I dont really have any negative opinions about cars sorry...
To me, even my 87 Toyota corolla was cool - that things was an un-dent-able tank, none of this automatic gears, power steering or powered windows crap that you see kids learning to drive in these days...
If you're looking for a good mid range car that you SHOULD look into however, then an 08 Mazda 3 hatch is the bombdizzle, plus you could prob pick up a nice cheap Maxx or MPS secondhand.
09+ look kind of shiz, plus the build quality (interior, etc) looks a bit cheap with all the crappy plastic - that said, the newer models have more goodies in them than the old ones.
I have put my 08 Maxx through hell and back (driven from one side of Aus to the other, off roading, wanna be rallying, beach campouts, -5°C/+40°C heat) and yet she's still going strong :D
One negative tho, is that over 80km's the road noise gets a little loud, so you just have to make sure you crank that music up.
98-02 Honda Accord automatics
I loved my sedan and had only one problem:
The auto trannies on these will* fail. Mine failed at 45k, was replaced under warranty with another trans that started making noise and turned out to be failing again within days and got replaced again, I then did a 5spd swap and sold the auto to a guy who's trans failed and he hit me up a couple months later saying it was slipping on him.
5spds are awesome and have basically no issues
I have had personal experience with that; my recently replaced Honda Prelude had the 4 speed auto gearbox (tiptronic); it first went at around 110,000 km's and it needed a number of parts replaced including the casing and a very hefty bill; it went a 2nd time at around 150,000 km's and after trying for a few months to find a reasonably priced way to get it back on the road I gave up. The engine also had to be replaced when a screw holding the timing belt tensioner broke and my mechanic reckoned it would be cheaper to replace the whole thing rather than do a rebuild.
I have replaced it with a Saab 2007 2.0T Saab 9-3 convertible that I bought with 24,000 km's on the clock (dealer verified) that so far runs like a dream (at least the first 3,000 km's I have done on it. I never liked drop tops but after 3 years and 37,000 km's on my CBR I could not think of having a closed car anymore
Last edited by Paveran; 11-11-2012 at 08:43 AM.
Reason: Added pictures
