by "Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
Published 01/07/2017 at 21:40
by "Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
Published 01/07/2017 at 21:40
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STARS: 10
5. Makoto - 1998 Ford Escort zx2.
I hated this car, it was absolutely awful. It ended up in a ditch. I’m okay with that.
4. Camry - 2002 Toyota Camry
It was free to me. It was solid and reliable. It held a good number of people. Had cruise control. Point A to Point B. My father used to refer to it as his “poor man’s Lexus” before he gave it to me.
3. GA3 - 2000 Honda Logo TS
Roughly as powerful as the Honda Civic coming in at number 2 before it was tuned, most people with a passing knowledge of my work on Jalopnik already know a lot about this car and how far it has come since I picked it up for about $975. It’s a Honda Civic in a smaller body. But it’s still a D-series motor. It IS possible to put a VTEC head on it, it is also possibly to swap in a B or K series. There are examples of it being done in YouTube.
For all intents and purposes, it’s a Civic variant, even though it’s not called that, not identified as such, but it shares plenty of components with other Hondas, including having the three point leather wrapped steering wheel which can also be found some Preludes and in the DC2 Integra Type R. The design language of the lips and side skirts are pretty identical to the higher Civic trims and the automatic folding mirrors are the same as the Type R. It’s just a squashed version that also comes in 4 doors. It was the experiment that became, in 2002, the Fit.
I still have a lot of work to do on it, and unfortunately, living in Tokyo, I no longer have a real place to work on it. Sad. :/
2. Miyuu - 2000 Honda Civic hatchback
Did a lot of the work myself, did tons of modifications, think my choices as clearly shown for a modified Honda were rather sedate, except for maybe the carbon fibre hood... Got stripped in front of my house while I was sleeping. Used the money to buy number 1 on this list.
1. 3er - 2000 BMW 3-Series
Honestly, the 3er was the best vehicle I ever owned. It was mostly reliable, less so than the Camry, but unlike the Camry, was CPO and BMW covered the work. It was 240HP, Bose audio system, and so smooth. I want to point this out, for those of you in Texas, I bought this from BMW of Austin, and I was very happy with the sales part of it... And extremely unhappy with the service. As some things started to go wrong with the car, and I remind you this was a CPO, BMW of Austin eventually just “declined to honor the warranty for these repairs.”
Classic BMW in DFW (Plano, specifically, I think), swung into action and covered all my future problems from that point on. They even put one of their sort of calling card Texas flags on the back for free, and always treated me like I mattered just as much as someone who had not only bought the car from them in the first place, but just as well as someone who paid a hell of a lot more for their brand new best of everything model. I never, ever had to wait to be seen, I always got time with the head of the service department, I was always given a choice of beverages, I don’t think I ever heard a single “no” or “that might be difficult.” Just a “We’ll figure it out, and get back to you” or “we’ll send you regular updates and keep you in the loop.”
Although I got rid of the car after moving to Japan, I told Classic BMW that no matter where I ended up in the US, if that ever happened, my next BMW would be from them, delivery be damned. I would never even drink the coffee offered at BMW of Austin. Not only did they possibly lose a return customer (obviously at the time I got the 3er, I had no idea I’d end up in Japan), but they now have to deal with me repeating this to any other BMW fans.
"pjhusa" (pjhuskinja)
01/07/2017 at 21:49, STARS: 0
Have you owned 5 cars in total? Haha. The top 3 are solid choices, though.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 21:51, STARS: 1
That’s all of them. I have driven/leased half a dozen employer owned cars in Japan, mostly Kei cars, so I didn’t count those.
"MonkeePuzzle" (monkeypuzzle)
01/07/2017 at 21:53, STARS: 0
the EK is behind a bmw!? although, that gen 3 series is the best looking car BMW ever made
your opinion slightly differs from mine, we are enemies now
"MonkeePuzzle" (monkeypuzzle)
01/07/2017 at 21:53, STARS: 0
lol, kei cars, so small they dont count in a car history or for road taxes :)
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
01/07/2017 at 21:57, STARS: 0
How crazy expensive would it be to own that 3 series in Japan?
