Suggestion for a friend :)

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

Ok, my dad's friend is looking for a new car after she sells her house. However, she has a pretty pee-poor car history...she currently owns a Holden Viva (btw any aussies that could help please do) and she says her dream car is....wait for it....a Honda Civic Sport...which for those who don't know is apparently striker the spammers first car XD. Price range is about 30-45 grand AU, the Civic retails for 30,990 I think, but so far I've been attempting to show her what she could buy if she looked at used cars...so far I've gone through the likes of:

Skyline 350GT/Infiniti G35
Audi A4, TT, A3
Jaguar XType
Chrysler 300C (not a Hemi considering the price of fuel these days, the 6-cyl one)
Lancer Evo VIII (which very surprisingly she likes quite a bit...)
BMW 3-series and 5-series
Subaru Liberty, WRX STi (MY06-7 limited-ed trim)
Mazda RX8
Nissan 350Z

Any other suggestions may help, preferably 4-seater and 4-cyl, but a V6 would be OK as well, strictly no V8s though, cause of fuel.

[boganbusman]

Nothing wrong with a Honda Civic as a new car. Economical, easy to drive, good reliability, good resale.

As for fairly new second hand cars, let's work through your list:
- Skyline/G35: do they even sell those here?
- Audi: If she likes it then fine, but be prepared for the high running costs.
- Jaguar: No
- Chrysler: Even more no.
- Evo: Bit full-on for a daily driver, she may get sick of it quickly.
- BMW: Same as Audi.
- Subaru: Later models are very nice, she'll like one of those for sure.
- RX8: Expensive to maintain, like the Audi/BMW.
- 350Z: Not very practical, but from all reports it's a decent car (haven't actually driven one myself).

No love for Toyotas? Trying to think of some others, but I'm having a slight mental blank. I'll post other cars if I think of some. Otherwise just keep firing away with more ideas.

[EvoMaster]

Hehehe......Evolution ftw!

The Civic is a good car to buy, especially when Honda put so much effort on creating better models.
I believe it's even better than it's rivals....except if she think of GOLF GT. I don't know if they sell them there but it has great performance(for a city car) while it is sold in a great price.

As for the Evolution I don't know what versions are sold there so prefer the standard one,GSR in some places.
Prefer the VIII than the IX because it's a bit cheaper.

For the other cars,I don't really know.RX8 is a good car but I think it needs lots of fuel.
For subaru don't ask me i don't know

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

Bogan: yes they do sell the V35 here, and yes I do agree that the Civic is good for a new car, but then again considering the price range you can find some even more decent cars for the same. Just suggestions though, but at the moment the V35/G35 and the Civic are top picks from her.

[TheStig]

You are telling us about Fuel economy, in case you didn't know, a EVO isn't know to be fuel efficient... to be more specific, they do like fuel.
I remember a episode of Top Gear where they tested the EVO MR FQ400 and it was the car with the biggest fuel consumption, it used more fuel on the track then a Murciélago, Ford GT etc, sure that one was highly tuned but I doubt the base model will be a champion in MPG.
A RX8 isn't a cheap car to run eighter, the rotary engine does need more maintainance then a normal engine and it still does need abit more oil to run, and it;s MPG isn't great eighter,
Sure it looks nice and sounds nice, but it's not very practical or cheap to run, where the Civic is.

Sure you can get a alot more car second hand for the price of a new civic, but I doubt you can run it as cheap as a new civic, and are as practical as a Civic.
Man for those prices you can even get a old Merc S Class, but is it a good choice? I doubt it.
You told about No V8's but I think / know there are plenty of V8 powered cars that are more fuel efficient then a 350Z, EVO, RX8 etc.

[steelsnake00]

If s/he wants 4 seats, 4 cylinders, power, and good fuel ecomony, you can't go far wrong with a Mk5 Golf GTi. 200bhp, good chassis, 3 or 5-doors, 5 seats and a good spec. They are pretty fast, good looking, great handling, easily managable, put out 40+mpg constantly if you drive them well, well built, reliable and very desirable.

Plus, unlike most of the RWD power hungry supercars you've listed they won't waste themself behind the wheel of them.

[TheStig]

The Mk5 Golf GTi is a very nice car indeed, even though I am not a big VW fan, I do like the Mk5 GTi.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

ffs all you have been doing is criticising my suggestions, and there has been ONE good suggestion so far...I don't 4 or 5 different people to tell me that I have gone wrong ok? So please, if all you're going to do is say how badly I've gone wrong, then don't bother posting. It's that simple.

