Looking for a new car... Opinions?

My parents have a 2003 G35 sedan and it's been a fantastic car. No mechanical issues whatsoever. I think the only thing that had to be fixed was about $500 to replace the wiring/electronics for the center stack. I guess that issue is common on the 03 model.
 
Rei86 said:
It's a joke from South Park and a few other show when chest thumping about 'America'
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I'm not trying to upset this forum's "pretty civil/nice-nice" (as it's been called) platform; but, I would never be involved in any joking or misspelling of America...in any shape or form. When it happens, I personally take it as an insult.

I was even made in America and, grateful for that. Therefore, I am an American and will always be "thumping my chest" about the GREATEST country in the world...America and, all it has to offer!! {It's really a shame a lot of the products offered today can't say the same}.

Because the OP lives in America, he has the right to choose any vehicle he desires...when, where,and how.

I just prefer those vehicles whose Corporations/manufacturers, no matter the brand, keep their profits in America and employ American workers. IMHO, the opposite's full impact has yet to be realized by many!


Sorry OP, I'm done with this hi-jacking of your thread. I wish you well in selecting the vehicle of your choice. :)



Bob. And, once again let me shout it to the rooftop...glad to have been.....
 
flyinion said:
+1 on an Infiniti G series. We have a few sedans that follow us on our drives full of 3xxZ's and G3x coupes and the sedans keep up in the corners and straights pretty well. If I needed a 4 door car I'd definitely consider one. Shouldn't be too bad of a price used. I did a quick search for certified pre-owned price on Kelly Blue Book's website and a 2007 mid-trim package with a couple upgrades came at as 26K. You could probably find cheaper for sure if you're open to used.
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Only negative I have with the G series is the gas mileage. Loved the G35 Coupe when it finally came out in the USA but good lord did not expect the gas mileage to be so awful...like 90s Turbo era awful.

FUNX725 said:
....
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/Hijack, I don't come on these forums to offend anyone and most of the time hear to learn from others but just a few things rubs me the wrong way. Yes this is America and the OP has the right to pick and choose any car, and I hope when he does make his purchase he shares it with us. I share the same views as you do but when you get out its not that simple.

Some of the crap that people say about "import" brands because it's not wearing GM, Ford, or Chrysler badge is just insane. I've found one detailing board to go so overboard that I rather not post their at all or even view any of their material (also goes to a few ignorant car forums that I just don't visit anymore if at all because of the lies and ignorance). I like AG being that its such a neutral zone that its relaxing to just enjoy the forums from time to time.

Also I support USA made goods but its just not clear cut when it comes to the auto manufactures. I have my own personal views of companies like GM and Chrysler that I won't go into. But for me it's always baffled me why such a company has survived for so long at being so bad and why it took them so damn long to produce even a marginally good product besides the niche items.

So just to end it, the next Hyundai/Kia car you see was most likely built in the USA, by American's, in the state of Alabama, most likely from city of Montgomery/Birmingham. (and yes Kia has a manufacturing plant in West Georgia with them expanding in the coming years to manufacture more in the USA instead of importing vehicles from South Korea).

Sorry OP.
 
Rei86 said:
Only negative I have with the G series is the gas mileage. Loved the G35 Coupe when it finally came out in the USA but good lord did not expect the gas mileage to be so awful...like 90s Turbo era awful.
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LOL well I'm not sure about the specs on the sedan (haven't looked in a long time) but the coupe is essentially, as one of our club members put it the other day, a 350/370Z with two extra seats and a nicer interior. The engine is the same though so yeah gas mileage is in the dumps if you don't drive it like you're worried about breaking it. I don't know offhand the engine specs on the sedan though.
 
The Hyundai Sonata Turbo is fairly quick and gets us around 32mpg - we drive mostly on the highway with a little city driving. In the SE trim package, the performance is very sports car like, but you give up some of the luxury features of the Limited.

If you have the chance, take a '11 Sonata Turbo SE for a test drive. The car gets a 6.5 second 0-60 and has 274hp. The car does not have that 6 pr 8 cyl torque right off the line, but after the engine gets past 2.5-3k rpm, the turbo has spooled up enough to make acceleration quite strong for a mid-size car and do not take my word for it as we have not tested it, but I have heard from a few sources that there is no speed limiter on this specific model.

Hyundai also has a fairly strong performance aftermarket. There are already quite a few places selling performance parts for the '11 Sonata Turbo.

When my wife and I bought our '11 Sonata Turbo, we were quite surprised to find that a majority of the car was built in a part of central NJ that was about 10 minutes from where we both grew up.
 
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michael13 said:
The Sonata Turbo is fairly quick and gets us around 32mpg. In the SE package, the performance is sports car like, but you give up some of the luxury features of the Limited.