"MonkeePuzzle" (monkeypuzzle)
01/07/2017 at 21:59, STARS: 0
oh helloe s2k leather seats in the ek.
I REALLY like the all red. I opened this post again just to gawk at it :D
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 22:00, STARS: 0
Ranked sort of in terms of “best around vehicle for multiple points of ranking.” That BMW would easily smoke a lot of things with 240HP inline six and had a better suspension and had a better built in audio system and is a sleeper in that it looks like a totally ordinary 3 series, especially as I didn’t even change out the amber turn signals or alloy rims and neither did the original owner who asked for the better engine, suspension, and audio options, according to the sales records.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 22:01, STARS: 0
Yup. S2K seats. Honestly, I think even more then the hood or the lips, that’s what attracted the thieves. They were super easy to put in... and therefore super easy to take out. :(
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 22:04, STARS: 0
Not very at all! Unfortunately when I took ownership of the GA3, I hadn’t any real savings or means to buy anything much beyond about $1000. Now I’m in a different situation, as these or even newer E46s regularly go for only a few thousand dollars, often with inspection, BUT in order to buy and register a car in Japan you need to prove you have a parking space for it first. I had a parking space when I bought the GA3, but not money for much else. Now I have the money, but not the parking space. I can keep registering the GA3, but I can’t buy a new or additional car until I can prove I have my own parking space. The GA3 stays in a lot.
"MonkeePuzzle" (monkeypuzzle)
01/07/2017 at 22:12, STARS: 0
i really wish the s2k had a budget model with cloth seats. I love the design but dislike leather. and getting harder to find good condition ones regardless.
you ar probably right. every modified civic had hood and lips (although colour matching was rare), but the seats were unique an valuable.
truly shit that it was stripped!
"Party-vi" (party-vi)
01/07/2017 at 22:15, STARS: 0
240hp and a Bose system? Veeery confused here.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 22:19, STARS: 1
Thousands of dollars new, and not much less if used? Looks like ebay is telling be anywhere from about $800 a set to $1200 a set? I got them as they were coming out of someone’s S2000 for I think $600 total.
"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
01/07/2017 at 22:28, STARS: 0
An untimely demise: the fate of all Ek civics.
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
01/07/2017 at 22:28, STARS: 1
If you ever decide to change your car, let me know, I have full access to dealer auctions now so...
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 22:31, STARS: 1
Yes. This was NOT a stock 3-series. Well, not in terms of how it appears. Unfortunately, I don’t have the documentation (it went with the car), but my understanding at the time was that they were requests by the first owner and BMW did them. I had a discussion at one point with Tavarish about his own confusion, and after he asked me a serious of questions, he said he thought he’d figured out what had happened and what it was, but that was like a year or two ago, and we’d have to reproduce the conversation likely to explain. But it was definitely custom. Why do it on a 3 series? Why keep it boring on the outside? Who understands rich people? Five years later, he got something new, with new crazy demands, and I got it on the CPO.
It was INCREDIBLY fast. Like legitimately. Driving it home from the dealership, driving it the way I drove the Civic, meant I got up to 120MPH legitimately without noticing as I (most likely dangerously) fiddled with doo-dads and electronics. I only noticed when I flew by a cop and figured “I’d better slow down!” I really, REALLY had no idea I was going anywhere near that fast. It took a really massive adjustment.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
01/07/2017 at 22:35, STARS: 0
Get her an old Citroen! That’ll end well... >:D
With that said, you Japanese sure know how to take care of a car. God damn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any XMs nicer than the ones on Goo-Net right now.
I swear, if I ever import an old Citroen it’ll probably be from Japan.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 22:35, STARS: 0
I need somewhere to park it. Find me some spot out in Chiba where I can park it and work on it, and I’d consider something else, or something additional. There are no laws in Japan about owning multiple cars, as long as you have somewhere to put them.
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
01/07/2017 at 23:01, STARS: 0
Well, I’m thinking about renting a small hangar somewhere in the mountains for multiple cars (that would be in a few month though as I need to save money for something else right now)... That goes for cheap around here and I can store lots of stuff, for nearly nothing at all... 200$ a month and I can park 10+ cars if I want to. It’s by far the best solution for someone who wants to own multiple cars here...
