picking a daily

[Tarsun2]

yeah, ive come to that conclusion. lol

i have found out that the rsx and rsx-s fit all the criteria.
as well as 7th gen civics. (2000-2005).

the car dosent have to be "fast" (its probably better if it isnt actually)

my plan is to get a high mileage matrix or corolla xrs with the 2zz and pull the motor. i reach out to MWR who said they would rebuild it if i sent it to them.
all said and done i should be below $10k (car, engine, brakes and sus, clutch and misc)


it kills me that all these "drivers cars" coming out have DBW and steer by wire implemented. It cant just be me, can it? but then i read about throttle lag, rev hang, hard to shift quick at high rpm and no steering feedback and i dont feel alone again.

nissan proto z
toyota gr86
are two that i have in mind.

[Cunha]

Get a brz or frs then, they are your best bet for a drivers car by al ong long long shot.

[Seajay]

I drive an 2006 Acura TSX. I'm at 242,000 miles so far. Due to idiots leaving my windows open when it rains (close personal family no less) the interior is degrading faster than the car itself.
This one is 6 spd manual, but it is DBW. Power steering is hydraulic. Only Front Wheel but it is super fun to drive. I don't notice any of the "throttle lag", I mean it's a Sedan, not a sports car, and it's a high rev car so little low torque. You step on the gas either way.

I would definitely recommend it if looking for a Manual option. Go for a 2008 version which has some better luxuries and the ECM by default is tunable, if you wanted to tinker. It has a better engine management profile than my 2006 (flashing the 2006 would basically make it a 2008).

If you can find one... it's definitely an enjoyable Drivers car. It isn't necessarily fast but it is well balanced and loves to turn. The only thing that might be picky is the clutch, while responsive and "stiff", stock setup doesn't really transfer all the feeling to the foot, but you could go aftermarket to get that race car feeling if you wanted to.

I'm keeping this things until it litteraly falls apart, since I can't really find anything in an affordable manual sedan that comes close. Maybe Mazda... but I just didn't get the same feeling.

[punkncat]

In my recent searching here in GA, the under $10K class leaves a lot of fairly old rides, and some newer ones with "expected" issues.

In the newer dept, loads of Altima, Chevy Sonic, Malibu/Impala. Not unusual to see some mid aged Nissans like the Rogue or Sentra, and for older models lots of Accords and Camry. Of course, there are always a bevy of European models which will have various expensive issues (lol @me). The thing to watch for with particular brands (such as Honda Civic) you have to be concerned about some "ricer kid" doing weird things and beating the hell out of it.
Some super nice (looking) Volvo in that price range as well. Real mixed bag, do your homework.
The single worst aspect about the used searching was counting on pictures and description to try and find cars in the described shape while in person without having to drive all over town. I can only suspect that most of these dealers and even the frequent seller private options either know how to take a picture hiding things or that they are all using various photoshop tools to clean up the pics. We went to look at so many cars that looked excellent and clean in the pics to get there looking at something all scratched up, stained interior, hidden damage...it was a real crap shoot.