[Coronita]

Submitted by jamsvet on November 20, 2007 – 9:05pm.

Take a good look at the car mags and see what they recommend. The Mazdaspeed3 is a great car and comes highly recommended. I've bought used if its the right car and the right price. New if its high performance or highly in demand. Don't take what the dealer has on the lot unless its EXACTLY what you want. Remember that you will have it for a long time. Get what you want. I'm a car nut and hate to see people settle for an appliance when you can have an experience.

Don't disagree with the mazdaspeed3 being good. But the original poster brought up how he/she wants to save for a house. If he/she will need to finance $23k for something like a MazdaSpeed3, he/she definitely will need to save up to buy a home too. At any point in time, we can't always satisfy all our needs and wants. So if the person wants a cool car more than a house, I can see where that tradeoff would be well spent. If however the person wants a house more than a car, a reliable appliance that gets him/her from point a to b might be a good alternative. Hyundai's and civics and normal mazda 3's start $14-15k, and probably will last for 10 years.

Stay away from any VAG(Volkswagon/Audi), Mercedes, Saab,BMW product if you want to talk about reliability and maintenance over 10+ years, unless you plan on being a grease monkey or are just stinking filthy rich. 

[Coronita]

Submitted by jamsvet on November 20, 2007 – 9:05pm.

Take a good look at the car mags and see what they recommend. The Mazdaspeed3 is a great car and comes highly recommended. I've bought used if its the right car and the right price. New if its high performance or highly in demand. Don't take what the dealer has on the lot unless its EXACTLY what you want. Remember that you will have it for a long time. Get what you want. I'm a car nut and hate to see people settle for an appliance when you can have an experience.

Don't disagree with the mazdaspeed3 being good. But the original poster brought up how he/she wants to save for a house. If he/she will need to finance $23k for something like a MazdaSpeed3, he/she definitely will need to save up to buy a home too. At any point in time, we can't always satisfy all our needs and wants. So if the person wants a cool car more than a house, I can see where that tradeoff would be well spent. If however the person wants a house more than a car, a reliable appliance that gets him/her from point a to b might be a good alternative. Hyundai's and civics and normal mazda 3's start $14-15k, and probably will last for 10 years.

Stay away from any VAG(Volkswagon/Audi), Mercedes, Saab,BMW product if you want to talk about reliability and maintenance over 10+ years, unless you plan on being a grease monkey or are just stinking filthy rich. 

[Coronita]

Submitted by jamsvet on November 20, 2007 – 9:05pm.

Take a good look at the car mags and see what they recommend. The Mazdaspeed3 is a great car and comes highly recommended. I've bought used if its the right car and the right price. New if its high performance or highly in demand. Don't take what the dealer has on the lot unless its EXACTLY what you want. Remember that you will have it for a long time. Get what you want. I'm a car nut and hate to see people settle for an appliance when you can have an experience.

Don't disagree with the mazdaspeed3 being good. But the original poster brought up how he/she wants to save for a house. If he/she will need to finance $23k for something like a MazdaSpeed3, he/she definitely will need to save up to buy a home too. At any point in time, we can't always satisfy all our needs and wants. So if the person wants a cool car more than a house, I can see where that tradeoff would be well spent. If however the person wants a house more than a car, a reliable appliance that gets him/her from point a to b might be a good alternative. Hyundai's and civics and normal mazda 3's start $14-15k, and probably will last for 10 years.

Stay away from any VAG(Volkswagon/Audi), Mercedes, Saab,BMW product if you want to talk about reliability and maintenance over 10+ years, unless you plan on being a grease monkey or are just stinking filthy rich. 

[Coronita]

Submitted by jamsvet on November 20, 2007 – 9:05pm.

Take a good look at the car mags and see what they recommend. The Mazdaspeed3 is a great car and comes highly recommended. I've bought used if its the right car and the right price. New if its high performance or highly in demand. Don't take what the dealer has on the lot unless its EXACTLY what you want. Remember that you will have it for a long time. Get what you want. I'm a car nut and hate to see people settle for an appliance when you can have an experience.

Don't disagree with the mazdaspeed3 being good. But the original poster brought up how he/she wants to save for a house. If he/she will need to finance $23k for something like a MazdaSpeed3, he/she definitely will need to save up to buy a home too. At any point in time, we can't always satisfy all our needs and wants. So if the person wants a cool car more than a house, I can see where that tradeoff would be well spent. If however the person wants a house more than a car, a reliable appliance that gets him/her from point a to b might be a good alternative. Hyundai's and civics and normal mazda 3's start $14-15k, and probably will last for 10 years.

