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So now that my maxima's engine is ruined, i plan to keep it but i wouldn't call it every day drive able since it does have a good bit of metal shavings in cylinder 1. I'll keep it as a pure sound vehicle and tinker with it as i see fit, maybe even do the head job myself in my spare time but that means it's time for me another vehicle. This one ideally would be a little more engine and power so i could make this my streetcar. I'm looking like 13kish-used of course and something that's not gonna be an insanely difficult vehicle to do my own work on. I hate being like everyone else though, so something different would be nice. (if i hear anyone suggest a civic...) The cheaper the better, and i'd like it to be big since i'm not really a small guy. Right now i'm kinda considering an impala just because i like the unbelievable space but figured i'd hear some suggestions. My knowledge of different cars and the benefits of them is actually pretty limited. So just assume i know nothing about the car your suggesting.

How about a nice Civic?

Audi A4

I loved mine before I wrecked it.

JJCDAD wrote:

Audi A4

I loved mine before I wrecked it.

Yes, they're lovely if you enjoy troubleshooting electrical gremlins, working on suspension with your own hands and generally performing expensive repairs that are deemed as "maintenance" by the Audi crowd. Some of the most unreliable and overengineered cars on the road. Even if I was going to buy a German car (the very same day the first hockey championship in hell is held), they would be at the very bottom of the list along with their parent company VW.

Japanese cars FTW!

have you looked at the cobalt or a g6 or something along those lines

i'm troubleshooting a keyboard at work on which the shift-keys don't work. time to call up microsoft support.

Do you want a 2 door or 4 door? Does it matter? I just bought myself an 02 Monte Carlo SS about 2 months ago. Lots of room up front, nice car, easy enough to work on. And the 3.8 liter v6 is a solid GM motor. I think mileage is rated about 21/28, which was a big step up from my truck.

I'll actually agree with Synchromesh on the Audi A4.

And even the MAINTENANCE (not the repairs that are called maintenance) is expensive.

Anyway, by wanting big... do you mean, you want something with lots of room for you, or do you just want something large?

Also, what are your goals with this car? Fast in a straight line? Good handling? Some combination of the above? Sleeper?

If you want a big sleeper, GM's got some nice stuff hiding in Buick.

Regal GS... 3.8 V6 supercharged, and it MOVES. And, best part is, it's a Buick Regal, so everyone thinks you're some old fart.

96 (IIRC) Roadmaster Wagon... hiding an LT1 under the hood. From the factory. Hauls ass... while hauling eight asses.

That's just some stuff I thought of off the top of my head. Say more of what you want, and I can give more suggestions.

If you want a sleeper, my dad got an Old Mans Car buick lesaber or regal or something. You can get them with the same V8 that is in the Cadillac, they are sweet.

Yea, 2 door would be nice i guess although it doesn't matter at all. Definitely looking into all these cars listed. I like the G6. As nice as that audi car looked i'm not that much into what appears to be expensive maintenance. I'm not sure how much custom work i'll be doing on the engine of these vehicles, and yea a sleeper might would be a nice idea. Regardless of the car it'll be given if a whisper quiet exhaust at some point.

*edit, yea i want a combination of decent handling but mostly it'd be straight line line power. Not like i'm gonna be tearing it up down the street every day but a great 0-100 is more important than top speed in what this car would be. Something that has high potential is great, my co-workers husband owns a top fuel car that he races all the time. He'd be willing to help me out with things i'm not quite familiar with yet.
*edit2, sorry i left it out, room just means something a 6'2" 220 pound guy can fit in without feeling like he's in a kids cereal box fort.

Although it's a 4-door, and maintenance and repairs are on the pricey side... Volvo 850R? Or some later Volvo R model...

Sleeper, quick, good handling (as long as you don't plant the throttle and expect it not to torque steer.)

I really like that 850R. I could see myself having a lot of fun with that one but, besides the expensive upkeep is it otherwise dependable mechanically wise?