Oppo wisdom needed: $15-20k enthusiast daily drivers.

Kinja'd!!! "Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
03/07/2016 at 11:50 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!0 Kinja'd!!! 41
Kinja'd!!! Kinja'd!!!

I received some troubling news from the Infiniti dealer when I got my oil changed this weekend. Apparently my wheel bearings are starting to go and I *might* have a head gasket leak. Now - when I asked to speak with the tech, I was told that he was “out to lunch.” I didn’t believe it and I’m not sure about how imminent these issues are either.

I was told that my wheels wiggled when they were shaken by hand, and that upon listening to the bearings with a stethoscope, it sounded like they were beginning to fail. I didn’t get any info out of them about the “possible head gasket leak” as they put it, so I’m in the dark re: why they suspected that. The bearings certainly aren’t making any noise from the outside of the car, and my exhaust is neither white nor smelling like coolant... for now. Regardless I will probably have my local indie shop check out both of those things in the near future.

Kinja'd!!!

I love my Q45 but there are additional issues with it. The most prominent being that the dampers are totally shot and leaking, so there’s a nasty crash from the rear whenever you go over a bump. Unsurprising after 121,000 miles on a 17 year old, 4100 LB car, but still irritating and undoubtedly bad for the rest of the suspension components. I can remedy this with a $1200 coilover kit and additional $$$ for labor because swapping in coilovers requires welding; but do I really want to do that? No. This car cost $4400 and I’m loath to spend it’s entire purchase price on upkeep (I’m already $1200 in for new calipers, pads, and rotors.

Long story short, the car is in respectable shape for now, but that seems likely to change at any minute. Thus, I’m thinking about buying a new (to me) car. I’m tired of playing the sub 5k high mileage car game. So Oppo, what can you recommend for 15-20K?

Requirements/Notes (updated because they were too broad):

1. No more than 1-2k per year for maintenance

2. Absolutely no FWD

3. Absolutely no inline 4s

4. Nothing on the Takata airbag recall list. They are still making the replacements and I don’t want to deal with/worry about that. I know the chances of having an issue are very slim but hey I’m neurotic - that would fuck with me too much. Which sucks because that includes a ton of cars I’d buy otherwise -335i, 328i, Legacy GT, etc.

5. No SUVs

6. No wagons

7. Manual preferred, auto is only OK if it’s attached to a V8

8. V6s discouraged especially not Nissan/Infiniti

9. I’m a stickler about interiors - no leather no deal.

10. MPG is irrelevant

My shortlist:

- Genesis 4.6, amazing warranty, basically an upgraded version of the Q45

- Coyote 5.0 Mustang - mmmm V8s

- Z4 3.0 si

- NC Miata - breaks the I4 rule but I really like them...

The list of doom:

http://www.safercar.gov/rs/takata/taka…

Apparently necessary: Fi/Fo ST owners - please exercise a little restraint and just don’t comment if you’re going to be rude about my preferences and/or suggest something I clearly don’t want, as a couple people already have. This is Oppo, the safe haven for car guys of all shapes and sizes. Sometimes people simply don’t like what you like, and that’s okay. Like the Oppo handbook says: “don’t be a dick. Seriously, don’t be a dick.” It seems like whenever someone mentions a lack of interest in hot hatches on Oppo, the ST club immediately jumps down their throat. I’m sure you guys/gals are nice people otherwise, but when you do that you’re tarnishing the reputation of the ST community.


DISCUSSION (41)


Kinja'd!!! FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:00

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Personally, I’d take the Genesis. It may be not the prettiest thing around, but it does seem to be a nice daily driver all around.


Kinja'd!!! jariten1781 > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:03

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VMAX meets all the requirements.


Kinja'd!!! Schaefft > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:03

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Why not the 5.0l Genesis?


Kinja'd!!! Mercedes Streeter > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:04

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Well...*resists urge*

...Oh fuck it!

2016 smart fortwo: Cost: $13k-$20k

1. Maintenance is dead cheap, less than $1k a year, even if you put 44k on one in a year like I did. But out of warranty repairs, that’s what’ll get ya; provided you’re a “purist” who won’t get service from anywhere but an official dealer. Independents will be much cheaper for out of warranty stuff.

2. Rear engine, rear drive, 3-pedal manual.

3. Inline turbo 3. :P

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Kinja'd!!! djmt1 > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:05

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Your shortlist includes 4 very different cars. What do you actually want apart from it not being a hot hatch?


Kinja'd!!! jjhats > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:05

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G37?

Im too lazy to look up the takata thing but that is a really stupid reason to cross out what im sure is a huge number of awesome cars. also I really think you should try out a hot hatch as its dumb to cross off something for what I imagine are pre conceived notions about power delivery and handling. focus st are very cheap and awesome used cars with cpo warranty so budget less than 1k for one of those in maintenance.


