...would you consider.
Ford Mustang V-6
Chevrolet Cobalt SS (nonsupercharged)
Chevrolet HHR
Dodge Avenger V-6(will soon hit the showrooms)
Nissan Altima Coupe (will soon hit the showrooms)
I am trying to budget ahead of time so that I already can determine what I can afford as a monthly car payment and what is too much. I'm looking for a car that is no more than $20,000 after trade in (my car's book value is around $5-6K) and a monthly payment no more than say $320 a month. Also plan to keep the car at least 6-7 years. I plan to buy gap insurance, so depreciation isnt really a consideration. Just want to get something fun to drive, won't go out of style as soon as it hits the showroom. Any opinions? Are there any other cars I should be considering? I'm scheduled for a test drive of a Mustang V-6 on Monday, and I'm going to try to get a test drive of the HHR at Chevy dealer the same day.
"...nevermind maneuvers lieutenant, just go straight at them!"
-Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar
Altima
Best quarter mile to date - 15.750 @ 85.82
"We ride together, we die together. Bad Boys for life"
Nimbus 9, some friends of my that rock! Click and experience them for yourself
the altima is damn sexy! Got to drive one when we first got them off the truck. The 4 cylinder is quick but the 6 Cyl will crush it. Nice car inside and out either way.
"Custom cars, custom problems."-me
What does the altima look like?
Disclaimer: I will probally offend you with what is written in this post.
KanewtZ wrote:What does the altima look like?
Nevermind, I seen it....looks like a G35 ALOT
Disclaimer: I will probally offend you with what is written in this post.
If I HAD to choose, i'd choose to save up a little more money and buy something else.
25gs...
Id definitly be buying something else..
Unless you dont want to i guess...I mean 25K you could by a SS/SC
Out of those...the Cobalt.
i saw the new avenger at sema, i think its pretty sharp
nissan, avenger, cobalt, HHR, mustang v6
make that mustang a v8, it shoots to the top of the list. a v6 mustang is a waste of a chassis IMO...looks GAY lol
Not on your list but under 20k you can find alot of used rx-8's, a few LS2 GTO's and even some c5 vettes. With your selection and price range...maybe look at a mustang. It seems like you want something that looks nice but doesn't have the best performance. Stick it out with the cavalier a bit longer and see if your price range changes.
I should add, I prefer an automatic transmission. Manual transmission would faster and alot of fun, but I'm pretty sure I'd be sick of manual shifting after a while with all the stop and go traffic I have to deal with. I sort of wish the Mustang had the 224hp Duratec V-6 and not the 210hp ohv 4.0L that they have now. It would get better EPA gas mileage ratings and the engine would be smoother and more fun to rev. Still, the Mustang looks great and there alot of options to personalize it. The Altima coupe I'm afraid looks so much like the G35 coupe that dealerships will add a mark up just from the demand alone and it will be priced out of range for me. I'm very happy with my 2003 Cavalier coupe right now, but I'm thinking ahead....
"...nevermind maneuvers lieutenant, just go straight at them!"
-Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar
The Mustang, without a second thought. That V6 makes about 240hp uncorked. Ford put a more restrictive intake/exhaust on it to lower it's HP level so that it won't be too close to the Mustang GT. In comparison the Mustang 5.0 made 225hp.
As a RWD it's a million times more fun than all the other cars plus it'll have a much higher resale value in the end. My own opinion and it's biased, but that'd be my decision if I was you.
Altima!
2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited
1999 Cavalier Z24 Supercharged
1999 Grand AM SE (Beater Car)
1997 GMC Sierra
2007 Honda CBR 600RR
2005 Honda TRX450R
Mustang SOlid rear Axle FTW !. In my mind, keep the cavy !.
My Cav
I give up...
i'm buying a VW those people love trees, so they should love eachother too... "Andy"
ANd if you want performance like all the others finance a Eco Charger. It will save you mony and add a little fun to your current flavour.
My Cav
I give up...
i'm buying a VW those people love trees, so they should love eachother too... "Andy"
Knoxfire wrote: In comparison the Mustang 5.0 made 225hp.
Yes...but they also had 300 ft. lbs. of torque.
Blue Shark wrote:I sort of wish the Mustang had the 224hp Duratec V-6 and not the 210hp ohv 4.0L that they have now
no you don't, the duratec engines have no torque at all, which is bad for a musclecar. the 4.0 sohc (it is indeed an overhead-cammer) has lots of grunt, and with an intake/headers/dual exhaust/diablosport tuner, you're looking at 250 horsepower and a comparable gain in torque. believe me, when you take one for a test drive, you will be pleasantly surprised with how powerful the 6 is. plus, who said that 6's had to be ugly:
^^ Poor example of not being ugly.
And wtf are you guys comparing a damn 4.0 SOHC to the legendary small block 5.0? That's like comparing a Quad 4 and a LS1. You don't buy a 5.0 for it's stock output, its for its insane ability to make that car move with little mods. For all that screwing around with a 4.0, you can have a GT 'stang and be bone stock with a warrenty.
O noes!
Mustang v6 without a doubt. But then again, by my name, you knew I would be bias.
Truth is that people give the v6 Mustangs a bad rep either because they don't know what they are talking (yes 75% of us are all stuck in the mentality that the car we drive is better than anything else out their without actually doing the reseach) about or they are still lost on history. The 4.0L SOHC is completely different (and better) engine than the 3.8L that went into last generation of v6 Mustangs. With the release of the s197 Mustangs, the aftermarket has really opened up for the v6 and it's not hard to find performance parts to increase the horsepower and torgue on the s197 Mustangs. Hell, Carroll Shelby has already came out with a CS6 package which bumps the horsepower of a v6 Mustang to 350 horses and it will out perform a stock GT (and Shelby GT) Mustang without breaking a sweat.
Honestly when I was thinking about getting a new car I had a choice between an SS Supercharged and a Mustang V6. Pretty much both were the same price, and same horsepower ratings. For me, the Mustang was no brainer, as I thought I was getting a better deal. Even if I didn't get the 0% financing on the Mustang, I would have taken it over the Cobalt SS Supercharged in a heartbeat, and this isn't to rag on the Cobalt because I think they are great cars (you will never see me type anything outright negative about them). I got my Mustang for $17,000 out the door with the trade in of the Cavalier and a little cash down. My plans for the immediatel future is to get a C&L cold air intake, X-Cal SCT II Tuner and JBA True Duals exhaust. That should set me back $1,000 at the most and from what I've read and researched will yield the most amount of horsepower gains (20 - 30 horsepower from what I've read) without going to extreme with the mods.
With no mods, I'm currently getting about 25 miles per gallon on average so if you take a hit (if any) going from the Cavalier to the Mustang, it won't be significant...plus the thing is fun to drive. I would just advise against getting the 6 disc changer (Shaker 500/1000)...because honestly it's more trouble than it's worth and any honest Mustang owner would tell you this, and I would opt for the Pony Package just because it adds bigger wheels and front & rear sway bars from the Mustang GT.
So out of the five cars you listed, this is how I would rate them in order of purchase potential...
Mustang V6
Nissan Altima Coupe (I love the looks of it, wouldn' t mind having a car like this as my 2nd vehicle)
Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged
Dodge Avenger
Chevrolet HHR
I'm pretty sure I'll get flamed from my comments (it never fails) but you wanted opinions so these are mine.
