Need some advice or just opinions on buying a new car. I’m getting ready at the end of this month to buy a new car but every car I have ever bought has been outright. Right now I’m looking at a Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart 5 speed with “sun and sound” package right on the 20k mark. What other models should I be looking at? 16K is around where i need to be. A couple of the main reasons I’m looking at Mitsubishi is because of the 10yr 100k miles warranty, and because of the rebates and employee discount (know a guy who already has me set up) so after 2k off from rebate and about 2k from Emp discount It will be around 16,000.00. I take it there’s no bargaining room when using an employee Discount hu? Also what should I look out for and check out before I buy? Just looking for some opinions on anyone who has owned or knows someone with a lancer or suggestions on other cars I should be looking at.

P.S. Insurance is a big deal so that kind of pushes a few of the cars I would like out of my range.
Thanks

Also my fast car is going to be in the works so just looking for something dependable, and reasonable.

Couple things to beware of is the paperwork that will be done , price of trade in if any and delivery charges. Some dealerswill jack the price up on paper and you won't see it until its to late ! So becareful of who you puchase from or through!
This is how they make their money !! The package sounds nice, so good luck!

I'm buying at O'brian mitsu if thats the car i go with. Dont have a trade in. If the destination charge says 575 on the window can they change that in the paperwork?

They cange change alot of things and hide it from ya !They are sneaky rascals when it comes to money ! Take you're time and look around. There are alot of differrent dealers in the area that might have a better deal ! Shop around !!Get prices in wrighting and use that to you're adantage !! They hate that!! O'Brian , They are okay , but still others out there to look at !! Iwas going to buy a car from O'Brians once for my Wife , did'nt like the salesman I was dealing with ! He tried to feed me a bunch of shit about a car ! I ended up buying a car from my Uncle at a damm good price!! Believe it or not my wife drove that car for 10 yrs. . Well worth my 16k !! Buicks are nice family cars !! So all in all becarefull and don't buy the first car you see!!

I personally have a soft spot for the Mazdaspeed Protege. Could be in or under your range.

I didnt know they had those for a 2005 model?

my .02 cents is that i work better on the other end of a car deal. i have a good sales approach and can sell ice to eskimos with promises of hell freezing over. but when it comes to buying a car i can't stand the lines most car salesman try to land, even their first statement after they see you looking at a car of "ok yeah thats a real nice (truck,car,van,etc..) why dont you come in and we'll talk about it" i would keep your eyes open in the private market, you are guranteed to get 2 to 3 thousand dollars more car even if its only a year old. as far as the ralliart goes i haven't seen any problems from my buddies 2000 lancer oz which i consider to be very similiar, but if you want a good bang for your buck most reliable car you ought to be checking out that car i shall not name. the proof is in the pudding as my ma would say, ive seen dozens of them hit the 200k mark with only scheduled maintenace. where as how many 10-15 year old mitsus (other than dsms) do you see with over 150k.

Yeah no salesman is running any lines on me lol. I sell people crap for a living whether they need it or not, then make them feel good about it! . I have been looking around at some H0NDA's but have been unable to find anything as of yet that really speaks to me. I will be test driving one this week though so we will see. The O-Z has the 2.0 4g94? making around 120hp and the ralliart has the mivec ???? making around 162hp. Not to bad. still need a little get up and go in the DD. I'm probably going to end up going off the lot because of interest rates for new/used cars and are most warranty’s transferable if I do go from a private party?

all manufacturers warranties and most third party warranties are transferable. the 3rd parties can be a real pain in the arse though. but good luck and test drive something you know you cant afford, just for fun... cough cough new GTO, 400 ponies... cough cough (me and a buddy took one off the lot last week and it was the most fun ive had in months)

You might want to consiber the new Chevy Cobalt SS... it is close to price you are after and it also has some cool options... (ricaro seats and white face guages)... not to mention supercharged 2.0 L making 205 horses.

Chevy is really coming into the Sport compact game with a bang.

It has standard most of what we have put aftermarket into our cars and still has a warranty... not a sales pitch (i have nothing to gain) just my .02

You can pick up an 04 GTO for around 20k right now. I think that'd be a bit more fun than a Ralliart Lancer

Ehh, nevermind on the GTO, the insurance is probably killer.

scion tc is what I'd go for.

Yeah theres a few cars that I'm going to go and test drive in the next few days. Wonder if i take out an evo or sti for a spin i kind of like the tc but the xa and xb hurt my eyes!

hmmm that is a pretty good price. I will definitely keep that in mind while looking around.