Stay away from any VAG(Volkswagon/Audi), Mercedes, Saab,BMW product if you want to talk about reliability and maintenance over 10+ years, unless you plan on being a grease monkey or are just stinking filthy rich. 

[Coronita]

Submitted by jamsvet on November 20, 2007 – 9:05pm.

Take a good look at the car mags and see what they recommend. The Mazdaspeed3 is a great car and comes highly recommended. I've bought used if its the right car and the right price. New if its high performance or highly in demand. Don't take what the dealer has on the lot unless its EXACTLY what you want. Remember that you will have it for a long time. Get what you want. I'm a car nut and hate to see people settle for an appliance when you can have an experience.

Don't disagree with the mazdaspeed3 being good. But the original poster brought up how he/she wants to save for a house. If he/she will need to finance $23k for something like a MazdaSpeed3, he/she definitely will need to save up to buy a home too. At any point in time, we can't always satisfy all our needs and wants. So if the person wants a cool car more than a house, I can see where that tradeoff would be well spent. If however the person wants a house more than a car, a reliable appliance that gets him/her from point a to b might be a good alternative. Hyundai's and civics and normal mazda 3's start $14-15k, and probably will last for 10 years.

Stay away from any VAG(Volkswagon/Audi), Mercedes, Saab,BMW product if you want to talk about reliability and maintenance over 10+ years, unless you plan on being a grease monkey or are just stinking filthy rich. 

[Coronita]

My brother has a Mazda 3 and likes it. It is extremely well rated. I can't even look at the the Mazda3 or the Civic because I don't fit comfortable. I had to bump up the the 2 door Accord back in 2000 when I bought my car. I still like the styling better than the new accord body lines. 97000 miles and never had a problem with the car.

My only gripe on cars liek Honda's are that 7 years after they remodel the cars they stop carring parts which increases the probability of theft. I have had 2 Accords stolen on me. Pisses me off but hey that's what insurance is for.

 

There is a reason for this. Actually, Accords and Civics are pretty expensive to insure. A lot of the wannabe-racer-dudes (i won't use the derogatory term to describe them) with civics and accords often steal them to rip off the parts for cars they screw up trying to race. Or the make their hondas look like they can race (for example, the fart can exhausts, the cut springs, the bling bling wheels…We've all seen them on the roads). The problem is that Honda parts are so interchangeable, a used honda chopped up is much more valuable than the car itself. Had someone have his instrument cluster in a Honda stolen while parked in his apartment, because some of the lower trim DX models don't have the tachometer and a lot of those wannabe-racer-dudes want a tachometer in a DX trim, even though the car is an automatic. But at least they were nice and didn't smash the dash to rip it out..The actually  spent the time to disassembled the dash and left all the screws and trim fittings in the car  for us to reassemble.

 

 

[Coronita]

My brother has a Mazda 3 and likes it. It is extremely well rated. I can't even look at the the Mazda3 or the Civic because I don't fit comfortable. I had to bump up the the 2 door Accord back in 2000 when I bought my car. I still like the styling better than the new accord body lines. 97000 miles and never had a problem with the car.

My only gripe on cars liek Honda's are that 7 years after they remodel the cars they stop carring parts which increases the probability of theft. I have had 2 Accords stolen on me. Pisses me off but hey that's what insurance is for.

 

There is a reason for this. Actually, Accords and Civics are pretty expensive to insure. A lot of the wannabe-racer-dudes (i won't use the derogatory term to describe them) with civics and accords often steal them to rip off the parts for cars they screw up trying to race. Or the make their hondas look like they can race (for example, the fart can exhausts, the cut springs, the bling bling wheels…We've all seen them on the roads). The problem is that Honda parts are so interchangeable, a used honda chopped up is much more valuable than the car itself. Had someone have his instrument cluster in a Honda stolen while parked in his apartment, because some of the lower trim DX models don't have the tachometer and a lot of those wannabe-racer-dudes want a tachometer in a DX trim, even though the car is an automatic. But at least they were nice and didn't smash the dash to rip it out..The actually  spent the time to disassembled the dash and left all the screws and trim fittings in the car  for us to reassemble.

 

 

[Coronita]

My brother has a Mazda 3 and likes it. It is extremely well rated. I can't even look at the the Mazda3 or the Civic because I don't fit comfortable. I had to bump up the the 2 door Accord back in 2000 when I bought my car. I still like the styling better than the new accord body lines. 97000 miles and never had a problem with the car.