[xHaZxMaTx]

You asked for peoples' opinions, and they gave them.

[boganbusman]

If s/he wants 4 seats, 4 cylinders, power, and good fuel ecomony, you can't go far wrong with a Mk5 Golf GTi. 200bhp, good chassis, 3 or 5-doors, 5 seats and a good spec. They are pretty fast, good looking, great handling, easily managable, put out 40+mpg constantly if you drive them well, well built, reliable and very desirable.

Not to disagree with you (even though I do), but over here they are still more costly to maintain than other cars, just like the Audis and Beemers.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

they are? never would have thought that....

[PSZeTa]

The list just makes it sound like you're having her buy the car for you. Ever went in depth on what she'd like to have in her new car?

Well, you came to 4-doors and a 4/6-cylinder car, because they have relatively good gas mileage. A vague conclusion really, one engine isn't the other, neither is the fuel consumption. Does she want it to be comfortable, large, fast, etc? Would she like a diesel? Insurance? That's a lot of empty spaces to fill in, which will only make it easier to look for a car.

[steelsnake00]

Not to disagree with you (even though I do), but over here they are still more costly to maintain than other cars, just like the Audis and Beemers.

Very long variable service intervals, fantastic reliablilty, and they can be maintained by people outside the dealer network without problems.

They won't require much maintainance at all.

[boganbusman]

Not to disagree with you (even though I do), but over here they are still more costly to maintain than other cars, just like the Audis and Beemers.

Very long variable service intervals, fantastic reliablilty, and they can be maintained by people outside the dealer network without problems.

They won't require much maintainance at all.

The length of time between services doesn't have much impact. It's the cost of each service when it comes around.
In general, parts on Euro cars need to be replaced more regularly (especially brakes) and the parts also cost more to buy and sometimes more to fit as well.
Dealerships are another problem, as they will charge you a small fortune everytime you go (I have a couple of friends who work in VW and BMW dealerships). Normal workshops may also feel inclined to charge more for labour on Euro cars, which is appalling I know but sadly true.

As for reliability, I wouldn't call it fantastic but VW has certainly improved a lot in the last few years.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

The list just makes it sound like you're having her buy the car for you. Ever went in depth on what she'd like to have in her new car?

Well, you came to 4-doors and a 4/6-cylinder car, because they have relatively good gas mileage. A vague conclusion really, one engine isn't the other, neither is the fuel consumption. Does she want it to be comfortable, large, fast, etc? Would she like a diesel? Insurance? That's a lot of empty spaces to fill in, which will only make it easier to look for a car.

Ever heard of the term brainstorming? Get some original ideas then research them later... the two terms that she'd both like to see in her car are "cute" and "cool", which is impossible because they're polar opposites....

[xHaZxMaTx]

the two terms that she'd both like to see in her car are "cute" and "cool"...

Miata? :B

Not that I'm saying Miatas are cute, but a majority of people seem to think so, and she may think so, too.

[Carcrazy]

Hey, chick's dig convertibles...

[RedCarDriver]

I'm pretty sure the Civic Si does get pretty good mileage and has a little under 200HP, which is pretty good (and heck, if that's what she said she'd like, that's what she should get ). If she wants a convertible I'd actually say looking at a Silvia / 240SX / 200SX / whatever convertible would be a good idea.

[TheStig]

Do remember that the person we are talking about is in Australia, not in the US.
And since the Civic SI is a US model, it's not a option

[RedCarDriver]

Civic Si, Type-R, VTi, Sport - same difference as far as I know

[Tunerfreak]

I dont know much about what they sell in Australia but what I would probly look into is a 4 door Type R DC2 Integra. Decent power and handling, a fair bit of room, and pretty good on fuel. And I rekon thy're pretty darn cool with money to spare.

Just my 2c.

[boganbusman]

Besides the current Civic, they never sold Type-Rs here. Can import one if you don't mind a bit of a hassle.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

I did suggest the DC5 Integra, but were they made in 4-door because my dad says they're 2-door only.

Oh and Haz, while the MX5 is a great idea, last time I remembered they were 2 seaters . She does have kids to carry round too lol.

[boganbusman]

The Honda Accord Euro is a 4-door DC5. And a rather nice car, too.

[Tunerfreak]

Yea a DC5 would be nice 2, shame they didnt make a 4 door Integra version.

Do they sell Accord SIR/ SIR-T's'? Nice cars those are too. My friends H22A Accord SIR was very practical and pretty quick, I thinks SIR-T's are silimar in power.