Hey CL my girlfriend is looking into getting a newer car. She wants to spend under 10k and get something nice. I told her to get a 2gs and she said no because it was to big for her, and said why i can just drive yours lol... then i said you could get a 1IS and she said she likes it alot but doesnt want a rear wheel drive. She wants to get a 00-04 style RL which is nice and in the price range. she also likes 02-03 style tl's but if so she has to get a type s.. she just wants a 4dr car. right now she is driving a 5spd 99 prelude with a jdm h23a. she likes it but she wants something less sporty which is why she is leaning towards a rl. But now the problem is that she is really picky. Plus there arent alot of rls by me.. Whats another car that she could take into consideration? preferably a import. thanks for your help

 

last gen accord. it handles well, has a good interior, very reliable, and i had one.

 

no v6 automatic honda's!!! u'll regret it...

1IS is a great choice...but for FWD yur not going to get much desired options. Probably a G20 sport, Maxima SE or Jetta GLI maybe?

 

Lexus ES and done

/endthread

 

TSX or a ES330?

 

Well, the last gen RL is a pretty good car, but I'd take last gen ES over it. I don't know if you could find them for 10K in good condition though?

 

If she wants a used, non-sporting 4-door import in the $10,000 range, check out a Hyundai XG300/350 or Kia Amanti in the 2004-2006 range. You may have to hunt a little to find some good samples, as these cars were not very popular and did not sell new in large numbers. But, correspondingly, they have shown a lot of depreciation as a result, and 2005 models are listing at well under $10,000, even retail....less than that as a Private-Party Value (source: http://www.kbb.com). Since your GF likes bigger, plush, non-sporting cars, that's exactly what these two are. They have plush, wood-tone interiors, a lot of standard comfort/convieience features, and they ride/handle like Korean Buicks (the first-generation Amanti especially so, which understeers, plows, and rolls on corners like a beach ball). But they deliver luxury-car plushness and comfort at a mid-line, family-sedan price. The XG, according to Consumer Reports, was slightly more reliable than the Amanti....but both were in the generally average reliability category. Both are FWD with relatively large V6s, but at that time, Korean engines were not known for high power ratings.

Here's the XG and its interior:







You can, in some cases, also get some used FWD Hyundai Azeras (the XG's replacement) in that price range......some 2006 models list for roughly the 10-11K range. But, with the last Azera I reviewed, I didn't think its interior was as plush as that of the XG 300/350 it replaced, and the chassis/suspension showed more road noise.

 

Looks like another young lady that just wants to stick with Honda. She should be fine in a 4 door Civic or Accord. I would be wary Type-S cars b/c of the tragic tranny.

 

The Honda/Acura automatic trannies in the mid-sized cars were generally OK after about 2003 or so. Most of the problems were from '99-'03.

 

those are the years she'd be looking at under $10K.........

 

Yep........that's why I mentioned it. There is likely some risk involved....but of course, there is with any used car.

 

Mazda3 is always a good bet

 

If his GF likes the 1Gen RL (a Japanese Buick, in some ways), then the Mazda3 or Protege might be a little too stiff and sporty for her tastes.

 

Not sure why she would want a 1st gen RL unless she wants a huge trunk. Slow, underpowered, not great MPG, rides okay, looks bland, not really luxurious and is hardly a better car than a Camry or Accord. Then things will need fixing and it will cost more.

With a 10k budget I recommend something cheap that is cheap to maintain

 

Try to get a car as new as possible with the 10k budget you do not want some really old luxury car since with age comes problems regardless of how well it was maintained.