE-R again for fun if I'm<br>motivated enough. I reflexively want cars that are nice to drive, and<br>
this one is nice enough, but I live in flatland and the large majority<br>of my driving is highway trips, with a bit of city driving, and I live<br>in flatland where there really aren't any fun roads.<br><br>What do y'all think? Are the benefits (super-low mileage, bargain price)<br>
of the Accord worth it? Do you have any other suggestions for the price?<br><br>David<br>Chicago<br>+----------------------------------------------------------------------+<br>The mailing list home page is <a href="http://www.se-r-list.org/" target="_blank">http://www.se-r-list.org/</a><br>
To modify your subscription, go to <a href="http://www.se-r-list.org/mailman/listinfo/se-r" target="_blank">http://www.se-r-list.org/mailman/listinfo/se-r</a><br></blockquote></div><br>