Kinja'd!!! DrScientist > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:11

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the next biggest requirements you need to ask are...

4 door?

4 seats?

4 usable seats?

if you have any serious requirements on these questions, you can begin to narrow your search significantly.


Kinja'd!!! fourvalleys > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:14

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Why exclude FWD and I4? If you’re looking for a fun DD, that’s the perfect recipe.

The Fiesta ST is the most fun daily driver I’ve found, no question. I came from a BRZ and a Miata - it isn’t even a comparison.

Besides being an absolute riot, the Fiesta is cheap, pretty easy to work on, and reliable. They’re capable at the track, and if you’re into autocross or ice racing, they’re incredibly competitive at both.

Here’s one on eBay with a rebuilt title for $11k. The damage wasn’t too bad . Sure, it’s FWD. But it’s one of the best-driving FWD cars ever made - and you can get it sideways incredibly easily. No donuts, but oh well. You’d have enough left over to buy a Miata anyway :-D

Having said all that, I’d be hunting for an E46 M3 - but also preparing for maintenance costs.


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > Mercedes Streeter
03/07/2016 at 12:14

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LOL I knew I’d get “couldn’t resist” responses but I didn’t expect this one


Kinja'd!!! Autohaus Derp > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:15

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I’m currently looking for something around $15k. My shortlist so far is;

05-09 Mustang GT (cant find any coyotes around me on that budget)
NC Miata
04-07 WRX
Saabaru
986 Boxster (yay IMS failures!)
350Z

I don’t need a remotely practical car, so if anything that counts against the Scoob/Saab


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > DrScientist
03/07/2016 at 12:16

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That’s the problem! I don’t... single with no kids.


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem
03/07/2016 at 12:17

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Yeah it’s hard to ignore the value - and I actually like the way it looks. You can get one with less than 50k miles for 16ish


Kinja'd!!! cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:17

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Might have ahead gasket leak? Head gaskets go or they don’t. Is it spewing white smoke and losing coolant? No? Then relax. Dealers always spook people into buying cars.


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > djmt1
03/07/2016 at 12:17

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I have pretty broad tastes. I should update the requirements. I just want to be happy when I get in my car in the morning.


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > Autohaus Derp
03/07/2016 at 12:18

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Yeah I don’t need anything practical either. And hmmmm boxters I forgot about those


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
03/07/2016 at 12:18

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Right. I think this was some Grade A spooking here. Fuckers...


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > Schaefft
03/07/2016 at 12:19

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Hard to find! And 375 horsepower from the 4.6 will already make me shit my pants


Kinja'd!!! Autohaus Derp > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:23

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That said I doubt very much that the Porsche would be able to do under $1,000/year in maintennance!


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > Autohaus Derp
03/07/2016 at 12:29

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2k is fine! Those engine out services though...


Kinja'd!!! LongbowMkII > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:34

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If you like big Japanese sedans I think either a Lexus GS or LS would fit the bill. I don’t know what early is-F’s are worth these days, so maybe that too.


Kinja'd!!! FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:36

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That’s really good value


Kinja'd!!! Autohaus Derp > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:48

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Yeah right! I think that is a good reason to roll the dice on a 10-12k car personally, so you have that safety net of a few k in pocket. Hell, I have seen cars with 70k miles for as little as $8k. That said, the garage queens are apparently the ones most prone to issues.


Kinja'd!!! Montalvo > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:55

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While I definitely can see where you are coming from with #4 they are practically in everything I like so...

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Once they do roll out with a fix though a 335i is probably where you can get the best of all worlds.


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > Montalvo
03/07/2016 at 12:55

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Yeah I love E90s and HATE that they’re on the list. Ugh.


Kinja'd!!! OPPOsaurus WRX > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:57

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Kinja'd!!! Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 12:58

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Cadillac ATS or CTS

Infiniti G37


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/07/2016 at 13:04

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I love Subarus and I’ve driven one of these, it was a ton of fun. But my god is the interior awful. And they’re SO overpriced too! I totally would if the interior wasn’t offensive


Kinja'd!!! OPPOsaurus WRX > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 13:29

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the interior was pretty simple, couldn;t have cared less.


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/07/2016 at 13:37

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yeahhh I wish I wasn’t such a stickler about that. I love the new WRX and I can see myself in one of those in the future, that’s for sure! Best looking one yet I think, both inside and out


Kinja'd!!! Montalvo > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 13:43

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Yeah, it makes the roundel on my steering wheel more menacing than usual.


Kinja'd!!! ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 14:27

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If a car was on the Takata list but fixed, would that still bother you? That really does limit your options.

