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I've decided that it is definitely time for me to replace my 2001 Volkswagen Jetta. I like the car well enough, but it's become really unreliable and damned expensive to maintain.

For a new car I want something with some decent power, but still okay on gas. Must be a manual, and have decent handling. It needs to be practical for day to day use (so no Miata or anything like that, sadly), but I still want something fairly small and preferably a hatchback. I like rear wheel drive but I've gotten used to front wheel drive, so that's not a huge issue. I was briefly thinking of financing a brand new Ford Fiesta ST but I've decided that's a bad idea. I don't want to be in debt and paying off a car years from now. So I'm going used. I've got some cash saved up so I can straight up buy rather than get a loan. I'd like to be at around 10 grand Canadian, maybe as high as 12.

The two cars I've narrowed my search onto are either a 2002-06 Acura RSX Type S or a 2006-11 Honda Civic Si. I've never owned a Honda, but my wife has been driving her '98 Civic forever, and her whole family are big into Hondas so I'm thinking maybe it's time to buy in. Big plus is that her dad and brother are both pretty good amateur mechanics and they know Hondas well, which means I can probably save a lot in future repair bills. I test drove a 2002 RSX-S today and I really liked it. I haven't driven a Civic Si yet, but will in the next couple of days probably.

Any of you have any firsthand experience with either of these cars? Or suggestions for something totally different that I've overlooked?

Here's a few ads of cars in my area that I'm considering: http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/ctd/4599628881.html, http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/pml/cto/4569502366.html, http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/4589939733.html

I'd go with the black Acura. I don't like the Honda's whole dash/console for the driver's side, also the glove box doesn't lock. The drives okay, I considered one a year ago and went with a Mazda 6. The honda has pretty good pickup, I'd say just enough for merging on the highway, but if you're trying to pass someone you're prolly going to have to slow down instead of speed up. Knowing nothing about the Acura I can't say I'd buy it in this case, I'd actually opt for the Honda for the fact that a.) t's a Honda and is built better than you are and b.) is newer.

I think based on what you wrote, you should get the Honda or, consider a Mazda 3 or 6, they're great. My mom has 2004 Mazda 6 wagon (V 6 engine), it's so much fun to drive, Fit all of my band's amps and guitars, 5 guitars in cases, 2 2x12 amps, and a 2x15, provided it's alot for a car but we didn't gig so much. It also fit me Double Bass really well. I've got a 2010 Mazda 6 (inline 4) and I love it, I've put 11,000 miles on it in a year and with regular service it's never had any serious problems. The inline 4 engine is not as powerful as the V6, duh, but it's got really good fuel efficeny for a car that also has alot power as well, due to the 2.5 v4 and not a 2.0l v4 like in the Honda. I use about a quarter tank a week, I think 26ish miles per gallon, also has aux. input = ipod = ILF PLAYLIST.

TLDR; For you Honda, although I like my Mazda so you should test drive one on my recommendation.

Also I think that Hot-boxing in a Honda would be lame as fuck, hello you are sitting in a honda!?!?!

Hondas last forever. As long as you treat them well. They are survivors.

Thanks guys.

I have considered a Mazda 3, I like Mazdas and have previously owned an RX-7 and a 323 in the past. The 3 just seems kind of boring to me though, and I swear at least half a dozen of my friends/coworkers drive one and I want something different.

The reliability of Hondas is a huge appeal to me. I am so sick of throwing piles of money into my VW every month or two when something goes wrong.

I'm leaning towards the red RSX I posted. It's a little more than the black one in another ad I posted, but the appeal of the red on is that it has very few kilometers on the clock for its age (just over 100 000, or about 60 000 miles) and it's totally stock. Not that I'm against modified cars, but it seems like every other RSX for sale in my area has a whack of mods done which to me can be a bit of a red flag that either they potentially haven't been done properly or the car has been thrashed on by some boy racer.

I still need to try out a Civic Si, but I definitely prefer the looks of the RSX and the functionality of a hatchback versus a regular trunk so unless the Si blows me away I'll probably make an offer on the red RSX later this week.

Test drove a couple of other cars, but still found myself thinking about that red RSX-S, so I drove it again today with my father in law, made an offer and bought it!

I'm not picking it up until tomorrow as I was tight on time for getting to work when we were done haggling. But that's really a good thing as it'll give them time to give it a nice wash and detail before I pick it up.

Nice, Colin, congrats on a seemingly painless auto buying experience.

Nice. The civic si is a great hatchback but a little more expensive than it should be due to the value of that car.

That Acura is sexy. New car life feels good.

Picked up my RSX earlier today, and I absolutely love it so far! Although I did lose my first drag race from a red light, but it was to a Maserati and I wasn't too far back, so I can't feel too bad about that.




Love the 8000 rpm redline!

Noiiice. Ive always liked that car.

Wow!!! Look in good shape.
My Toyota Matrix XRS is a 2011 and it has more chips on the front than this.

If I would have the money to change, I would go for a Mazda CX-5 2.5.

Congrats on the new (to you) Acura. I had one years ago that I bought with 100k mi on it and put about another 100k on, you couldn't kill that car. All you had to do was be faithful with the general upkeep and it ran like a champ. Damn I miss that car, good luck with yours.

Thanks guys! A couple of days into owning it now and I'm seriously happy with this purchase. It just feels so much more solid and well built than any other car I've owned before. Not to mention that it's an absolute blast to drive, plus totally practical for my needs as well.

Now I just have the fun of selling my VW to deal with. A guy I know is interested, so I'm being totally honest with him about its problems and have offered it to him at a reasonable price. I could probably eke a little more out of it on Craigslist, but who knows how long that could take and how many morons I'd have to deal with.

Can I be a dick? Volkswagens are my favorite.

Congrats on the new car, it's a nice feel.

Oh don't get me wrong, I like Volkswagens well enough too. Mine was a nice car, but it simply hasn't aged well. It has been very unreliable for a couple of years now and it is not particularly cheap to fix.

Yeah, I get that. I have to admit I have a high opinion of VW. Mostly because they're very enjoyable to drive. The smaller cars they manufacture are very neatly designed. In my experience, they are reliable and age rather well.

But again, the market here is very different from the US market. The two biggest selling brands here are not even available in the US IIRC. The best selling cars here are teeny tiny, like the Renault Clio, Peugeot 208 or Volkswagen Polo.

http://www.best-selling-cars.com/france ... nd-models/