Help me decide my next car

[silver]

So for those who know me might remember that I had a nice black 2nd gen GSX. Well, a "nice lady" totaled it a couple of weeks ago (long story short, she had right of way but I KNOW she was speeding well over 15 mph over/not paying attention at the same time, so it's 75 me/25 her responsibility).

What's done is done, but now I need a car. My two current considerations consist of a new Yaris (hatch or sedan, w/e), or another AWD DSM. Question is, what would you do? You can all find what a Yaris looks like, but the DSM I've been looking at is my friend's 98 GSX.

75,000 miles, 1 owner, no rust. Everything about this car is immaculate, but he's decided that it's time to move on with his life and free up some assets. As a favor though he said he'd sell it to me for 8-9 grand. General mods are a fully built stroker (2.3L) engine, ACT2100 clutch, T3/04E 50 trim on a bolt on manifold, etc. etc. Only thing this car may or may not need is a tranny if I decide to get serious about it.

As of now it's flowing 52 lbs/min of air. For you non-turbo people, that's a retarded amount of airflow and is enough to support ~a450 whp when tuned. IIRC last time he dynoed it the car made 410 on a Mustang dyno, so there's more power to be made.

As for the Yaris, it's under warranty and gets ~40 MPG. I can't decide, so weigh in and let me know what YOU think.

 

[endlesszeal]

Get a Supra. You'll make 1000hp and run 13s all day.

Jk. Well it really depends on where you are. If you can afford to keep the DSM like maintaining it, probably more costly for insurance, more expensive gas, etc.... Or if you rather save money and put around in a Yaris and save money. The Fits arent too bad either?

If I wasnt in college and had extra money with a full time job, Id probably get the DSM and drive it like its stolen. But Im still in college with debt and low paying job, so Id take the Yaris right now.

 

[jeffie7]

I'd get anything other then those two cars

=)~

 

[micah]

with gas prices you can never really argue with 40 mpg

then again 400 awhp is nothing to smirk at ><

 

[silver]

You see my dilemma--one costs more to maintain and there's always the risk that something will break (all joking aside) even though they're fairly sturdy, the car's making ~2.5x stock power so that's to be expected. The other is less than compelling in, well, many ways.

As far as being in college--I hear ya, but between subsidized loans and generous parents I've been doing alright. They're covering the left over portion of undergrad--so I'll only be ~200,000 in debt after med school, instead of ~250,000!

 

[dveit]

Anything other than a DSM. So since your other choice is a Yaris, get the Yaris.

 

[boostedf22]

heard that dsm's require alot of maintance . Break all the time. I think it would be just another headache. Get the yaris.

 

[E_SolSi]

yaris FTW

 

[Seany-izzle]

Honda Fit FTW!!

If not that, the gsx is always a good idea. Is it the 4 bolt motor? The only thing id do to that gsx is get rid of those cheapo wheels and (if the picture is up to date) an fmic. call it a day.

 

[eg6sir]

Yaris..

 

[TurboMirage]

yaris

 

[Celerity]

These are two totally different cars !

I have the Yaris, and it's nice. Good economy, great daily use. The DSM is small, delicate and doesn't get the mileage.

But the DSM would be my choice. it's mint. But the cost shouldn't be over $6000 for a mint one. And Turbo AWD should be in the list of options.

 

[posol]

the yaris is a perfect college-time car.

 

[phyregod]

Bently continental GT.

Or a honda fit, either way.

 

[silver]

I've looked at the Fit as an alternative, but it's more expensive and I'm not a fan of the styling. Only things going for it are that it got better safety ratings and I like the interior more.

 

[Somnambulist]

GSX. With all those mods, it's a steal at 9k.

 

[Kanned]

I'm in a very similar dilemma, lol. My choices are completely different(including big mpg diff). You know you'll have more fun with the DSM, but factor in whether or not you have a convenient place/time to work on it and a vehicle you could borrow temporarily if something were to happen. If you don't have those options, I would go with the Yaris.

 

[silver]

As nice as the ///M would be, insurance would likely be more, it wouldn't be half as fast, and I'm too lazy to learn the ins and outs of another car.

Looks like I'm going with the GSX in the end, although it's ending up around 10-10.5 now. Mileage isn't as bad as he said either actually, it's in fact 20 local 24 highway (roughly the same as my old car). Apparently he really didn't think the car would be good for me and thus didn't really want me to buy it.

Most likely going up to Indianapolis/Auburn area to pick it up this Saturday in case anyone wants to meet up.

 

[Cashizslick]

As nice as the ///M would be, insurance would likely be more, it wouldn't be half as fast, and I'm too lazy to learn the ins and outs of another car.

Looks like I'm going with the GSX in the end, although it's ending up around 10-10.5 now. Mileage isn't as bad as he said either actually, it's in fact 20 local 24 highway (roughly the same as my old car). Apparently he really didn't think the car would be good for me and thus didn't really want me to buy it.

Most likely going up to Indianapolis/Auburn area to pick it up this Saturday in case anyone wants to meet up.

Buy my 240 and smoke that DSM.

13.426 second 1/2 miles FTMFW.


Jk, the dsm is nice, but may be a headache in the end. . .

 

[silver]

Thanks for the well wishing (I think that's what it is lol). I'm hoping this one will treat me as well as my old one did. Most that went wrong with that one was one blown fuse and some old wheel bearings. I'll probably make a thread in the other vehicles forum if/when I get it.