am i askin for too much????

[surfer5567]

so ill give you a little back ground on myself. ive been in the tuner world since i can remember. ive always loved the gsx/tsi body styles. currently i drive a 01 dodge ram 1500 4x4 and a 06 ninja 636. winter is comin and even though it doesnt snow were i am at, it gets VERY cold and i work nights so ridin the bike is out of the question pretty much. now my truck gets 13mpg AT BEST. thats no bueno. so i have been lookin for a winter car that i can take to the snow, is fun, cheap and reliable. now im pretty handy with tools and around a car so i have no prob doin most maintnce which i here is a huge issue with dsm's. now my question is, is a awd dsm right for me? i mean here is what i am looking for:

-reliable
-cheap(under 10k)
-good mpg(over 20mpg)
-fast(someday will be a track car one i get more financialy stable)
-fun
-awd
-turbo
-able to take to the snow(i snowboard ALOT and have a few friends i take with me)

i know this is probably but im just lookin for some feedback. ive searched too alredy.

 

[JayRolla]

Reliable-if you take care of it
Cheap- yes
MPG-not the best but close to 20 or more, madders how you drive it.
Fast-not stock but they can be with a little money
Fun-AWD+turbo = FUN
Snow worthy-they are pretty good if you got the tires, street tires than of course not. I live in Colorado and used to work in a place that got some big storms. I remember I was bottoming out in snow drifts but the thing still pushed through them

So I say get one you will not regret it. Ive been in many cars and I liked the DSM the best. Still miss the burnouts of a Foxbody mustang though

 

[98evoIIIpwr]

agreed with him ^^^. Depending on how those items are prioritized a DSM would be good for you. Any car that you get for under 10k is probably not going to be the most reliable vehicle considering most cars in that price range are older. Well maintained, a DSM is just as reliable as any other car. Just be careful (if you get one) that you look over it in its entirety. Becuase they are sports cars that are turbocharged and awd they are usually abused and not well maintained. Thats the biggest factor in buying a used car, especially a sports car.

BTW I know how the 13MPG is. I drive an F-150 that I spend around 200 bucks a week on gas in. Luckily my company pays for it but still, uhh.

 

[surfer5567]

my ultimate goal for the car is going to be ~400hp, track, drag, daily drivin fun car that gets DECENT gas mileage. i mean as long as it has the POTENTIAL to get 20mpg im good to go. i have the will power to get that kind of mileage if i have to. i mean right now im struggling to get 12 in my truck. its just not fair...haha...anyway, ive been reading and re-reading what to look for when buying a used dsm and how much it will cost to fix one and i like the price on most. so what would my best bet be? 2g or 1g? im thinkin a 2g and swappin in a 6bolt down the road.

 

[MyBeatGSX]

-reliable -- ditto, if you take care of it, religiously

-cheap(under 10k) -- easily, should be well under that


-good mpg(over 20mpg) -- over 20mpg is pushing it. be happy with 20mpg on a modified car.

-fast(someday will be a track car one i get more financialy stable) -- they'll go as fast as your wallet can handle

-fun -- that's objective, I don't have much fun driving mine its a PITA. but I still like it.

-awd -turbo -- yup, yup and I wouldn't have it any other way. and neither will you when you buy one.

-able to take to the snow(i snowboard ALOT and have a few friends i take with me) -- you can take ONE friend with you comfortably, keep this in mind. The back seats are only useful for people (i.e. kids) well under 5'. My gf is 5' 1" and doesn't come close to fitting comfortably, my sister is 5' 7" and hits her head on the roof, no one else has attempted the back seats. Snow boards will not fit in the car with the back seats up. And if you do put people in the back seat, it requires pushing the front seats uncomfortably far foward to give them barely enough room to put their legs on the floor. Combine all this and you can see why I completely took mine out.

These cars aren't as good in the snow as you would expect for an AWD car. But not good doesn't mean not fun. They're a blast to go drifting in, they're very tail happy on the throttle and off the throttle. However they also take longer to stop than a freight train. As was mentioned, they're very low to the ground and you more often end up plowing the snow than driving over it. If you go somewhere with heavy snow and poorly plowed roads, the car will be undriveable. Just keep this in mind. I do live in New England and daily drive mine all through the winter (with UHP summer tires on mind you) without much drama, however we have an excellent DOT that never lets more than a few inches accumulate on the road. Just don't expect SUV like snow handling.

 

[surfer5567]

ya i had a 240sx for awhile and the back seat i would ASSUME is the about the same size and it was a PITA to sit back there. no fun. id probably leave the seat in though for just incase purposes.

 

[leet]

Jesus, you're going to make my ####ing brain explode.