If you have the chance, take a '11 Sonata Turbo SE for a test drive.

When my wife and I bought our '11 Sonata Turbo, we were quite surprised to find that a majority of the car was built in a part of central NJ that was about 10 minutes from where we both grew up.
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How much boost does it put out?

My problem with these new "turbos" are they don't put out enough boost which render them useless. Buick Regal w/turbo, Chevy Cruze w/turbo, Hyundai Sonata w/turbo, Kia Optima w/turbo, etc. If you want a car with a turbo, get a WRX or a GTI. Something with proven power to back it up. All these new cars with turbos are using them as selling points because car companies are in what I call "turbo wars" now.
 
fancyfootwork said:
How much boost does it put out?

My problem with these new "turbos" are they don't put out enough boost which render them useless. Buick Regal w/turbo, Chevy Cruze w/turbo, Hyundai Sonata w/turbo, Kia Optima w/turbo, etc. If you want a car with a turbo, get a WRX or a GTI. Something with proven power to back it up. All these new cars with turbos are using them as selling points because car companies are in what I call "turbo wars" now.
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These are the green initiative turbo cars...

While the likes of BMW is switching to smaller engines with turbo for performance in the M series these cars are different. In that they are offering you some sort of performance with a smaller engine without the drawbacks of losing out in the bigger engine.

I hardly call any of this "turbo" wars.
 
The engine has 17.4 psi of boost and I have heard of it being increased by a decent percentage with aftermarket parts.

For some specs and a fairly accurate review, check out the Edmunds Inside Line Review of the car.

I have to admit at this point - I should have said it sooner - that I do not have a DL as I am legally blind. I developed this disability 3 or 4 years ago. I am 33 now and had quite a few years of driving experience before developing my disability. My wife is quite a spirited driver at times, and I can feel the cars performance through her driving and I have to say that the combination of MPG and performance is impressive to us
 
A friend of mine just bought a 2006 BMW 750Li with 58k miles for $29K...Saab is a nice car (so is Jaguar, Land Rover), I kinda like it, but I would NOT pay more then $10k for one...why? Because of it's huge depreciation...I would check (test drive) Acura (TSX, TL, RL), Lexus, Infiniti, as well as some german cars (Audi, VW, Mercedes, BMW)...
And although styling on new Hyundai/Kia has really improved, they will never provide road hugging feeling you get in german cars...
 
michael13 said:
The engine has 17.4 psi of boost and I have heard of it being increased by a decent percentage with aftermarket parts.

For some specs and a fairly accurate review, check out the Edmunds Inside Line Review of the car.

I have to admit at this point - I should have said it sooner - that I do not have a DL as I am legally blind. I developed this disability 3 or 4 years ago. I am 33 now and had quite a few years of driving experience before developing my disability. My wife is quite a spirited driver at times, and I can feel the cars performance through her driving and I have to say that the combination of MPG and performance is impressive to us
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17.4lbs? I think that may be what it CAN do. It probably boosts to 4-5lbs and can be tuned to that high. I feel the internals aren't made to handle that much power.

Hey, don't get down on yourself for being blind. None of us care if your deaf or handicapped either. As long as you like detailing and cars it's all good! Im the MAN
 
nissan altima brand new. a kia is still a kia and a hyundai is still a hyundai.
 
fancyfootwork said:
17.4lbs? I think that may be what it CAN do. It probably boosts to 4-5lbs and can be tuned to that high. I feel the internals aren't made to handle that much power.
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No turbo car made right now puts out that little of boost. Most all are in the range of 12-14 lbs.

Boost psi is also not an end all, be all, number. You can have a large turbo making 12 lbs and a smaller turbo making 18 lbs, but the volume of air that the larger turbo is pushing at only 12 lbs can easily exceed what the smaller turbo is capable of at 18 lbs.

Make sense?
 
SRTSean said:
No turbo car made right now puts out that little of boost. Most all are in the range of 12-14 lbs.

Boost psi is also not an end all, be all, number. You can have a large turbo making 12 lbs and a smaller turbo making 18 lbs, but the volume of air that the larger turbo is pushing at only 12 lbs can easily exceed what the smaller turbo is capable of at 18 lbs.

Make sense?
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Yeah, I know how turbos work. How big is the Sonata turbo? Most likely really small. Also when is it pushing full boost? At 4k? Matted to a 6-speed auto your gonna need to be hammering on the gas to get it going at full boost.
 
So many of these cars are literally one of a dozen at each traffic light. The SAAB sticks out originally as very irregularly seen.

I might suggest looking for a 1 year old model of any favorite originally selling in the 30k range. It will now be priced in the twenty's, a little broken in but not beaten, and substantial piece of warranty is left. Someone else took the intial depreciation and you now have negotiation power too.