My only gripe on cars liek Honda's are that 7 years after they remodel the cars they stop carring parts which increases the probability of theft. I have had 2 Accords stolen on me. Pisses me off but hey that's what insurance is for.

 

There is a reason for this. Actually, Accords and Civics are pretty expensive to insure. A lot of the wannabe-racer-dudes (i won't use the derogatory term to describe them) with civics and accords often steal them to rip off the parts for cars they screw up trying to race. Or the make their hondas look like they can race (for example, the fart can exhausts, the cut springs, the bling bling wheels…We've all seen them on the roads). The problem is that Honda parts are so interchangeable, a used honda chopped up is much more valuable than the car itself. Had someone have his instrument cluster in a Honda stolen while parked in his apartment, because some of the lower trim DX models don't have the tachometer and a lot of those wannabe-racer-dudes want a tachometer in a DX trim, even though the car is an automatic. But at least they were nice and didn't smash the dash to rip it out..The actually  spent the time to disassembled the dash and left all the screws and trim fittings in the car  for us to reassemble.

 

 

[Coronita]

My brother has a Mazda 3 and likes it. It is extremely well rated. I can't even look at the the Mazda3 or the Civic because I don't fit comfortable. I had to bump up the the 2 door Accord back in 2000 when I bought my car. I still like the styling better than the new accord body lines. 97000 miles and never had a problem with the car.

My only gripe on cars liek Honda's are that 7 years after they remodel the cars they stop carring parts which increases the probability of theft. I have had 2 Accords stolen on me. Pisses me off but hey that's what insurance is for.

 

There is a reason for this. Actually, Accords and Civics are pretty expensive to insure. A lot of the wannabe-racer-dudes (i won't use the derogatory term to describe them) with civics and accords often steal them to rip off the parts for cars they screw up trying to race. Or the make their hondas look like they can race (for example, the fart can exhausts, the cut springs, the bling bling wheels…We've all seen them on the roads). The problem is that Honda parts are so interchangeable, a used honda chopped up is much more valuable than the car itself. Had someone have his instrument cluster in a Honda stolen while parked in his apartment, because some of the lower trim DX models don't have the tachometer and a lot of those wannabe-racer-dudes want a tachometer in a DX trim, even though the car is an automatic. But at least they were nice and didn't smash the dash to rip it out..The actually  spent the time to disassembled the dash and left all the screws and trim fittings in the car  for us to reassemble.

 

 

[Coronita]

My brother has a Mazda 3 and likes it. It is extremely well rated. I can't even look at the the Mazda3 or the Civic because I don't fit comfortable. I had to bump up the the 2 door Accord back in 2000 when I bought my car. I still like the styling better than the new accord body lines. 97000 miles and never had a problem with the car.

My only gripe on cars liek Honda's are that 7 years after they remodel the cars they stop carring parts which increases the probability of theft. I have had 2 Accords stolen on me. Pisses me off but hey that's what insurance is for.

 

There is a reason for this. Actually, Accords and Civics are pretty expensive to insure. A lot of the wannabe-racer-dudes (i won't use the derogatory term to describe them) with civics and accords often steal them to rip off the parts for cars they screw up trying to race. Or the make their hondas look like they can race (for example, the fart can exhausts, the cut springs, the bling bling wheels…We've all seen them on the roads). The problem is that Honda parts are so interchangeable, a used honda chopped up is much more valuable than the car itself. Had someone have his instrument cluster in a Honda stolen while parked in his apartment, because some of the lower trim DX models don't have the tachometer and a lot of those wannabe-racer-dudes want a tachometer in a DX trim, even though the car is an automatic. But at least they were nice and didn't smash the dash to rip it out..The actually  spent the time to disassembled the dash and left all the screws and trim fittings in the car  for us to reassemble.

 

 

[Coronita]

You guys are the greatest!

To FLU: Well, it is perfect condition, BUT, things go wrong. Recently, I needed a new turn signal thing and a Master Cylinder. They had to order the Master Cylinder from Phoenix (which got delivered to Irvine, groan), and the turn signal had to be found at a junkyard, and was still $150. (New from dealer would have been $376) Thus, it took 2 1/2 days in the shop, just waiting on parts. It is a Mazda Protege 1995–136,000 miles. I have had it since 2000.

