Need a new car

[shockwave]

Well I will be coming back to the states from school in Japan in about 2 months. Need to get a new car when i get back. Brother will be out of the country so i can use his 2000 gt celica for a while to get a round for about a year, but need to search for a new car. I am looking for about under $5,000. Want a good car that handles really good. Right now I am comparing cavalier z24, neon rt, or maybe the older 91-93 toyota celica gt. Probably the non-turbo because of price. How good where the older celicas. what are the strong points and what are the week points. which ones came with the hood scoop? thanks for the help.

[CelicaGTSRacer]

I would get a civic hatchback like EG or an integ, and if you want to fix it up there is a good after market for them.

[mrrovy805]

I would get a civic hatchback like EG or an integ, and if you want to fix it up there is a good after market for them.


i second that :thumbup:

[pokgai]

How about a MR2 turbo (or not)? Don't those handle "pretty good?" If you can find a turbo for your price range that would be good, no?

[shockwave]

Yeah if i could find a turbo mr2 for that price i would get it pretty fast, but even the non-turbos in early nineties are running above that price. I am leaning right now towards late 90's neon r/t or acr I think. Cheap, and lots of performance parts available.

[Automaton]

Nobody else has said it yet, so I willl give you the standard newcelica.org response to every "need to buy a car" post. Get a WRX. And no, we don't seem to care that your budget is $5000.

But is all seriousness, for $5000 I would look into a late 90's Civic EX... maybe a 1997. 1997 was the first year of the last update to the previous body style (kind of like how the Celica received some updates in 2003), so it will not look like an old car. It even has SOHC VTEC that kicks in at 5500 RPM for a slight boost in power. I REALLY don't think you want an old neon as a daily driver. According to KBB.com you could get a 1997 Civic EX coupe 5-speed with 99,000 miles in "good" condition for $5500 from a private party in SoCal. So more than likely you could get get it for $5000. Anything more expensive than a Civic EX and you will be looking at early 90's or even late 1980's!!! which is pretty f*cking old.

[EasyC]

Why not a corolla? If hes looking for something for under 5K i dont think he will mod it much. Corollas have seemed to be a small bit quicker / better built than civics of the same gen.

[marc]

That Neon R/T is a pretty badass little car, handles amazingly if you don't mind running around with twin racing stripes.

You can't beat the $1500 Civic VX + B18C1 VTEC motor swap though, that'll run you under $5000 and get you into the 13s.

[shockwave]

Yeah I am considering Hondas a little, but I think they are a little over-priced. the reason i wsas thinking neon is is is a good platform, and would have about $2,000 left over for parts. Just need something to kinda get me around for about the next year while I finish college and then after that it will eventually get sold or become a play car. Keep the ideas coming. thanks

[Chelica]

Get a Civic.

[gts_rosh]

There is tons of parts for the Cavalier Z24 (although they get hated on pretty badly), plus aftermarket is growing huge, plus a hugeass jbody.org community.
But handling, no matter what you do it, ain't gonna happen.

Neon RT is not bad, ACR is better (but rare find).

If you want a nice handling car, that looks decent, good power, try to find a 92-94 240 SX. I'm sure you could also p/u a 93&up Mazda MX6 LS V6 for your price range too.

Or for $2K or less, get a MX6 Turbo (prev-gen) and have $3K to supe it up.

[marc]

Don't overlook the Miata either.

[meshmotorsports]

if you seriously only want to have a car for 1 year of college...just buy a beater and dont invest any money into it so when you get out you wont regret spending all the money on the car and then you can get yourself a nice car

[Automaton]

If you are considering an older neon, then you might as well spend even less and go with one of these. Then you will have even *more* money left over to mod it!!!111!

http://www.mcnabbs.org/peter/pics/yugo.jpg

:headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

[IScrewedUp]

lol

I was thinking maybe a 2nd gen eclipse.

[Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con]

S/C'd mk1 mr2

[DnDs00GTS]

how about a 93-97 Probe GT? my wife had one a while back. Wasn't a bad car. Decent pick up plus it has a good amount of torque, and IMO it looks better than a neon.

[cycocelica]

what the hell do you want a hoodscoop for?

get a civic

[BadAndy]

S/C'd mk1 mr2
:werd:

[2000GTSblack]

90-93 240sx. It handles on par(not quite as good, but extremely close) with the celi, has rwd, and you can buy 1 with a blown motor, swap in a JDM SR20DET, and still have a little money left over for some bolt-ons.