Used Dodge Neon SRT-4s can be had for the 16k range. I know I saw one late last year at Extreme Motors here in Bloomington for 16k on the button. It only had about 15k miles on it too. Beware of OBriens, they like to pull crap like what grimy was talking about. I hear the lancers are decent family cars, but if it were me, I'd buy a used 3rd gen Eclipse. Some of the upper tier packages are nice, I don't think they're that bad looking as most people commonly think, and the stick shift V6 does have a nice set of low end balls. There's one I was looking at in Carlock at a local used dealership in the $9k range with 40k miles and it's a 2000. Leather, Auto, CD player and everything. There's also one in Leroy that I was looking at, same color as Rollout's maroon car. It's a 2000, stick shift, V6 with about 40k miles in the $9.5k range, leather, moonroof, and CD player as well. I'm not sure if you're looking for something newer but I thought they were decent deals.

1997 SC2 5-spd Red ext gray interior 55.5K miles
interior is flawless, exterior, tiny dent on hood, some chips in front bumper from lots of highway miles and eatin rocks, few tiny scratches here and there.
Nothing you wouldnt expect out of a 97.

Engine is freshly rebuilt, crank polished, 99 rods and pistons, 3.5k
on rebuild, rebuild done at KOU Motorsports

Has sunroof, ac, CD no changer(have a adapter so I can use my MP3 player via the CD Changer hookup), power locks/windows/mirrors
cruise, the alarm thingy+remotes, leather steering wheel(so dealer calls it).

Intake, TB, Ported Intake Mani, ported and decked head(~10.5:1 CR), Cams, adj cam gears, fully rebuilt bottom end with stronger rods and lighter pistons, header, HF Cat, exhaust. Lighter Crank Pulley, Motormounts, plug wires, colder plugs, SAFC

dropped with eibach pro kit, 19mm Rear sway bar, Front STB

clear corners, brushed aluminum pedals, saturn logo floormats, 17X7" wheels that are about to get brand new 215/45/17 Sumitomo HTR+'s

the car that we shall not name steelies with pretty well used tiger paw all seasons that I used in the snow





Throws an 02 sensor code thanks to still running a bit rich at low throttle, and I need to reconnect the Rear sway bar.

probably not what you are looking for, but handles really well and will beat out most non boosted or swapped handus that would bug you in town, also took down a 1g fwd turbo running a MBC

$6000 OBO

I took a few cars out for a test drive today.

First up Lancer O-Z Rally 5 speed. the car is nice and solid, feels good in the turns, and comfortable interior. I kind of like the exterior would probably grow on me. The clutch feels like I could blow on the pedal and it would go to the floor, maybe this is a good thing but daily driving a 2600 makes the really annoying to me. Also clutch engages almost at the very top of travel as to where I’m used to engaging about 1/3 to ½ way up. Acceleration really sucks but that can be expected for a 120hp 4cyl. All in all not to bad but not worth 17,000k

2nd ride Lancer Ralliart 5 speed. This car felt a lot better sitting in the driver seat. I like the interior a little better. The car I drove had a rattle to the exhaust and a squeaky suspension, but you could tell a difference coming off of route 6 in the off ramp in the suspension and feel. Top end starts to pick up and gets moving a little faster than the 2.0 non MIVEC. Besides that pretty much the same. Clutch feels a little heaver not much. And for 162hp not to bad. Still not to sure though

They wouldn’t let me take the EVO!!!!!!

3rd ride Neon SXT. Not sure why I even bothered. For a neon its more than I expected but I felt peoples eyes staring at me and laughing while I was driving. Not a chance. I did drive the srt4 last year and really liked it. I may try and see if there’s any way I can work that car into this years plans. Looks are a little better than a neon but its roots are undeniable.

4th ride 04 Impala LS. don’t like the feel in the turns it feels a lot bigger than it really is. Not to bad for pickup. But everyone on the planet owns 2 of these things. Kind of like it more than I thought I would though. Ran out of time for rides after this one.

This week I’m still going to take out a 2.5 RS, and WRX, cobalt, and cobalt SS, Scion Tc, and a Jeep Liberty. And just for fun I’m going to try and get my hands on a new Mustang GT, GTO, and I doubt I have any chance of someone letting me behind the wheel of a new M3 but I will give it a shot.

See if you can find something you like used, it won't hurt as bad to look back at the resale after you drive it off the lot.

I saw an SRT-4 at the Peoria Mitsu dealership. I have no idea '03 (no LSD) or '04 (LSD). I'd always be OK with a Mazda or the tC - used Celica GT-S' should be EASILY in your price range.

If you're stuck on new, next years Civic Si will come w/200 hp, LSD at $20K...

Keep us posted on your driving impressions!

Buy a the car that we shall not name for 3K and keep the rest of your money for another car.