Last year, I hit a utility trench every day till finally it did some damage to my suspension. (I gunned the engine just a bit to get in front of someone onto the on-ramp of the freeway. Big mistake.) It was ok for a while because I did a minor repair to correct the issue but the car was never quite the same after that.
It got me thinking about what to do for my next car. I trooped out to the suburban car dealerships to test drive cars. I looked at used roadster convertibles (Mazda MX-5, Pontiac Solstice), used performance cars (Subaru WRX), new VW GTI’s. I was pretty convinced I wanted a new Subaru WRX STi. At 305hp for their stock model, I thought that was was exactly what I wanted, but the price at $38K+ was really unnerving. It didn’t help that the car salesman at Farrish Subaru was a jerk. (All my friends say go to Ourisman in Maryland for a Subaru.)
After letting my boyfriend take my car to his mom’s house for Christmas, he realized that I needed to replace me car right away, not till I had saved enough to buy a new one. I started researching cars and decided that since I tend to hold on to cars for a really long time, that I should just go ahead and get a new car. While I liked the idea of a used car for $10K, I did not like what I could get for that price. At $15K you can start buying things like new Hyundai Accents (a car I have always hated) so at that point, why not just get a new car while I still have a secure job?
Gamely, we went back out to look at the Nissan Sentra-RS Spec-V, a model down from my Altima, but kind of spiffy. But I didn’t love it. I sat in the Nissan dealership thinking that the car I really loved at a price I could afford was the VW GTI. I had driven the old VR6 model my sibling owned and really liked it. I also test drove a 2009 model and felt like it was a contender, but the STi had the looks and room I really wanted last summer. This year though, I realized for the extra $10K in price, I wasn’t getting enough value for the 100hp extra and the STi would have a stupidly high monthly payment. So we drove over to VW and put money down for a GTI.
Save your comments. There’s a Part II on Monday.
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Not sure what your price range is or how brand specific you are. If you were looking into a convertible to enjoy the 6months nice DC weather. I’d have to shamelessly recommend my car, a VW Eos. Don’t make the mistake and buy new though. You can easily get a mid-model 2YO (<30k miles) for around 20-22k. Turbo should satisfy your sporty side. With standard leatherette heated seats there is no need for much upgrades if you aren't too picky.
What’s wrong with the Accent? I bought one used a few years ago for my commuter car and it’s been nothing but sweet.
I’ve never liked the Accent. I have a few friends who have one, but the dash layout of the GTI is quite nice and the Accent can’t really match the 2.0 turbocharged engine on the GTI.