Have you considered an E60 535? Twin turbo, plenty of power, enthusiast following, 6 MT, and plenty of room. Maintenance can get pricey but if you keep up on preventative stuff you’ll save yourself some headaches.

Hope you find something cool though. On your short list I’d opt for the Z4.


Kinja'd!!! ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback > Autohaus Derp
03/07/2016 at 14:31

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If you don’t need AWD, then go for the 350z. Have you considered a Legacy GT, or Outback/ Forester XT? I know they’re practical, but they’re also a lot less likely to be abused and modified. And they’re somewhat hard to come by.


Kinja'd!!! JR1 > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 14:35

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Thought about a Cadillac STS-V or CTS-V? What about a Pontiac GTO? Might be able to sneak in Shelby GT as well


Kinja'd!!! Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/07/2016 at 14:55

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“I was told that my wheels wiggled when they were shaken by hand,”

That’s how you test ball joints and tie rods, not wheel bearings.

So I judge this ‘replace wheel bearing’ recommendation to fix wiggly wheels to be idiotic.

If you’re getting a ‘train going down the tracks’ sound when your car is in motion, THEN you probably need to replace either your wheelbearings or a tire with a broken belt.

And unless you’re having to top up the coolant regularly and/or you’re seeing white smoke and/or the car is overheating, if you do have a leaky headgasket, the leak is so small that it’s not worth worrying about.

But I will agree with one thing... their tech is definitely ‘out to lunch’.

Given the age and other minor issues, I say you should keep driving your current car and just keep doing the maintenance.

Drive the thing until it dies and stop taking it to the dealer for service.

They’re just trying to up-sell you.


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback
03/07/2016 at 15:13

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Nope I’d love it if it was fixed - but as far as I know they’re still rolling out some of the airbags. For example if I bought a 335i, I could get the DS bag done but they haven’t even made all of the PS side bags yet.

Coincidentally I just did a search for m/t 535is - they aren’t on the takata list but there weren’t any manual examples near me. The Z4 would be fun and if I could find a Z4 3.0si coupe I’d be ecstatic. There is actually only one in my area and it’s the right price... I bet it will be gone soon though


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
03/07/2016 at 15:15

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Yeah I agree with everything you said; hoped the tone of my post conveyed that I wasn’t taking their “advice” too seriously. I’m not one to take everything dealership techs have to say seriously, that’s for sure. Thanks anyway though!


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > JR1
03/07/2016 at 15:17

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CTS-Vs are actually surprisingly expensive, not the best value - STS-V isn’t really my style, thanks tho!!


Kinja'd!!! Autohaus Derp > ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback
03/07/2016 at 15:52

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I had considered an LGT, I stuck to the WRX mostly because of aesthetics, and practicality isnt really a priority. AWD is a nice to have but not essential. I have a company vehicle as DD, which is an SUV.


Kinja'd!!! BLCKSTRM > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/08/2016 at 00:00

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Why no M3?

E46s have likely had the airbag done already. E36s aren’t on the list, and you could get a helluva sorted, upgraded E36 M3 for $10-12k.

I average $2k / year, roughly evenly split between maintenance and upgrades. If you bought one already upgraded, you could keep it around $1k easy enough. But then again, I do all my own work. But then again, I just rolled 204k miles today, so I guess that’s to be expected.

But it’s been fantastically reliable. No catastrophic failures, lots of notice as worn parts start to fail. So many write-ups on anything and everything - unmatched tribal knowledge, arguably the most extensive support community there is.

Either way you go, easy to daily drive. And such a perfect car (either one).


Kinja'd!!! Amoore100 > Noah - Now with more boost.
03/14/2016 at 22:45

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This meets your requirements, barely.

Maintenance? Eh, sure, I guess...it’s newish?

Not technically FWD, but by all accounts it is, with the rear wheels just doing whatever the hell they please

IT HAS A V8, THAT’S DEFINITELY NOT AN I4!!!!

Nope, Volvo has their own airbag supplier

Wow, look, it’s not an SUV (thank the lord)

Eh, it’s a wagon without the wagon, so that makes it not a wagon?

It’s an auto, BUT V8!!!!

V8 =/= V6 but if you want they come with I6 (but that breaks the V8 with auto rule so no but at least it’s not a VQ)

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Leather? Yes. Boringest interior designed since 2005? Yes. Most beige in an interior since forever? Yes. You can get black, but it still comes with added beige.

Bwhahaha what is fuel economy.

Everything above is irrelevant because this happens when you chop off the exhaust pipe:

So yeah, probably not the car for you unless you really want a giant Swedish Camry with a V8. Perhaps a more recent Lexus LS is a better bet?


Kinja'd!!! Noah - Now with more boost. > Amoore100
03/15/2016 at 07:42

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Lol! Yeah I love S80s and I’ve seen that video!