If you do recall. . .

"whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU" (whiskey-business) 02/28/2015 at 16:15 • Filed to: None

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From a previous post of mine I mentioned that my father has not been interested in cars for some time now. Despite having some Jalop cred when younger, (MK1 Rabbit, Fiat 124 Sedan, etc.) his car history has been bleak as of late. However, that seems to be all changing, and he is asking me for advice on his next car. His current whip, a 2001 Mercury Sable, is on its last legs, and he's come to realize that even the newest vehicle in our family fleet has over 100k on the clock. He doesn't want to spend over $20k, and he wants something more "sporty." He has expressed interest in MK6 GTI's, a Mazdaspeed 3 for sale locally, the beloved FoST and a manual Fusion SE, among others I have suggested. Is there anything else in the 4-5 seat, manual, and used under $20k market that I have left out?

As a side note, I am tremendously proud of him for, despite wanting something practical, looking at cars that have a fun factor. Maybe they'res hope after all.

Pictures of his car history off the top of my head. (Not actual pictures.)

Roadster Man > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 02/28/2015 at 16:17

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Does it have to be FWD? You could get a SWEET low-mileage E36 M3 for significantly less than that. Even a sedan too if practicality is a concern.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > Roadster Man 02/28/2015 at 16:20

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While he is not excluding RWD and AWD cars from the search, he does prefer FWD. And he isn't wild about any of the German stuff due to the increased maintenance costs often associated with them. That's a great idea though!

My citroen won't start > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 02/28/2015 at 16:23

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Audi S4.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > My citroen won't start 02/28/2015 at 16:25

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I'll definitely suggest it!

Roadster Man > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 02/28/2015 at 16:26

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Try to explain to him that E36 BMW's are practically lego kits, and the M3 is no exception. I've got first hand experience working on my friend's E36 M3 (just hit 220K miles), the whole thing comes apart with a few different sized sockets. Any shade-tree mechanic can work on it for you and parts are cheap nowadays, especially when compared to modern cars. For like $12k you could get a great example and have money in the repair fund (because let's be honest).

The Mazdaspeed 3 is a pretty good idea too.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > Roadster Man 02/28/2015 at 16:33

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Ill try to convey this! Hopefully our mechanical project this summer will be a motivation to wrench himself.

505Turbeaux > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 02/28/2015 at 16:39

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I spent my morning convincing my wonderful lady that a Golf Country or a Peugeot 505 Dangel is a fine replacement for her WK Grand Cherokee

MysticStick > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 02/28/2015 at 16:40

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Oh man I had a friend that got one of the Shelby Chargers in '86 or '87. I remember riding shotgun the day after he got it... It has just occurred to me that your Dad might be my friend from long ago, but I see no 79 fox body mustang pace car in his list. Which brings me to my suggestion: Mustang (SN95 or SN197). Although a FiST or FoST would be excellent choices.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > MysticStick 02/28/2015 at 16:42

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Nope, as far as I know he had no Foxbody :'(. And he was just talking about how much he like the new Stang. . .

Funktheduck > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 02/28/2015 at 16:58

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I got my 2015 mazda3 for $20k. If he wanted the sedan instead of the hatch like mine that would save quite a bit. He could get a good deal on a 2014 or used.

Not as peppy as the speed3, GTI, or FoST but great on gas.

duurtlang > 505Turbeaux 02/28/2015 at 17:13

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Ha! Good luck with that.

Hiroku > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 02/28/2015 at 17:19

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How about a V70R? Not sporty in the same sense as a GTI but should still be quite fun.

A relatively low mileage manual one should leave a few thousand spare for any maintenance needed. Bonus points for retaining some practicality and comfort for family trips.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > Hiroku 02/28/2015 at 23:15

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I think you might have a winner.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > Funktheduck 02/28/2015 at 23:16

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He'd go for the hatch for sure, and the regular 3 might be a good medium between sporty and practical.

Funktheduck > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 03/01/2015 at 00:02

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It's a great car so far. Put 18k on mine. Needs better tires. It's equipped with the Bridgestone Ecopias and there's a noticeable difference in grip when really pushed between those and the Bridgestones on my gf's 2012 3. When they're dead I'll go to something different.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > Funktheduck 03/01/2015 at 00:06

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Well, I'd assume the average Mazda5 buyer isn't as concerned with grip as you are. Is yours manual?

Funktheduck > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 03/01/2015 at 00:11

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Yup. 6 gears of fun. My gf has the auto and it's quite good as well. It gets pretty spot on with EPA highway and I usually do better for city. Lifetime average is 35.4 mpg

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > Funktheduck 03/01/2015 at 00:14

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That's incredible, my FoWag has the soul sucking 4-speed auto and gets low 20's mixed.

Funktheduck > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU 03/01/2015 at 00:20

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I've been bummed because the winter mix has made my average drop a little. Then I remember my truck is lucky to hit 15 mpg. It's funny how that works.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > Funktheduck 03/01/2015 at 00:26

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Its all relative haha.