Since my SE-R got totaled last week, I've been looking for a replacement car in between doctor visits.  So far I've looked at a few 05-06 mini cooper S's, 06 RSX Type S, Nissan Juke, and 2008 and 2010 mazdaspeed3s'.  So far the 08 mazdaspeed3 is in the lead.  It's about mid pack as far as price goes.  It has good power and handling.  Fit and finish seems good.  

Anything big I'm missing?  Anything I should look for, or look out for when shopping for one?

Thanks!

Justin

I was looking for some of the same cars on your list.  I really liked the Speed3. 

The minuses are few for that car IMO

1. red seats and fake red carbon fiber is lame
2. the "upgraded" Bose stereo will probably break and be rediciously expensive to fix

It's a really fun car but I ended up buying an 07 Civic SI because it cost less and fit the kids car seats and stuff a little bit better.   I would have bought used but used turbo cars scare me.  The general public has no idea how to properly shut down a turbo car.

Posted By yo vanilla on 10-29-2010 06:26 AM
Well to be fair about any modern OEM turbo car you can buy will have a watercooled turbo; as long as you aren't out flogging it at the track normal shut-down is plenty sufficient. It's a good point though, you'd still want your previous owner to be a little more particular about maintenance and operation with a car like this.

Agreed.

I'm no doubt alone amongst the members here in trying to poach cream puff cars from owners who no longer need them.

One such car will be going up for sale very soon.

Depending on where you live if you're willing to drive to Southern California the Mazda dealership in Carlsbad was willing to do a deal at MSRP. 

I would also check the dealership in Huntington Beach.  I could get you a contact person here.

oh good, i have someone to make fun of car salesmen with . i like the old model better as well. since you're in a pinch and can't find another one, have you looked for one of your other choices? 09+ WRX, or GTI perhaps?

Yeah, I hate car salesmen. There's a couple decent ones here, but most of them are scammers and we treat like garbage.

I've looked at a few RSX's and they were just too beat up. I found a few mini coopers, but they wanted over book for them, or they had lame interior colors. Not really feeling the newer WRX's, but I havent driven one yet.  And most of the GTI's out here are auto, and I don't feel like dealing with that transmission for possible track days.  Haven't found a clean, low mileage manual trans GTI fora  decent price yet either.

I'm just being too picky I guess... haha

I personally like the 2011 WRX's with the wider fenders and the dual exhausts (functional or not) out of all the cars you mention.  Funny enough all these car's have a reasonable resale value in the first couple years of ownership.  In my findings WRX private party owners are the most un-realistic about their car's resale value stating something like "rare turbo-charged model"

The VW will be hard to beat in terms of exterior and interior fit and finish but the suspension is a little squishy and the car rides on the bumpstops when pushed hard.

Being a former SE-R guy I would think the speed3 would be a great step-up car for you if you still wanted FWD.

I didn't drive the RSX but I would assume it's similar to the Civic SI I purchased.  The suspension and transmission are second to none in this class of cars.

I really wish car makers would realize that there's a big market for a sub 3,000lb car with RWD and 240 + hp.  I needed more than two doors so the Miata and S2000 were out.  Then I started looking at used BMW 330i's with the zhp package.  The big reason I didn't end up going this route was the a higher expected cost of maintenance for a German car vs. Japanese. Of all things even a older Cadillac CTS-V was on the radar.

Forgive me for stating the completely obvious that all these cars have their pluses and minuses.

Most car models seem to have grown in size and unfortunately weight.  The thing I find unforgivable for Spec-V is that over the years Nissan has killed the fun to drive factor.

Years ago I was invited to a BFGoodrich/Nissan track day with 350z's, Altima's and Sentra Spec-V's in three different stages stock, stage 1 Nismo parts and stage 2 Nismo parts.  The stock Spec-V was competent around the track but other than the rock hard brake pedal from the Brembo brakes there was nothing from the drivers seat that made me feel it was a special "performance" car.  The Spec-V was out classed and out gunned by every other car other than the 4 cylinder Altima.  Ironically behind the wheel of the Nismo stage 2  Spec-V with cams, suspension, headers, exhaust and intake the car was a total gem.  The stage 2 Spec-V had no problem blowing away the stage 2 350z on the short streets of willow road course.  My hat was off to the NISMO crew for all the awesome parts.

web.archive.org/web/20070711102128/...st05/rush/ (be paitent the internet archive is slow)

There's no denying the fun we all get by modifying cars but the Sentra keeps getting worse in terms of how many aftermarket parts are needed to redeem the car. The Civic Si or Mazda Speed3 despite getting fatter still feel like enthusiast cars.  When I drive a stock Spec-V it really feels like driving the same 4 cylinder that's in the Altima.  When you describe how a car "feels" its not really tangible and pretty subjective.  But I'm certainly not alone in my beliefs as the Spec-V doesn't even make it into the magazines anymore because its been unchanged and really brushed off by everyone including Nissan.