Originally posted by SVT PETE:
Being so cosmetically challenged, IMHO don't think it's worth fixing.



Thats about what I was afraid of

Originally posted by SVT PETE:

What's your "budget" for a used or new car?



varible? I dont have numbers for sure right now but I dont *want* to pay much more for a new car than I paid for my contour when I bought it (about $16,600) but can go higher if it is something I really like.

For a used car I would rather pay a few thousand less than the figure above.

When I bought the 00 tour my "budget" was 15K and I spent 16.6K and when I bought my first tour my budget was 10K and I spent 12K so I am not real good at sticking to my numbers and I always have wiggle room in my budget for a bit more car.

I want my car to be
1. Reliable - at least as much so as my contour
2. fun (got to AutoX it some )

As for some cars I like (some are out of my price range and are only included to give you and idea of what I like)

other suggestions are of course welcome as long as they are not SUV's or pickup trucks.

Contour - I think most people know that one
Mazda Miata
Mazda 6 or 3
Nissan 350Z (but get rid of those door handles)
Older style 5 door sabb's (hatchbacks)
Scion Tc (it look nice in pictures have not tried it out at all)
Mazda RX8 (need better gas mileage)
Mini (but I hear bad things about the windsheild cracking on them)
Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT (the new one)
Subaru 2.5 RS coupe (the old one around 99-00 I think)
I have a soft spot for old boxy volvo's like my parents used to have.

This car does not need to be practical very much.

I have another car to drive around for a little while I try to figure out what I am doing (it was going to be my fun car but I guess it will be the DD for a while)

I also need to figure out what to do with my old car since I am sure the garage will not like it sitting there for very long so any suggestions on that would be most helpful (or if anybody has a car trailer to tow it with) I dont know how far it will drive like it is right now. The noises kept getting louder the closer I got to the shop but it did get there under it's own power.

Beaten - 2003 MazdaSpeed Protege 29K <- broken hearted Daily/Weekend Beater - 1990 miata 138K - AutoX every weekend = Adult driven on weekends