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 23:10, STARS: 0
Problem is, how do you get there on foot if there’s no station nearby? This is my current quandary. I can’t afford to park a car in Tokyo. So wherever I do park it has to be accessible by walking from a station.
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
01/07/2017 at 23:13, STARS: 0
Oh, I thought you already have a parking spot for your Logo? no? Where is it now? I was refering to the multiple car thing... Once I’ll get 3 cars and more, I’ll rent a hangar in the mountain, along with a parking spot near my house, of course...
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 23:23, STARS: 0
There’s a parking lot next to my old apartment in Saitama that is about a five minute walk from the station for only 200 yen per day, and I can pay for multiple days in advance without moving the car. It’s run by an old man and has no formal ticketing system or gates or anything. Just pretty much the honor system. I can keep my car overnight at my apartment building in Tokyo if it’s obvious I have loaded or unloaded that day or evening. So since there is a Costco and an Ikea between the parking space and my apartment, I often schedule my payments to the old man to coincide with my large shopping trips, then my neighbors see me unloading all the Costco groceries, and I drive it back to Saitama the following day and take the train back.
About a week ago I tried cleaning it out and washing it in that temporary space after an unloading, and that was a bad idea. The neighbors seemed nosy and hostile. One lady was really passive aggressive, saying, “Oh, so your plates are such and such, and this car belongs to you, well you knooooow, parking spaces reserved for people here are like two or three man ($2-300) a month...” I got the message. “You shouldn’t be doing this in a temporary space, I’ve memorised your plate number, I already know which apartment you live in and who you are, if you want to do stuff like this in Tokyo, pay the outrageous rate and get your own damn space.”
....we have four spots. At that time, I was the only one who was even parked in one of them. But what are you going to do?
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
01/07/2017 at 23:36, STARS: 0
lol, how Japan and Japanese can be terribly annoying at times, in a nutshell :)
This is the main reason why I was very clear with my wife that we would not live in Tokyo, ever... Just too expensive for a simple car and you have to drive WAY too far to start enjoying yourself. We might move to Kobe in a few months, hopefully finding a little house at the bottom of mount Rokko, one of my favorite road in the country. I’ll pay certainly a bit more than what I pay now for parking (9000 yen a month at the moment, but I live right next to the city hall of my city...), but it should never reach outrageous Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto prices...
I read in your last post that you’re thinking about going back to Saitama anyway? You don’t want to look for places less... flat? :). Maybe a more driver oriented region of Japan?
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
01/07/2017 at 23:48, STARS: 0
Northern Saitama is home. It’s where my friends are, mostly. It’s where, if I want to teach in the public school system as a full time teacher, all of my career connections are. I have two schools, one which has pretty much formally offered, at which I can do my Japanese license student teaching, and the other is where I “graduated” from myself (long story, but it’s typical to go back to your own school for student teaching), and both are in that area. Also, I can get some pretty decently priced land which, as you say, is flat. Flatness is important when dealing with setting up a tiny house and parking spot or spots on my own land. Otherwise, I’d have to level an area out and be concerned about landslide or avalanche behind where I’d put the house. Unless maybe I built an earthship into the hill, but I’m not sure if that is legal in Japan. I know about the legality of a tiny house, however. Besides, Gunma isn’t THAT far from where I am thinking of settling anyhow.
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
01/08/2017 at 00:10, STARS: 0
Yeah, I understand your points... I grew up in a fairly flat area (albeit with good roads) and always wished I were living in the Alps or in the Pyrénnées when growing up, instead of Bretagne. Now that I have the opportunity to live in a country almost entirely made of mountains, I’ll jump on that haha.
Whenever I’ll decide to get my own house, I’ll go with modernizing something older (ideally even “traditional”) instead of building, like most japanese do... that solves the flatening problem...
"Party-vi" (party-vi)
01/08/2017 at 17:59, STARS: 0
cams and exhaust would do it. Very cool!