I want to buy a Mazda 3. They are still made in Japan. I just called them, and they said no to credit cards (conflict–when you buy a car there is no returning it, but if you buy on CC then you have 30 days to return) but they have 0% financing for 36 months, for qualifying buyers, which is me–I have a high FICO score.

Never had a car payment in my life (always buy used cars in cash) and I am SWEATING this. With a hefty car payment, it would restrict me to save for the house I want in the next few years. On the other hand, I work 2 jobs, and cannot have my car out of operation unexpectedly, and for days at a time. What a crossroads…..

 

I think you might consider getting another mechanic. While your car isn't considered new. It's not exactly old to warrant having trouble finding parts. A master cylinder for your car shouldn't be hard to source..If fact, you could order it yourself online and have it shipped to you freww without take. Shouldn't have cost you more than $120-$150, and labor on these cars shouldn't be that much because they are not that difficult to work on. Try working on a german car, and you'll know what I mean.

 

For example, http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?N=1667+4294967006+11062+9182. 

If you are around Miramar, I would recommend you take it to a person called GWin http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?tuid=9447857&tcat=7844597&city=San+Diego&state=CA&zip=92130&uzip=92130&msa=7320&slt=32.949900&sln=-117.211100&cs=5&stat=:pos:0:regular:regT:1:fbT:0

Chinese-Vietnamese dude that does a relatively decent job at a pretty cheap price. Opened on saturdays. Oil changes with filter are like $15. Other services are pretty cheap, decent labor rates. (Though, don't undestimate this dude's net worth. He lives in carmel valley and sends his kids to private schools. No I don't know him personally. Ran into him a few times in CV on sundays). I use to take my japanese beaters before we sold them.

Save some money and save up on the house. If you must buy a new car, perhaps consider a Hyundai. I wouldn't mind buying a Sonota these days as a commuter/heavy use car.  I think the designs are looking pretty good, the safety rating is good, and you can't beat the warranty. The Korean car manufacturers have really caught up. Japanese cars are SO overrated these days. Look at how many times Toyota has issued recalls. The other thing you want to watch out for if you decide to buy a used Mazda 3. Make sure it's not one of them that they recovered from the Cougar Ace

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/27/cougar-ace-could-some-of-her-mazdas-be-saleable/ 

 

 

 

 

[Coronita]

You guys are the greatest!

To FLU: Well, it is perfect condition, BUT, things go wrong. Recently, I needed a new turn signal thing and a Master Cylinder. They had to order the Master Cylinder from Phoenix (which got delivered to Irvine, groan), and the turn signal had to be found at a junkyard, and was still $150. (New from dealer would have been $376) Thus, it took 2 1/2 days in the shop, just waiting on parts. It is a Mazda Protege 1995–136,000 miles. I have had it since 2000.

I want to buy a Mazda 3. They are still made in Japan. I just called them, and they said no to credit cards (conflict–when you buy a car there is no returning it, but if you buy on CC then you have 30 days to return) but they have 0% financing for 36 months, for qualifying buyers, which is me–I have a high FICO score.

Never had a car payment in my life (always buy used cars in cash) and I am SWEATING this. With a hefty car payment, it would restrict me to save for the house I want in the next few years. On the other hand, I work 2 jobs, and cannot have my car out of operation unexpectedly, and for days at a time. What a crossroads…..

 

I think you might consider getting another mechanic. While your car isn't considered new. It's not exactly old to warrant having trouble finding parts. A master cylinder for your car shouldn't be hard to source..If fact, you could order it yourself online and have it shipped to you freww without take. Shouldn't have cost you more than $120-$150, and labor on these cars shouldn't be that much because they are not that difficult to work on. Try working on a german car, and you'll know what I mean.

 

For example, http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?N=1667+4294967006+11062+9182. 

If you are around Miramar, I would recommend you take it to a person called GWin http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?tuid=9447857&tcat=7844597&city=San+Diego&state=CA&zip=92130&uzip=92130&msa=7320&slt=32.949900&sln=-117.211100&cs=5&stat=:pos:0:regular:regT:1:fbT:0

Chinese-Vietnamese dude that does a relatively decent job at a pretty cheap price. Opened on saturdays. Oil changes with filter are like $15. Other services are pretty cheap, decent labor rates. (Though, don't undestimate this dude's net worth. He lives in carmel valley and sends his kids to private schools. No I don't know him personally. Ran into him a few times in CV on sundays). I use to take my japanese beaters before we sold them.