Now depending on how long you plan to use it, dont always consider a brand specifically. If you plan to drive it into the ground get the model you like and fit into best, and maintain it. Its been proven that proper care and maintenance will help any car last longer. And again, and 1 year old model hasnt had the time to really be neglected unless really high mileage. Consider the manufacturers extended warranty as needed on models with shorter warranties, and note that cars with long warranties often have the price already included so they can boast bigger numbers. (measure warranty benefits too, Powertrain is different than bumper-to-bumper, and do they offer rentals under agreement).
 
The Kia optima is VERY nice, my neighbor just purchased one about 2 weeks ago. All I can say is Kia has really stepped up their game, the quality of their cars now are also top notch. plus the 10yr/100,000 warranty.
 
fancyfootwork said:
Yeah, I know how turbos work. How big is the Sonata turbo? Most likely really small. Also when is it pushing full boost? At 4k? Matted to a 6-speed auto your gonna need to be hammering on the gas to get it going at full boost.
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I'm not sure what the point is here. It makes it's peak torque of 269 pound-feet of torque from 1800 to 4500 rpm.

Small turbos spool quick and have much lower torque curves.
 
fancyfootwork said:
How much boost does it put out?

My problem with these new "turbos" are they don't put out enough boost which render them useless. Buick Regal w/turbo, Chevy Cruze w/turbo, Hyundai Sonata w/turbo, Kia Optima w/turbo, etc. If you want a car with a turbo, get a WRX or a GTI. Something with proven power to back it up. All these new cars with turbos are using them as selling points because car companies are in what I call "turbo wars" now.
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The turbos on these cars are generally small and they tend to help in efficiency and create the power that they would have and some if they were not going green. There is no "turbo war" it has been and always will be a $ war and a power war... If you can get more power with less gas that is the selling point of using the word turbo. It is also a power word... When you hear the word turbo you immediately think gobs of power!

Rei86 said:
These are the green initiative turbo cars...

While the likes of BMW is switching to smaller engines with turbo for performance in the M series these cars are different. In that they are offering you some sort of performance with a smaller engine without the drawbacks of losing out in the bigger engine.

I hardly call any of this "turbo" wars.
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:iagree:


michael13 said:
The engine has 17.4 psi of boost and I have heard of it being increased by a decent percentage with aftermarket parts.
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This is a believable PSI for a smaller turbo like the ones used in the Hyundai...

supercharged said:
A friend of mine just bought a 2006 BMW 750Li with 58k miles for $29K...Saab is a nice car (so is Jaguar, Land Rover), I kinda like it, but I would NOT pay more then $10k for one...why? Because of it's huge depreciation...I would check (test drive) Acura (TSX, TL, RL), Lexus, Infiniti, as well as some german cars (Audi, VW, Mercedes, BMW)...
And although styling on new Hyundai/Kia has really improved, they will never provide road hugging feeling you get in german cars...
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Have you driven any of the Kia Coupe` or Hyundai Sonota turbos? If not you may want to go give them a shot... I have driven both and wow they handle very well... The Kia Coupe` was more agile than the standard E46 and the Jetta (and I drive a BMW)

AVOID LAND ROVER AND SAAB as they are high maintnence cars and have high dollar repair costs... For instance if you crack the lense on an LR3/4 (happens a lot as the plastic is low grade) it will set you back 1400.00 for the part then 400.00 for labor and adjustment... Saab brakes are close to 700.00 for the front and 500.00 for the rear and they like to eat brakes expect it once a year...

fancyfootwork said:
17.4lbs? I think that may be what it CAN do. It probably boosts to 4-5lbs and can be tuned to that high. I feel the internals aren't made to handle that much power.
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The boost range you are giving here is about what a factory supercharged car does like the r53 Mini cooper S that uses between 5-7PSI of boost

I am going to be supercharging my 01 BMW Z3 with about 7PSI and that will net me about 130hp in the end with minor flash programming... In 98 the Dinnan Z3 1.9i S/C cars were only pushing 6PSI and getting close to 110 hp more than their stock counterparts...

SRTSean said:
No turbo car made right now puts out that little of boost. Most all are in the range of 12-14 lbs.

Boost psi is also not an end all, be all, number. You can have a large turbo making 12 lbs and a smaller turbo making 18 lbs, but the volume of air that the larger turbo is pushing at only 12 lbs can easily exceed what the smaller turbo is capable of at 18 lbs.

Make sense?
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:iagree:

fancyfootwork said:
Yeah, I know how turbos work. How big is the Sonata turbo? Most likely really small. Also when is it pushing full boost? At 4k? Matted to a 6-speed auto your gonna need to be hammering on the gas to get it going at full boost.
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The Sonata turbo is a Theta II Twin Scroll turbo i would compare it size wise to an Audi A4 1.8l of the 99-02 era
 
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