What car is best in these catergories?

Speed
Overall (including price)
Interior

Choices:

Nissian SE-R Spec V
Nissian SE-R
Nissian Sentra 1.8 S
Mazda3 S 4-Door
Mazda3 5-Door

(All cars are manual)

 

Probably the V-Spec, but who really cares.

 

I do cause I'm getting one of those cars.

 

You could probably get a Mazda 6 with 220 HP V6 for less than $20K. I would get that over the 3 personally.

 

I would like to but I was told it was over my budget, so it's basically out of these choices and I'm trying to see which car is best.

 

I wouldn't get any of them, but if I had to get one it would be any of the 3's.

 

the se-r's are really bad. My friend has one and it is very unreliable. he's had alot of problems and its very uncomfortable. i honestly wouldnt get any of those cars. id get the mazda 5 out of those choices, but with that money id get a reliable commutable civic or a tacoma

 

I used to have an 02' SER SpecV.
It was the first production year but it only really had one problem: the transmission. It was replaced twice, after that everything was fine.
I took the car to the drag strip and ran 15.0 @ 90.9 stock.
So I would expect it to be a little quicker than the mazda.
The SpecV will probably handle better from the factory, but the mazda has a better suspension design.

The mazda 3 will definitely be a nicer ride (inside & out) and probably slightly higher quality. And the the specV will be slightly faster, but ive heard that the 2.3l I4 in the mazda responds well to mods.

 

Haha, for 15k you could pick up a 3rd gen rx7, since speed and interior seem to be your only buying considerations.

 

There's NO question - the Mazda3 is by far the best of those you listed. Pretty much every review says the same thing - the Mazda3 also beats out the Civic and Corolla, and anything else in the Compact class.

4 door or 5 door? It really depends on what YOU want.

Regards,
Gordon

 

why don't you have the MazdaSpeed Protege on that list??? if you can find one, i'm sure you can get a pretty good deal (right at MSP) since the model line is being discontinued...

the interior and gearbox (oh god, what an awful clunker that thing is) of the SE-R Spec V just suck, seriously suck, and the motor is... well, just not really tons of fun. it's kinda fast, but it's kinda bleh looking too.

for my dollar, i'd definitely go with a new Mazda 3 over a regular Sentra, or the MazdaSpeed Protege (which comes with a wicked stereo that the SE-R Spec V doesn't have either) and a nicer (turbo!) motor.

 

I think you can get the Mazda 6 Sedan for under $20K... Right now there is a $1,500K dealer incentive in my area, making a negotiable price under $20K very possible, plus the rebates are likely to balloon up to around $2,500 by Summer (as they did last year).

Check www.edmunds.com for rebate info.

 

Heres my advice...
DON"T BUY A NEW CAR ITS A WASTE OF MONEY!

For the kind of money you are going to spend you could get a REALLY NICE used car. Hell, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had 10k-15k to spend on a car. I would either get a Turbo II, a 3rd gen, or a 93 up supra. If you absolutely have to get a new car and it has to be one of those then I would go for the 3 in either form.

 

I would NOT recomend that car unless you have a reserve bugdet for maintainence. They can get really expensive really fast.

As for the cars on you list, I would go with the 3. Which bodystyle is up to you depending on what your needs are.

 

Well... I'm guessing he will have to finance and he's not getting any more than a 24 mo. financing on a Supra and might have a hard time getting any financing on a Turbo II. Thos are also cars that are not cheap to fix, and the Turbo II and FD like to be fixed regularly. Plus, insurance will be outrageous.

 

If you ever buy a Nissan, its like giving your money away, Nissans are horrible cheap made cars, dont ever ever ever ever ever even try to buy a Nissan.

Now, the Mazda 3 is worth your money, it gives you more for your money, the Interior is like BMW interior and the exterior is nice.

 

 

Let me just gently remind you and the others in this thread of something... YOU HAVE NEVER OWNED A CAR AND YOU CAN'T EVEN FREAKING DRIVE!

DX, many many Nissans are well made and reliable cars, don't listen to this nonsense.

 

get the 3

 

Well I'm guessing the overwhelming population says the Mazda3, so this Sunday I'm going to the dealership to try it out and make final decisions. Thanks alot guys.

 

The problem with the three is that in a year or two, it will be offered with big rebates and it will deprecaite like crazy. Why bother with it when you can buy a Focus SVT with a $3K rebate + closer to invoice in the first place. You would save around $4K on a car with similar levels of refinement and performance. You should at least test drive it... If you like it as much as the 3 or better, you might save 25% on your purchase.

If you were buying in an year, the 3 might be worth it but right now it is not a good deal.

 

While my friend has had some minor problems with her SE-R sentra, I can vouch for the quality of Nissan products. My girlfriend just gave away her 87 nissan stanza with 215,000 miles on it that still runs perfectly. Engine and transmission have never been touched on that car and to me that indicates good build quality. Compare that to a ford or GM that you would be lucky to get 100,000 out of without an engine rebuild or new tranny. Buying a brand new car is just such a waste of money when you could get a 2-3 year old car (even certified pre-owned) that has already lost the bulk of its resale value. Better alternatives would be the SVT focus, Mazdaspeed Protege (my vote), RSX, maybe even a SRT-4 neon if you can stand the looks and interior. All I'm saying is you get MUCH more for your money when you buy (even slightly) used. New cars are for suckers with too much money.

 

Oh come on, that is ridiculous. I've owned plenty of Fords and GM and none of them had to have rebuilded engines or transmissions before 100K miles. It might happen sometimes but it is a joke to imply that that is the norm.

 

True, buying a new car is not a sound financial idea, but at least you get the latest saftey and technology, plus a warrantee. These can save you big bucks over the course of 3 or 4 years. The other thing about buying new is well, IT'S NEW! nothing like a NEW car - Nothing!