Save some money and save up on the house. If you must buy a new car, perhaps consider a Hyundai. I wouldn't mind buying a Sonota these days as a commuter/heavy use car.  I think the designs are looking pretty good, the safety rating is good, and you can't beat the warranty. The Korean car manufacturers have really caught up. Japanese cars are SO overrated these days. Look at how many times Toyota has issued recalls. The other thing you want to watch out for if you decide to buy a used Mazda 3. Make sure it's not one of them that they recovered from the Cougar Ace

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/27/cougar-ace-could-some-of-her-mazdas-be-saleable/ 

 

 

 

 

[Coronita]

You guys are the greatest!

To FLU: Well, it is perfect condition, BUT, things go wrong. Recently, I needed a new turn signal thing and a Master Cylinder. They had to order the Master Cylinder from Phoenix (which got delivered to Irvine, groan), and the turn signal had to be found at a junkyard, and was still $150. (New from dealer would have been $376) Thus, it took 2 1/2 days in the shop, just waiting on parts. It is a Mazda Protege 1995–136,000 miles. I have had it since 2000.

I want to buy a Mazda 3. They are still made in Japan. I just called them, and they said no to credit cards (conflict–when you buy a car there is no returning it, but if you buy on CC then you have 30 days to return) but they have 0% financing for 36 months, for qualifying buyers, which is me–I have a high FICO score.

Never had a car payment in my life (always buy used cars in cash) and I am SWEATING this. With a hefty car payment, it would restrict me to save for the house I want in the next few years. On the other hand, I work 2 jobs, and cannot have my car out of operation unexpectedly, and for days at a time. What a crossroads…..

 

I think you might consider getting another mechanic. While your car isn't considered new. It's not exactly old to warrant having trouble finding parts. A master cylinder for your car shouldn't be hard to source..If fact, you could order it yourself online and have it shipped to you freww without take. Shouldn't have cost you more than $120-$150, and labor on these cars shouldn't be that much because they are not that difficult to work on. Try working on a german car, and you'll know what I mean.

 

For example, http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?N=1667+4294967006+11062+9182. 

If you are around Miramar, I would recommend you take it to a person called GWin http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?tuid=9447857&tcat=7844597&city=San+Diego&state=CA&zip=92130&uzip=92130&msa=7320&slt=32.949900&sln=-117.211100&cs=5&stat=:pos:0:regular:regT:1:fbT:0

Chinese-Vietnamese dude that does a relatively decent job at a pretty cheap price. Opened on saturdays. Oil changes with filter are like $15. Other services are pretty cheap, decent labor rates. (Though, don't undestimate this dude's net worth. He lives in carmel valley and sends his kids to private schools. No I don't know him personally. Ran into him a few times in CV on sundays). I use to take my japanese beaters before we sold them.

Save some money and save up on the house. If you must buy a new car, perhaps consider a Hyundai. I wouldn't mind buying a Sonota these days as a commuter/heavy use car.  I think the designs are looking pretty good, the safety rating is good, and you can't beat the warranty. The Korean car manufacturers have really caught up. Japanese cars are SO overrated these days. Look at how many times Toyota has issued recalls. The other thing you want to watch out for if you decide to buy a used Mazda 3. Make sure it's not one of them that they recovered from the Cougar Ace

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/27/cougar-ace-could-some-of-her-mazdas-be-saleable/ 

 

 

 

 

[Coronita]

You guys are the greatest!

To FLU: Well, it is perfect condition, BUT, things go wrong. Recently, I needed a new turn signal thing and a Master Cylinder. They had to order the Master Cylinder from Phoenix (which got delivered to Irvine, groan), and the turn signal had to be found at a junkyard, and was still $150. (New from dealer would have been $376) Thus, it took 2 1/2 days in the shop, just waiting on parts. It is a Mazda Protege 1995–136,000 miles. I have had it since 2000.

I want to buy a Mazda 3. They are still made in Japan. I just called them, and they said no to credit cards (conflict–when you buy a car there is no returning it, but if you buy on CC then you have 30 days to return) but they have 0% financing for 36 months, for qualifying buyers, which is me–I have a high FICO score.

Never had a car payment in my life (always buy used cars in cash) and I am SWEATING this. With a hefty car payment, it would restrict me to save for the house I want in the next few years. On the other hand, I work 2 jobs, and cannot have my car out of operation unexpectedly, and for days at a time. What a crossroads…..

 

I think you might consider getting another mechanic. While your car isn't considered new. It's not exactly old to warrant having trouble finding parts. A master cylinder for your car shouldn't be hard to source..If fact, you could order it yourself online and have it shipped to you freww without take. Shouldn't have cost you more than $120-$150, and labor on these cars shouldn't be that much because they are not that difficult to work on. Try working on a german car, and you'll know what I mean.

 

For example, http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?N=1667+4294967006+11062+9182. 

If you are around Miramar, I would recommend you take it to a person called GWin http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?tuid=9447857&tcat=7844597&city=San+Diego&state=CA&zip=92130&uzip=92130&msa=7320&slt=32.949900&sln=-117.211100&cs=5&stat=:pos:0:regular:regT:1:fbT:0

Chinese-Vietnamese dude that does a relatively decent job at a pretty cheap price. Opened on saturdays. Oil changes with filter are like $15. Other services are pretty cheap, decent labor rates. (Though, don't undestimate this dude's net worth. He lives in carmel valley and sends his kids to private schools. No I don't know him personally. Ran into him a few times in CV on sundays). I use to take my japanese beaters before we sold them.

Save some money and save up on the house. If you must buy a new car, perhaps consider a Hyundai. I wouldn't mind buying a Sonota these days as a commuter/heavy use car.  I think the designs are looking pretty good, the safety rating is good, and you can't beat the warranty. The Korean car manufacturers have really caught up. Japanese cars are SO overrated these days. Look at how many times Toyota has issued recalls. The other thing you want to watch out for if you decide to buy a used Mazda 3. Make sure it's not one of them that they recovered from the Cougar Ace

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/27/cougar-ace-could-some-of-her-mazdas-be-saleable/ 

 

 

 

 

[Coronita]

You guys are the greatest!

To FLU: Well, it is perfect condition, BUT, things go wrong. Recently, I needed a new turn signal thing and a Master Cylinder. They had to order the Master Cylinder from Phoenix (which got delivered to Irvine, groan), and the turn signal had to be found at a junkyard, and was still $150. (New from dealer would have been $376) Thus, it took 2 1/2 days in the shop, just waiting on parts. It is a Mazda Protege 1995–136,000 miles. I have had it since 2000.

I want to buy a Mazda 3. They are still made in Japan. I just called them, and they said no to credit cards (conflict–when you buy a car there is no returning it, but if you buy on CC then you have 30 days to return) but they have 0% financing for 36 months, for qualifying buyers, which is me–I have a high FICO score.

Never had a car payment in my life (always buy used cars in cash) and I am SWEATING this. With a hefty car payment, it would restrict me to save for the house I want in the next few years. On the other hand, I work 2 jobs, and cannot have my car out of operation unexpectedly, and for days at a time. What a crossroads…..

 

I think you might consider getting another mechanic. While your car isn't considered new. It's not exactly old to warrant having trouble finding parts. A master cylinder for your car shouldn't be hard to source..If fact, you could order it yourself online and have it shipped to you freww without take. Shouldn't have cost you more than $120-$150, and labor on these cars shouldn't be that much because they are not that difficult to work on. Try working on a german car, and you'll know what I mean.

 

For example, http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?N=1667+4294967006+11062+9182. 

If you are around Miramar, I would recommend you take it to a person called GWin http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?tuid=9447857&tcat=7844597&city=San+Diego&state=CA&zip=92130&uzip=92130&msa=7320&slt=32.949900&sln=-117.211100&cs=5&stat=:pos:0:regular:regT:1:fbT:0

Chinese-Vietnamese dude that does a relatively decent job at a pretty cheap price. Opened on saturdays. Oil changes with filter are like $15. Other services are pretty cheap, decent labor rates. (Though, don't undestimate this dude's net worth. He lives in carmel valley and sends his kids to private schools. No I don't know him personally. Ran into him a few times in CV on sundays). I use to take my japanese beaters before we sold them.

Save some money and save up on the house. If you must buy a new car, perhaps consider a Hyundai. I wouldn't mind buying a Sonota these days as a commuter/heavy use car.  I think the designs are looking pretty good, the safety rating is good, and you can't beat the warranty. The Korean car manufacturers have really caught up. Japanese cars are SO overrated these days. Look at how many times Toyota has issued recalls. The other thing you want to watch out for if you decide to buy a used Mazda 3. Make sure it's not one of them that they recovered from the Cougar Ace

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/27/cougar-ace-could-some-of-her-mazdas-be-saleable/ 

 

 

 

 

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